The Cage - Chapter Three

John didn’t have anything to do. If he was in a prison, it was a comfortable one. If he was in a cage, He could not see any barriers that needed to be broken through. There was no clear purpose to focus his energy, so he focused it on building the model.

As he looked around he found some model paint. He had never had the patience to paint the individual pieces of a model, but since he seemed to have a lot of time on his hands, he decided that now would be a good time to start. He looked at the instructions and started to carefully paint different pieces. The reason he never did this before was because he never wanted to wait for them to dry. He was always anxious get on started on the next step in the instructions.

Once he got absorbed into what he was doing, he started to enjoy his task. It had been a long time since he did anything for the fun of it. For the past few years, he had focused his energy on working, and taking care of his family. His efforts left little time for any personal gratification. He felt another twinge of guilt, he was enjoying himself while his family was somewhere else trying to get by without him and there was nothing he could do about it. Without the income from his job, his family would lose all their possessions. His wife would have a nervous breakdown and his children would grow up never knowing what happened to their father.

He put down the paint brush and model piece. He had to find out where this place was and why he was there. A wave of helplessness washed over him and he fell to his knees and started crying. He didn’t deserve to be plucked away from his family. He had never done anything to anybody. He had always followed the rules of society and lived a peaceful life.

For the first time the fact that he was alone became real to him. The house had been quiet the entire time he had been there but it didn’t bother him until now. He went into the living area and turned on the TV. The football game he was watching earlier was gone and was replaced by a movie about a man trapped on a deserted island. The man in the movie was talking to objects that were not alive in an effort to keep his sanity. John wondered if he would end up like that.