N0 B0DY, N0 CRIM3 | Bang Chan

Cat's cradle

A loud click caused Kiera to open her eyes to darkness. She blinked a few times trying to figure out where she was. The last thing she remembered was being carried out into the hallway. Everything that had happened felt like a hazy dream. There had been people there, but she wasn't sure if the whole thing had been real or not. 

The lights in the room flicked on. She reached up and covered her eyes with a groan. After a few moments, she removed her hands, and glanced up at the ceiling. It slowly started to trickle back to her now. She had been placed back into the room she woke up in when she first got here. Maybe it was day time and that's why the lights had been turned on?

Sure enough, a purple bruise sat around her neck. Small scratches from rope burn had been etched into it. Considering how foggy everything still felt, she couldn't have been sleeping for that long. Maybe she had and this was the result of too much sleep. 

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes again. The sound of a quiet rattling caused her to shoot up. Her eyes widened at the sight of the man sitting on the edge of the bed. He sat with a black pistol in his hand. One-by-one, he placed the bullets into the chamber. When he was finished, he snapped it back into place. 

He sat sideways, so Kiera couldn't fully see his face. He wore a black sleeveless shirt that was tucked into a pair of black jeans. A belt looped around his waist with a silvered buckle. A piercing poked out the side of his lip and more sat in his ear. 

She realized how vulnerable she was; tucked beneath the covers while a stranger sat on the foot of her bed. It was easy to make out his arm muscles without the sleeve of the shirt. There was no doubt in her head that he was much stronger than her. The gun in his hand didn't help.

Her fingers buried themselves into the heavy comforter fabric. She bit down on the inside of her lip waiting for him to say something. Her heart hammered in her chest. She watched in silence while he huffed on the edge of the gun and wiped it against his shirt to get rid of a smear. 

After a few moments, he cleared his throat. "Kiera Campbell, we finally meet at last." 

"Who are you?" Her voice came out quietly. 

"That's not important right now." He didn't take his eyes off the gun in his hand. "I don't like playing games. I don't enjoy being strung along and toyed with." He clicked his finger and turned the safety off on the gun. 

Her eyes widened at the realization that the gun could go off at any moment. All he had to do was pull the trigger. "I'm not to-" 

"Shh." 

She shut her mouth. 

"How about we make this easy for each other? You tell me what I want to know and I'll make sure you leave here still breathing." 

"And if I don't?" 

He slowly turned his head towards her. She could see his face clearly now. A black lip piercing sat on the right side of his lip. His eyebrows were the same darkened shade of brown as his hair. His hair was pushed back out of his eyes. Two small black hoops sat in each earlobe. Black eyeliner coated his waterline. 

She had always known that people said that windows were the eyes to the soul. In this case, the man's eyes were dull and empty. Such a dark shade of brown that they were nearly black. There was no spark of warmth. No invitation of kindness. He continued to stare at her with a blank look on his face. 

He picked up the gun in his hand and pointed it at her. The two of them sat like that for a few moments. He held the gun at the same height as her head. She forced herself to ignore the barrel and continue making eye contact with him. 

He moved his finger towards the trigger until his finger was resting on it. Kiera didn't flinch. He didn't show it, but he was impressed. The president's daughter had some guts after all. 

"Pew," he whispered. 

Within seconds, his thumb hit the safety again, and his finger 'pulled' the trigger. Not realizing that he hit the safety switch, Kiera jumped, but the gun never went off. He bit down on the inside of his cheek to hide his snicker. She sucked in a deep breath trying to calm the adrenaline that rushed through her body. 

"That was only a warning. Next time, you won't be as lucky." He dropped the gun back to his side and stood up. "Go back to sleep." Without another word, he turned around, and left the room. 

The moment the door shut behind him, the lights in the room turned back off. Once again, she was left in total darkness. She could hear her heartbeat bucking wildly in her chest. She forced herself to lay back onto her pillow and stare up at the ceiling. 

Did that really happen or was it just a dream?