Untamed Slave: Caged

Chapter 4

I've been looking for a job for three days now. The shops seemed to be a waist of time for me, so now I'm going around houses and apartments. It's embarrassing, but I'll do anything to survive. Alec's talk the other day really helped.

I knocked on the millionth door; in fact my knuckles are red from knocking on the doors.

"What do you want girl?" the guy sneered in my face.

"I'm looking for a job, if you have one to offer, sir."

"Leave!" I sighed and turned to walk.

“Wait a second, how hard up are you for money?" I turned to glare at him.

"Because I do need a bit of female attention."Here we go again.

"I'd rather claw out my eyes than look at you for another second." That isn't the first time that I was approached like that and it won't be the last. The only good thing about this place is that everyone is viewed as dangerous so the men would never attack you without knowing that they will come out on top.

I'm done for the day, it will be dark soon and the last thing I need is to be trap in the darkness of this place- alone. It becomes so dark that you can't see your hand a few millimeters from your face. We thought of buying a flashlight, but it seemed too dangerous. We have no money left anymore, anyway, we bought some more bread and water and a backpack for each of us, to carry our things in, just in case we don't make it back to each other. I strolled down the street at a slow pace since my feet are cold and sore from all the walking, I'm also tired, I haven't slept through a night since we got her. We make turns staying awake the one that stays awake has to listen for any sounds. Trust me when you're the one that is awake and you sit there staring out in complete darkness, you do hear a lot of sounds. My heart has never beaten that loud in my life.

It scares all of us, sometime in this last week and a half we all started to hold hands, even when we sleep, it's like a chain. It does feel good though, we are giving each other a lending hand, some extra courage.

Another reason for my slowness is the hunger, we have all been saving our food meaning we have stopped eating three times a day and started only eating when we absolutely feel like we have too. You can see that we are loosing weight and not in a good way. We are all very pale and on top of that we have dark circles around our eyes. Avery suggested that we hunt, find another weak person and feed, it's a good idea, but it is a great risk. It will be our last option, when we have no other options left.

Vampires don't need to eat, but the elite does it to seem less primitive and savage, can you imagine a dinner party with only blood. You do get vampire that only drink blood, they are mostly the old ones, or the ones that live in nests. They go and hunt for their food, stalking poor defenceless humans, I'll classify that as savage.

Being a half blood is a bit more complicated. We still have to get all the nutrients any human does, but blood becomes one of them. We can go without blood for awhile and then we'll start becoming sick, we won't be able to keep any food down, it's like all our organs shut down. If you keep starving yourself your heart will stop, resulting in immediate death.

Death is almost better than all the side effects. You first can't keep anything in, then your body starts getting ride of your own blood- rejecting it in all forms: puking, nose bleeds and bloody coughs. Your skin becomes really sensitive, you can almost scratch it off, your bones become brittle and you have extreme headaches that sometimes leave you blind, lastly is your lungs that can't take in as much air as it use too so you find yourself gasping to breathe at times. If you make it through all that you die.

Alec has decided that he would give us all a little of his blood, once a week, if the first symptom does make an appearance. When I was younger I refused to drink blood after a month I had my first symptom and that was only because my parents started sneaking blood into my food, once I caught them they stopped.

My father showed me pictures of what would happen and then an actual video of a guy at the KC. He wouldn't drink any blood only from small children, it resulted in his death. I never tried holding out again and I won't ever try again.

I finally arrived at the alley where we'll sleep tonight. Since it's too dangerous for Alec to go around asking for a job, he stays at the new place and set it up for us. It's fine if he walks around with us, but never alone.

"Hey."I greeted him as I came walking down the alley.

"So did you find a job?" he asked me smiling at me like everything was still okay.

"No such luck, but I'm confident that I will find one tomorrow."

"Avery is also back, she is using the bathroom."

"Did she get a job?"

"No, but she was chased out of a shop." Great! She shouldn’t be causing a scene.

"Don't you dare sigh! The guy touched my ass and asked me to be his personal s*x toy! It was my duty as proud women to choke the life out of him. His bodyguard just didn't agree with me." I always said her flirting would get her in trouble.

"I know what you're thinking! I didn't flirt with him, he must have been 100 years old, but I did flirt with the bodyguard, damn that guy has a fit body, he lifted me up with one hand! I know I lost weight, but I'm not that light. Once we all have jobs and I have some nightshade in my bag and I had a bath I'll make sure to stop at that shop and have another altercation with the owner." Of course she will.

"I hate this place! I got hit on like every five minutes and a kid actually told me he'd hire me as a carrier, because his feet are too precious to touch the ground the rest of the filth of this place walks on." Hannah said as she came storming down the alley.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him to walk on his hands if his feet are that precious."sassy, but true.

"Any other job offers?"

"None I would like to discuss, all I want to do is eat and go to bed." Poor Hannah seems to have reached her tolerance level.

"I'll take first watch; the two of you can get ready for bed. I'll come and join you soon." They took off.

"You should sleep you had the first and last watch yesterday, which means you have been awake longer than the rest of us."

"I'm not tired." I lied to him. He stayed with me and if it wasn't for him standing there with me, I'd probably be sitting against a wall with my head resting on my knees.

"Where is Jocelyn? She is never this late." I questioned staring to get worried.

"She'll be here. Don't worry she still has an hour before it gets dark." An hour came and gone and the darkness began to fall.

"I have to go and look for her?"

"If you leave now, you'll be caught in the darkness! You won't be able to see anything, what are you going to do, go around screaming her name, you know how many attacks happen in the darkness, you've heard the screams like all of us have. She knows what to do if she can't make it." He is right, but I feel so bad, she is the youngest among us. On that first day of school penny said it looked like a light was switched on behind my eyes, I wish that was true right now.

"Why didn't you guys wake me last night?" Avery asked yawning.

"Me either." Hannah added.

"What she didn't wake either of you? She must have stayed up all night. Jocelyn didn't come back she was really worried."

"What?"

"He said Jocelyn never came back, we should go and look for her."

"This place is huge how will we find her?"Avery complained the worry edged into her face.

"We know in which direction she went yesterday and we know that she would have came this way. We shouldn't split up, it will increase the chances of another person getting lost." We all left in a hurry. We had to keep a calming pace once in the view of the public in order to not raise suspicion. We stopped at every alley and waited as one of us checked it out, the rest of us pretending to check something out in the window of the shop or that we were talking.

"Nope nothing." Avery said as she came out of the alley and we moved on, somewhere deep inside my mind I was afraid of finding her, because of the possibility that she might be dead, but that's where I left it deep inside my mind.

"Go on Hannah, it's your turn." Avery said eyeing the Alley. Hannah looked at the alley before going inside, probably thinking the same thing I was 5 minutes ago. Alec and I pretended to be having a normal conversation while, Avery checked out a shop window.

"So how you holding up?"

"This is suppose to be a normal conversation."

"Okay then, you look gorgeous today."

"Who learned you that it's right to lie like that!" I scolded him.

"It's not a lie if I believe it."

"Guys you need to kiss, there is a guy there that is looking at us, he is frowning all suspiciously."

"Why do..."

"Come on!" Alec leaned in and kissed me, I couldn't believe it. When he pulled away I just looked at him.

"Well is the guy looking away?" I asked Avery, but my eyes were still glued on Alec.

"Oh there wasn't a guy, I just felt that all three of us needed that kiss."

"Avery!..."

"Guys I found her." I'll get Avery later. We all walked into the alley following Hannah until she stopped at a trash bin. All of our hearts stopped, because we knew what is thrown in most of these bins...bodies. She opened it and to our relief, Jocelyn was laying there sleeping, clutching a stick to her chest. I've never been this relieved in my life.

"Josie? Wake up!" I tried gently waking her up.

"Jocelyn wake up!" Hannah isn't patient, Jocelyn jumped up swinging the stick hitting Hannah on the cheek.

"What the hell, Jocelyn!" Hannah exclaimed out in pain as she clutched her cheek tightly.

"Sorry you frightened me."

"She frighten us all." Avery said in a sweet voice.

"Not funny Avery."

@Let me help you." Alec said grabbing Jocelyn and lifting her out the bin. I attacked her after that, clinging at the poor half asleep girl throwing my arms around her and hugging her tight.

"I'm so glad you're alive!"

"You thought I was dead!"

"Yes, why didn't you come back last night." I was still hugging her and I wasn't planning on letting go any time soon.

"I got a job, but my boss didn't want to stop talking by the time I got out of there it was already starting to get dark and I walked faster, I knew I couldn't run, when it was finally dark I felt my way into an alley and decided to get into the trash bin for extra safety. I stink, I slept on top of bodies." She wrinkled up her nose in disgust.

"You do not stink! What job did you get?"

"It's this small shop that sells herbs and spices. The owner was fascinated by my knowledge when a girl came in and at his absence I helped her find what she was looking for. He came back and kept an eye on us."

"That's great!"

“Yes, but I have other news as well. While my boss was talking to me I heard two men talking about you!" Jocelyn said looking at me.

"About me?"

"Yes, they were talking about 'Blayne's daughter going missing'. They kept referring to you as Blayne's daughter, so I'm guessing they don't know your name or how you look." that’s just the last thing we needed now! Lady luck is not on our side.

"But there is a chance that if they know, others will too." I finally let go of her sighing.

"Don't worry, no one will be looking for us here, not yet. For precaution all of you should only call me Skye from now on, my father only calls me Skylar. If it happens that people start calling us by name we'll use different names. I'll also make a little change to my appearance to throw them off." I blinked my eyes rapidly and then kept them closed as they burned, before opening them I rubbed them until they felt better.

"You look completely different." My eyes have sifted from blue to green like it did when I was a toddler.

"Why did you never tell us that you could do that?"Avery asked staring at me like a crazy person.

"The odds of a half blood being able to do that is like 1 out of every billion, there hasn't been a reported case until now." Jocelyn always sticking with the facts of things.

"How do you do it?"

"It happened when I was two and after that I could control it, I can turn my hair blonde as well, but I hate doing it. I did it when I was 12 and when I looked into the mirror I didn't recognize myself, it was creepy, I expected the strange person to greet me, but instead it mirrored me, at least if I just change my eyes I'm still me, just with different eyes."

“It's still weird." Thanks Hannah for that confidence boost.

"It doesn't look at all like your fathers eyes, it's like your blue ones, extremely bright, but green."

"It fits my bright personality." I joked sourly.

"Either way you still look beautiful to me." Alec said smiling at me. He has a way of making me feel better.

"Okay then, let's go find jobs. Jocelyn you should probably get to yours. We'll all meet three alleys up. I'll walk Alec there."

"Fine with me. I'll be around the place I was thrown out yesterday."

"Avery focus on landing a job, not a bodyguard."

"It's about picking up where I left of yesterday."

"Of course it is."

"What about you Hannah?"

"I'm heading to the food section, unlike my mom I'm not afraid of a kitchen."

"Only when you're at my house." I teased her.

"Then I'm your guest, you should cater for your guests."

"You could have been my sister, all of you could. I won't ever consider you as guest, so once we are back home, you can provide for yourselves." We all parted on that note, Avery going to go and flirt, Hannah going to go and try cook up some interest, Jocelyn's going to spice up our finances and I'm going to deliver Alec to our alley.

"You want to talk about our kiss?" Nope.

"This is the one topic that you shouldn't keep silent on, I'm feeling very uncertain at the moment." Alec admitted in distress.

"We can talk about it." I gave in reluctantly.

"Was it okay for me to kiss you like that?"

"You thought the occasion called for it, which completely validates it."

"I knew there wasn't any guy."

"And still you kissed me..."

"Yes." why would he do that, we really don’t need to complicate our bad situation, by adding a romance in the mix.

"Because...Avery told you to and you felt put on the spot?" please that be the reason.

"No because for the last few weeks, since I saw you in that class I wanted to kiss you." and he chooses now to do it?

"Your timing is sure off."

"I figured that then was as good a time as ever, doesn't seem like we are going anyplace soon." We finally arrived at the alley and I'm so grateful. I don't know what to say anymore.

"Here we are, I should be going. You know do my part and all."

"Yeah sure." We stood there in silence.

"Look Alec, it's not that I didn't want to kiss you or be kissed by you, I just think that it will complicate this already very complicated situation." I was standing so close to him, so I reached out placing my cold hand against his cheek.

"You're so cold."

"Don't worry about it. Are we okay now?"

"Yes I wasn't mad I just wanted to know where I stood." I leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips.

"That is to make us even...and it guarantee's that once the time is right we'll re-open this conversation." I stepped away and gave him a last smile before leaving. I spend my day knocking on doors again, today seeming even colder than yesterday, the misty atmosphere feeling like it can choke you. I knocked on my next door, over and over again, but there was no response. I gave up, my hands aching to much to go on anyway. I looked down at them, they were red and stiff from the coldness. Another day wasted.

I walked down the few steps and back onto the pavement. Once I get to the alley, I'm going to cover myself up in my blanket and sleep. I've been awake for over 26 hours and I'm exhausted.

"Excuse me, what were you doing at my door?" I looked up from my hand into an elderly mans face.

"I was going to ask if you might have work for me." he looked me over and seemed to hesitate before sighing.

"Let's go and talk it over a cup of tea." Now I feel hesitant, but he seems safe enough and I'm not entirely defenceless.

"Lead the way sir." I followed him back and up the stairs, he unlocked the door and walked inside waiting on me to follow. As he said he made us each a cup of tea and we sat down to talk. I felt so out of place in his house I haven't seen myself lately, but I must look horrid. I understand his hesitation from earlier.

"What kind of work are you interested in?"

"Anything you have to offer even if it is only temporary." I sipped at the tea and it tasted so good, the last time I had something warm to drink was before we left on the road trip to hell. In fact this is the only thing I have drank since yesterday morning.

"You know thievery is punishable by death."

"I'm not here to steal from you." I reassured him. I understand if someone approached me here trying to get a job while looking horrid I wouldn’t trust them either.

"Can you blame my judgement, you are a young beautiful girl, the best job for you would be to deceive, marry or become a chamber maid for one of the rich families."

"None of those will keep what dignity I have left in tact." Staying with my fake story of the murderous girlfriend.

"You must be really desperate then? This must be your last resort."

"Yes. All I want is to find a job so that I can look after myself."

"And the others." how could he possibly know about the group. My heart started to beat faster than normal.

"Excuse me." 

"You are looking after others as well, that's why you have been knocking on doors, it clear in your swollen knuckles. One doesn't keep going at it like that if they only wish to survive, they do it when they want to help people they love survive."

"Yes there is others I look after…friends."

"You are foolish to love in a place like this."

"They say that love is foolish no matter the place."

"True." he sighed.

"Fine. I need someone to clean my house and cook for me when I ask of it. You can use my bathroom everyday before you leave to wash up and I'll give you breakfast and dinner. You will be paid 200 nightshades a day. That is the best offer you'll get by knocking on doors." it’s a great offer I’ll be able to buy a whole bread every second day and I’ll get food here. This is a saving grace.

"And it's a great offer sir." I reassured him smiling brightly at him.

"The bathroom is down the hall to the left go and take a shower and wash your dress I'll leave a clean one outside the door for when you're done. If I was you I'd was my hair a few times." I feel grateful and insulted, but I'll do as he tells me. I wish I could have stayed in the shower, it felt so nice, the heat of the water against my cold skin gave me a sense of normal again, I feel almost like myself. I wrapped a towel around myself as I washed my dress in the basin. Opening the door I saw the folded piece of material on the floor and quickly took it before closing the door again.

It was a beautiful dress. It's a long sleeved polar neck maxi dress. It's grey, covered in black lace down to my hips from there the skirt is just black. It's tight at the top and looser at the bottom. Once I was dressed and my old dress was in my backpack I went back to where we had tea.

"Thank you for the dress it is beautiful."

"It use to belong to my wife... like I said it's foolish to love in a place like this, a place where death is only a second away at all times."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Eat." He nodded to the plate of food on the table.

"You are to skinny, I do not wish you to faint when you work." The plate held meat, vegetables and bread. It looked delicious and smelled amazing.

"The food will not climb of the plate and jump into your mouth girl." I smiled at him, before starting to eat. It felt weird with him just sitting there looking at me. I ate a little of everything, but I wasn't in a hurry to eat all of it. I'd rather pace myself.

"Thank you it was wonderful." I thanked my new employer smiling up at him again.

"You should come back tomorrow as early as possible. Here are a pair of sock and boots, it will fit with the dress, better than does ridiculous sandals. At the door you'll find a flask of tea for your friends and some biscuits. Don't get use to it, I just want to ensure your head is at the work and not worrying about those friends."

"Thank you very much sir." I put on the knee high flat material boots and socks. You couldn't see the boots from under the dress which is perfect, and it's a lot warmer, the dress is too, now that I think of it.

"Okay it's time for you too leave now." He walked me back to the door.

"Here is cream for your knuckles and the cloves that came with the dress. I'll see you tomorrow." I put everything he gave me in my bag and put on the cloves and then I left. Finally something good has happened since we got here.