"Do you know who I am?"

She glances at the photograph and back at him. His eyes are cold, lifeless. His skin is tinged with grey and dirty from the dust collecting in the wall's cracks. His hair is messy, unclean. In the picture, he's smiling, hugging a small woman. He looks happy. A free person, not a captive.

She answers. "I do. I'm here to help you."

He doesn't seem to believe her at first, eyes narrowed and hands kept close to his body. She doesn't wait for an answer and didn't intend to. 

"How did you find me?", he asked, watching her.

She pushed back a curl that fell out her bun. She pulled out a screwdriver.

"It took some good snooping."
She pressed the thin end of the screwdriver into the keyhole of the handcuffs as deep as she could. It didn't go far enough, so she switches for something else.

"She's worried. Your mother. She hasn't been sleeping."

"I want to go home."

She's a little surprised to hear his voice crack. It was already hoarse, brittle from the little care he's been getting. She sees tears swell in his eyes.

"I know.", she assures. "I'm getting you out of here, kid, alright? I promise."

She nods, hearing the handcuffs click. She unhinges the metal from his wrists and takes him from the raggedy bed. She takes his hand, guiding him. The hallway they come in is lit with a single light, a dimmed yellow. She  keeps close to the wall, shielding him behind her. She hears little sound, like water dripping on the concrete. The smell makes her want to gag. He had to endure this for some time.

Time feels nonexistent as they crept through, finding any exit. It takes a while, but eventually they find a door. She pushes, moving it just a bit with a loud creak. He helps and the door cracks enough for them to slip through. She allows him to go first and he tumbles into the grass with her following. They helped each other up, wasting not another chance and sprinting into the woods. She tries to remember where she parked her car. The dirt road, near the dirt road.

She turns and heads west, relief overwhelming her when the sleek grey of her car is seen. "We're almost there. We're getting you ho---"

Something starts to pull her back, choking her. Something cuts into her body, in her torso and chest as she's dragged across the dead grass. The boy is reaching over for her. Despite the darkness, she catches his tears.

"GO!"

He hesitates.

"GO! GO NOW!"

She's pressed against the building's rough wall, surely decorated with her blood now. She screams when something claws into her arm and pulls her over a window's sill. The pain sends her into a shutdown and her eyelids slack. He still stands in the middle of the field, staring back at her with a hand reached out in desperation. She prays he chooses to leave before he's snatched up again, to save himself before black consumes her.