Stockholm Syndrome

Imprisoned

Darkness, and a biting cold, were the nurses that guided me from back from unconsciousness. They numbed my pain, but only temporarily.  The comforting darkness couldn’t sedate me forever, and I became aware of my throbbing head. It wasn’t just my head though, my muscles ached, my wrists burned, and my throat was raw. I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Oh yeah, we had been.

I remembered bits and pieces, but nothing concrete of what happened after the accident. I guess it would be safe to assume that Lou and I were in the hospital… but where? And was Lou okay? I still felt somewhat lethargic, but I had to wake up, snap out of it, and check on my mate.

With a grimace on my face I opened my eyes. My vision was iffy at best, but what I saw before me jumped out of a scene from a horror movie.  The room was almost pitch black, a dim ceiling lamp hung from a thin steel cable attempting to light the room. It was so dark that I could only make out shadows, I could see myself clearly though, as I was tied to a cold metal chair in the center of the darkness. My heart beat quickened.

What…the…hell…

This room was a nightmarish world. I had expected the room to be your typical hospital room. A room with white walls, florescent lighting, and a menagerie of medical equipment that I couldn’t pronounce the names of. Sure as hell not whatever this room was. It was safe to assume that we were not in a hospital at all.

 I remembered hands pulling me free from the car wreck, but I had assumed it was the police or medics. Just whose hands had, or so I had thought, saved me? Why had they tied me to a chair? My lip began to quiver as my eyes scanned the room for any other signs of life and my band mate. I didn’t trust my blurred vision, so maybe Lou was somewhere in the shadows where I couldn’t see him. I silently prayed that he was just beyond my field of view. I didn’t want to be here alone, wherever here was, and I was freaking out. I needed him.

“Louis? Can you call Harry, or Simon?” I called out sharply, my voice cracking in desperation. I couldn’t call for help because I didn’t have my phone, but Louis had his. Maybe we could get out of this situation before it got any worse.

There was no response.

“Lou?” I tried again, steeling myself against the tears I felt building in my eyes.

Again no response.

I took several deep breathes, trying to steady myself, but the reality of everything was just too overwhelming. I was locked in a room with no apparent exit. My arms were tightly bound to the metal chair beneath me.  Louis was missing. I had no idea where I was.

 A single terrifying thought entered my spinning head. It struck a chord within me and resonated through my entire being. It was one of those things that you didn’t have to question, that you just knew was true without a shadow of a doubt, and that brings the whole world crashing down on you.

I’d been kidnapped.

“LOUIS!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

A door opened, revealing a stairway and a tall black figure stood in the frame. The door slammed shut just as quickly as it had opened. I heard footsteps as the unknown figure walked into the depths of the room. Someone had heard me.

The figure, I couldn’t make out any details, stood at the edge of the light. I could make out that he or she was wearing black dress shoes, and that it was probably a he, due their the style.

“W-who are you?” I stammered as I felt my throat tighten.

A dark chuckle echoed.

My initial fear turned to anger as the man before me continued to laugh. How dare he. How dare he laugh in a situation like this! “Where am I? Where is Lou? And what the hell is going on?!”

“You ask a lot of questions,” the voice noted with remnants of the earlier laughter.

“Answer me!”

“I will, eventually, but not now. We have plenty of time to get to know each other, and it’s not like you’re going anywhere.”

My heart sank at his words as they sunk in. I wasn’t going to get any answers.

“Well, I’ll give you one clue,” he sang cheerfully. “I’ll only say it once so listen.”

I looked at the floor defiantly and spat at his shoes.

There was a moment of silence before he laughed devilishly.

“You’re the lucky one, you know. He said we couldn’t touch you, that you were his…” he hissed in a gravelly tone. “You really don’t have a choice, no matter how much you try to fight me, there isn’t a single thing you can do to change this. This took months of planning, and I ensure you that there is no way out unless I let you go. We have a history, you and I, and you’re going to pay for what you did. You all will.”

I felt shivers run down my spine and my heart quicken. You all? Did he mean me and my band?

Without another word the figure walked back up the stairs, opened the door, and then slammed it with such force that I could hear the doorknob rattle.

An eerie silence followed.

My breath became ragged as I thought about all the possible meanings his words held. The more I thought the more the feeling of utter helplessness swallowed me. I choked on my tears, but I couldn’t hold them back.

I don’t know how long I cried.

Darkness slide over me again, pulling me into its depths, and I embraced it. It helped me to forget everything.