When the Dark Wins

wringing my hands, before I remember that this will be easy money. I square my shoulders.

“Thank you,” I say to him as I walk past, and he nods in return. There’s a small landing and some wooden steps in front of me now that seem to get wider the lower they go, but I can’t see too far down because it’s dark downstairs.

“Just hold on to the railing and you’ll be okay, Burgundy,” Lowell says quietly, as he gives me a gentle shove with one hand, then pulls the door closed behind us.

Any chance of stopping now is out of the question because I’d have to get by him to do it — and he’s already guiding me down the stairs while balancing the tray of food in the other hand.

Once we’re at the bottom, he grabs me by the elbow and pulls me back toward him.

A shrill whistle escapes from his lips and he whispers, “Listen and be patient.”

And that’s when I hear it.

The ominous scraping sound of a chain rustling along the cold pavement echoes throughout the large room. There’s someone hiding in the darkness of this make-shift dungeon and I’m afraid. Is this the fate that’s going to befall me too? Am I fast enough to get away? Can I suddenly produce the right words and speak with a silver tongue to escape?

“I—”

“I’m not paying you to talk now,” Lowell interrupts calmly. “I’m paying you to fuck. But first we have to feed the animal, don’t we? Here; take this tray to him. He won’t harm you. Not if he wants to see another day.”

My hands are shaking to the point that I’m terrified that I’m going to drop the tray before I can get a firm grip on it. Something tells me that Lowell is more Robert Hansen than James Dean and I’m fucked in more ways than he’s let on.

“Come on, Cessi. We don’t have all night and he’s probably hungry. He hasn’t eaten in a while,” Lowell says as patiently as he can. Reaching forward, he takes one of my hands and secures it on the metal tray. Once he’s sure I’ve got a good grip on it, he repeats the process with my other hand, then turns me and gives me a gentle push into the abyss.

Is there really an animal waiting for me, or is it something else? I don’t want to fuck animals and even Lowell can’t be this damn depraved, can he? I won’t do it; no matter how much money he waves at me, no matter how much I promised him that I would stay with him for more than one night; I won’t fucking do it.

“Good girl. Just walk straight and he’ll meet you halfway,” Lowell says with a sigh. I can hear him turn on his heel and clear his throat as he sits down on the bottom wooden step of the cellar, his eyes boring into my back.

I take two tedious steps forward and stop when I hear the chain rattle again. Oh God; if it’s a hungry animal, it’s sure to kill me before I can get close enough to feed it. Maybe I should just place the tray on the ground in two more steps and pray it can reach its food, but I don’t. Not when Lowell makes me an offer.

“Five hundred dollars just for walking all the way over to the other side of the room and giving the fucking thing its food,” he says in a bored, yet amused tone.

It’s the first time I’ve heard him speak in such a way, and it tells me that he’s becoming comfortable with this little game he’s roped me into. The same game that I’ve been so willing to play with thoughts of a place of my own dancing in my head. Material objects for my life—that’s how he’s set this up and I unwittingly swan-dived into his trap head-on.

“Are you gonna do it or are you gonna give up on the cash?” Lowell asks, blowing his breath out impatiently.

Is it worth it? To go into the unknown with my life for the taking against an animal I know nothing about?

The chains scrape along the floor again and Lowell chuckles. “You better hurry before he makes the decision for you. I should warn you though, if he does, you’re five hundred dollars poorer than you were when you got into my car.”

I grip the sides of the tray tightly and take another step into the darkness. The sound of metal against the dusty floor greets my ears again, but I need the money and if this is all I have to do for it, then I might as well get it over with.

Taking a deep breath, I make the rest of the walk quick work, place the tray down on the ground, and take a step back.

“Here,” I say quietly as I turn to walk away.

The movement is faster than anything I would have been able to see coming in the daylight had I been given that opportunity. A hand—a strong human hand—grips mine tightly and gives it a squeeze before letting go at Lowell’s command.

It’s not an animal that he has chained in the basement. It’s another fucking human being and the fact that he sees it as an animal scares me more than anything else in this world ever has.

I have to find a way to get out of here before I share the fate of whoever else has fallen into Lowell’s trap of wicked lies and deceitful monetary promises.

“You shouldn’t be so rigid right now. Relax, Cessi because once the animal is done eating, you’re gonna earn your first grand. Aren’t you excited? That’ll put you at fifteen hundred, and in case you’re wondering, I’m more than good for the money,” Lowell says casually as he clears his throat.

“What?” I ask feeling the world starting to spin around me.

“You’re gonna do what you get paid to do. Fuck,” he explains in a newly bored tone.

My hands are shaking as I wring them, trying to maintain my wits about me. I’m not sure exactly how much of a performance he expects out of me right now, and while I’m no stranger to having someone watch me when I’m working, I’m more concerned about the prospect of what he’s suggesting. Something tells me that Lowell isn’t offering himself up for the money—he’s offering his prisoner.