With a light buzz, the light flickered on, casting the room in a dim yellow light. In the centre of the room, there was a metal cage, standing less than a metre tall. A young woman was lying there, curled up in the cage.

It’s so cold. Shivering, Phoebe slowly woke up. She felt her face pressed against the metal floor beneath her. Where am I? Trying to stand up, she banged her head against the ceiling of the cage.

“Ow.” Rubbing her head, she looked above her, finding the ceiling to be far too close. She began to panic, and as she looked around, she was able to make out a door beyond the metal bars. Wait. Metal bars? It took her a moment, but she realised that she was trapped in a cage.

“Hello! Can anybody hear me? Hello?” She shouted, but no one answered. Did I get kidnapped? Looking at the surrounding walls, she found herself in a dark and dingy room, almost like a basement in someone’s house. However, she found nothing to identify where she was. How did I get here? I was at home, watching TV, then... Ugh. What happened after that? Unable to remember anything else, she guessed that someone broke into her house. But why would they do that? I haven’t hurt anyone; I don’t think I have any enemies, Do I?

She tried to think of anyone who would have had a grudge against her, but no names came to mind. I need to get out of here before they come back.

Looking around the room, she tried to find any way to escape. She focused in on the lock keeping the cage door closed. Pulling the lock around to get a better look, she tried to find a way to unlock it, but failed. Growing frustrated, she slammed it into the metal bars, hoping to jam it open. But no matter how hard she tried; she was unable to damage it at all. Fuck.

“Good morning, Phoebe. It is useless for you to struggle in such a way. You have no chance of breaking that lock. You have done many horrible things to animals, and now it’s time for you to experience what those poor creatures did when under your care. However, unlike those creatures, you have a chance to escape-”

“Ooh, ooh! Let me handle this. Please!” Zara burst through the door, interrupting Buddie’s speech.

Phoebe flinched at the sudden bright light, raising her hand to block it out, causing the lock to clang against the cage. Shit! As her eyesight readjusted, she got a good look at the person who entered. As she stared into Zara’s eyes, she shivered.

Zara crouched down in front of the cage, staring right at Phoebe. “You know, ever since I was a little girl, I’d always wanted a pet, but my parents kept saying no. So, when I heard about what you were doing to those animals, I was heartbroken. How could someone be so cruel?” Zara said, almost looking like she’s about to cry.

“Cruel? Do you not see the irony here you crazy bit-”

BANG!

“Shut up!” Zara said as she slammed her fist on the cage, causing Phoebe to flinch back in fear. “As I was saying, I found your actions to be absolutely evil and abhorrent. Only a monster could treat those precious little animals that way. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands.”

“Wh-what are you going to do?” Phoebe asked shakily.

“I’m going to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. The exact same way you treated those animals. And I’m going to have so much fun doing so.” She started laughing as she stood up, the facade now completely gone.

Memories of how she abused those animals flashed through her mind, causing her to almost wet herself in fear. Tears streamed down her face as she begged. “Please no! Anything but that. I-I’m sorry for what I’ve done, just please don’t hurt me!” She reached through the bars, trying to clutch onto Zara’s leg.

Crunch.

Phoebe groaned in pain, as Zara’s foot crushed her hand against the ground. “I don’t think you actually feel sorry for what you’ve done. Because of your dishonesty, I’m not going to give you any food or water today.”

No... She grovelled even lower, smushing her face against the ground. “You’re right, I’m sorry for being dishonest. I’ll do anything. Please just don’t take away my food and water.”

“Anything you say?” Zara stopped to think for a moment. “Okay, I can accept that.” She lifted her foot, letting phoebe’s hand go.

“Really?” Phoebe says, snivelling as she tried to wipe away her tears. Her hand pulsed with pain, causing her to wince.

“Yeah. You just have to do one thing for me.” She crouched back down to get a good view of Phoebe. "Slap yourself."

What? Phoebe looked at her in confusion. Not believing that it would be something so simple.

"You want water, don't you? Then slap yourself." Zara said.

Phoebe lifted her good hand, about to slap herself across the face before Zara stopped her.

"Not that hand. Use the other one." Zara said, pointing at the hand that was already starting to swell.

Phoebe looked down with a pained wince, lowering her hand. I need to do this. Wanting to get it over and done with as fast as possible, she brought her hand down on her face in a swift, thunderous slap. Her face stung, but the real pain came from her hand. She cried as she cradled the swollen hand. Something's broken. I can feel it.

She looked up at Zara, hoping for food. Please, please, please.

“You know what. I think I’ll give you some water as a reward.” Before Phoebe could catch up with what was happening, Zara walked out of the room, returning with a bottle of water shortly thereafter. Twisting the cap of the bottle off, she poured it out onto the floor of the cage. “There you go. Drink up.”

Thoroughly ashamed and embarrassed, Phoebe tried to scoop up the water in her hands, but she couldn't do so without causing herself immense pain. She looked up at Zara, who grinned at her. She realised there was only one way she could drink it. God, this is embarrassing. She lapped up the water, tasting the cold metal more than anything else.

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“There there. That wasn't too bad was it? Keep drinking like that, I don't want you to hurt yourself when I'm not around. That's no fun. And if you’re very good, I might even let you out of this cage.” She dangled the key in front of her as she said this.

Phoebe stopped drinking the water, immediately staring at the key. She looked away as Zara placed the key back into her pocket.

“Don’t worry! I’ll be back soon.” As she stepped out the door, the light turned off, shrouding Phoebe in darkness.

I need to get that key. Now that Zara was gone, she tried again at using her hands to collect as much of the remaining water as possible. This time, she only used her good hand. It was a struggle, but she managed to get it done by pushing the water up against the little lip on the edges of the cage. Having Quenched her thirst, she decided to rest, hoping to conserve her energy.

BEEP!

A harsh noise blared through the room, waking Phoebe before she could properly fall asleep. What? She looked around confused, trying to find what made that sound. For the next few minutes, there was nothing but silence, and Phoebe decided to try and sleep again.

BEEP!

~

Phoebe wasn’t able to sleep at all. Every time she tried to sleep, a deafening noise would sound, forcing her to wake up. This lasted for hours, causing her to become more frustrated and irritable.

Suddenly, the light turned on, but this time it was far too bright. Making her feel as if she was staring directly into the sun no matter where she looked. Closing her eyes, she whimpered.

Zara opened the door, looking annoyed at Phoebe.

“Do you know what you did wrong?” Standing tall above the cage, Zara questioned her.

What did I do? Thinking back to everything that happened yesterday, she failed to think of what could have annoyed her captor so much. “No?” she whispered.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” Zara yelled.

“No.” She said again, but this time louder than before.

“You are such an idiot! How could you not figure it out? I told you to keep lapping up the water, but what did you do the second I left the room?” Crouching down, Zara stared directly into Phoebe’s eyes.

Phoebe turned pale upon hearing what Zara said. How does she know? She was rooted to the spot when she looked into Zara’s eyes.

“Because you disobeyed me, you will be punished.” Leaving her with those words, Zara left the room.

What? As the room was plunged into darkness, Phoebe stared at the door in confusion. Why is she leaving?

~

It was only when several hours had passed that she began to realise what her punishment was. Deprived of sleep, and with no signs of Zara returning, Phoebe felt that she was about to go insane. The sound of her stomach grumbling was magnified in the deafening quiet of the room. I’m hungry.

In the darkness, she lost track of time. With only her increasingly worsening state telling her that time was moving forward. As her stomach pains grew, she felt weak and exhausted. Her eyelids grew heavy as she drifted off to sleep.

BEEP!

Once again, she was woken up mere moments after closing her eyes. “SHUT UP.” She covered her ears and tried to get some sleep, but no matter how hard she tried, the sound penetrated into her brain. Without exception, it would always wake her up. And with every resounding beep, she almost felt as if she could hear someone speaking to her, but she was unable to understand what they were saying.

~

Time continued to pass, and her body and mind grew worse by the hour. Her throat was so dry she could barely speak, and when she coughed, she could feel her lungs burning.

Unable to sleep and slowly dying of thirst and hunger, she became a husk of her former self. Her hollow gaze left staring out into the abyss. Why is this happening to me?

As her life was fading away, she could finally make out what that voice was saying. I’m a monster...I deserve to die here... Do what she says... I’m less than human... I should die

The door creaked open as light flooded into the room, blinding Phoebe, who was too out of it to even react.

Seeing her at death’s door pleased Zara. “Do you understand what you did wrong?” She leaned down and asked with a gentle smile on her face.

Unable to speak, Phoebe barely managed to nod her head, hoping that would be enough. But as time passed without a response, she realised that she would have to speak. “Yes.” It felt like her throat was burning.

“Good. Now let’s get you fixed up. I can’t have you die on me just yet; I haven’t finished having fun.” Pulling out a bottle of water, she poured its contents into the cage.

Without hesitation, Phoebe lapped it up. There was nothing else on her mind but her desire for water. Quenching her first, Phoebe felt immensely satisfied as the pain in her throat was slightly quelled..

After the bottle of water was finished, she looked into Zara’s eyes and whimpered.

“There there. You’ll get some more water later. Right now it’s time for you to eat.” Zara said.

Food! The sound of her stomach grumbling punctuated her thoughts.

Zara left the room, coming back with a can of dog food in her hand. Pulling the tab open, Zara dumped the food onto the cage floor. Slimy chunks of meat fell into a loose pile in front of a confused Phoebe.

“Dinner’s ready! Dig in.” Zara stood up and watched, waiting for Phoebe to start eating.

Looking at the disgusting sloppy mess in front of her, she hesitated for a moment before lowering her head to the food, remembering to not use her hands. She almost gagged as the food slid down her throat, the slimy texture of it putting her off. It’s not too bad.

Zara chuckled, leaving her to enjoy the meal.

Hearing the door close, Phoebe looked up to see that Zara was gone, then hesitated before going back to eating. I need any food I can get. I can’t be picky.

~

Over the next two and a half weeks, Zara continued to force Phoebe to degrade herself for minimal amounts of food and water. She trained her to do tricks. She would beat Phoebe until she was nothing more than a confused, sobbing, and bloody mess. Her clothes were torn and bloodied.

Dehydrated, starving, and having not slept in an entire week, Phoebe’s fractured mind clutched onto Zara, reshaping itself around the way she was being treated.

She no longer believed she was human and instead believed that she was Zara’s loyal pet.

Waiting in the darkness, Phoebe knelt at the front of the cage, waiting for Zara to appear. Although her knees were sore, she knew that Zara was expecting to see her in this position, so she held tight.

Zara stepped into the room carrying a bottle of water and canned dog food in her hands.

“Hmm. What should I have you do for this...” She said while shaking the can of dog food. Seeing phoebe’s excited face, she smiled sinisterly. “Come closer, Bitch.”

Yes Mistress! At Zara’s command, she crawled closer, sticking her face against the metal bars.

Zara lifted her foot. “Do you want to lick my boots clean?”

Yes! Phoebe enthusiastically nodded her head, sticking her tongue out to try and lick it clean.

Zara stomped her foot down on Phoebe’s face, leaving a dirty footprint behind. “Of course you would want to do that you disgusting freak.”

Not reacting to the words at all Phoebe excitedly got to work, licking off all of the dirt and muck on Zara’s shoe.

Seeing no reaction, Zara was frustrated. She lifted her boot before stomping it down with more force. She repeatedly stomped her foot down, causing blood to pour out of Phoebe’s broken nose.

Still Phoebe did not react, focusing wholeheartedly on cleaning Zara’s boot, now having to lick off her own blood.

Zara continued to wail on her, leaving blood and bruises across her whole body. “God you’re pathetic! Just fight back one time, that’s all I want you to do. But nooo, you’re suck a pathetic little coward that I was able to break you in two weeks. Take your food you little shit.” She poured the food and water onto Phoebe’s body. “You’re so pathetic that it’s not fun anymore.” Zara pulled on necklace she got to hold the key, snapping it and throwing the key away. She walked out the door in frustration, slamming it shut behind her.

Looking up at the door, Phoebe whimpered for a few minutes before digging into the food that fell onto the floor.

“You have failed to convince your captor that you deserved redemption for the sickening things you had done. And now your owner has abandoned you forever because of your inability to please them. Enjoy Hell Phoebe. Goodbye.”