"Get up you son of a bitch!" I heard someone shout.
I opened my eyes and saw the small square door above me opening, and heard the creaking noise it always made.
"Come, Girl," she called me.
That was what Phyllis, my grandma, called me—my grandma—the person who had placed me in a cell as punishment.
I didn't remember ever going outside. I could only recollect seeing the light peeking through the cracked walls of the cell.
I held on to each side of my discolored, white frilly dress
and slowly walked up to the small door.
"Come, take this food from me," she said to me angrily, while she pushed the plate of food through the door above me.
Ever since I could remember that was the drill.
Tipping on my toes, I reached for it and quickly took it from her, not wanting to cause any trouble. I went to sit on the floor and rested by body against the cold concrete wall on the farthest side of the room, away from her. I placed the plate on my lap.
She watched me from above, noting every move I made.
Terror accompanied me as I slowly ate the bread and stewed chicken without looking up at her.
"It pains me every day to feed you, handicap, knowing you are the product of rape," she said, scornfully. "Why is it you have to be the one to live and my beautiful daughter dead?"
I placed the bread I held in my hands on the white plastic plate beside me, not wanting to eat anymore. Her harsh words had caused me to lose my appetite.
"You better not waste that fucking food I worked hard for," she warned me.
I quickly took up a piece of the chicken and again started to eat, terrified.
I glanced at her. She was still staring at me with great disgust.
"You're born in this world to rob people of their happiness, just like your evil father did to my daughter," she said. She slammed the cell door shut, leaving me to listen to her stomping on the floor as she walked away.
I lowered my head to my chest and started to cry. I deserved to be locked away in a cell. She told me the reason over and over. I was a child born of rape. I was also a murderer. I'd killed my mom while she gave birth to me, and for that I was punished every day.
The next morning while I was lying in bed feeling sorry for myself, I felt cold water pouring down on me. I jumped up from the bare concrete floor and wiped the water from my face. Looking above me, I saw Phyllis—my grandmother—leaning over the opened cell door, a bucket in her hand.
Different day, same problem!
My grandma! I wasn't allowed to call her grandma. I was only allowed to call her by her name—Phyllis.
"Do you think I threw you down there so you can sleep all day and eat my food?" she shouted at me.
I stared up at her, not saying a word.
Phyllis was in her fifties. She didn't look her age, though. She looked like someone in their thirties, and she was very fit. She had short gray hair and was short and fat.
I huddled against the wall, scared, as she questioned me, while my long, thick, curly, red hair and my washed-out blue dress dripped with water.
"Answer me when I'm speaking to you!" she shouted down at me.
"No," I answered her, while I shivered.
"Take this!" she shouted at me.
I quickly went toward her and took the plastic plate with fried egg and bread.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked me. "I have lots of dirty clothes that need to be cleaned, and they're not going to clean themselves."
I quickly devoured half of my breakfast and followed her by climbing up the ladder.
I only left the cell to do the laundry.
"Come on, start getting these clothes clean!" she said.
She left me all alone in the laundry room, locking the door on from the outside. She thought I'd run off, but where would I go? I knew no one but her. How I hoped that one day she would allow me to go outside. I was dying to see how it looked and to meet others my age.
I'd tried begging her once on my seventeenth birthday, but it didn't end well. It’d only left me with scars, scars I'd forever remember whenever I touched my back.
I went over to the large baskets filled with dirty clothes and quickly separated the colored clothes from the white clothes. I washed them separately and placed each load in the dryer. As soon as they were dry, I folded them and placed them in the baskets.
I heard footsteps coming toward the laundry room. I quickly completed my job and stood, waiting for the door to open. I knew it was Phyllis checking to see if I had completed my chores.
Soon the door was opened and shut behind her, preventing me from running away, as if I was going to try. Her dark brown eyes examined my work then fastened on mine.
"You can return to the cell," she instructed me. "You'll receive dinner in a minute."
I did as I was told. I entered my cell and watched her as she closed the small square door above me. I hated being there. I wanted to go outside to see the world, but she wouldn't let me. I didn't want to die in that cell. I cried, thinking about that.
My cell had a small bathroom. I undressed and went to take a bath. After bathing, I dressed in a white T-shirt and washed-out blue jeans and returned to my cell.
"Miss Phyllis," I heard a male voice call from outside.
I ran over to the wall, pressing my ear against it, trying to hear their conversation. It was the only thing I could do without her knowing.
"Yes, Josh,'' I heard her say.
"There's a storm coming tonight. Staying here will not be safe. You need to come and stay at the Alpha's third house with the others," he told her.
"I'm happy you're looking out for me, but this house can protect us from the storm," she said.
"Us?" I heard the male outside ask, surprise in his voice.
"I'm sorry," Phyllis said, laughing. I was so used to living with my husband that sometimes I forget that he's no longer with me."
Hearing her say that, my eyes widened.
Didn't anyone know I was there with her?
I wanted to scream to let the male know she was not alone. I would be free of her, I thought.
But what if he did find out she had been keeping me for years in her cell, would he take care of me? I knew nothing about the world or what to expect from anybody. Shouting for help wouldn't work, I was convinced.
"Oh," I heard the man’s voice again. "Well, you need to leave now," he told her.
"I'm good," Phyllis said.
"Well, the Alpha is sending out men to the elders, whether they like it or not, and they could be here any minute," he said, before saying his goodbyes.
"Alpha," I said softly. I had no idea who an Alpha was.
I sighed heavily and sat on the ground. I was sad. Being kept in that place was only robbing me of knowing about the outside world. I would never see outside! I detested that thought.
My cell door opened, and I jumped to my feet.
Phyllis climbed down into the cell. She stared at me as if she was lost and confused and didn’t know what to do.
She worriedly ran her hand through her gray hair.
"What am I going to do, now?" she asked, talking to herself.
She turned to me and shouted, "I hate you!"
I pushed myself to the concrete wall, scared.
I was sure that it was not only the storm that was causing her to behave that way.
"No, it won't work. They'll still find out," she said, holding her head.
Was she planning to leave me alone in the house?
She walked toward me and pulled me by my shirt.
"I'm going to take you upstairs, and I want you to act normal when the Alpha or his men come or, I'll kill you," she warned me, and pushed me to the wall, causing me to hit my head against it.
I held the back of my head in pain and nodded.
"This storm is ruining everything!" she complained. "Come," she said, and walked to the ladder.
I followed her up the ladder and into the laundry room. I could feel my heart beating in my chest. I was clueless about what was happening.
Did she take me out of my cell because of the storm, or was she afraid of the Alpha?
She turned the key in the lock and opened the door.
My eyes opened wide.
"Come on, Girl!" Phyllis shouted at me. I took one step, then another, moving slowly. Phyllis grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen. There was a knock on the door. "Stay here!" she told me, and went to the door. I stood still, obeying her. I looked around the kitchen, noticing everything around me. My eyes stopped on the window. I was disappointed. I was unable to see outside. The thick dark curtain blocked out everything. I heard Phyllis open the front door. "Good evening, Ms. Phyllis," I heard a man, with a rough voice speak to her. Phyllis returned his greeting. "The Alpha sent us for you because of the terrible storm heading toward us tonight. Since you are an elder, we have to protect you," he told her. "Let me get my things," Phyllis said. I heard her footsteps as she returned to the kitchen. "Let me help you," I heard another voice say. It was the voice of the same young m
I jumped up and moved away from the wall, scared of being alone with him. "I promise I won't hurt you," he told me. I huddled against the wall, wanting him to leave before Phyllis returned. "Can you talk?" he asked. "I won't hurt you," he again said. I nodded, wanting him to leave or I'd surely be in serious trouble. He did not leave but stood there staring at me with his dark brown mesmerizing eyes. "I'm Josh Hernandez and I'm twenty-three, and you?" "Eighteen," I said softly. A name I could not give him, for I had none, and I didn’t want him to know what Phyllis called me. "Wow," he said surprised. "You have a beautiful voice, but can I have your name as well?" I froze, not answering him. "Your name must be as sweet as your voice," he said. I smiled. His voice made me feel strange inside. "Yes, that's what I want to see on your beautiful face, happiness, not sadness," he said, cheering
I stood frightened, afraid to answer her. "Nothing," Josh said. I turned my attention to him right away, terrified, hoping he could get me out of that mess. After all, it was he who had started it. I didn't call him into the laundry room. He'd come on his own, desperate to know who I was. "Nothing at all," he again told Phyllis. "I just came in here to see if she was fine and she is." He looked at me and smiled. I lowered my eyes. "And what could be wrong with her?" Phyllis asked him, upset. "I'm needed in the living room," he said, and exited the laundry room, ignoring my evil grandmother. Phyllis watched him while he left and until he closed the door behind him. She impatiently twisted her right hand, wanting to punish me. The two of us were left standing in the laundry room, eyeing each other. "What were you two doing in here?" she snapped. "Nothing," I quickly answered her. "Nothing?" she asked sarca
I dug my hand into the ground, grabbing a handful of dead leaves and twisted and turned my head. "Hah!" I screamed, my voice strange to my ears. It was as if I could not control the sounds that were escaping my mouth. "Josh!" I screamed his name, not knowing what else to do as he sucked between my legs. I felt a strong feeling between my vagina and lower belly as if my entire body was going to explode. I removed my hand from the ground and grabbed him by his hair, lifting his head from between my legs. He pushed me back to the ground and started sucking on me again. My entire body stiffened, while he squeezed one of my breasts and played with it. I couldn't handle such a strong feeling. It was too much. I pushed myself backward, removing his mouth from me. I sprang to my feet and ran toward a tree. My entire body shook while I held on to the tree. Josh got up from the ground, wiping the wetness from his mouth. I pushed myself bac
I couldn't stop crying, knowing Josh was no longer with me. I'd only met him that day, but deep down it felt like I had known him for a long time. Even though he was a stranger, I felt safe with him and trusted him with my life. I had to find him after the storm passed. I had to escape and go in search of him. A strange smile appeared on my sad face while I sank my hand in the soft bed, grabbing on to the white sheet and thought about him. If I found him, he would take care of me and teach me what I needed to know about the world. First, I had to find out where he was. I wiped the tears from my eyes and sat up on my bed. "Are you finished crying now, Reds?" Cindy asked, while she sat on her bed with a book in her hand. "Reds?" I repeated. Suddenly, I looked up at my hair, realizing the reason why she called me so. I nervously turned my head aside, and stared at the room. It consisted of two pieces of furniture—the two beds. "Wh
Wait a minute. A son? I kept on hearing those words ringing in my ears. She had a son? All those years I had lived with her, I had never heard her say anything about having a son. She was always talking about her dead, beautiful daughter—my mom. I didn't know why it upset me so badly to hear that she had a son. She didn’t love me or ever held a decent conversation with me. She was always hitting me or telling me bad things about myself. I started to wonder if her son knew about me, whether he knew she had me locked away in a cell and was treating me badly. What if he didn't and could have given me the life I had wanted? I looked at my grandma with disgust as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. "A group of people is heading to Spicy Groove after breakfast. You can go with them," the tall man told her. I felt Cindy hold my hand. She smiled at me when I looked up at her. "Let's see what they have prepared for breakfast," she s
Locked away in a cell by my grandmother for eighteen years, I wanted to be free from her and go outside where people were different. Every move I made kept me trapped. The people I met were just like her, evil and cold. Tears ran from my eyes when I remembered Josh’s words. He didn't know me, he'd said. Was he ashamed of me and how I looked? I knew I should never have believed him. I knew I was not beautiful. Everything about me was ugly, including the ugly bright red hair on my head. I hated that it reminded Phyllis of my rapist father. "We're here now," the two men said as they placed me down in front of a large white house. The house was the largest house I'd ever seen. The men held my arms, preventing me from trying to escape. The door opened and I saw an old gray-haired lady. "Why are you holding her like that?" she snapped at the men. "She tried to run away," one of the men answered while they led me inside. The old lady closed t
I took small steps behind her, not wanting to walk into her as I followed her. "It's a very large house, but right now I first want to show you your room before I'm asked to run off to do something," she said. Her footsteps echoed on the floor of the house. While she continued to talk, tears filled my eyes when I remembered the way the Alpha had talked to me, as if I was nothing. "Here's your room," Francine said, stopping at a door on the left side of the hall. I quickly wiped away my tears and followed her into the room. The room was very neat. It only had a small bed, covered in a light pink sheet. "The door next to the bed is your bathroom," she said, pointing to it. "Well, that's it," she said, and turned to face me. "Since we will be working together, what is your name?" I was beginning to get annoyed by everyone wanting to know my name. I was tired of trying to hide the reason why I didn't have a name, so I gave her the