Finding Simba - 2. Find Ch 2

I immediately thought about the crate that has the ropes attached to it, so I retrieved it and secured the rope to the crate, and I waited for the rope and crate be pulled up, but there appeared to be no one up there, so I headed to the bathroom, to attend to my ablutions for the day.

I noticed a small rock on the floor, which I picked up and I made three short lines on the sidewall to make the three days that I have been stuck in this hellhole of a place. By the time that I had returned to the main part of the cave, after washing my hands with the container of fresh water, I began to look around the cave.

The crate was still where I had left it, so I presumed that nothing had happened with it, until I got a slight smell of fresh bread. I peered into the crate to find it filled with a fresh supply of food, which I unpacked and while I was packing it all away with my back turned, the crate disappeared.

When I noticed, I looked up, and saw and heard nothing, “So that is how you plan to do it is it?” I said to myself, more than to anyone that may or may not be listening in. After making myself some breakfast with some bread, porridge and some fruit juice, which had just been delivered, I could surmise that my captors wanted to keep me fit and healthy.

Once breakfast was over, and cleaned up, I did a stock take of what I have in the way of food supplies, and realised that I now had enough food to be able to have three meals a day instead of just one, which I was pleased with. I was not sure if I was been watched or not, as I stripped down to my underwear, and took a bath in the small pool of fresh water, and although the water was very cool, I felt a lot better for it, having washed away all of the last few days of dirt and grime away.

After dressing into some fresh clothes, and while there is still plenty of sunlight in the cave, I decided to make a more detailed inspection of the cave that was holding me captive.

I discovered that the walls were all solid rock, with no soft rock or sand anywhere in sight, and the walls slope inwards, creating a huge overhang, which would make it impossible to scale the wall to reach the hole in the wall.

For the next half an hour, I examined the wall even closer, and even made a few attempts of trying to climb the wall, with not much success, instead I walked around the cave two dozen times to try and keep fit, in case I need to react quickly if my captives decided to open the door into the cave. I decided that I would do half an hour of exercise each day to stay fit.

After the exercise, I sat down in the centre of the cave, where there is a good sized patch of soft sand, and began to think of what options that I may have to get out of this situation.

The thud of something landing near me, made me jump in fright, and I saw that the crate had returned empty, so I undid the clasp that secured it to the rope, which quickly disappeared out of sight above me.

Looking at the crate closer, I saw that it has cardboard sheeting at the bottom, no doubt to make sure nothing falls through the two slots between the pieces of wood at the bottom.

I lifted the piece of cardboard, which was a lot thicker than I expected, and this is when an idea came to mind.

Standing up, I walked over to my bed and pulled out my suitcase again, and retrieved my mobile phone, which I turned on and then immediately turned down the volume, and turned off the vibration mode, before switching it to silent mode.

Taking note of the battery level, which was at 90%, I smiled as I typed in a message, that is to be sent to Uncle Nat. “HELP, I have been captured by unknown persons, from outside the hotel on arrival there. I am being detained, in a deep cave that is very close to a railway tunnel, with what sounds like freight trains passing twice a day.

I am being well looked after, I have my suitcase minus a few items, but they didn’t discovered my hidden mobile phone, I have plenty of fresh water, and food is delivered to me via a crate at the end of a rope once every two days. Please help me. JSB.”

I saved the message, before turning the mobile off, and I would await the arrival of the rope once again before I hid the mobile underneath the cardboard, once I had turned it on and pressed send on the message, in hope that there is mobile coverage at the top.

With that plan now in place, I grabbed the book that I was reading yesterday and continued to read for the next few hours.

Growing tired of just sitting around, I stripped down to my underwear again and went for a swim, this time doing laps of the pool, which I estimated to be approximately twelve metres long.

After seventeen laps, which are approximately two hundred metres, I climbed out and dried off, before getting dressed again. I decided that I would do both walking and swimming each day to try and keep motivated since there was not much all I could do apart from reading books and sleeping.

By the end of the day as the daylight began to fade, I started to make some dinner earlier than I planned, and once I had eaten and cleaned up, I decided too just go to bed early, as there was nothing else to do, and it was too difficult to read under candle light.

At the start of my fourth day of captivity, I was feeling a little restless, not just because I was being detained against my will, but also that I have never been made to feel so hopeless before.

After doing my morning ablutions, I was surprised to find the rope hanging down from the roof hole, and a sheet of paper in the crate, written in bold letters read – “Going away for a few days, send up crate for extra supplies.”

Quickly I dashed to my bed and retrieved my phone turning it on and waiting for it to start up, which seemed to take for ages, before opening the message and pressing send. Bending over the crate, so as too hide what I was doing, I place the phone between the crate and the cardboard, before removing the note, connecting the rope to the crate and stepping back. I watched as the crate was being pulled up, but I was not able to see anyone there obviously they were staying out of my sight.

Within a minute, the crate was on its way back down again, I disconnected the rope, which headed back up to the top again, and I carried the crate over to the kitchen area. Unpacking the crate onto the bench, I quickly lifted up the cardboard and looked at my phone, which had “Message sent” on the screen, which I was pleased about, but there was no reply, which I expected because of the small amount of time that the crate wa up at the top.

In the supply of additional food, I had three packets of biscuits, more cans of soup, tuna and this time some vegetables, as well as cans of baked beans, spaghetti, and fruit, which is an added bonus. No bread this time, but I was surprised to see a packet of good quality T Bone steak, which I planned to eat at lunchtime, and there was some apples and oranges as well.

With every delicious mouthful of steak that I ate, I decided that this would be my main meal for the day, so I can conserve what I have, as I was not sure when the next supply run will arrive. Over the next five days, I began to get worried that my capture would not be returning, so I decided to ration my food even more, with just one meal per day, and I only have two pieces of fruit remaining.

I was keeping up with my walking and swimming each day, and some reading and I had typed up another message on my phone for when the rope comes down again. “Still getting regular food supplies, and I am exercising every day to try and keep my body and mind active. Please Help me. JSB.”

It was another two days later, before the rope was finally lowered into the cave, and I quickly grabbed my mobile and turned it on, before pressing send on the message and hiding it under the cardboard. Once the rope was connected to the crate, I watched as it went upwards to the top of the cave and disappeared out of sight.

Suddenly something that was not the crate came falling down and smashed against the rocks, and I was disappointed and upset to see that it was my mobile phone. A few minutes later, the crate came back down, with just a packet of rice and a note in it.

“That was a very silly move you did, and as punishment, all you get is rice for the rest of the week.” I collapsed onto my knees and sobbed, “Why me, what have I done wrong?” I called out, but I received no response, as I disconnected the rope from the crate, now without cardboard on the bottom of it.

I have been a captive for eleven days now, and I had no idea how long that I would remain down here, as I continued to sob quietly. When the daylight began to fade, the second train passed by, and this time as I watched the cave shake as it passed, I noticed a piece of rock drop off the wall.

I waited until the train had passed and that it was nearly entirely dark, before I walked to the cave wall and searched by feel for any sign of a gap of any kind in the wall. With the daylight fading too quickly, I gave up the search as I walked over to my bed and lie down, soon falling asleep, feeling defeated and very much alone.

As I counted the days that passed, each day marking on the wall that I was in captivity, I wondered if I would be here for more than just weeks, that maybe I would be here for months or years.

I wondered if I would be able to cope with the anxiety and stress of being detained for such a long period. I just hoped that Uncle Nat had received both of my messages and that he was planning some kind of rescue for me.