Run Little Bunny, Run

o n e

It was dark. I floated through the ethereal plane of my mind like I was trapped in some lucid dream. What was happening? My consciousness was slowly settling back into my body and I felt the numb tingling sensation of my skin once again. I wanted to open my eyes but they were too heavy. My whole body felt heavy. Startling pains screaming through my nerves.

I managed to open one eye but the evanescence of darkness that shrouded me never lifted. I managed to blink a few times, both eyes squinting open now. Darkness still remained like a suffocating blanket over my vision. Where am I? Some sort of rough fabric scraped my cheeks as I turned my head as far as my neck allowed, pain erupting from my spine sending a rippling echo of ringing through my skull. I took a shallow breath, twitching my fingers, desperate for some movement. Cold metal encased my wrists that were cuffed behind me. I could feel the grains of wood beneath me, on what i could only assume to have been a chair i was tied to.

Panic began to rise as the adrenaline flooded my nervous system as the weight of the situation finally settled. My heart rate became rapid and my breathing uneven and shallowed as I was thrown into survival mode. I desperately tried to slow and quiet my breathing, making too much noise could attract unwanted attention. They didn't know I was awake and I'd much rather keep it that way whilst I figure out what's going on. As far as I could tell no one was nearby, there was no noise but silence, not even the noise of wind or any remnants of the outside world. Pure deafening silence. Still, it was impossible to shake the feeling of being watched.

I tugged at what I assumed were handcuffs restraining my arms, a pitiful attempt at freeing myself. It was a pathetic attempt at freedom but I couldn't just sit here and wait for my captor to return. A metallic taste trickled from the lip between my teeth, biting down to distract from the pain of cold metal piercing my skin as I pulled harder. A soft whimper still escaped my lungs, the pain and exhaustion becoming too much.

I froze; my breath caught in my throat as the sound of slow, deliberate footsteps echoed from behind me. A paralyzing fear overtook my body and mind, the dread washing over me in huge waves, it felt like I was drowning in my own skin. "Keep struggling. You'll only hurt yourself." The voice was directly behind me, emotionless and stern. It made me shiver, it was as if he were angered by my mere presence in the room. I tugged again at my bindings, no logical thoughts, only the innate instinct for survival. "Are you deaf?" The words came out a guttural hiss this time, a frustrated growl punctuating the sentence.

The footsteps started again, circling me. I envisioned him like a wolf, lustful for blood and stalking his prey; prepping to satiate his sadistic desires. This thought only worsened my fearful state. I had no way to escape; no way to alert anyone to my position and no form of defense. I was his prey, vulnerable to his every cruel desire.

The footsteps came closer. If I stayed still and quiet, maybe I could just turn invisible, blending into the darkness around me. The steps reached the back of the chair before stopping. I felt the hot air of the man's breath on the back of my neck sending goosebumps riveting across my skin. He chuckled, relishing in my fear and placing his hands on the back of the chair.

"You scared?" I could hear the smirk plastered across his face. If it weren't for the fear encapsulating me I'd feel annoyed by his mockery, instead it made me cower further under his presence. I could feel his gaze on me, penetrating my skin, burning through me. He had fallen silent, not even breathing. Like all trace of his being had left the room.

I felt his hand snake up to my neck and instinctively yelled from shock. "Will you shut the fuck up." Before I could whimper out an apology the chair was thrown to the floor sending me capsizing with it. I felt my body this against the cold ceramic, all the air knocked from my lungs. I breathed shallowly, my breathing labored and whimpering, fighting the urge to vomit. He stepped over, picking up the chair with a single hand, my feeble body still bound. He sighed and I heaters footsteps move away slowly getting fainter until being cut off by the slamming of a door.

Tears finally spilt, soaking into the fabric covering my face and spilling down and onto my cheeks. It was now I realized the weight of the situation; I was trapped with a temperamental and sadistic maniac. No one knew where I was and no one would be racing to save me. I was alone and I was scared.

I tried remembering to what happened before I woke up, flashes of images dancing across my mind, barely there long enough for me to notice details. I was walking home, taking a shortcut through an alley. It was dark out and late at night, I'd been forced to work overtime, leaving me to make my way home long after the moon had awoken to fill the nights sky. I remember frantic footsteps and a blunt pain in my head before I managed to turn around. I was out cold before I could even process what was happening. What had this person wanted from me?

The door one again opened, this time slower, allowing the noise of the hinges to permeate the room, like a pack of hyenas laughing. A second person walked in, their footsteps were lighter, more clumsily placed and less heavy. They paused halfway into the room before another voice was heard addressing someone outside the room. "Yeah. She's awake."