Inside A Cave

(From Ella's Perspective)

I felt warm, very warm. It was quite comfortable. I felt like I could sleep all day. But that was the moment I realized that I was not in my home anymore.

A man had been carrying me. I was not supposed to be alive. The monster was supposed to eat me. But I could still think. It meant I was alive. But, how?

I snapped my eyes open. I felt tired. I always felt fatigued every time I would see something I feared or hated and I would fall unconscious. Mom and Owen never bothered to take me to the doctor. They thought that it was just me who was weird and weird people did not deserve to be treated.

I was in what appeared to be a cave. It seemed like a room built within a cave. I was on a bed with a very fluffy blanket over me.

The bed was big enough for four people and it was very soft as well. I noticed that it was not a bed. I mean, it was just a huge mattress placed on the ground. The mattress was very fluffy and tall, almost as tall as a bed.

I tried to sit, but my head still hurt. It felt so heavy. The place was lit with fire only. There was a huge fireplace from where heat was radiating throughout the place. Besides, there were a lot of candles. The golden light made me dizzy.

I was so preoccupied with scanning the surroundings that I did not notice a man standing at the corner of the mattress, looking at me.

I had never seen anyone like this man. He was tall, almost 6 feet 3 inches, as it seemed like. He had a muscular figure which anyone could easily understand from over the white loose shirt he was wearing. The first two buttons were opened, revealing a part of his hard athletic chest.

His eyes were dark brown, nearly black as if they were absorbing all of the light. They were icy, sending shivers through my veins. His face was set, expressionless. I had a feeling that his voice was going to be as cold as his appearance. His heart-shaped jaw was clenched, his lips were pursed, as he kept his gaze fixed on me with his handsome face. He did not have any beard placing all of his facial features in perfect view.

The small part of his chest was seen, there were scars, kind of like the ones I had seen on the monster's face. The scars were deep. But they were old which was a good thing. Because the last thing I needed right now was to smell blood and pass out again.

I had never seen someone as handsome as him. However, the way he looked at me made me wonder if I had done something wrong. I peeked behind him to see if the monster was also there. Perhaps he was waiting for me to wake up so I would feel pain when the monster was going to eat me.

"Um... I... Where am I?" I managed to mutter.

He did not say anything. He just stood there, his face expressionless, his gaze fixated on me as if he was trying to see everything I was doing.

"I... I just want to... leave," I said. "I haven't... well, I'm not an invader. At least, I'm not trying to be. I don't even know how I got here. And now I can't find that hole again. Do you know the hole? The one that led me here? Maybe not. Or maybe yes. You live here, right? Cool place, though. Okay, it's not time for that. Anyways, are you the one who has brought me here? Listen, I understand that your pet might be a bit angry at me for touching its fur. But trust me, I just wanted to see if its fur is soft. It is by the way. Can you tell him that? Well, never mind. So let's just... okay, can you not call your pet? I mean, I understand I might have disrespected it or something like that. But I didn't mean it. Can we just forget that? And can you let me go? I'll just go away. I don't know where, but I just will get as away from your place as possible. You'll never see my face again. Okay? Do we have a deal?"

Now he was eyeing me as if I had lost my mind. But he still did not say anything. "Will you say something? Oh, maybe you can't talk. I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Please don't mind. I'll just leave then," I murmured, slipping out of bed quickly.

"Oh, and I referred your pet as it. You don't mind, right? I don't know its gender. You know what I mean? Well, where is my backpack? You can just point at the place," I muttered as I looked for my backpack.

"Alright, I don't need my backpack. I'll just leave. Bye," I said and started walking towards the door.

Suddenly he grabbed me by the wrist and pressed me against the wall. The wall was just rocks as it was surely inside a cave. I was surprised that my back did not hit hard against it and get scratched.

I looked tiny next to him. His towering figure was hovering over me. His coffee-like smell filled my nostrils. His face was very close to mine, and his warm breath dropped on my face, making my stomach churn with an unfamiliar sensation.

"Who do you work for?" he asked, his voice icy and stern.

"Oh, you can talk," I found myself saying.

"Who do you work for, girl?"

"Girl? I'm probably only four or five years younger than you. You can't call me girl," I protested.

"Answer me. Who do you work for?" he asked again as if it was a warning that something bad was going to happen if I did not answer him properly this time.

"I work for Mr. Gary," I replied, looking into his deep eyes.

"Who is that?"

"I don't know. I thought we both were joking," I said, shrugging.

"Answer me clearly, girl. Who do you work for? I won't ask again. And if you don't answer me properly, there will be consequences," he warned angrily.

"I don't work for anyone. Who would I work for?"

"Has Nicklaus sent you?" he asked, his voice as demanding as ever.

"No. No one has sent me. Haven't you listened to anything I said before? I told you that there was a hole. I got out of that hole. I mean, don't make a bad meaning out of this. But really, it's the truth. And please, do you mind backing up a bit? It's uncomfortable," I said.

"Tell me the truth. I don't like repeating myself, I told you before," he said angrily, without backing up, rather getting even closer that my breasts got pressed against his hard chest.

"You haven't said it," I mumbled.

"What?"

"I mean, you haven't told me that you don't like repeating yourself. Well, forget it. Listen, I don't work for anyone. I don't even know what the hell is going on. Please, trust me," I said. "And back up a bit please."

"Trust you? How can I trust you?" he snarled without bothering to back up a bit. "What are you wearing anyway?"

I looked down at me. I was in my baggy shirt and skinny jeans. "Clothes," I replied hesitantly.

"It looks like you are wearing a bag. No one wears this kind of thing. Is it his plan to confuse me?" he asked.

"Whose? That Nicklaus? Of course not. I don't even know him. Please listen to me. I mean, you are listening I know. Just trust me, okay?"

"Explain yourself then. No lies. I want to know everything," he said.

"Okay. Okay. But please back up. My breasts are hurting," I said.

He looked down at me once more and then backed away. I exhaled sharply. I went towards the mattress and sat on it.

"Do you want to sit?" I asked. "We can talk comfortably."

He seemed as if he did not like the idea, but did not object. He sat down beside me, but the way he looked at me made me the impression that he thought that I was crazy. But I did not care. I was used to it.

"So where do you want me to begin with?" I asked, facing him, sitting cross-legged.

"Everything about you since your birth and what happened," he replied. "No blabbering. Just the important things. And don't even dare to lie. You don't want to know what will happen. And trust me, the thing is not going to be enjoyable."

"Everything? I mean, everything important?" I asked.

"Yes. And I..."

"I know. I know. You don't like to repeat yourself."