Well, there was no way THAT was going to happen, I can assure you. Actually, the more I thought about it, the more I pitied the guy. He probably couldn't handle a real relationship, so this was the only way he could have a woman in his life.
Well, it was pathetic, all right, but that didn't help me any. I doubted anything I could say would sway him. It'd be a cold day in Hell before he gave up his new pet, that much was certain.
As I nibbled on my eggs and toast, occasionally sipping from the little cup that stood higher than my knees, I considered this new knowledge. There were ways I could use this to my advantage, I thought, but all of them took time. I could, for example, pretend to love him, buying his trust until he finally slipped up and left me an opening for escape. Or, I could feign illness or injury, hoping he'd finally see no alternative but to take me to a doctor, where I could get help from someone at the hospital. Despite the risk, I was pretty sure he wouldn't just let his little pet die without trying to save me.
Well, I thought, these were possibilities for the future. Today, I wanted to see if I could find a way out without resorting to those kinds of desperation ploys.
"So, Ashley, did you sleep well?" asked Irwin as I finished eating. "I hope you liked the bed. I worked very hard on it."
"It was fine," I replied. "I'd prefer my own bed, though."
"That WAS your own bed," he told me. "Forget about your old life, my cute little doll. It no longer exists. This is your home now. The sooner you realize that, the better!"
Never! I thought, but I didn't say that. I wanted to leave things open for later. "You've been very kind," I said instead, "but you must know I'll never be happy here. I just want to go home!"
"But you ARE home," he insisted. "And you'll be happy here someday, you'll see. It'll take some adjusting, I know, but in a while you'll never want to be anywhere else. Come on, I'll take you back to your room."
He stood up and took me in his hand, carrying me downstairs. As I had already learned, it was best not to struggle, so I just let him hold me as we went. Once back in the basement, he set me on the desk and turned to leave. "I'm off to work now, Ashley," he told me, "but I'll be back tonight. I hope you have enough to do, and if you think you need anything else, just let me know when I get home. I'll be happy to provide it for you."
"How about a cell phone?" I asked sarcastically. "I'll be wanting to order a pizza later, you know."
He chuckled at my rather weak little joke. "I'm sure you would, but I don't believe in cell phones. I don't even own one. Enjoy your day, Ashley."
With that, he departed, locking me in by myself. I wasted no time in whipping off the stupid doll outfit, listening to the sounds of Irwin walking around upstairs until he finally left, slamming the front door shut behind him. Then I started towards the ladder, only to be reminded by the rough wooden surface that I was barefoot. I pulled on the thigh boots, then continued on.
The most obvious avenue of escape was getting into the utility room and out the dryer vent. I identified that room by peering underneath the door, spotting the lower edge of a washing machine or dryer just on the fringes of my vision. Now I needed a way to climb up to the lock. I was able to arrange for that by slowly dragging the computer desk chair over to it, a process that took quite a while, and left me exhausted.
Once I recovered, I climbed up the chair and then up onto its back, from which I could just barely reach the lock. It looked relatively simple, requiring only a single, short key. I figured I could pick it if I could find a couple of stiff wires or a hairpin or something. Not that a man would have a hairpin anywhere, but anything similar would do.
I spent the next hour or so scouring the basement for just such a tool, but found nothing. It was almost like Irwin had anticipated this plan and removed anything that could potentially fit into a lock. I thought about ripping apart some of the electronic equipment, but there were no tools around either, so I couldn't pry any of their cases apart.
By lunchtime, I realized I'd have to give up on this plan for now. It was possible Irwin would turn his back on me while I was elsewhere in the house, and I could grab something useful and smuggle it back underneath my clothes. That meant I'd have to stop resisting those stupid Barbie doll outfits, but that was just as well. As long as Irwin thought I was adapting to life here, he'd be more likely to let down his guard.
It was sad, really. Irwin had abducted the wrong girl. If he'd just asked Heather, she probably would have volunteered to come with him!
I pushed the chair back to where I'd found it, then took a break to get some food and water. I had only one other possibility I could investigate that I could think of, and that was the windows. Well, there were the air vents too, but from what I could see, Irwin had solidly bound those with iron gratings welded securely shut. I probably wouldn't get out that way, though it wouldn't hurt to make sure.
After lunch, I tried figuring out a way to get up to the windows. As I feared, the wood paneling was too slick to climb. If I'd had some staples, I might have been able to make a ladder or something, but Irwin hadn't left me any office supplies, unfortunately. I suppose it might have been possible to eventually pry loose the ladders Irwin had built for me and move them over there, but it'd take forever. Without a hammer or some other way to drive in the nails, it might well be impossible.
It might not be necessary, though. If I could get to the drop ceiling somehow, I could walk around up there and over to the window. Besides, for all I knew, there might be a way out hiding behind those panels. Now, how was I going to get up there?
There were no convenient cables dangling from the ceiling, so my only chance was to climb. I walked around the place, examining the walls carefully. In one corner, the paneling had started to come loose, and I found that by working it from side to side, I was able to pop it partially free. From here, I was able to squeeze behind it, and pull myself upwards using the nails as footholds.
Buoyed by this success, I headed upwards until I reached the ceiling. From here, it was a simple matter to force the panel upwards and then sideways, and pull myself into the space beyond.
I found myself amidst large piles of pink insulation material, but moving around was a snap. It wasn't even dark, since the fluorescent lighting was up here with me. The unfiltered lights were hard to look at, though.
I moved around, looking for escape routes, but found nothing helpful. The ventilation shafts were well sealed, as were any other access points that led upwards. In fact, there was plenty of evidence to suggest that Irwin had been at work up here making sure that I couldn't get out this way. Even the places the various power cables and whatnot went through had been closed up with reinforcements that had been welded down. Even something as small as a mouse couldn't get out of this place.
Which was fortunate, I suppose, because that meant they couldn't get in, either. I'd hate to meet something like that at my size!
After giving up on a way out up here, I went back to my original plan, using the windows. I moved one of the panels out of the way, then used a cord to lower myself down to the frame, where I found out to my dismay that this route had been solidly barred. Irwin had been at work up here, too, welding a metal grating in place that looked solid enough to stop a real size burglar, much less myself. And, naturally, the slots between the bars were too narrow to fit through.
There was still one other window, but by now I was pretty sure what I would find over there. Yep, it too had been carefully sealed up. I stood there on the frame for a moment, wanting to scream.
Damn it! There had to be SOME way I could get out of this place!