She didn't particularly mind having her hands behind her back. As a matter of fact, had this been a different kind of affair, her disposition would have been accompanied by a delightful wave of toe-curling anticipation, pulling her under, into a sea of ecstasy.
However, the gentle swaying motion and the damp wooden floor, along with the deep cut replacing the entire length of her waist, made it glaringly clear that this was most definitely not the different kind of affair.
Furthermore, this was also the reason why she did not particularly appreciate the coarse fiber of the thick rope digging into her wrist and the cloak of darkness that shrouded her surrounding. Time flowed like sand and molasses all at once as her mind struggled to function properly.
She stilled. Faraway voices made their way to her ears. Close but not close enough to decipher the conversation.
She strained to listen.
"Yes, but --"
Then a hushed whisper, lost to the wind.
"--threat."
A reply was made but all that registered was a jumble of words.
She focused some more. Well, as much as she could with the pulsating pain wreathing itself around her awareness. But the voices now were too low, too cautious, as if sensing an intruder amidst their exchange.
Then they moved closer.
It was not their discussion that alerted her now. It was the chorus made by their brisk footsteps.
Thunder split the silence and the door--something she hadn't noticed existed--was wrenched open. Brightness assaulted the darkness, her eyes. A second later she squinted at the entrance.
Two figures stood there, the light behind them enveloping them in a rather tall robe of anonymity.
She clenched her fist.
The one on the left moved towards the center of the room, to the rope dangling from the ceiling. The other stepped inside and closed the door. The black this time did not last before the buttery light from the bulb chased it away.
She did not flinch this time. She could not allow herself to flinch.
Because, standing in front of her, were the two people that she did not want to see.
At least alive.
