RYLIE
I jerked awake, wincing from the sudden movement. My body felt really sore, and my head was splitting in half; the brightness piercing my half-opened eyes was not helping.
I was in a room.
I looked around; the walls were painted a dull grey, the color an odd shade. Underneath all the paint, I could tell that the walls were wooden and old. It smelled fresh anyway, like clean laundry after a sunny day.
I was atop a very comfortable four-poster bed in the middle of the room; it was soft and had a lot of pillows, and the sheets were clean.
Apart from the place I was and my heavy headache, something else felt off and after a moment, I finally realized it; someone had taken my school clothes! No! No! No! I chanted in my head, flinging both arms around my chest, and hugging myself tightly. The thought of someone getting my clothes off while I was unconscious was appalling and the knowledge that someone actually did irked me to no end. I was dressed in a plain green gown, little handstitched white flowers dotting the otherwise plain material, it was a pretty piece of fabric. My hair was in a loose long braid, the end of it held with a green piece of fabric. What was the obsession with green?
The wind billowed the curtains, which were not green, at least at the open window on one side of the room, and I couldn't see out from the bed, but I could tell that dusk was approaching. Even the door was ajar, I looked to and fro in confusion. Why would anyone kidnap anyone and leave them this way?
Then I got off the bed and felt it. Right. There was a metal shackle around my left ankle, and it was attached to a long chain. I lifted it; the chain itself was quite heavy but the shackle around my ankle was light and padded to not cause hurt. I wondered why I had not felt that earlier.
I followed the chain with my eyes, the other end of it was attached to one foot of the bed. The length of the chain did allow me to get to the window and another door on the side, the bathroom, but not anywhere else, and definitely not the door leading outside.
The clasp around my ankle was impossible to remove so I tried pulling the chain instead. Its weight alone was too much, and when I tried to move the bed, it didn't budge an inch. Even if I somehow could get the chain loose, its weight wouldn't let me get anywhere fast.
I sat for a minute and bawled my eyes out. The situation shrouded me in complete helplessness, and I could not prevent my rampaging thoughts: was Nina ok? Was Gabrielle ok? Did help find them? Will help find me? How long had it been? Helplessness quickly became anger, fury tightening my chest. Where was anyone? You couldn't just kidnap someone and leave them alone, I was very hungry. What did they even want with me?
Footsteps approached, and a shadow blocked the sunlight from the slightly open door. I quickly backed away from the door, going back to the bed.
The opening door revealed a woman, she was carrying a tray that held some bowls. She smiled at me, her kind eyes easing some of my discomfort, then dropped the tray, sliding it across the wooden floor towards me. I watched her movements warily, ready to fight if it came to that, but then she left, and I heaved a sigh of relief. A solitary hand went up to rub at my chest. I could not let my emotions get the best of me, but my heart continued to race anyway.
I inched towards the tray, curious of its contents; it was wooden like every other thing I had seen here. It contained some fruits and a sort of weird-looking porridge in a bowl and water in a wooden cup; the spoon was also made of wood. Everything was wooded apart from the chain and the fabrics.
I eyed the tray hungrily, I would not eat the porridge, but the assortment of fruits looked inviting. My heart dropped at the realization; I still didn't know what was going on and until then, I wasn't going to eat anything from these strange people that kidnapped me. It probably contained sedatives or something. My stomach growled in disapproval, and my face also tightened in anger. Then, ignoring the tray, I inched back to the bed.
Night came, the woman also came, and my back was to the door. I was not worried about her anymore. I heard her leave after a moment, taking the tray with her. My hunger didn't leave, though; it never did.
Another day dawned blue and beautiful. Ignoring my grey countenance, beautiful bird songs filled the air, the wind whistling a soft melody as well. Today smelled as fresh as yesterday but it did nothing to improve my mood.
Footsteps approached the door; this time, that kind face was not there; it was another woman with the now customary tray of food. She had a coldness about her, and, not looking at me, she dropped the tray and left.
I ignored the tray and my stomach once again and went to the window. If I didn't eat soon, my growling stomach would feed on itself, I patted the body part lightly, willing it to hold on a little more.
Finally, I looked outside for the first time since I woke up in this strange place.
It was a tree house! And I was very high up in the trees. It was several tree houses, my there was an entire city up here. It was a sight to behold: several large oak trees standing so close to each other. Some had their thick branches intertwined and others were joined to each other artificially with wooden bridges.
The houses were made to fit the trees as though the trees grew with them from the first instance. The branches extended for miles, far more than I could see. The intertwined branches formed a thick canopy at the top, with sunlight piercing through at different angles; birds and squirrels flitted through the branches as well. It looked like something out of a picture book; ethereally beautiful and unreal.
Green-clad people were going about their businesses, some carrying baskets, conversing, no one aware of me watching them from my window. Some kids were running across a wide bridge, so happy and without a care in the world.
A whole community of people lived up here, and the greenly carpeted ground was miles and miles away. I could barely see it through the thick branches.
It dawned on me then that I might not be found. I didn't know somewhere like this existed until now, other people would not know as well. How would I be found? Was Dad even looking? The questions weighed heavier than the metal clasp on my ankle.
I abandoned my spot by the window, heading to the bathroom. I stank already, and my hair felt greasy to the touch; I couldn't solve the bigger problem, but I could solve this one. There was a thick wooden tub and towels folded on one side. Well, there was no getting in there with the shackle on my leg, and I did not even understand how the tub worked; I looked away from it.
The space looked pretty good for a bathroom up in the trees though. The toilet was wooden; it wasn't modern, just a wooden bowl with a lid connected to a hole that led somewhere. There was no mirror and a wooden cup beside held a toothbrush and a powder I guessed was the toothpaste. They had this at least. A wooden bucket sat on one side, and water, I realized, came after I pulled a lever; it looked like the shower space as there was a drain on the floor. The chain barely let me reach there.
I wondered how their water system worked as I brushed my teeth and pulled my clothes. My underwear was at least left on. I washed my body and hair with an unscented bar of soap I found until I was satisfied with how clean I smelled.
The thought of getting back in my dirty underwear was not enticing so I skipped it, pulling on the green gown alone. I went back into the room, the bed at least was soft. It welcomed my now clean body.
My stomach grumbled again, and I briefly considered the forgotten tray at the door, but I couldn't, so I ignored my complaining stomach, and eventually, I dozed off.