Chapter 35

When I woke up, it was pitch black. I couldn’t see anything. I was still very drowsy, probably because of the chloroform. My arms were tied behind my back and my legs were tied together. I couldn’t move an inch. My knees still stung from when I fell on the sidewalk. 

Based on the musty smell and the damp coolness around me, I was most likely in a basement of some kind. The floor was also very hard beneath me, probably concrete. It felt like I was leaned up against a wall. 

I took several deep breaths before I could panic. I could not panic. I needed to stay calm and get out of there. I tried to wriggle out of the ropes, but they were tied so tightly, it would take days to get out of them. I just wished I could see better. Maybe there was something down here sharp enough that would cut the ropes. I needed to wait a few minutes to let my eyes adjust a little. 

As I sat and tried to get the ropes untied, my brain ran a mile a minute. I knew that there was only one person who could be behind this. My father. 

As soon as I thought it, a door opened and the light was flicked on. It blinded me and forced my eyes shut. I listened to footsteps descend stairs and it wasn’t until they stopped that I was finally able to open my eyes. Still squinting, I looked up to see my father standing at the bottom of the steps, staring at me. 

He looked exactly the same as he had the last time I saw him. Stained shirt and jeans, messy hair, long beard. He hadn’t changed a bit. Well, he wasn’t drunk. That was new. 

“You know, I had quite a hard time finding you. And after all this time, you were only an hour away. Who knew?” He laughed before grabbing a metal chair and sitting it a few feet in front of me. He sat down and it was only then that I noticed. He had a knife in his hands. My heart rate and breathing both increased as memories flashed through my mind. 

“You’ve caused me quite a lot of trouble of the years, Sera. First, you got my precious wife killed and I was forced to deal with you. Then, I was chased around by police for a while. And finally, I had to spend thousands of dollars to hire someone to find you.” Before I could stop myself, I was glaring at him. 

“I didn’t get her killed! It was an accident!” 

Before I could even blink, he jumped out of his seat and slapped me. My head jerked to the side and I immediately felt the familiar sting that I was so used to. I looked back to see him sitting back down again, completely calm, as if nothing had happened. He still had the knife in his hands but was now playing with it, pushing the tip into his finger, but not cutting. 

“You know damn well that it was your fault,” he calmly stated. Deciding to be smart, I kept my mouth shut and just glared at him. “I have to admit though. I had quite a lot of fun watching you. You were having so much fun with your new family… I had so many chances to take you, but I thought it would be fun to let you get used to it first. To let you enjoy yourself and when you finally were happy? I would take it all away, just like you took Roseanne.” 

As I listened to him, I realized what that meant. All of those times that I felt like someone was watching me. It was him. I should’ve realized it sooner. I can’t believe I had forgotten that the police had never caught him. I should’ve told someone. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Who am I kidding? No one would’ve believed me anyway. I realized it was going to be completely up to me to find a way out. 

“I know what you’re thinking. You’ll never get out of here. Alive.” He laughed and then stood up, putting his chair back and starting to walk away. I watched as he set the knife down on a table and then walked up the stairs. I waited for the light to s**t off again, but instead, all I heard was the door opening and closing. It was at least ten minutes before I heard another door open and close and then I heard a car take off. 

I waited another five minutes and didn’t hear a single thing. He actually left. And not only that he left a knife. It would be hard to reach, but I would get it. 

Now that the light was on and he was gone, I took a moment to take in my surroundings. I was definitely right about being in a basement. The walls and floor were both made out of cement. The musty smell and the stairs were also a good clue. Looking at my knees, I discovered that they had actually bled a little. No wonder it stung so much. 

It was a relatively small room, not even big enough to be a bedroom. The stairs were up against the wall in front of me. There was a small space to walk in front of the stairs but right next to it was a long wooden table. The only thing on the table was the knife. Besides the table, the only other things in the room were boxes stacked up against the walls and the chair. Each of the boxes were labeled.  It was actually rather clean which surprised me. But I couldn’t dwell on that too much. I had to get the knife. 

Inch by inch I made my way over to the table. It had to have been several hours and I only made it halfway over to the table. This was going to take forever. Out of breath, I needed to take a break. Before I realized it, I had fallen asleep.