Eventually, without warning, the light went back on and ended the darkness. The sudden change hurt Jake's eyes for a moment, but not too much as the light was very dim anyway
''You can turn around and face me now'' The man ordered ''Stay on your knees''
Jake obeyed the instructions, turning to face him. This was painful, his knees were in a real state after kneeling for so long
''You did very well, keeping the position for so long. It seems you are really beginning to learn. Maybe I won't need to punish you again, not for a while anyway. Now, do you have anything to say to me?''
''Yes Sir'' Replied Jake ''I have been thinking hard and I realize you are right, my attitude was poor Sir, I must show you respect''
Jake peered up at the man and tried to work out if this is getting a good reaction or an angry one. He decided that this is getting a good reaction, the man nodded his head with satisfaction
''And please explain to me why you should show me respect?''
''Because I killed your son Sir''
''Yes and why else?''
''Because I am your Prisoner Sir, you own me''
The man looked satisfied
''Yes correct, well done you finally worked it out, it took you long enough''
''Please Sir, can I have a bed now and something to eat? I am cold and hungry''
The man didn't reply, instead, he closed the door and left without saying a word. Disappointed Jake sat down and bowed his head, feeling totally depressed. He guessed that his efforts weren't good enough on this occasion, he would have to try harder next time
Eventually, about an hour later, the man returned to the basement
''Boy, come and stand underneath the door'' He instructed
Jake did as he was told, wondering if Sir was going to tip something nasty on his head. Instead, to his delight and surprise, he began to lower a mattress down
''Take hold of it, that's it''
Jake had a hold of the mattress
''Got it?'' the man asked
''Yes Sir, got it''
The man let go, leaving Jake to struggle with it
''Take it and put it down in the corner''
''Yes Sir''
Jake took the mattress and laid it down on the floor in the corner. The man threw two blankets and two pillows down also and Jake caught them and put them down on top of his mattress.
''That's your bed'' he said matter of factly '' Now you can keep warm''
''Thank you Sir'' Jake replied
''Reward and punishment, it's as simple as that. If the prisoner behaves it gets rewarded, if it doesn't behave it gets punished. I hope it understands?''
''Yes Sir'' Jake was a bit startled at being referred to as an 'it'. He realized that the man still hated him regardless of whether he had been given a reward or not. But never mind, he would take whatever was thrown at him without a fuss and try and work towards getting out of this hell sometimes. Sometime soon he hoped.
''Please Sir, I must ask if I can have some food now'' He asked politely.
''Yes it can have some food'' the man replied
He unceremoniously tossed a plastic Tesco bag, that was tied closed, down into the room
''There, try and make it last for a while, there won't be any more food for a few days at least''
''Yes Sir, thank you, Sir''
''I'll leave it alone for a while now, I'll be back soon''
''Yes Sir''
The man left.
Jake sat down on his new mattress and wrapped the blankets around himself. They felt so warm, so good. He opened the bag to see what was inside. There were several sandwiches with different fillings. There was cheese and Pickle, he hated cheese but he wasn't going to be fussy at a time like this. There was chicken and mayo, which was better, He loved Chicken! There was tuna and sweetcorn, not bad. There were a couple of packets of ready-salted crisps and even a couple of chocolate bars. It was better than nothing, but he couldn't get too excited about it. It was a tiny amount of food after going hungry for so long. He decided he would have to make it last a while so he'd start by eating the chicken sandwiches as they would be the first to go off. He would save the crisps and especially the chocolate for later, something he could look forward to. He made a start on the sandwiches, he would eat the cheese first to get it out the way, then the tuna, and finally the chicken, his favorite. He would leave the best till last. After he had eaten, he went to the sink to have a drink and then lay down on his bed and covered himself in the blankets. He laid his head down on the soft pillows, it felt so good. He felt exhausted after kneeling for such a long time. It wasn't long before he fell asleep and had a long, peaceful, sleep