Ash to Ashes

By Caitlin Somerville

The small screen on his iPod lights up as he skips to the next song. Something about his mood tonight changed what he was hearing. Ash had heard this song hundreds of times before but this time he really listened. It wasn’t just a song anymore, it was a plan…

"Take, take, take, take, take, take it away… take my life". As he walked through the door and into a dilapidated building, the words played over and over again. The song was on repeat.

Ash was watching Belle; she was still sitting on some cushions which were inside half a 44 gallon drum. He started to walk out of the room but stopped at the door to look back at Belle. He finally had her.

Ash looked back at Belle, lying unconscious on the floor of a tiny room. Ash laughed, it had been so easy. He shut the door behind himself after her, leaving an apple, a bread roll, a few bottles of water.

Belle opened her eyes to find herself in a tiny room with some food and water. What the hell was going on? Bashing on the door didn’t bring any help, it only hurt her hand. She curled up in the corner before remembering her phone. She put her hand down to her pocket and attempted to retrieve her phone, it was not there. Forgetting about her aching hand, she felt around in her other pocket, it wasn’t there either. Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, she thought. I'm going to die here. Tears streamed down her once pretty face. She heard him return and the hatch opened again and a several lit candles appeared. She could now see her prison. She started compulsively biting on her finger nails, ripping open the nail-bed.

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It seemed as though hours had passed when her stomach gurgled. The simple noise brought her back to from her daydream, and at least there was food. She outstretched her arm towards the food and began to eat. The light given out by the candle made the room look smaller. Belle was becoming claustrophobic. Within minutes she had eaten all the food. She was less than satisfied but couldn’t do a thing about it. She shuffled a few centimetres into the corner and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

When she awoke the plate had been replaced with a ...

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