Essence's POV:

He held me to him, his strong arm like a barrier to the outside world. Every time I struggled to move away, he'd pull me in tighter, our naked bodies pressed together under the sheets.

I was so weak. From not eating food, from not sleeping, from simply sitting, wasting away, year after year in his underground prison.

Eleanor had hidden herself in the curtained off bathroom area, scared that when he was done beating me, he would come for her.

But he really payed little attention to her. As always, he loved me. He'd kept me alive for so many years because it would kill him to lose me.

The single lantern in the center of the room flickered gently in the near silence. All that could be heard were Jeremy's gentle snores against the back of my head. I shivered.

Eleanor had a plan to get us out of here. She had the knife. She knew when we could go. But I was scared. If he caught us, it would easily mean her death and my torture. But I knew it was worth the risk. What choice did we have?

"Sleep well, love?" He purred, awake at last, withdrawing a pale arm from around my waist. I feeble struggled away from him and sat up, reaching for the sheet to cover myself.

"No need for that," he purred again, pulling it down, but i pulled it right back up.

He rolled his eyes.

"Essy," he snorted. He rose from the bed and pulled on his trousers. "I'll be back tonight. I'll be working late today. I thing we'll give that drug another little test run. I quite enjoyed it, didn't you?"

He laughed, not waiting for a response and turned towards the door. Once he was outside, I heard the familiar sound of many locks clicking shut, ensuring my imprisonment until his return.

Eleanor tentatively came around the curtain from the bathroom.

"Has he gone?" She whispered hoarsely.

"Yes," I breathed, almost inaudibly. She automatically turned away as I rose and dressed myself. I kicked aside the clothes on the floor, reaching for the fresh gray sack of a dress and undergarments he'd brought down the night before. It looked like he'd sewn the dress himself, out of a potato sack.

Eleanor turned back around, surprisingly sporting a weak smile. "Did you hear him?" She breathed excitedly. "He said 'I'll be working late today'. This is our chance! We can escape today!"

I looked at her, he words slowly sinking in.

"We can," I whispered. "We can."

She held up the knife, and it looked sharper than before.

"I was sharpening it on the walls in the bathroom," she said excitedly. The walls around the toilet were rock, as we were underground. Good for sharpening things.

"Pack the extra food and the sheets into one of your old dresses," she said. I laughed slightly. They all looked the same, potato sacks with arm and neck holes. But as I was so skinny, the holes were large, and if we put the sheets and spare clothes at the bottom, and the food on top, it would work fine.

I nodded and set to work. She walked over to the door, pressing her ear against it, waiting for the sound of his car leaving the driveway.

It was more than an hour at least until she heard it. Then, her hand shaking slightly, she began to carve the highest lock. It took her a while, but I looked over with a gasp when I head it his the ground, with a genuine smack.

She stared at what she'd done, clearly surprised it had actually worked.

"I did it," she whispered. "Nine more, Essy, nine more and we're free."

Notes

sorry i havne't updated in a while!! :( school is sucking :(

BUT HAPPY TO BE BACK ON AGAIN :) WHO WATCHED SOML I HAD IT OPEN IN 30TABS

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