She squealed, laughing, as he came up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. As he leaned in to kiss her neck, she let her head fall back to rest on his shoulder. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this safe and she couldn’t imagine living her life without him. She couldn’t wait until they moved in to a new city, a new apartment, a new life together.
He turned her in his arms and as she looked up into his eyes, she was horrified to see dark, reddened eyes leering back at her from a masked face. She screamed in terror, forgetting briefly, lost in her dreams, not remembering the horror of her current situation. Her captor laughed and turned her again so that her back was to him and he walked her roughly back to the corner where he had been keeping her chained.
She was whimpering now, unable to stop herself. She missed John so much, but more than that, she was terrified of not ever leaving this place. She had finally figured out that there were two men keeping her here. They seemed quite similar, although they were always masked. She felt like one was responsible for moving her to and from the table and the machines and the other only appeared when she was unconscious. There was that one day when she was lying on the table and had not quite passed out when she saw the other one out of the corner of her eye. That had been a horrifying and hopeful day, all rolled into one. Any slight variation in routine made her think two separate things almost simultaneously – either they were going to kill her, or it was a chance to escape this place. And she was damned sure it was going to be the latter.
He spun her around again so that she was facing him. She looked into his eyes again and the heat that she saw there revolted her. She shrank back and dropped her gaze. And that was when she saw the loop of the keychain protruding from his pocket. He reached out and roughly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. She drew in a sharp breath and feigned stumbling forward. He moved his hand down to forcibly encircle her throat and began to lift her up before roughly pushing her back against the wall. Her head hit the stone hard, causing her more pain. She shook her head, tears falling. As he let her fall to the floor, she forced herself to fall forward and drag herself down the front of his body, wincing as her ribs bumped against his belt, but also joyous when he didn’t notice her taking the keys from his pocket.
She gripped the keys tightly to silence their clinking, the metal cutting into her flesh. She didn’t have much time. She needed to be smart with her next move.
This post is for Andy’s Dark Side Thursday. And this week, it fits for Laura’s Literary Lion (Time) as well. Please visit both for some excellent writing.
Sorry I missed the dark side last week. But it’s been a strange couple of weeks. I’ve not been travelling (until now), I’ve been sick for a few days and I’ve been super busy getting ready for this week away for work.
But right now, I’m on a plane, and my muse is back!!
I find it quite difficult to write creatively at home. I think it’s the distractions of TV, social media, and life in general. On a plane, I’m completely isolated – just me and my headphones, with the gorgeous Sam Smith serenading me. I find my fingers just flying across the keyboard on my iPhone when I’m also flying,
I think our dear heroine is going to make it. Public opinion is for a happy ending and I think I want that too. I plan to really flesh out this story though so I will probably go back soon and write some of the earlier parts to figure out some of the backstory. Also, I haven’t fully mapped out my plans for the bad guys or their motivation. Lots to do!
x desleyjane
Musings of a Frequent Flying Scientist 
I’d love to hear from you!