7/22/15

Cursed

Chapter One: The Way To Freedom

I lie curled up in my spot on the basement floor, with my knees pushed to my chest. It's the best place down here, because if you look up at the stairs you can see the light from under the door. There isn't much light down here. I tried turning on the light switch at the bottom of the steps, but it didn't work. I think the lady who lives here needs to change the lightbulbs. The only one that works down here is the one with the switch at the top of the steps, and I don't want to risk falling. But I'm getting used to the dark. Before I came here, I was scared of the dark, but I'm not anymore. I can see in the dark pretty good now, too. Just like a cat.

The floor above the basement squeaks as the sound of footsteps nears the stairs. I sit up and run my hand against my dark hair to make it less messy. The Lady must be coming back. She's the reason I'm here. If it weren't for her, I'd be at home with my foster parents and my little sister, Felicity. Instead I'm stuck here with her- and I don't even know her name. I wish she'd at least tell me that much, or where we are. I don't even know if I'm in my hometown anymore.

The door squeaks as The Lady opens it. I shut my eyes as the light is flicked on, and then I slowly blink them open. The light is still bright, but it's not too much for me now. My gaze wanders to my skin. It's usually darker than this, but it's started paling. I think it's because I've been inside for so long. But some of the kids at school never went outside, not even during recess, and their skin never got pale like this. My hair has been lightening, too. It used to be black, but now it's turning brown. Actually, I'd almost say it's red.

I look back up at The Lady. She sets down a plate of food on the top step and shuts the door like she always does when it's time for me to eat. I climb the steps and sit down on the second one, using the top one as my table. Meatloaf again. Yuck! My foster mom never made meatloaf. I wish I could complain, but when I do I don't get to eat at all. My foster parents- the only parents I've ever known- would never do that to me. But this woman isn't like my parents. She's cruel and strict, and I don't even know why she keeps me here. Did I do something wrong? I must have. This must be where they keep kids until they're old enough to go to jail. I'm only 7, so it's not like I'm old enough to go to normal jail. But I don't know what I did. Was it because I picked that fight with Felicity? Was it because I cried when it was time to go home from the park? I know that I shouldn't have done either of those things, but I don't think they deserve a life sentence!

How long have I been here? It seems like only yesterday that I woke up in here, but it also feels like ages ago. Maybe it's been a month or so, but there's no way to know.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I whimper, poking the meatloaf with my fork.

She doesn't answer my question. Instead she changes the subject, like she always does. "I'm going to town to pick up supplies, dearie. I'll be back soon. Don't try to escape- I've got a lock on the door."

"I know," I say weakly. I was so bossy and strong before I woke up here. It seems like being down here turned me into a weakling. Why can't I stand up for myself anymore? "Please tell me what I did wrong."

The woman's croaky laugh rings through my ears. "It's not what you did wrong- it's what you did right. You're just so perfect dear. I never thought a mere child could have so much potential for greatness, but you are such an exception. I'm doing this because I love you. You'll understand one day. I'll let you out of the basement once your transformation is complete, but only if you promise to cooperate, of course."

"Transformation?" I ask.

The woman laughs, and I hear her walk away from the door. My head droops and I push my plate to the side. I'm not hungry, anyways. I don't care if she'll keep me from eating. She can't starve me forever. That's just mean. Besides, she just said she needs me. I don't know if she really meant that she loves me, but I know she needs me. And I also know that I didn't do anything wrong. I feel a little better about this now that I know I'm innocent. Now that I know she needs me, though, I feel bad about wanting to leave. But I need my real family, not her. And they always told me that if anyone ever tried to emotionally manipulate me I didn't have to listen to it. So I don't.

"Be good Linda. I'll be back soon. You can leave the light on this time. Might be good for you," she says.

"Wait! How do you know my-"

Before I can finish my sentence, The Lady walks away. I hear the front door open and close, and soon I hear the engine of her car start. I listen closely enough to hear the crunching of gravel as she drives away. That must mean we're in the country. There are never gravel roads in the city. I don't know why, though. You can run just as easily on gravel as you can pavement, so it's not like it would slow The Flash down. A lot of kids think he has bad powers, but I wish I was fast like a cheetah. Cheetahs are cool! But that's not the point. If we're not in the city, it means I'm a long way from home. Maybe there's a map down here. The light is on, so I might as well look.

I go back down the stairs, leaving my meatloaf unattended. I can always scrape it off in the trash can or something. Now that I actually have time to look around at the basement, I see how pathetic it really looks. It's really just a big, empty room with one table in the middle. No chairs, either. There's also a bookshelf. I get hopeful at first, thinking there might be a map book in there, but when I check it's just full of weird cookbooks. How many cookbooks does this lady need? They don't even have normal titles. Comparing soup to love potions? Really? What's really weird is that she doesn't even seem to know how to use these cookbooks. She's only cooking stuff like mashed potatoes and biscuits, but maybe that's because I'm down here blocking her way to the books.

It's funny how much better I feel now that I know The Lady is gone. She usually only leaves when I'm asleep, so I haven't had any time away from her. It's like a weight lifted off my shoulders. The light under the stairs is gone, so I guess The Lady turned it off when she left. I wish I could go up there, but she said the door is locked. I'll just go get the plate so I can dispose of the food.

I walk up the stairs and bend down to pick up the paper plate. Suddenly, a wave of pink light shoots out of my hands. I jump back and slip on a glob of meatloaf that dripped off. In a moment of panic, I grab the doorknob and pull myself up, but the door pushes open. A scream escapes my mouth as I'm flung out of the basement. My stomach hits the top step and I squeak in pain. I thought she said she locked that door!

Well, now I'm really thankful I took gymnastics. Otherwise I don't think I would've made it out of that situation alive. I pull myself up off the ground and take a look around the house. It seems to be really clean compared to the basement. No cobwebs, no bugs, no dirt. Everything shines and sparkles, making it look like a place in a Disney movie. For a minute I wonder if she even has mice clean the place. The floors are wooden, as well as the walls. There's a couch and a couple of chairs in one room, and a kitchen in another room. I look around for her bedroom, but I can't find it. So where does she sleep?

Okay, so maybe this is a shed of some kind. There's probably another house near here that she actually lives in. I look out the window, but there's nothing there. Would it hurt to go outside? Probably not. Maybe that was the door she really locked, though. I doubt it. I think she was just lying to keep me from trying to get out.

I'm about to go out when I spot my backpack sitting next to the door. I check the inside of it, and sure enough all of my things are still in there. I grin and sling it over my shoulders before opening the door. Maybe this is my chance! Maybe I can escape!

As I walk out the door, I hear a cracking noise. I twirl around as the house is repeatedly hit by more of those pink waves. Taking a step back, I turn around and run as far away from the house as I can. The sound of tires crunching gravel fills my ears, and out of the corner of my eyes I see a car pulling up in the driveway. There's no way I'm going back in there! Weird things are happening in there!

"Linda Mallory Parks!" The woman shouts, rolling down the window.

I freeze in terror. "No! I'm not going back in there! Stay away from me!"

The house collapses as she slams on the breaks. The car screeches to a stop, and she glares at me while unbuckling her seatbelt. I will pay for this. She has made this very clear. I whimper and take a couple steps back as my hands start tingling with more pink waves.

"What's happening to me?" I shriek as another pink wave shoots out of my hands. It hits the car before she can get out, squishing her in the process. I gasp as her body disappears, leaving a pile of blue ashes in its place.

I think I just killed a witch.

Before I can think about any of this, I run onto the side of the road. I have to put as much space between me and this house as possible, in case she comes back to life! All I know is that I'm now on my way to freedom. No matter how long that journey might be.