I am NOT Bella

Chapter 9 - Between dreams, memories, and your innermost desires.

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A deep darkness enveloped me, as if I had fallen into a black hole. I slowly became aware of the tingling pain at the tips of the fingers and the aching stiffness of the muscles beneath the cold floor. I couldn't move, my limbs seemed magnetically drawn to a metallic surface. The air stank of damp, mold and urine, and irregular drips amplified the icy sensation of my wet shorts. The rhythmic wheezing of irregular breathing masked the ticking of an analog clock and alerted my ears. Whether it was my breathing or someone else's, I couldn't tell. The heavy eyelids prevented me from waking up, increasing my vulnerability. I heard a faint whisper calling me.

"You have to wake up, Izzy... wake up, please."

Who's there? Bella? Conscience cried out, but the body wasn't answering. I fidgeted with my eyes.

"Shit! Only you can get us outta here. You must wake up before he comes!"

Dread made every hair on my body stand on end when I heard Bella sobbing. She never weeps, only when he comes... God, I must wake up before it is too late."

I blinked. My blurred vision adjusted to the flickering crimson light of a single malfunctioning bulb. Huddled in a corner of the musty wall, Bella gasped, her eyes glued to the glowing clock on the wall. She looked at me, her face dirty and slightly swollen, her body full of welts and bruises.

"You have to find the damn password and get us out of here, Izzy. Time is running out and if he comes back, I don't know what could happen..."

"It's impossible, Bella... there are 10,000 combinations and this time he didn't leave a clue; it will take us more than a week to figure it out."

"Impossible is a loser's excuse, and we're not losers. We've survived this far, it's not time to give up. Get your damn head on straight!"

"I tried every combination I could think of. Personal dates and numbers, common sequences, prime numbers, even the Fibonacci sequence, but nothing worked".

"No, there must be a clue we don't see, we can't be defeated by him."

"We've searched every inch of this filthy room and there's nothing here. Give up, Bella, discovering this password is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"You know that if he opens that door, the punishment will be even worse than a mere electric shock. Get off your ass and do it. It is our last chance."

Dragging myself to the door, I examined the lock. At first glance it looked like an outdated version of a TSA lock, only bigger and heavier, with a 4-digit password. I took a deep breath and tried to remember all the combinations I had already tried. My hands were sweating, my fingers were shaking, and a knot formed in my stomach. I looked at the wall clock, only two minutes left. I looked at the padlock, the knot in my stomach rose to my larynx, and the numbers on the padlock began to blur together. I closed my eyes and sobbed.

"I can't do this, Bella... I'm afraid I'll make another mistake and get an even bigger shock."

"I'll hold you as always, I'll never leave you alone. We'll leave this hell together." There was a gleam of determination in her eyes. "He'll pay for what he's done, we'll burn him to the ground."

"How?  We're only eleven and he's... He's our guardian." I said in disbelief.

"We'll use our brains, we'll find a way to escape this shithole and destroy him."

I looked at the lock tentatively and took a deep breath. I scanned my mind for all the sequences I had used before. My fingers turned the first disc of the lock. I faltered, giving up on trying another random combination. I didn't have time to screw up and get shocked again. There must be more to it than just calculating probabilities and testing hypotheses. He always loved puzzles and hidden messages. What didn't my eyes see? His clean and tidy image came to mind, a harmonious and symmetrical appearance, dressed in a pristine coat. A man who didn't tolerate the slightest imperfection and who reduced the probability of error to almost zero.