Deck of Cards

Day 14- Hannah

King of clubs- looking after the leader for 7 hrs

Hannah's POV

Waking up to the pitch blackness was beginning to take its toll on me, I was finding myself becoming more fond of my dreams purely because they were in colour. The constant cold had meant that I had permanent goosebumps although I couldn't see them which drove me insane. I must have looked insane; my hair was a matted mess and my face was probably caked in so much dirt you would have thought I had lived in a swamp. I was beyond caring at that point.

Squinting, I made out the deck of cards and I crawled over like a lion to its prey except in my case the prey was stronger than me. It was funny to think that pieces of card could be much stronger than me, a girl who thought she had faced all the hardships life had to offer. I hadn't.

It was another king, but this time I would actually have to face it rather than hiding behind a diamond. It was only a club but I knew that those seven hours wouldn't go by quickly, they would tick away for what seemed like twice the time. I still didn't really understand the concept of 'looking after the leader'- what did that even mean?

I found out when my guard came around as he always did with a smug little smile that made me want to slap him.

"Looking after the leader for seven hours. You will be looking after him personally for one hour twenty minutes and for the rest of the time you will be doing chores for him. Seeing as you are looking after him first, I will take you immediately to his quarters." It didn't make sense, if I was the only person they were playing with, why did I only have one hour and a bit? Surely he'd want me for all the time? Then it dawned on me.

There were other girls.

I was still in shock from my new theory whilst being dragged down the corridors, I didn't even process where I was until I was thrust into a room. I fell badly on my hands and knees, leaving scrapes everywhere and bruises. He didn't give me time to feel the pain as I was lifted up by a pair of strong arms and turned face to face with the man who had been planning my torture for the past two weeks.

He was old and had a strange moustache that had hints of grey in it. All in all, he didn't look like someone who enjoyed watching girls being tortured. He was athletic and obviously went to the gym but his wrinkles showed his age. If it had been in any other scenario, I would have thought he looked like a nice uncle who play-fought with his sons but treated his daughters like princesses. It was obvious that he didn't do any of those things due to his role in the game. He probably created the game.

I didn't know what he wanted from me but instead of being led to a bed like I thought, he proceeded to take me to a chair and sat opposite me. He stared for a second and then he took a sip of his tea. I craved the liquid that was pouring down his throat, I craved the rich flavour. He noticed my longing gaze at the cup in his hand and with one gesture he sent the guard away to get me one. I smiled sheepishly not sure what to say in response.

"How are you Hannah?" He asked in one of those booming voices that you would expect from a teacher. I shuddered slightly, trying my best to sink into the chair and disappear all together.

"Good," I croaked out, nervous now that it was going to be some kind of interview. This made him laugh loudly like it was the funniest joke ever and he slapped his knee multiple times; I meekly giggled along not wanting to aggravate him. Thankfully the guard came in and handed me some tea; it took all my willpower to not down it in one second but to steadily sip. I didn't want to be rude.

For the next hour he just asked me questions and told me stories to which I nodded along and responded to when I needed to. I was still in surprise that all he wanted to do was have a friendly conversation. Maybe I had overestimated him, maybe he wasn't the bad guy. STOP, I told myself- he had to be bad. He planned the abduction of innocent girls and sent people to go torture them daily.

After our long chat, my guard came and pulled me out to go to another room where I guessed I would be doing chores. I was right when I saw the massive pile of laundry waiting for me in the corner of the room and a big bucket of water in the middle. It was the 21st century and they expected me to hand wash a big pile of clothes? It was ridiculous. I kept muttering to myself about how stupid it was until I finally heard the alarm telling me that it was all over. I couldn't wait to just get back to my cell and relax in the silence that seemed to envelop everything.

With the quietness of the cell, I had a chance to reflect on everything I had witnessed and heard today. There were other girls. Somewhere in the labyrinth of corridors and rooms were other girls.