Crosshairs

The Dark Room

  All she could see and feel was the dark suffocation of what she thought was death. It was cold and the air which had filled her lungs was no longer present. Her thoughts were empty and her eyes were smoke filled spheres. Her body was still as the Grim Reaper looked over her corpse with the utmost interest and the evilest of grins. "Take her to the dark room." Echoed through her head, which brought breath back into her body. There was a deep gasp, her eyes opened, and there she was. The room was the darkest a room could ever become. She sat there breathing heavily as air finally resided in her lungs once again. She moved her head around in discomfort waiting for something to happen. Through the bones cracking in her neck, she heard a loud, sudden click. 

Suddenly there was light. It was too bright for her to look at. In front of her was a table and an empty chair. On the table was a pocket knife, a receipt, a few coins and dollar bills, and a small picture. She felt like she had seen these things before. She sat staring at the objects, which triggered her brain to function. It was like the objects were a switch that she needed to flick on. Her thought process was back, and the first thing she thought was, "Where am I?" She started to look around into the dark corners of the room. The words, "There we go. Welcome back, Mrs. Burnes." Echoed throughout the room. 

  She looked around trying to find where the words came from until there was slam on the table in front of her. She looked at the once empty chair, now filled with a figure sitting on it. She looked towards the table. In the middle of the table was a hand. The hand which was slammed onto the table. "Hello, Clara. Can I call you Clara?" Said the figure. Judging by the depth of the voice, the hair on the hand, and the width of the figure, it was clear that it was man who she saw before. It was his face, she could not see. 

  For a few seconds they sat there in silence. She felt as if someone had patted her back, causing words to leave her mouth unwillingly. She couldn't control what she was saying. The words were very colorful, and yet very dark. There was screaming, speaking, and all in between. When it seemed that she finished, there was a long silence. The man began to speak. "So now tha-." But was cut off by more shouts and screams of horror and pain which eventually ended a long, blood curdaling scream that only ended when she was out of breath. He waited, and once again they sat in silence. The man began to speak once more. "Don't worry, honey. It happens to everyone. Now you should be able to talk." But, alas, she could not. She felt another pat on her back and this made her cough uncontrollably. When the coughing stopped, she was able to speak. 

 "Where am I?" She asked. "That is a common question, but a good one!" Said the man with optimism. "You, ma'am, are in the dark room and I am your... guy." He answered. "My guy?" She asked. None of this made a lick of sense to her. The last thing she could remember was literally waking up in darkness. The moment she woke up, all she knew, all she felt, was darkness. There was nothing more and there was certainly nothing less. 

"Yes, your guy. I could tell you my name, but then I'd have to kill ya!" The man let out a lighthearted chuckle. "Haha! Just kidding! You're already dead!" He said. "Wait, wha-?" She said. 

That was when it hit her. Her memories flooded back into her head. She recollected them so fast that it felt as if she was shot in the head with bullets. She remembered everything. The man smiled. "Good, now that you have your memories back, we need to know who killed you."