The Cellar

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

In the cold darkness of the crawl space beneath the last cabin, Joni lay on her side. She hugged her knees close to her chest. She kept her teeth clenched tight to keep them from chattering.

The man would never find her here.

Never.

A long time ago, when she first got away, he hadn’t even looked under the cabin. Maybe he would come back, though.

She didn’t dare to move.

The dirt and rocks dug into her skin, but she didn’t move. Sometimes, itchy bugs crawled on her. She made believe they were caterpillars and lady bugs, and let them crawl.

The cold was worse than anything. It made her shake. If she shook too much, maybe the man would hear her, and catch her again.

A long time went by.

Then she heard something move nearby. An animal.

She held her breath.

Then she heard a quiet, “Meeeow.”

The cat came up against her legs in the darkness, furry and warm and purring like a motor.

“Kitty,” she whispered.

She stroked its head and back.

The cat let her hold it. She held it lightly against her chest. Its purr was so loud she worried the man would hear it and find her.

Soon she was no longer shaking.

A sound from above startled the cat. It leaped away and disappeared.

Joni listened closely.

Footsteps on the cabin floor.

She heard the door swing open. She saw bare feet on the stairs at the front of the cabin.

“Girl?” she called.

The legs stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

“Girl?”

The legs turned. The girl crouched and looked through the darkness of the crawlspace. “You under there?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“You gonna stay there all night?”

“Is he gone?”

“Yeah, I think so. It’s been hours. Took me that long to get untied.”

Getting to her hands and knees, Joni began to crawl through the darkness toward her waiting friend.