I woke up to the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. I'm so scared; I don't know what to do. I shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep. Everyone tells you not to talk to strangers but they don't tell you what to do when they lock you in their basement. I heard the doorknob twist; I was trying so hard to stop shaking. The sound of footsteps came closer and closer. Then suddenly they stopped. I felt the bed sink in where he sat, I kept my eyes closed.

"Good morning, Princess. I know this will take a little getting used to. You can open your eyes now; you're not the only one that pretended to be asleep." I didn't budge after he spoke, I'm beyond frightened. What does he mean I'm not the only one? I felt his hand rub against my cheek. His touch is like acid to my skin. What is he going to do with me?

"Don't touch me!" I yelped. He pulled me out of bed and made me look up at him. I was right, it is Mr. Gale. My memories started flooding back. I quickly turned my head away as tears rolled down my face. I knew there was something off with him. Now thinking back at my conversation with "Sam" he liked English. Mr. Gale teaches English. The pieces all came together.

"Damn, you're so beautiful. I think you will be the one. Don't you know how hard it was for me? Seeing you with Steven. I have loved you ever since I saw you. Now don't be sad, Princess. Savanna, Kayla, and Chelsea were just a test. I needed to see if they were going to be better for me than you. None of them passed the two week processing." Mr. Gale explained as he went in to kiss me. I dodged his kiss, he is sick! What the hell is he talking about?

"Mr. Gale, where is Savanna and Kayla? What did you do to them?" I screamed. "Poor Chelsea." I cried. "You killed them didn't you?"

"Like I said, they didn't pass the two week processing. I did what I had to do. Please call me Travis." His friendly smile is sickening.

"You're sick! Let me go home!"

"Oh, Alice. Don't you know? You are home." Travis smirked. "Now let's go eat breakfast and I'll tell you the rules, and most importantly the two week processing."

"I'm not hungry!" I lied, I'm starving but I refuse to eat here with Travis Gale.

"Fine, then we will go to the living room and talk."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Now Alice, I don't think you have much of a choice. Either you can come on your own, or I will make you. Trust me Alice; you don't want me to make you." My body started shaking and I felt nauseous.

"I don't want to." I cried and my legs turned to noodles. I hit the ground hard, sobbing.

"I guess it's going to be the hard way." Travis dragged me to the couch by my hair. I screamed in pain. "You think that hurts? If I were you, I would be much more worried about what I would do to you if you actually pissed me off." He picked me up and threw me on the couch. I was shivering. I'm going to die, and it's going to be at his hands. This isn't how I pictured my life ending. My life hardly even began. If he killed those other girls, then I'm a definite goner.

"What do you want from me?" I barely got the words out as I was crying.

"Right now, I just want you to listen to what I have to say. Can you do that for me, Princess?" I nodded as he spoke. "Good, now let's begin. I have this thing I like to call the two week processing. In this two week processing you will be safe, I won't kill you. It is your job to prove your love for me. If you are breaking the rules and not treating me with respect then you will be found dead in a river just like Chelsea. If you follow the rules and respect me then you have a better chance. This is for the good of our future together. Now for the rules, don't try to escape, don't disrespect me, and don't lie to me. Do you understand me?" I nodded my head after Travis spoke. "Good girl." I cried so hard, I didn't have many tears left.

"Why me? This doesn't make any sense." I whimpered. I didn't think he would be capable of this. He looks so scrawny. I guess anybody is capable of doing anything. Travis has to be in his 40's, I couldn't ever imagine being with him. Just the thought of it makes me sick. I guess this explains his paranoia. None of us students wanted to be alone with him, but we couldn't quite figure out why. There was always something amiss with Travis Gale.

"Alice, I knew you were the one once I saw you. I know you feel the same, you will realize that soon. Now let's eat."

"I said I'm not hungry!" I yelled.

"Did you not understand a word I said? I told you not to disrespect me! You will listen!" Travis screamed. "Now get to the table while I cook breakfast." He pointed to the table with a stern look on his face. I ran to the two person table and took a seat looking down at my legs. In my head I counted how many tears hit my jeans.

"What do you want to eat?"

"I don't want-"

"What did I tell you?" He screamed. "Now let me ask you again, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Cereal."

"Stay seated while I run upstairs to get some." I watched as he ran up the stairs and took the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door to the basement. He opened the door and closed it right behind him. I could hear the door lock.

I can hear Travis' footsteps right above me. I kind of like that because then I will always know when he is coming. The door unlocked and shortly after, he was on the basement stairs locking the door again.

"I brought down three different types; I didn't know which one you would like."

"Any one is fine, I like them all." I tried bring polite. If I want to survive this hell, I have to listen to what he says. I have to put the act on and be a good team player. I don't want any other girl to go through this.

"Good, I'll leave them down here for you. I want you to feel comfortable here, Princess." Travis smiled. I can't believe this! How can he think that this is normal? Normal people don't do this! I remembered what he said about respect so I have to thank him. I don't want to die today or anytime soon that is.

"Thank you, Travis." I hesitated before I spoke. We both ate our cereal together while I pretended to be nice. He brought the dishes to the small sink and washed them.

"I have to go to work and finish grading tests. Your test was the first one I graded, you passed. Not like that matters anymore, you're with me now. Get a shower while I'm gone. Okay?"

"Okay." I nodded as I replied.

Travis went back upstairs and locked the door behind him. I rushed to the bathroom and vomited. He makes me sick, I can't do this. After I got the nausea out of my system I went back to the bedroom and picked out an outfit. I picked out one that I absolutely hated, just to spite him. I went back into the bathroom and searched for cameras. I don't want that creepy pervert spying on me while I'm in the shower. I searched the small bathroom from top to bottom, surprisingly there weren't any cameras. I turned the water on hot and stepped into the shower. After my shower I brushed my teeth and went back to the couch. I turned the news on and there was a story about me. "Another 17 year old teen, Alice Jane is missing. She didn't come home last night according to her mother Sophie Jane. The police suspect that she ran away due to her relationship with football player Steven Jackson. Her mother would like to make a statement." The camera approached my mother; her eyes were red and swollen. Her nose was also red. She must have been crying for hours. I sat on the floor and put my hand on the television screen. "My daughter wouldn't ever run away she has a good life at home. She was kidnapped, nobody will listen to me. If you know anything please call me or the police. I want my daughter back, she wouldn't just run off. I know my daughter." My mom was crying and it hurts so much to see her cry. I cried with her. I wanted to yell into the TV and tell her where I am but I didn't. It's not like she would be able to hear me. I cried because of the trouble I'm in, I cried because of the pain that my mother is going through, and I cried for the girls that were here before me. Who knows, there could have been more than the three that I already know about.

Death is a scary thing for me. I didn't know if Travis is going randomly snap and decide to kill me. I also don't know how long I'll be down here for. The scariest part about it is nobody's going to find me. I didn't tell anybody about Sam, I really should have at least told Rachel. Seeing my mother cry was extremely heart breaking, I don't want her to cry over me. I want her to be happy, even if I die. I started to focus on the news again and Rachel was on the television. "Alice is my best friend; I know she didn't run away. She was so sad over the news about Steven and she just wanted me to come over. I told her I couldn't because I had to help my dad. I feel like this is all my fault. If I would have just went over and spent time with her, none of this would have even happened. Somebody took her just like somebody took Chelsea. It could even be the same guy, please help us find Alice Jane." Rachel was sobbing it was almost hard to understand what she was saying. I don't want to see my loved ones hurt. I saw a police officer pull her aside to question her, I assume.

I took a nap in front of the TV. The depression makes me tired. I woke up to the basement door slamming shut. Travis locked the door and ran down the stairs. He must be pissed. I'm going to die. The thought of me dying played over and over in my head like a song. It's like when that annoying song you can't stand gets stuck in your head.

"Who is Alex?" Travis screamed at me. My eyes focused on his hand. He has my phone! "You know it really hurts that you went out with someone else behind my back. You are mine, Alice. Once you understand that, things will get better." I ran towards him and tried to pry my phone out of his hand. He slammed me against the wall and started choking me. He lifted me up by my neck. I couldn't breathe. I tried prying his hands off of my neck but I wasn't strong enough. He put my phone in his pocket and took out a syringe. I kicked him in the leg, trying to save myself. He let go and I fell hard on the floor. I was breathing heavily trying to catch my breath.

Travis bent down towards me, before I could think my instincts kicked in. It's fight, flight, or freeze. I tried to fight. I punched him in the stomach and he went down. I pulled myself up and ran up the stairs. I'm winded. I tried opening the door but I forgot the keys. I started banging on the door screaming.

"Somebody help me, I'm down here!" I screamed. I felt something poke me in the neck.

"You are reallystarting to piss me off. Nobody can hear you, Princess." That was the lastthing I heard before I collapsed.    

______________________________________

Were you surprised? Let me know!

Remember to vote if you liked it!