Tunnel Vision

Chapter 3

When you're taken captive, you expect your captor to be... menacing. You expect them to be revolting, making you cringe whenever you see them.

I do cringe when I see who the shadow belongs to, but not because he is revolting.

He opens the door and pokes his head in, eyes wide – searching for me in the small room. His eyes rest on my face as I stare back at him. Once he decides I'm not going to lash out at him, he walks into the room, shutting the door behind him with a resonating thud.

I think I'm as far away from him as possible, but just to be sure I take one more step back and bump into the wall, almost hitting my head.

I wonder if it would've knocked some sense into me...

He smirks and says, "Aurelia, right?"

Baffled by his nonchalance, I stare at him and refuse to answer. But his nonchalance never falters.

"Okay, well. I'm Colin, in case you're interested."

I'm not. Not really anyway. I just want to know why I'm here and if he's my captor, why he hasn't done anything to me or said what he wants.

I continue to stare at him.

"Ah, right. You're hungry? I assume you are, though I don't think you'll answer me. I'll bring you some food, but first you probably want to know why you're here. So ask me a question. I'll answer."

Unbelievable.

"Look I'm not going to tell you anything until you talk to me," he finally says. He looks at me like he has no idea why my lips are sealed. Hmmm... I wonder.

I cross my arms and stay where I am, my lips pressed into a line – locked shut. I don't know why he thinks I will talk to him when I'm locked into a room and don't even remember how I got here.

He looks at me with so much exasperation, I wonder if he's going to feed me unless I talk to him like he wants. I don't have much time to wonder because suddenly he turns around and walks out the door.

I have about five minutes to think over my situation as I pace before the door clicks again, signaling another entry. I back up to the wall again.

"Oh, good. You're still here," Colin says as he sets down a tray of food on the table in the corner. I never noticed it until now. I'm slipping.

I scoff at his words. Of course I'm still here. Where else would I be?

Colin says nothing. He walks closer to me as I scoot away to the corner opposite the bed. He sits on the bed like he owns it. In retrospect I suppose he does but still, somehow it feels like he's invading my own personal space from the other side of the room.

"Alright so, here's the deal. I'm not leaving until you at least repeat your name to me. Literally all you have to do is say 'Yes my name is Aurelia' or 'No, that isn't my name.' But of course if it isn't your name, I'm going to need to know your real name."

This guy confuses me. Does he know who I am or not? I assume he does, seeing how he seems to be the one that has taken me captive. Maybe it's a test. Maybe I could be dead in a matter of seconds and tossed aside if I don't answer carefully.

Finally, I get my brain to cooperate with my mouth again and reluctantly say, "Yes, my name is Aurelia," as I glare at him still sitting smugly on the bed.

"Alright then. That's a start."

And he gets up and walks out, leaving me to eat in peace.