Phobophobia

Chapter 4: Arachnophobia

I wake up with tears covering half my face. I sit up and let more tears fall, remembering that the nightmare I had last night is actually reality. Like anything life changing, it takes a while for it to truly set in.

I wipe my face and look around the dull room, and notice a tray of food on the table. I walk over to the tray, and pick up the small envelope next to the bowl of cereal. Slowly, I open the envelope and pull out the tiny card.

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout, down came the rain and washed the spider out.Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,and the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

Good morning, my little spout.

Confused, I put the card down and grab the bowl of cereal and plastic spoon and walk back to the bed. As I eat, I try to think of what the card meant. In the nursery rhyme, a spider climbs a water spout. He called me his spout, which if I where placed in the nursery rhyme, a spider would be climbing up me. Does that mean stage two has something to do with spiders? Or, the nursery rhyme mentions rain, so does it have to do with water? I assume it's spiders, but I won't take any chances...

After I finish eating my cereal, I put the bowl back on the tray and look around the room some more. In the top corner of the room is a small TV that looks over the bed. I guess I hadn't noticed it yesterday...

I look around the room for a remote, and my eyes land on the small night stand next to the bed. I walk over to it and open the small drawer, and find it empty. I go through the drawers of the dresser when I find it in the back of a drawer, covered in dust. Turning, I point it at the TV and press the on button. On the TV is the news, and it is showing a press conference. My eyes widen when I see the person talking. My mom.

I turn up the volume and listen, tears gathering in my eyes.

"This man, this man is a dangerous man. We have lost so many so far, and still have not found others, including my own daughter. We believe this dangerous man has took her, and we beg he returns her safely. This man has to be smart in order to manipulate the victims, as my daughter is extremely smart." She pauses to wipe tears from her eyes.

I start to cry even more when the camera changes to Jonathan an Kate, who are holding each other and crying. The camera changes back to my mom as she continues to speak.

"Please, whoever you are, if you are watching this, please return our daughter, and turn yourself in. You do not have to keep doing this. Thank you." My father walks on stage and walks my mother off, the camera switching back to the regular news anchors.

I turn the TV off and walk back to the bed and lie down, letting my tears fall. I hear the same spraying sound, and like a dog, I recognize the sound instantly. But as the chemical gas enters the room, I don't even try to hold my breath, because I know there isn't anything I can do to stop it. This man is just a completely insane, evil man.

-=+=-

I wake up in the same wooden chair as usual, my ankles cuffed to the legs. Except my wrist are tied behind my back, which I find odd, because it's usually one or the other.

"I saw you were watching the news this morning." The Phycopath says as he walks across the stage towards me.

"Y-you were watching me?" I ask, causing him to grin.

"Why of course, Jess. I still have to study you, drugged or not." He says, making himself laugh. I just glare. "So I noticed a lot of extra brain waves as you were reading my little note. Were you trying to figure out what it meant?"

Totally confused, I just ask the first question that comes to mind. "What do you mean, you noticed extra brain waves?"

"Well, I put a chip in you. It senses how your brain operates, showing me how much thinking you're doing, in wave form. Kind of like a heart monitor. It's one of the ways I study you. I mean, what did you think I did when I gave you the drug to pass you out the first time?" He answers, laughing as if he just heard the most hilarious joke.