Can you hear me now?

Janet focused on her breathing, trying to ignore the beads of sweat trickling down from her saturated brows.  That was easy to do with her eyes closed.  Opening them had no advantage in the pitch black, mildew saturated crawl space in which she found herself.  

The tightly knotted twine that bound her wrists behind her naked back had started cutting into her flesh after all of these days.  Supported only by a cold, rusted support beam behind her, her body surely would have been completely prone on the dirt foundation below her knees if she wasn't so tightly one with the house's skeleton.  

Her barely audible cries for help were muffled by the gag that was now seemingly part of her skull.  The only real sounds in the dungeon that she was sure would become her grave were the scattered squeaks of the rats now enjoying nibbles of her flesh, sautéed by drops of blood. 

With what seemed like the power of a lighthouse beam focused directly in her face, Janet's darkness vanished as the sounds of thunderous creaks on the wooden steps accompanied a flood of illumination from the first floor above her.  

He stood in front of her, peering down at her matted hair on the crown of her head.  She dared not look up.  She knew better.

"Whaddya' say?  Can I have my phone back now, Mom? Or do you want to spend another night down here?"