The Alpha and Me

89. A reasonable bargain

Wow! What's happening all of a sudden, Fam! When I give huge target you finish it within a day. But when I reduce it, it takes forever to complete.

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89. A reasonable bargain

Nandini's POV

My heart skipped a beat as I stepped in. Sweat covered my forehead and I felt my arms burning with sweltering goosebumps. The door was a portal to yet another corridor— a dimly lit, ominous-looking, colorless corridor with an iron door.

The first thought that plummeted into my awareness was that I stepped onto the sets of a horror movie set in an old mental asylum. There were cobwebs adhered to the ceiling, plaster coming off the walls and two or three lights in the corridor were working— out of which one flickering on and off, giving it a horrible look.

I hugged my purse to my chest and gulped the knot of fright below my throat. This was insane. This corridor was unexpectedly hiding behind a door that seemed to belong to a room. Bloody hell, I dragged my feet forward as I pressed my lips tighter to hold back my cries of fear.

Every door has a small window, just big enough to pass a hand inside. It was covered with a sliding screen with a tiny pearl-like holder for grasp to move it back and forth. Although my body was warily aware of my surroundings and signaled me to take a turn and leave, I took it up as a dare and slid the screen off the window to take a peek inside.

I was greeted with a yelp as helpless whimpers hit my ears. My eyes froze at the view of a woman cowering against the wall, her body curled up like a ball. Her shivers were noticeable and her clothes were tattered to the point that they clung to her body like a plastic sheet around a wet object. Saving the woman a panic attack, I moved to the other door.

I tasted bile in my dry mouth, feeling my insides twisting and squeezing to the point of seizure. This man must be a psychopath. He had a scary dark secluded region in his otherwise lavishly illuminated mansion with cells, captivating women. There were women. Yes. Young and old. Severely beaten and bruised and some starved to the point of death.

There was a common element among them all— that is that they shrouded their faces between their knees. They refused to look up, and as soon as they heard the noise of sliding screens from the peeking windows, they transited into a mewling frail kitten. But they looked up once and that was adequate for me to take a glance at their faces and provide them instantaneous relief as I returned the screen back in its place and backed away.

There was just a single door left and the worm of reluctance  skimmed up my spine. So far what I discovered was disappointing... And equally frightening. I had a feeling I would find nothing different in there and so I should take a flight and leave this corridor where it is— in the darkness, and just forget about it.

But my nerves suddenly set ablaze and I found myself seized in a whirlwind of curiosity. This was the last door. It won't cause me any pain if I check this one too. Even if I didn't find anything different, I would return home with a sense of satisfaction. I would have checked them all even if it was futile of an attempt.

If I left without checking this last door then I would toss and twist in my bed at night, biting my tongue in self-flagellation. So I finally trudged near the door and placed my fingers on the little pearl shaped holder and slid it open.

My breathing hitched and tremors of assorted emotions settled in my core. My knees wobbled and my bones seemed to be turning to gloop that bends even under little to no pressure, making my standing difficult. Because on the other side of the door stared at me, my older version with similar green as moss eyes and pale as a half-dead person's visage.