White clouds danced across the baby blue sky, creating ever changing patterns. Chloe watched, mesmerized by how the cloud she stared at rearranged from a cone of cotton candy to a bunny.

Her trailer home didn't have a television set, at least not one she was allowed to use, but she imagined that this was similar to watching cartoons. Her friends at school would always tell her about the plot lines to SpongeBob shows and she would do her best to imagine what an episode would have looked like. Watching the clouds, Chloe tried to think of what this episode would be about.

"Look, Mac, The bunny ate the cotton candy!" Chloe remarked, putting on her best storytelling voice. "Cotton candy gives the bunny super powers."

"What powders?" Cormac asked.

Chloe giggled. "Not powders! Powers, like being able to fly and shoot lasers from his eyes! Oh, and he can turn big so he can give the people he saves rides!"

Now it was Cormac's turn to laugh. Chloe's gin widened at the sound of his delighted voice.

Chloe pointed to a new cloud, one that was shaped as a car, "You see that one, next to the bunny?"

"Yeah!"

"That's his car, well, his super bunny-mobile! It's cool too! It can turn invisible and-"

A clashing of voices came drifting through the open dining room window, jerking Chloe's story to a halt.

"-been at work all day, and this is what I come home to?"

" Nick, I-"

"The dishes are dirty, cabinets are dusty, and the floor looks like it hasn't-"

"¡Por Dios!" Chloe's mother exclaimed. "I'm sorry, but I don't recall signing up to be your maid! Did you take Cormac to his doctor's appointment today? No! Did you get Chloe to and from school, and fútbol practice? No! Unlike you, I haven't spent the last seven hours at an office job working minimum wage-"

"Camila-"

"Oh, and I had an interview today. It went well, thanks for asking!" Camila said, her Spanish accent getting thicker the more she ranted.

A whimper from beside her drew Chloe's attention back to Cormac. He was only three and had even less of an idea what their parents fought about than she did. "Shhh. It's okay." Chloe murmured, pulling her brother down to sit in her lap. She cupped her hands over his ears and hugged him tight.

Chloe peered back at the open window. She could hear her parents arguing, but her mind no longer registered the words they exchanged. Her mother's face turned from fury, to guilt, to love, and other emotions Chloe couldn't quite identify. The emotions cycled as they did more frequently these days, with the more negative ones prevailing.

Her father's emotions didn't change as much. His cycled between fury, anger, and utter disappointment.

Eventually her father strode over the refrigerator and pulled out one of those drinks she was forbidden to touch. 'Adult drinks', her parents had called them. Then he maneuvered back to the dining table and plopped down on a wooden seat.

"Chloe, Cormac, es hora de entrar, ¿de acuerdo? La cena está lista." Chloe's mother said, leaning against the doorframe of the trailer home. "I made chicken tamales. Abuela's recipe." Her mother put on a warm smile, but that didn't mask her tear-streaked cheeks and the water that gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Chloe helped Cormac to stand, then grabbed his hand to lead him into the trailer. Despire the tension in the air, Chloe was excited for chicken tamales. It was one non-boxed meal her family was eating this week. She followed her mother through the front door, but it wasn't the scent of chicken tamales that Chloe smelt.

The smell of bacon and something sweet wafted through the air.

Chloe's eyes snapped open and she immediately winced at the flickering light above her. When her eyes adjusted, she noticed Harris was sitting on the edge of her mattress, and Howard was guarding the door. Chloe was sweating, whether from the dream or the warm temperature of the room, she didn't know. She kicked the blanket off herself with her legs, as her hands were still tied.

"How was your sleep?" Harris enquired, leaning down so that Chloe could smell his breakfast Bloody Mary. She had made so many of those alcoholic concoctions to calm her dad when he had fits that she would recognize the alcohol in anyone's breath.

Terrible, you ass! Chloe wanted to scream, but she bit that remark back. "Peachy keen." She said instead, but she couldn't hide the sarcasm laced within her voice.

Howard snickered and gave a drunken laugh at that, resulting in Harris giving the other man a deadly stare.

"Turn around." Harris ordered her. Before Chloe could decide whether she would comply, Harris grabbed her shoulders and pushed her so her back was facing himself. Warm fingers encircled her left arm and she felt the rope binding her hands loosen. "You will have your hands free so you can feed yourself breakfast, but try those tricks again you'll lose that privilege."

"How kind." Chloe deadpanned.

Harris and Howard excited the room, both of them stumbling.

Chloe looked around the room, but didn't spot any food. The smell of bacon still invaded her senses though. Just as Chloe's eyes locked on the door, she realized she never heard the door lock. Were they really that careless or did they intend for her to explore the basement on her own?

Chloe treaded over to the door, listening carefully for any sign that the two men were on the other side. She peered through the small hole in the door and didn't see either of them. She let out a breath while grasping the metal door handle, it was now or never.

She pushed the door open and the smell of freshly cooked breakfast grew stronger. She followed it down the hall. As she walked she realized that there were three two rooms she hadn't noticed during her failed escape. She paused at the first one.

Just like the bedroom and the bathroom, this new room was barren. Only a plastic trey with three strips of bacon and one slightly burn pancake occupied it. There was a clear silicone cup beside the trey filled with what Chloe hoped was water. Her mouth watered at the sight. She hadn't had a meal since before going to that bar.

She was ravenous, but didn't know if she trusted any food her captors would give to her. What if it was laced and they were going to move to a new location? Or better yet, the men decided they didn't actually want her here and poisoned the food.

She wasn't sure she cared either way. Chloe reached one shaking hand out. Despite the bacon looking slightly charred, she was sure it would taste like heaven at the moment.

Chloe was just about to chase her first bite of bacon down with the water when she heard an eerie humming which chilled her to the bone. It was faint, but there, not just a figment of Chloe's imagination.

She looked to the door, but no one was there. Slowly, Chloe crept to the door and peered into the hallway. If someone was out there, Chloe would much rather her be the one holding the element of surprise. She didn't see anyone again, so she stepped into the hall and was just about to pass the second door which she hadn't noticed yesterday when the humming grew louder.

There was someone behind that second door. This voice was too high pitched to be either Howard or Harris's. Maybe it was another captive.

Curiosity won out and Chloe found herself gingerly opening the door. "Hello." She called out.

The humming immediately stopped.

This room had no light on like the others, so Chloe reached blindly with her hand scanning the wall until she felt a switch.

Chloe almost wished she hadn't flipped on the switch. Sitting in the middle of the room and tied to a chair was a small girl who couldn't have been more than six years old.