When Cliff opened his eyes, he expected to see his new ward sleeping peacefully beside him, but instead, he found an empty space and cold sheets. Immediately thrown into wakefulness, Cliff sat up and looked around. When his eyes landed on the open door, his stomach churned unpleasantly. "Zane! Where are you?!"

Cliff sprang from the bed and raced up to the main part of the house. He saw the back door was wide open, and he could hear the crashing and snapping of branches as someone, most likely Zane, ran through the trees away from the house. Just great, he grumbled.

Cliff grabbed his jacket and was just stepping outside when the doorbell rang. He stopped in his tracks. He wasn't expecting anyone. As annoying as it was to have to go search for Zane, Cliff wasn't worried about not finding him. His land was pretty big and Zane probably wouldn't be able to get to the edge anytime soon. Cliff could take a short house call.

Closing the back door and covering the basement entrance with the rug to avoid suspicion, Cliff went to the front of the house where the uninvited company was ringing the doorbell for the third time. "Hello? May I help you?" Cliff asked as he opened the door.

It was two men he didn't recognize. They both wore jackets with FBI insignia. "Are you Clifford Dine?" the taller of the two asked.

Cliff didn't like the government on his front porch. "I am. Who are you and what do you want?" he asked shortly.

"I'm agent Sam and this is agent James. We're with the FBI, and we have a warrant to search your house and property," the same agent spoke.

Cliff wanted to refuse them, but he knew a warrant meant business and it would be suspicious to try to stop them. Besides, he felt confident that they wouldn't find anything. Zane wasn't in the house, and even if he had been, the basement was hidden. "Very well. I don't know what you're looking for, but I'm sure you won't find it here," he said; he stepped aside to let them in.

They looked around the house for a while, opening drawers and cabinets as the riffled around in my personal belongings. They searched the master bedroom and the two guest rooms, the kitchen and the living room. Cliff grew anxious when they found the basement, but they only glanced around the small room briefly, asking why it was there.

"I have a friend who drops by every now and then when he needs a place to stay," Cliff said. "He's a junkie, so he stays down there to keep from troubling me when he lights up."

The two agents didn't give much indication of whether or not they believed him.

When they finished with the house, they inspected the perimeter. They noted where the grass was bent from someone stepping on it, but Cliff inserted a comment about having just returned from his morning walk.

As they walked towards the front of the house, Cliff asked, "Are you satisfied?"

"Well, we didn't exactly find what we wanted, but we'll be back later in the week for some follow-up questions," agent Sam said as the two of them stepped out. "Goodbye, Mr. Dine."

Cliff wished them a safe return drive and shut the door with a sigh. Then he glanced out the window. The agents had spent so much of the day looking around, it was getting dark already. It would be best to wait until the morning to find Zane. He was a smart kid, no doubt he had already found some shelter for the night. Even though he didn't have food and was probably cold, there wasn't any real danger to him out there. Well, that is unless you count the...

*******

Dogs.

I had never been fond of the beasts, but now I straight up hated them. When the man hadn't come looking for me, I had gone out to see if I could find something to drink. While I was at a small stream I had found, three huge dogs found me. They were now chasing me as I blindly tried to find my way back to the cabin in the darkening trees, barking loudly at my heels. They looked terrifying with their glowing eyes and long, sharp, yellow teeth. I could hear them snapping at my ankles viciously as I ran, eager for a bite.

Suddenly, I tripped on a root and fell face first into the grass. I looked up and gasped as the biggest of the three stood in front of me. He growled low in his throat, and when I attempted to get to my feet, he barked and jumped on me. I rolled around, avoiding his jaws as I managed to kick him off of me, but not without a nasty scratch to my bicep. As soon as I was free, I sprang up and bolted away.

I felt relief flood over me as I saw the cabin finally come into view and I raced inside, slamming the door shut behind me. Holding it closed with one hand, I use the other to bolt the giant lock. As soon as I thought it was secure enough to let go, the dogs pounced on the door, jumping and scraching at it.

I backed away slowly, breathing hard. I grabbed an old broom that was leaning against the wall and sat on the couch facing the door, weapon at the ready. Thankfully, the bolt was stronger than it looked and I slowly began to breathe normally again. Keeping my makeshift club in reach, I pulled my legs up and let my head drop over the back of the couch in exhaustion. I had no choice but to wait until morning for the dogs to leave. Hopefully, they did leave.

*******

When I opened my eyes again, it was morning and there was an eerie silence ringing in the tiny cabin. The dogs were no longer banging on the door, but I soon learned they were still there when I stood up and heard them begin growling again. Great.

Deciding I needed a new approach, I walked into the kitchen. I saw a small window, but it was too small for me to fit through. Next, I walked into the bathroom. Once again, the window was too small. There was a bedroom, but the windows in there were boarded up and I wasn't ready to tear up my palms trying to pry away the rotting, splintered wood.

I flopped back down on the couch and curled up to stare across at the cabin door. Maybe if I was really quiet the dogs would go away, I hoped. Unfortunately, hope was not enough. Two hours passed and I was still sitting on the dumb old couch and listening to the dogs move around outside. Tired and hungry, I tossed a piece of broken wood at the door out of irritation, and the dogs started barking and jumping on the door again. I rolled my eyes.

Stupid muts.

I was about to go into the bathroom to see if the toilet worked when I heard a voice speak from the other side of the door. "Hey, guys. Get- Ack. Get out of the way! Come on, move!"

Recognizing the cadence of the man's voice, I looked around for something to help me. Just as I reached for the broom, and clumsily knocked it behind the couch in my hurry, the door was kicked open behind me. Turning, I came face to face with an angry looking killer and three dogs.

I hurried to get around the couch, but he got an arm around my waist and dragged me back, turning me around so he could glare at me five inches from my face. "You know the trouble you've cause me?" he hissed. He gripped my arm and pulled me from the cabin.

"Let go!" I snarled. "Fucking monster, let me go!"

He dug his nails into my skin when I tried to pry his fingers off, not even looking at me. "Shut up or I'll carry you back," he said.

I only screamed all the more, shouting as loud as I could and hoping someone would hear me. If someone did, they didn't come to help.

When we approached the house, I dug my heels into the earth, voice hoarse and terrified. "N-No...! I don't want to be here!" I pleaded. "Please, let me go! I want to go home!"

The man ignored me and dragged me into the house. I expected him to take me back down to the basement, but instead, he turned towards the master bedroom. He had to practically carry me to get me in there, and had no qualms about tossing me unapologetically on the bed like a ragdoll. He grabbed my ankles when I tried to crawl away and pulled me to the edge of the mattress where he could loom over me.

He pulled out a handkerchief for a gag and I shouted one last time for help before he forced it into my mouth. I protested as loudly as I could through the gag as he used my shirt to tie my hands behind my back and stood up. For a minute or two, he left me alone and I was struggled to sit up without the use of my hands. However, before I could even leave the bed, he returned and my eyes widened. I looked up at him fearfully as he gripped a chain firmly in his hands. I didn't need to be told that whatever was coming wasn't going to be good.

*******

"I think that guy was lying about the basement," Sam said as the agents drove back to their headquarters.

James, who was driving, shrugged. "I thought so too, but we had no evidence to prove it. There was nothing we could have done," he said. "Next time we need to bring a forensics team to take some samples of the sheets and some uniforms to search the land around the rest of the property."

Sam was silent, deep in thought. He stared out his window for a long time before he spoke again. "I hope we find that boy in time," he said. "No telling what he's going through."

This was an unsettling statement to them both, and James opted they find a hotel for the night. If they stayed in the area, they could follow Dine's movements. He was definitely a person of interest and they would be wise to keep an eye on him.

*******

Subscribe to my YouTube at: Melanie Eberheart

Donate to my Patreon at: patreon.com/MelanieEberheart

Buy my a coffee on my Ko-fi at: Ko-fi.com/melanie_eberheart

Tweet me on Twitter at: twitter.com/MelanieEberhea1

Check out my Facebook at: www.facebook.com/melanie.eberheart.1

Or follow me on Tumblr at: nekosaysmeow333

-Nekoco