stockholm syndrome | styles

chapter two

I woke up in a dark room. I looked around, confused, and a little cold. I tried to get up, but there were cuffs around my wrists, which were attached to chains, connected to the wall.

The dark room smelled wet and like blood. I softly moaned, still dizzy from the previous event. I started to panic as I saw the man I assumed was the man who had kidnapped me standing in front of me. I struggled with the chains for a bit, my breath picking up in my state of panic.

The man held me down quite roughly, but I still tried to wiggle free from his grasp. "Stop." He said, loud, and stern. "There's no use in struggling. There's nothing you can do." I didn't listen to his words as I continued to struggle. "Struggle any more, and we'll knock you out again, but this time you may not wake up." These words caused me to stop resisting, but I wasn't anymore calm. My breathing was still uneven, and my heart raced. I felt like I was going to pass out again, and I couldn't find the words I wanted to say to the strange man.

"Better." He said. He let me go, pain replacing where his hands were placed on me. "Get comfortable. You'll be here a while."

"W-Who are y-you?" I said, my words coming out in almost a whisper.

"My name? Derek. Very nice to meet you, Harry."

"Why am I here?" I said, in a whisper, again.

"Tell me, Harry, are you hungry?" He said after a pause. I was starting to get frustrated and more confused.

"What am I doing here?" I said louder than I anticipated.

"Hey." Derek almost yelled. "You don't get to ask questions. You may be some big star out there, but guess what? You're not out there anymore, and you probably won't be again. You're in here. Under our rules."

Tears started to fill my eyes. I didn't know if he meant I was going to die down here, or I was never going to be let out, and I didn't know which was worse.

"Now," Derek sighed, a crooked smile appearing on his face. "Are you hungry?"

I was silent, and couldn't find the courage to speak, so I just shook my head instead.

"Hm, well it wasn't a choice. You're going to need it. Missie will be down in an hour or so." He said, smiling again before turning around and heading towards the door located at the corner of the dimly lit room. The door made a loud creaking noise as it opened, making another loud 'boom' sound as it shut, causing me to flinch.

I took shaky breaths to calm myself, but it didn't do much to help. Tears flooding my eyes again as I tried to come down from my panicked state.

This was the first time I'd ever felt genuine fear in my life. I started to wonder if I would ever see the people I love again. It wasn't likely. I've seen their faces, and if they let me out I could easily give a description and names. That idea scared me the most.

At that moment, I closed my eyes and began praying under my breath. I've never been one to pray, but I was willing to do anything. I assume I fell asleep as I prayed because the next thing I knew I was being woken up by a random young woman, maybe my age. I gasped, startled by the stranger. She flinched and slightly moved back, her eyebrows furrowed.

Through the dim light I could see her bright blue eyes staring back at me. "Do you want water?" She said, softly, breaking the silence between us. I nodded, feeling a strange sense of comfort with her. She grabbed a cup to give to me, before realizing my arms were chained up on the wall. "Oh, right." She said to herself, standing up and loosening the chains so my arms could move around at least, but still limited by the wall.

She took the cup again and handed it to me. It was only filled up halfway. "I'm not allowed to give you more than that." She said when she saw me staring down at  the cup. I nodded and quickly drank the whole thing, soothing my dry throat.

She picked up a plate with a little portion of some kind of food I couldn't identity and scooped some up with a spoon. She brought it up to my lips, but I turned my head. "Don't be stubborn. This is all you're getting."

"I'm a grown man. I can feed myself." I said back, harshly.

"You need to eat. This is all you're getting until dinner." She replied. Her tone wasn't as harsh as everyone else I had encountered in my experience here, and I immediately felt bad for using a harsh tone with her. She brought the spoon back to my lips, and I hesitantly ate it this time.

It was mushy and bland, and it didn't taste very good. I wanted to spit it out, but I knew I needed something in my system even if I wasn't hungry and felt sick.

I looked at the female in front of me, studying her expression. She didn't look very mean, there was a sort of innocence to her. "Do you..work for them?" I asked out of curiosity. I didn't understand how someone who looked so innocent would be doing something like this.

She chuckled. "I'm their daughter, so I guess you could say that."

"Was the other one your brother?" I asked before getting another bit of food. She shifted the way she was sitting which allowed me to see her in the light clearly.

"Oh, no!" She said, laughing softly again. She had pretty features, which you could see more prominently when she smiled. "He's my boyfriend. My parents love him and they wanted us to be together, so here we are." She let out a little sigh at the end.

I paused. "Do you want to be with him?" I asked without thinking.

She hesitated, looking up at me with a confused look. "You ask a lot of questions." She said, giving me my last bite of food. "We've just met two minutes ago."

I swallowed quickly, so I wouldn't have to have that horrid taste in my mouth. "I'm a curious person." I whispered.

She chuckled as she stood up and walked towards the door. "Maybe I'll come here more often, so I could answer your questions." And with that, she exited the dim room, leaving me alone, but the feeling of fear had left for a few moments.