Chapter 37

There's a lot of banging around and jostling of my new prison and as soon as I realise there are people around I start screaming and yelling out for help. I know they can hear me because I hear them laughing on the other side.

"Please." I beg again and again and again. But nothing.

I'm loaded onto something, another van I assume because only moments later I hear an engine start and I can feel myself moving. I lose track of time, with no light and no physical markers I have no idea how long we've been driving for. I think it must be somewhere isolated though because we rarely stop. Eventually we do though and I'm being jostled and moved again, unloaded.

They drop the box I'm in, weather it's on purpose or by accident I don't know but the fall dazes me when I hit my head on the internal walls. Without warning the lid is opened and I'm blinded by the sudden light flooding in. A warm, sweaty hand reaches in a pulls me up by my hair. I scramble to stand on stiff, sore legs. The man starts barking orders at me in Italian and I have no idea what he's saying.

My sobs become hysterical when he slaps me across the face. The man drags me, still by my hair, over to a hose. He lets me go, picks up the hose and starts spraying me down with cold water. If I hadn't been terrified beyond belief it would have been somewhat refreshing. The whole time I'm being sprayed down my legs threaten to give out. I'm hungry, cold, sore and tired beyond belief. My head is pounding and my sore shoulder is aching. But I make myself stand because I fear what will happen if I fall. The man apparently loses interest or deems me clean enough because the water is abruptly turned off and the restraints from behind my back are cut loose.

"Change." He barks, throwing some dry clothes at my feet. "Change!" He yells again when I don't respond quick enough.

I quickly reach down and pick them up and look around in the hope for somewhere to undress. But I quickly realise that's not something I'm going to be given. As fast as I can I drop my pyjama pants and put on the sweat pants they've thrown at me. I keep my wet panties on, even though it's uncomfortable they'll dry eventually and I don't want to be pantiless. I reach for my pyjama top and I'm thankful I fell asleep with a bra on however many nights ago since my kidnapping happened. I discard my pyjama top and put on the t-shirt I've been given. I'm going to get cold if this is all I'm given to wear.

"Come." The man barks.

I follow, not because I want to but because I know they'll make me if I don't. At least this way I'm not being dragged or beaten.

"Down." He says, pointing to a staircase that leads under a house, most likely to a basement.

I haven't even taken the time to properly look at where I'm being held. From what I can see it's a large house on a large piece of land with lots of trees and very green grass. The last thing I see before I descend is what looks like a guard tower with a man dressed in black holding a machine gun and an incredibly tall, brick fence. I briefly wonder if there's a mote on the other side.

A light flicks on when I reach the foot of the stairs. Definitely a basement. There's nothing down here that I can see. There are no windows and it hasn't been furnished. The floor is crumbling away and it's cold. Frigid is a better word. I absolutely hate being cold and I know that I'm going to freeze down here. The barking man leads me over to a solid looking door. There are four of them in a row. He heaves one open and then points inside.

'"In." He barks.

I hesitate and I realise my mistake a second later. He pulls me by my arm into the room, I try to resist by holding onto the door frame as he pulls me through. He reaches up and slams his elbow down on my forearm so I loosen my grip. Leaving my arm hanging by my side, completely useless. I try and pull the other arm free from his grasp but he's too strong. He continues to pull me into the room, towards an old, musty looking mattress with a thread bare rug on it. He throws me down, holding me steady by placing a hand on my throat. He pushes down and I begin gasping for breath. My good arm reaches up and I scramble to dislodge him, desperate for air. I don't want to die.

He uses the time while I'm distracted to reach for a metal chain. He clicks the cuff to my wrist and then lets me go. It takes me a few moments to realise what he's done and when I do I frantically try and remove the cuff from my hand. He's chained to the wall with a thick metal link chain about four feet long. I'm confined within my cell.

The fight leaves my body and I sob. What have I don't to deserve this?

"Next time you won't fight." The barking man says, before turning and leaving, closing the heavy door along the way.

A small light swings above me, giving me at least a little sight, not that there's much to see. There's the makeshift bed and a bucket in the far corner that I'm hoping I'll be able to reach with the chain attached. I don't think about it for now though. It's not like I'm going anywhere and the bucket isn't going any where either. I lay down on the 'bed' and softly cry until my tears run dry. How long will I be here and what do they want from me? These are the only things I think of for what seems like forever.