Stockholm Syndrome

Kidnapped

"So, same time next Saturday?" I grin as Crainer puts his arm round Sophie. "Sure thing. I had fun tonight." Sophie smiles at Crainer. "Me too." We all wave goodbye to eachother. I turn away and head away from the resturant. I walk backwards, smiling as Crainer and Sophie wandered away, staggering into lamposts and making eachother laugh. I turn round and start into a light jog down the dark cobble street, streetlamps casting a surreal orange glow over the recently dampened street. I slow and breathe in deeply, relishing the taste of the rain in the cold night air. It's quiet; the tawny sky cloudy above me, moisture settling on my skin. I halt and close my eyes, smiling as the fresh cold air blows through my hair. Suddenly, a hand seizes my throat, another clamping round my mouth. My eyes snap open and I see the orange glow glint off a knife's sharp edge. Fingers tighten round my throat and I gasp for air as I'm dragged onto the pavement and thrown roughly into an alleyway. I hit a rubbish can; causing a deafening rattle as the contents splatter on the ground beside me. A dark silhouette stands before me, framed in the light shed by the streetlamps. A crazed laugh makes the man's shoulders shake. I catch my breath as the light catches their eyes; they're crooked and I see intense insanity shining in their depths. "Knife knife knife, stab stab stab! Blood blood blood, tap tap tap!" I scream for help but the figure darts forward, leaping on top of me and clamping a hand over my mouth. "Sssshhh, hush now. No need to be afraid." They laugh again and I bite my tongue by accident, whimpering as the metallic taste of warm blood fills my mouth. I'm forced to swallow it though as the man leans closer, his mouth stretched back in a taunting grin as he nears me. To my shock and horror, he goes close to my neck, running his tongue along my skin. I shudder and tried to move away, gagging, his hand covering my mouth tight. He was panting, laughing breathlessly. "Y-you taste nice, AHAHA!" I flinch away as all I could see were his eyes, demented and insane. "Nighty night Stapleton! Hee hee!" Then his hand is on my throat, squeezing hard. I choke for oxygen, cold sweat breaking out on my forehead and back. "Sleep well." He hisses. Then black creeps into my vision and I pass out.
***
I lifted my head, staring around me groggily. I was sitting in a chair. My head was throbbing and when I tried to move I found my wrists and ankles bound together behind me with tough rope. I began to panic, my pupils dilating in fear when I realised I was surrounded in darkness. Suddenly, a door opened and light was shed on me. A figure stood in the doorway, a crazed grin on his face. "Well hello there Ian Stapleton, we've been expecting you." I stared at him in terror as he drew a knife from his pocket. The same knife I saw last night. I froze. It was him. He grinned and took slow steps down from the door, down the 3 shadowy stone stairs. I was trembling as he neared me, running his thumb and forefinger over the knife's cruel blade. "I think somebody's hiiiding something." He said in a creepy sing song voice. "G-get away from me you freak!" I yelled. He laughed and pressed the knife's edge to my throat. "But I'm already here." He whispered. He was so close I could feel his hot breath on my skin. I shuddered as the blade ran across my skin softly, leaving a stinging sensation behind. A single bead of blood ran down its metal point. I swallowed hard. "W-what do you want from me?!" He stared at me, dead behind the eyes. It was terrifying, he didn't react or anything. I knew by now this guy had lost his mind a long time ago. No normal person plays with a knife or says someone tastes nice. My stomach clenched at the memory. He tilted his head to one side, teeth bared. "It's not what I want from you...that's a very different matter." I blinked. "W-what-" Another person appeared in the doorway. "Subject, step away from the prisoner." He spoke with obvious commanding authority, his voice deep, tones clipped at the end as though he was restraining it. The man ground his teeth, the sound making me cringe. "My name isn't Subject." He hissed, a deep animalistic growl at the end sending shivers down my back. The other man didn't seem to hear. 'Subject' backed off, his crooked eyes' leering gaze never leaving me as he melted into the shadows. The man in the doorway came down the stairs, staring down at me. My neck muscles tensed as I stared back at him defiantly. Out of the corner of my eye I could've sworn Subject's eyes were glowing red in the dark, still watching me. My back prickled uncomfortably.

The man leant closer to me, examining me, then he smiled malovently. "Yes, it's you." He looked at Subject. "Looks like you did something right for once." I felt a strange tug at my gut as Subject lowered his gaze, his eyes dimming as sadness took their glow from them. "Yes master." It was then I realised how bizarre his voice sounded. Like mine had been taken and twisted to nearly beyond recognition. The 'master' as he seemed to be called, smiled sadistically. "Yes master." He mimicked in a stupid voice. "You're pathetic." I frowned, then tensed when I saw Subject raise his head when the master's attention was turned back to me. I saw the knife glimmer in the darkness and heard him whisper, "Pathetic am I?" He grinned, his crooked eyes glowing bright red in the shadows. "Just wait till I make you scream for mercy some day." I shuddered and the master noticed. "Oh don't mind him. He's all bark and no bite." I eyed Subject nervously and trembled slightly as his mad gaze met mine. "I-I'm not so sure about that." The master laughed cruelly. "Trust me SSundee, you'll have worse things to worry about when I'm finished with you, like your sanity." Then he turned and went back up the steps, shutting the door. I was plunged into darkness. I was trembling like crazy when I heard Subject's heavy breathing right next to me. "My...name...isn't...Subject." "W-what is it then?" I jumped as his hand seized my shoulder, his head right beside mine. "D-Derp." I frowned. "Say what?" Then I felt a blinding pain in said shoulder as something jagged sliced through my skin. "Derp S-SSundee." He twisted the knife and I screamed in pain. He laughed crazily before dragging it out agonisingly slowly. I grit my teeth, tears starting to crawl out of my eyes. Derp, as he seemed to call himself, stepped away from me. It hurt to breathe. Then, I felt him slice the blade across my wrists. I yelled in pain. "N-no escape." His hand was on my other shoulder now and I realised he was shaking violently. "N-no escape." A strangled sob escaped him as he tightened his grip to the point where it was painful. "D-Derp." I said through teeth gritted in agony. "Derp...w-why are you hurting me? What did I ever d-do to you?" He relaxed his grip. "I don't know, b-but I have to hurt SOMETHING. O-or I hurt myself." He sounded terrified...maybe of himself. My breathing was laboured as I fought unconsciousness, the pain in my shoulder near overwhelming me. He leant close to me, running his hand over my chest. I whimpered as his teeth grazed my neck. "I don't want to hurt, but Master made me so I have to hurt." I blinked. "W-what did he do to you?" Derp tensed. "Kn-nives...and needles." He whimpered and one of his warm tears hit my shoulder, mingling with the blood soaking into my skin. I shut my eyes tight, my strength melting away with my defiance. "I-I..." The words wouldn't come. My mouth went dry and I shuddered, my body shutting down. "It's ok S-SSundee. S-sleep now, I can heal and hurt." Then, to my utter shock, just before I passed out, I felt his lips on my neck, kissing me softly and longingly. "The Rose will come." He whispered. Then blackness.
***
"Hey you, wake up." Cold water was splashed on my face and I opened my eyes a crack. A young woman was kneeling in front of me, a bloody cloth in her hand. I was in agony from my shoulder. She looked at me in sympathy before dampening the cloth and holding it against it. She had wavy ginger hair and startlingly green eyes staring out of a pretty heart shaped face. I focused on her eyes rather than the blinding pain in my limbs. She sighed. "So, I guess you met Derp SSundee then, huh?" I nodded shakily. "Yeah. W-what happened to him?" She pursed her lips. "He was driven insane by crazy experiments lead by Professor Randel. You've met him too I gather. I don't know who's crazier in this place, him or Derp." I blinked as she rinsed the cloth and took out bandages. "There are different types of crazy you know." She looked at me curiously. "My name is Rosemary." The Rose will come. "Derp said you'd come just before I blacked out." I blurted out. Rosemary blinked. "What else did he say? Or do..." I blushed, remembering his lips on my neck. "I-I think he kissed me." She looked taken aback, the relaxed. "I wouldn't get worked up about it SSundee-" "Please, call me Ian." "Um, ok, Ian. He's not exactly in his right mind." As she wound the bandages round my arm, I frowned, realising something. I had to know more about Derp. Who was he? Or more importantly, what was he?