The Dreadful Story of Cassidy Harper *Discontinued*

Chapter 13

It was dark... The air around her felt like a suffocating sheet, shifting against her skin. Where was she again?

Lifting her hand in front of her face, she discovered even that was being obscured from sight. But she could move... So, she was alive, right?

This quiet twilight... was peaceful... No noise... No fear...

But suddenly the air took on a more pronounced texture, and she felt cold ground beneath her. The rough plastic clung onto her was torn off, revealing a figure. Instinctively knowing the figure meant harm, she attempted to struggle, to cry out. But she found her limbs bound and her mouth gagged; she was utterly helpless.

Lifting a long blade high in the air, the figure let out a bout of shrieking laughter. Without hesitation they swung it down and struck her in the chest...

Feeling her heart break and chest collapse, she knew it was all over... All the while the figure sadistically watched as she faded...

Cassidy's eyes shot open in a momentary panic. Why was her heart beating so fast? Had she had a nightmare? Shielding her eyes from the bright lighting she groaned softly.

"Cassidy, are you hungry?" Owen's voice called to her from the kitchen. Cassidy slowly pushed herself up from her napping position on the couch; rubbing her eyes she spoke sleepily.

"No, I'm fine." The living room was warm, despite the chill outside. Cassidy found herself often taking naps in here. Perhaps it was out of boredom. When you weren't fearing for your life, cleaning, or being beaten up life could become quite dull.

Owen entered into the room, drying his hands with a towel. Leaning on the doorframe his scruffy, brown hair fell into his eyes slightly. Brushing it aside, he sighed.

"That's what you always say. It's almost lunch. Guess I'll make sandwiches or something. Can you do a chore for me while you're waiting?" Cassidy's mind flickered briefly to the time before Owen became nice; when he would hit her... But he's kind now, so it's alright.... Isn't it? Slowly Cassidy nodded her head.

Owen scooped her up and brought her to the pantry. Although Cassidy was sure it had been months since they had broken and her legs no longer caused constant pain, she hadn't tried walking on them. Owen always picked her up when he'd needed her, and she'd been too afraid to do anything but crawl. Walking had always seemed to be an unspoken boundary, and Cassidy wasn't about to pass that without Owen's permission.

Setting her down next to a shelf stocked with food, Owen pointed to a small stack of old shoe boxes that seemed to have been haphazardly thrown to the side. A bit of unattended junk shoved out of the way temporarily.

"Empty those, I'm not sure what's in them so there's a trash bag for anything useless." Cassidy bit her lip nervously as she reached for the black plastic bag next to her on the ground. "Anything worth keeping, just put it in a pile."

When Owen left, he shut the pantry door, leaving Cassidy alone. The small pile didn't look too daunting, she decided as she crawled closer.

'Owen might praise me if I get this done by lunch,' she thought happily. Starting with the first box seemed reasonable. It was filled with an odd assortment of knickknacks... personal items and makeup?

Horror stricken Cassidy picked up a woman's wallet filled with pictures of smiling friends, family, and pets. In fact there were several wallets just like that one. IDs, lip gloss, credit cards, keys, and Cassidy realised these must be the contents of the purses belonging to Owen's victims.