Hope for the Underworld

20

Cora woke with a start and sat up on her bed. She looked around, not recognising the place she was in.

'What's going on?' she croaked; her throat swollen and raw.

'Hello, sweetheart.' A woman in a nurse's uniform appeared in the open door. 'Do not worry,' she sounded calm and reassuring, at the same time trying to attract the attention of someone outside. 'You are quite safe here.'

'Where am I?' Something didn't feel quite right.

'Hello.' A middle-aged man walked in and stood next to the nurse. 'My name is Dr Warner,' he spoke slowly and gently, as if to a child. 'Firstly, allow me to reassure you that you are well and safe here. There is nothing to be afraid of.' His tone was measured and persuasive.

'Why am I here?' Cora demanded hoarsely.

'You choked on some food, and it got stuck in your throat.' His choice of words seemed too deliberate and intentionally vague. 'But we were able to remove it and you are fine now.'

'So, I can go?' She looked up with hope.

'Well...' he hesitated briefly. 'When you arrived, you had no documents on you, and we were unable to identify you. Can you tell me you name?'

'I'm Cora Lancaster,' she replied without even a hint of hesitation.

'Good.' He nodded; it confirmed what he'd read in the missing person's report issued by the police. 'And can you tell me where you have been staying for the past eight months?'

She thought about it for a few seconds. 'Eight months?' Her forehead wrinkled in incomprehension. 'I am staying in a B&B...' She rubbed her cheek absentmindedly. 'But I arrived only a few days ago.' Her searching gaze seemed to pass right through the doctor.

'What is the last thing you remember before waking up in here?' he asked hurriedly to distract her.

'I was on the cliff... And there was a storm coming.'

'Nothing past that?'

'No.' She shook her head. 'What's going on?!' she demanded.

'Miss Lancaster, I know it's all very confusing, but please remember that you are safe here...'

'Just tell me!'

'You have been missing for the past eight months.'

'What?' There was incredulity in her tone. 'How is that even possible?... I would remember something!'

'Can you?' he asked. 'Remember something, I mean?' He looked at her expectantly.

'No... I don't know...' She put her head in her hands and massaged her temples, as if trying to relieve the pain.

'We don't need to discuss it right now,' he hastened to assure her. 'It's important that you allow your memories to return gradually, on your own terms. No need to force anything. The police will want to talk to you at some point, but this can wait until you're ready...'

'How did I get here?' she cut him off mid-sentence.

'I have already explained; you choked...'

'No!' She shook her head impatiently, annoyed that he didn't understand. 'If I couldn't breathe, someone must have brought me in! Where are they?' She looked past him, towards the open door and the corridor, as if expecting someone to rush in and rescue her.

Her logical thinking surprised Dr Warner enough that he let the truth slip before he was able to stop himself. 'A man brought you in, but he since disappeared...' He bit his tongue, but it was too late.

'A man?' Her penetrating gaze seemed to go right through him, and it made him very uncomfortable.

'Yes.' There was no need to hide it now.

'And he disappeared?'

'Yes.'

'How could anyone vanish? Did you check the CCTV?' she questioned him further.

'Of course...'

'And?'

'No one could recognise him. And he has not been seen since.'

'And you think I was with this man for all the missing time?' There was no response, but the silence was answer enough.

'We will let you rest now.' Dr Warner retreated. 'Please let us know if you need anything.' He pulled the door behind him, but the lock did not fully engage and there was a small gap left, allowing Cora to hear the doctor's exchange with the nurse. 'She seemed strangely calm for someone who just learned they had been missing for several months,' he spoke in a doubtful tone. 'We need to call the police to let them know that Snow White is awake. Maybe they will have better luck talking to her?... And let Dr Kostakis know; he will be the best suited to talk to her...' Their voices fades, as they walked away.

Snow White? thought Cora. But then she smiled, amused; she had choked on something she had eaten, and they brought her back to life.

She lay back down and tried to analyse the situation; apparently, she was missing for many months, but from her perspective it felt as if no time elapsed at all. One moment, there was this massive earthquake and the next she woke up in a hospital bed.

Where had she been?

And who was that man?

Did he drug her?

Is it why she couldn't remember anything?

*

She must have dozed off, because the next thing she registered were quiet voices from the corridor just outside her door; there was still a slight gap, and she was able to hear their hushed conversation.

She recognised Warner's voice, when he repeated his misgivings regarding her calm reaction to his revelations. 'I think there must be something wrong there. Faced with this kind of information, women usually become hysterical.' Cora snorted derisively on that misogynistic generalisation. 'She seems too calm and analytic,' continued Dr Warner.

'Human psyche is a fragile, but also very complex concept,' a new voice piped in. 'Until I examine her, I can't make any statements, but it is entirely possible that the memory loss and detachment are simple self-preservation tools.' This must have been a shrink.

'I have examined her thoroughly,' came in the third, female voice. 'She looks healthy and well cared for. There is no sign of any physical abuse, but her pale skin suggests some type of confinement, away from the sunlight. A basement, perhaps?... There is sign of quite recent sexual activity, but it must have been consensual...' Cora cringed on hearing that. 'We could be dealing with Stockholm Syndrome. And if it was her captor who brought her in, he cared enough to try and save her life... Plus, her clothing suggests some kind of cosplay; he might have convinced her they were living in some fantasy land.'

'I suggest we tread lightly.' This was the shrink again. 'There's no telling what kind of psychological trauma she might be dealing with. Let her come to terms with it in her own time... I will assist the police during their interviews,' he added with a sigh, 'to prevent any further damage; unskilled probing could send her spinning...'

They walked away and Cora could analyse their conversation. The fact that they assessed her sexual activity angered her, but then she had to accept it was the standard procedure in case of a suspected kidnapping.

But had she been kidnapped?

She couldn't remember anything past the earthquake. There was only darkness... But when she closed her eyes, feelings and very powerful emotions were flooding her body; joy, love, safety... How could she feel all of that if she had been a prisoner?

Of course, she'd heard about Stockholm Syndrome, when a victim develops strong feelings towards their captor, but that was achieved by psychological manipulation, by a system of rewards and punishments. All she could feel was... profound loss.

Her hand went instinctively to her neck and her fingers closed protectively over the pendant hanging off her silver chain. Holding it felt... soothing. She couldn't recall where or when she got it, but somehow it seemed very important.