A Numbers Game

Chapter 16

I don't know I've fallen asleep until I wake up to the sound of creaking floorboards and footsteps from above. I scramble to my feet and listen as closely as I can, heart hammering. I was in a house of some kind, which meant there was a door up there. A door out. There is more walking and the sound of something being moved, maybe some furniture?

A murmured voice falls down to me, it sounds male but thats all I get from it. I'm not sure which to hope for: Jackson or a random guy. I rub my hands together to generate some warmth between them. I don't hear anything for a while until he starts to sing.

"Sugar Pie, Honey bunnnn" a hidden door from above swings open, letting a square of light in. "You know that I love youuuu" A latter is hoisted down and Jackson climbs down leisurely. He dusts off his hands and walks toward the bed. I slowly stand, careful not to make any noise and inch my way to the latter. The distance between the latter and I longer than the distance between Jackson and the bed. If I didn't work fast he would know that I wasn't sleeping.

Jackson pauses halfway to the bed and pivots on his heel, strolling over to the candle and my untouched plate. "I can't help myself..."

"I see you didn't eat you're sandwich." He picks it up and takes a bite out of it."You're loss though."

Taking the food with him, he crosses the room, my breath hitches in my throat when he passes by the shadow I'm hiding in. Gingerly, he sits on the edge of the bed, feeling around every inch of the mattress.

My legs feel like Jello as I slowly close the gap between me and my escape. The small area around me becoming less dark and more exposed the closer I got to the hole in the ceiling. I was a spitting distance away from the latter. I could just bolt for it. But then I'd give myself away. The more time Jackson spends searching for me is the more time I have to get out of the door. I risk glancing at him, his singing fading away as he realizes I'm not where he left me.

"You really couldn't sit still for more than an hour, Zephyr?" My stomach drops, he was turning around. I don't know whether to stare at him or to continue getting to the latter. Just a few more steps and I've got it. "Where are you now? Come on, Z, I just want to talk." Yeah, fat chance. Screw it.

I make a dash to the latter, focusing on moving up without missing any steps. The sunlight encouraging me to move faster. I hear a grunt right before the latter is yanked out from under me and I'm left with my legs dangling over the edge of the basement entrance. My hands scramble to find something to hang onto as my arms start to slip. I need to get up before he tries to pull me back down. I try to hoist myself up as much as I can, looking around at the ground. There was a couch and a chair in my sight but I can't reach the foot. It was too far. Pressing my arms into the wooden floors, I hope they can stick long enough for me to drag the rest of my body up.

Jackson's hand yanks me down by my ankle, causing my arms to slide back with that painful sound that you created when you move too suddenly on a polished floor. My abdomen shakes with the effort of trying to keep my body up.

"Let. me. go!" I shout, kicking my legs wildly. I hope I kick him right in the eye.

The pulling loosens just enough for me to raise my waist up and onto the floor. There. It's a rug, one of the old heavy ones that was a little bit prickly when you sat on it. It was a godsend. I thrust my hand over my head and dug my finger nails into the top, trying to reach the web of thread that made up the bottom layer. Once hooked, I pulled myself forward, the rug sliding towards me ever so slightly. If I could get my knees up I know I could shake him off.

Suddenly the yanking seizes and my foot hits something hard. I don't hesitate to wriggle my way up and over the edge of the basement door. By the time I stand and turn around, the ladder is hoisted along the other side, with Jackson climbing up.