The Perfect Witness

Mystery man

I first noticed the rough sensation of rope tethered around my wrists and ankles, holding me captive to a wooden chair.

Scared, I forcefully pulled at my wrists, the coarse texture of the rope rubbing my skin raw.

My mouth was left slightly ajar by a cloth gag that felt almost like a bandana, and I could only assume another one rested over my puffy tear stricken eyes.

Blindly, I tried to orientate myself in my new environment.

To my left, a door opened noisily, scraping along a concrete floor. The hinges squeaked loudly, piercing my ears and sending goosebumps up my spine.

I listened as heavy boots clambered over to where I was positioned in the room. Their presence loomed heavy as they approached, and the musky scent of cologne told me they were male.

His rough, calloused hands grabbed the edge of my gag, pulling my head forward. Swiftly, he moved towards the knot holding my blindfold together, untying it.

The bandana fluttered lightly into my lap as I looked up at the person in front of me.

The man had young-looking, soft facial features that were hardened by the rough, dimly lit room.

He had dull winter gray eyes that were sunken in behind dark blue and black bags. Stubble speckled his face like little flakes of salt and pepper, and his red cinnamon hair lay matted to his face.

He looked like he could never hurt a fly, almost as if he were scared of me.

If only that were true.

Overwhelmed by my situation, I scanned my immediate surroundings. The room was smaller than I assumed, with floors and walls made of cracked, dusty cement.

The dark, musty corners were feathered with stringy cobwebs, and directly above my head was a bare bulb light with a string pull switch. The most notable thing was the bleach slowly overwhelming my sensitive nostrils, causing bitter saliva to fill my dry mouth.

"Where am I?" I snarled.

"Hell... sweetheart." He let out a low, rumbly chuckle as his once dull gray eyes flared with a sudden outburst of excitement.

Again to my left, I heard two more sets of heavy footfalls approaching the door.

My face hardened as I watched Cody and Dustin emerge from the wide-open doorway.

"Hi pretty girl." Dustin teased, his words slithering out of his mouth like venom.

I watched as hate swirled around his chocolate brown eyes while he casually looked me up and down. "Here's how things were going to work, sweetheart. You're going to listen to me and only speak when spoken to. was that clear?" Dominance penetrated every word of his sentence.

I stared up at the monster with big, pleading eyes as my breathing became erratic.

Dustin took a step closer to me, and I could feel my heart ripping its way through my ribs.

"I said...is that clear!"

The boy raised his left hand high above his head and harshly planted it against my face. My head catapulted to the side as his hand collided with my cheek. Every muscle in my body tensed hard as tears once again pricked my eyes.

"Y-yes." I stammered, my voice coming out shaky as I tried to regain focus.

"Good."

Dustin squatted down in front of me with a wicked smile plastered on his low-lit face. He took the same hand he hit me with and slowly rubbed the spot he slapped.