Where am I?

- Chapter One -

I snapped my eyes open. My heart skipped a beat as I glanced all around me.
I had absolutely no idea of where I was, I couldn't recognize anything.

The room was not that big and kind of empty. The only furnitures here were the bed I was on and a small nightstand on which was laying a tray with some food and a small bottle of water.
There were a warm blanket and a pillow, they smelled fresh and clean but the scent was unusual to me.
The place was really dark, the only light came from what seemed to be a door with a small opening in the middle of it;
It didn't seem like there was any window here and the light which was coming from the door was artificial.

I also noticed there were toilets and a sort of shower cabin.
This place was really strange, it definitely looked like a cell.

My blood ran cold when I tried to get out of the bed.
That's when I realized I had something around my ankle.
Despite the obscurity of the room I didn't have any trouble to see what it was.
The thing was a sort of chain, locked to the wall.
The chain was long enough for me to get an access to the toilets and the shower but not enough for me to reach the door.

I noticed something else.
I wasn't wearing my clothes, I was wearing a sort of hospital dress.
I couldn't find my shoes, neither my bag or anything else.

At that moment, I knew I was in big troubles.
I had absolutely no idea of how I ended up here, all I could remember was that
I was heading back home at night, walking in the park, taking the way I would always take to go home after a long day of work, then I blacked out.

My head was hurting me, as if I bumped into something harshly.

My sight became blurry as tears formed into my eyes.
I had no idea of how to get out of here, I had no idea of who put me there and most of all, the question that was scaring me the most: why did they put me here?

My sobbing started filling the silence of the room when I heard a noise coming from the door.
I suddenly became as quiet as possible, my breathing getting heavier.
I could hear my heart pounding into my chest as fear was flowing through my veins.

The door finally opened after a few seconds, revealing a man I didn't know.

He wasn't that tall but he wasn't too short.
He was thin but he still seemed to have some muscles that I could see due to the sleeveless shirt he was wearing.
He was also wearing a cap, making it more difficult to see his features but I could guess he wasn't really old.

He entered the room, stepping toward me, not bothering about closing the door behind him.
He didn't say a word as he disposed a small clock on the nightstand.
I took this as a chance to see his face a little better.
He looked somewhat handsome, he had deep brown hazel eyes, a sharp jawline, pretty plump lips. He didn't look like a creep, unlike what I have seen in movies where some girls would get kidnapped.

He threw a glance at me, making eye contact.
It was only for one second but to me, that was enough to be able to break the silence.

-"Why a-am I here?"

He gulped, making a new eye contact with me, but this time he didn't look away.

His gaze was piercing, it was like he was reading my soul, making me feel somewhat uneasy.
But it was not as impressive as I thought it would be, he didn't look as scary as what I expected him to.

After a few seconds he finally spoke, for the first time.

-"you're here because you're pretty, not careful enough and probably very unlucky."
-"w-what does that m-mean?"
-"well..." He sighed. "You can forget about the life you had a few days ago. You'll have a whole new life. And it's not gonna be the best one."

I didn't understand much of what he meant.
A new shed of tears started running down my cheeks.
-"b-but what's ha-happening?" My voice broke.

He sighed again.
-"I am sorry for you, but you have been a target to my boss. You are being sold, the man who bought you will come get you in about a month. This is bad luck... You're a victim of human trafficking."

His words were too much for me to handle, making me burst out into tears.

Without a word, the young man walked out, locking the door behind himself, leaving me all alone again.

My body was shaking due to my hiccups; it took me quite some time to stop my crying.

I wiped my tears away before glancing at the clock.
It was 7PM.

I lied on the bed, staring at the grey ceiling as I started thinking about a way to get out of here.

I had no idea if the man who just came here had the keys to get me free, I also had no idea of their habits, I had no idea of the way they were working.
I knew I would have to learn about them if I wanted to find an escape, which meant I had no other choice than waiting a little before thinking about a real plan.

This was not what I wanted but I had no other choice for now.

I had been lying there, on this bed, for a few hours now, trying not to think about the mess I was in. I was just trying to find an idea to get myself out of here.
Eventually I ended up drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

________

The sound of the heavy metallic door opening woke me up.
I threw a glance at the clock, it was now 2AM.
I wondered why someone was coming here this late, bringing the fear back to me.

I sat up on the bed, my back against one of the cold walls as I stared at the person who was walking in.
It was the same young man than a few hours ago.
This time, he closed the door behind himself.
I could feel his dark pupils staring at me as he threw something on the bed beside me, which made me flinch.

I heard a small chuckle escaping his lips as he said:

-"Don't worry, it's not in my interest to beat you up. These are just sweets, since you haven't eaten anything. You should at least eat that, it's not healthy but it's better than nothing at all."

I stared at him in disbelief. I finally replied coldly:
-"Do you really think I'm in the mood to eat? Just let me get out of here if you care about my health!"

He shook his head.
-"I'm sorry, you know I can't do such a thing."

Another shed of tears flowed my cheeks, my voice was shaky and desperate:
-"W-why are you doing this? What did I do to deserve s-such a t-thing?"

He gnawed on his bottom lip, glancing down at the floor. He took a moment before replying:
-"There's no reason... You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry, this is just bad luck."
-"B-bad luck? A-are you fucking kidding me?! You're all fucking insane!"

He shrugged and without any more word, he walked to the door, in order to leave.

I couldn't keep myself from asking him:
-"w-wait! Can y-you at least t-tell me your name?"

He turned his head to glance at me again, raising an eyebrow.
-"why does it matter?"
-"since you're keeping me locked up in here against my will, I think I deserve at least to know your name!"

He looked around, as if he was thinking. He finally said:
-"I guess you're right, anyway you're gonna leave soon. So, you can call me Chris."

He didn't give me the time to reply, leaving the room again.

After hearing the door locking behind him, I lied back on the small bed.
It was late and I was just exhausted, my eyes closed again and I didn't take long to fall back asleep.