Page 28 of Joker
Racing from the room, I meet him in the hallway. Grabbing my wrist, he pulls me down the hallway and the back stairs toward the basement. In the basement, he moves a wall that seems to lead down to a secret tunnel.
Just as he’s closing the door, I can hear footsteps above me and shouts.
Everything gets still as we listen to them moving around upstairs. It is definitely more than one person from the footsteps. The basement door opens, which seems to knock him out of his trance. He quickly secures the hidden door, and we rush through the tunnel. He’s pulling on my wrist, and I know it’s going to leave a bruise.
We seem to be in the tunnel for ages before coming to another door leading into a barn. A car is sitting in the middle. He swings around quickly and grabs hold of my hair.
“Don’t even try anything. You know what will happen if you do.”
There is a threatening edge to his voice. Nodding, so he knows I understand, he throws our bags in the car.
“Get in and do everything I say.”
I get into the passenger side of the car while he gets in the driver’s side. We drive down an old track with the lights off until we hit the main road.
Turning onto the main road, he starts to drive, sticking to back roads.
“I’m guessing your boy has been reunited with his father.”
My eyes widen. Agnes had found Jason, and he came for me. The thrill that runs through me has me feeling the smallest amount of hope. Hope I can get out of this and have something to go back to. I know getting away is not going to be easy, but I’m determined to make it back to my son.
We seem to be driving for hours, and my eyes start to drop.
“Sleep. It will be a few hours yet.”
I do as I’m told. I lean my head against the window and watch the scenery go by, lulling me to sleep.
The slamming of a car door wakes me. Taking a moment to stretch and look around, we seem to be in the middle of the woods at some weird cabin.
My door opens, and he pulls me out. He’s holding my other wrist so hard; I know I’ll have matching bruises. Getting the bags, he pulls me behind him into the cabin. Looking around, it smells musty and has been empty for some time. Heading into the kitchen, he turns to me.
“Get this place cleaned up.”
Not wanting to increase his mood any further, I head for the sink. Rinsing it out, I fill it with hot water and look under the sink for cleaning products and cloths. Finding some wash liquid and a few cloths, I get started on wiping down all the surfaces. I open a few windows to let some air in and wipe the glass down. I find a broom in a cupboard and sweep the whole downstairs. Finding a bucket in the same cupboard, I head upstairs and air out the bedroom and clean the bathroom.
By the time I’m finished, I’m covered in sweat and grime, but the place looks so much better.
I’m in the kitchen finishing the last of the cleaning when he comes back.
“You have done a good job, my pet. You will be rewarded.”
He places his bag on the counter, and I notice a few guns on top. While he’s outside at the car, I take a closer look and find a gun in the bottom, under the lining as if forgotten. Quickly taking the gun, I rush to the room I’ve claimed as mine and hide it. You never know when it may come in handy. Making my way back downstairs as if nothing is happening, I find him unloading a few groceries.
“You should be able to make something edible with this lot,” he says.
Guess we’re staying here for a while. Moving over to help, we quietly unpack the groceries.
“I have some business to attend to, my pet. You will be busy preparing our meal.”
With that, he heads off down the hall. Deciding, for now, I’m going to play along, he needs to believe he has broken me even if it’s just a little. The more he believes this, the more freedom he gives me. I busy myself making a quick pasta and tomato dish. Once this is ready, I make my way down the hall and knock on the office door.
“Come,” he replies through the closed door.
Slowly pushing the door open, I say, “The food is ready.”
Standing in the doorway, he watches me for a few moments.
“Thank you, pet. I’ll be along in a moment,” he replies.
