Chained

Chained Read Online Free PDF Page A

Book: Chained Read Online Free PDF
Author: Tessa Escalera
tiny tube of toothpaste.  The tray rested on top of what turned out to be a folded nightgown, a faded pink with buttons down the front that looked like something my grandma would wear.  It was many sizes too big, and obviously old.  The fabric was soft from many washes.
     
    Despite my misgivings about possibly poisoned or drugged food, I took the spoon in the bowl, using the juice to help me swallow the dry cereal.  It wasn't nearly enough. 
     
    My mind cleared rapidly after the addition of the sugar to my system.  I pushed myself up from the chair and strode quickly to the door, wrapping my hands around the bars and straining to see every detail of the hallway beyond the door.  I wasn't sure what I was searching for...escape route?  “gotcha” sign? Movie cameras?  (Hey, reality show was as good an explanation as any at this point.) But whatever it was, I didn't see it. 
     
    The wall to the right was bare, marked only by the lines of cinder-blocks fitted together. To the left was the details that made my heart shudder in my chest...a row of doors with one barred window, doors just like mine.  I was at the end of the hall, with a straight-on view of the heavy metal door that must lead to...somewhere else.  Somewhere other than this dungeon.
     
    As I stared at the doors to the left, numbly counting the number of cells (5 besides mine), a shard of ice formed in my stomach.  That groan I had heard last night....Were there other prisoners here?
     
    “Hello?”  I called.  “Is anyone else here?”
     
    After a moment of silence there was a rustling, and a thin face appeared in the window of the cell closest to mine.  “You'd better be quiet,” a girl's voice said.  “He doesn't like it when we make noise.”
     
    “Where are we?” 
     
    Brown eyes stared wearily back at me through the bars.  Limp black hair was pulled into a straggly ponytail.  “What's your name?”
     
    “Sarah.”
     
    “Well, Sarah, I'm Jenny.  Cell next to me is Annabelle.  Others are empty...for now. Welcome to hell.”  The face disappeared and only the voice was left.  “Now be quiet before you get us all in trouble.”
     
    No matter what I said, how I pleaded, Jenny refused to speak to me anymore.  I hung on the bars and cried until I could only speak in a whisper, begging for someone to help, someone to talk to.  For Travis to return and tell me this was all a joke, or a mistake.  For something to happen other than silent gray walls and swinging, sickly light bulbs in the ceiling.
     
    Finally, for lack of anything else to do, I took the little bottles from the tray and the nightgown and moved into the bathroom.  My dress was not made for long-term wear and the edges with their rhinestones were chafing at my arms and legs.  I pushed the bathroom door closed and stripped the dress off, turned the star-shaped knobs on the tub and pushed the stopper down until steaming water began to collect in the bottom of the cast-iron vessel. 
     
    I had no idea how long I spent in there.  I scrubbed my hair until the shampoo and conditioner bottles were empty.  I dragged the brush through my hair until all the tangles were gone.  Eventually the water began to run cold and I had to get out.  I stood shivering in the little bathroom until I was able to work up the courage to put the nightgown on.  I cringed as I pulled the enormous thing over my head, letting the floral-scented folds fall down until it swirled around my ankles.  In a moment of strange defiance I took the little belt from my dress, black and sparkly with rhinestones, and used it to cinch the nightgown around my waist until it looked a little more like a dress and less like a tent. 
     
    I was so cold.  I climbed onto the cot and wrapped myself in the blankets, staring at the blank TV screen.  The bright colors of the old Disney classics stood in stark contrast with the rest of this horrible place.
     
    I was so hungry.  My stomach felt as if it
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