One Deception

Chapter Seven

Written by Kenz (TogetherWeRise)

 

Chapter Seven
Rosalie

The window was maybe 6 feet and a few inches off of the ground, right up to the low ceiling. It was coated in a thick layer of grayish-brown dust, the hinges around it were rusty and covered in cobwebs. From where I was sitting, it looked like it was about two and a half feet wide and a foot and a half tall. A tight fit for a fully-grown girl, definitely, but not impossible.

That small window was the object of my obsession. I'd been studying it closely for days while simultaneously working at the knots binding my hands. The knots were intricate and complicated, especially with the mobility of my fingers limited, but after breaking nearly all of my nails and contracting severe rope burns I was finally making headway.

The more the rope loosened, the higher my spirits lifted, and the more determined I became. A few times I'd become frustrated enough to break down into tears, but I didn't stop. A quote that I'd heard from somewhere had popped into my head awhile ago, and that quote had become my mantra. I was half sure that the quote itself was what kept me going despite the pain in my hands and the hopeless dragging at my chest, threatening to drown me.

By perseverance the snail reached the ark.

As far as I was concerned, I was the snail, and that damned window was the ark.

I heard a small whimper a little ways away from me, distracting me from my inner musings. It wasn't hard to figure out who the sound was coming from. The only other person in the god forsaken basement was Miranda. I turned my attention to the small girl, in her chair across the room from me. She was quietly crying, again, not that there was anything new there. She was always crying. Her head was always hanging down, she hardly spoke anymore.

With every passing moment her spirit was fading. It might already be gone, for all I knew. I wasn't sure what a completely broken person looked like, but I'd bet that Miranda was pretty close.

I used to try and comfort her, but now I didn't bother. The way I saw it was I could comfort her later, after I got us out of this hell hole to somewhere safe. Time was of the essence, as they say. There was no telling how much longer we had to sit around here, waiting for slaughter like fish in a barrel, and I wasn't going to waste any more time trying to get her to shut up.

"God damn it, Harry, will you hurry?"

Hearing the shout come from above caused my fingers to still. My wrists were rubbed raw and felt like they were on fire from the constant friction. I desperately wanted to cry out from the pain, but I bit down on my lip and held it in. Miranda quieted, but only fractionally. She had no control over herself anymore and I didn't exactly blame her.

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

"We have to leave now. We can't be late for the interview."

"I said I'm coming, Jesus Christ!"

The floorboards overhead began creaking, meaning that they were being walked over. I held my breath, following the place of the sounds with my eyes, and was glad that the steps were leading away the basement door. They weren't coming in. My heart beat picked up it's pace as it registered to me that they were leaving. They'd barely left in the past few days.

Now could be our chance.

"Miranda," I whispered in an attempt to get the girls attention.

The sound of muffled yelling reached my ears, and then a door slammed shut, signaling their exit and my time to jump into action. I wasn't sure how long they were gone for, but it was typically only a few hours at a time. If we were going to act we had to act now, and that realization had me picking at the knot with renewed fervor.