The Room

Gradually, his eyes opened. He blinked a few times to confirm it, but it was true. Darkness. Darkness everywhere. A pounding in his head, he let his eyes adjust to his surroundings.

Drip. Drip. Drop.

There was a leak in the ceiling, maybe two. The small echo made it hard to tell.

Suddenly, there was a loud clap of thunder, causing him to jump to his feet. To his surprise, no visible lightning entered the room prior to the sound. Perhaps... Was he blind? No. Squinting in the darkness, the teen saw a chair on the other side of the room, if you could even call it that.

He looked around the prison, squinting, looking for a door. A window. An escape. Anything! But there was nothing. Just him and the chair.

The boy cautiously made his way over to the chair. Unsure of what to do next, he sat in the chair.

"What the-" No sooner had he sat in the chair, he stood up, picking up the item that came between him and the seat. A flashlight!

He fumbled around with the flashlight, trying to figure out how to turn it on.

Drip. Drip. Drop.

Slowly the flashlight came to life, giving off a dull beam of light. He shined it around the room, holding tightly to this last beacon of hope. Still, there was no sign of any possible exits.

Defeatedly, he sat back down in the chair.

The boy tried to remember what happened before waking up in this prison. It came back to him in pieces.

His sister... He and his sister were meeting some friends at the mall. Getting separated from the group, he... he tried to find them... He got lost... and saw something he shouldn't have... and then... nothing.

He shined the flashlight around the dark room once more. The dim light traced over a piece of paper...

Wait... Was that there before? How could he miss it?!

Quickly he picked up the note and read it aloud to himself.

Drip.

"They didn't want anything like that getting out."

Drip.

"They didn't want anyone like you getting in."

Drop.

"And no one can ever know."

A gun fired.

And then...

Nothing.