When Stars Align

Chapter 6

"Ok Nate, seriously, this isn't funny anymore. I know Max is in on it, too, and joke's over. Let me out!" I shout in protest. The voice from the speaker doesn't come back. After what I guess to be another hour, my mind starts to wander.

Are they going to leave me in here forever?

Will they starve me?

Will I ever see my family again? Thoughts like these flood my mind, along with images of important moments in my life. The last one I see is of Max waiting for me on our bench, and then my thoughts fade to darkness and I dream. I dream a fairy tale, where Max is my Prince Charming, I am the princess, and he comes and tries to save me from the fire-breathing dragon who looks remarkably like Nate. In the end, we locked ourselves in two different rooms in the castle to get away from the dragon, and it ends up setting the whole castle on fire. I hear my name, still asleep, and think its Max who finally found me and maybe my fairy tale will have a happy ending, but then I realize it's the dragon, who can now talk. The dragon morphs completely into Nate when I slowly open my eyes, squinting from the bright lights that resemble those of a hospital. As my eyes adjust, they focus on Nate, who's holding something shiny in one hand.

"You know that saying, Innocent until proven guilty?" He smirks.

"Well, you've just been proven guilty."

I guess I must have a pretty confused, messed up look on my face, because he starts to explain.

"No normal person would fall asleep after only 37 minutes in such a strange place."

Only 37 minutes? That seemed like a lot longer. I think I see of flicker of something - regret, sorrow, humanity - in his eyes, but just as quick, it's gone, and I'm not sure if it was actually there or not.

"Get up," he barks, all-business again. I stand up and walk towards him, not delaying what would eventually come. I had come to realize, during my dream, that this was no joke. He grabs my shoulder and jerks me around so I'm facing away from him, and grabs my hand, securing them behind my back with handcuffs. Really? That must of been the shiny thing in his hand.

"I weigh 110 lbs, how dangerous can I be?" I ask, but only receive a grunt in return.

He turns me around and marches me to what I assume is my cell where I woke up this morning, but ended up somewhere else entirely. I'm dying of curiosity, but decide to keep my mouth shut. We stop in front of a door and he types in a very long code - I count 11 beeps - and he opens a very heavy-looking metal door. The stench behind the door is unbearable, it smells like dead animals. I want to plug my nose but can't, as my hands are currently pinned behind my back. He shoves me forward and marches me to a small area with a small cot and a little bucket in the corner, with what looks like a chalk square drawn around it. I look around and squares like this are everywhere. With faces staring shyly at me from nearly every one of them. Nate shoves me onto the cot and bends down to put something on my ankle, fastening it very tight, and locking it from a key from his pocket.

"What is that?" I ask, curious, once again.

"An ankle-monitoring device. If you try to step out of this square, it will deliver a strong and painful shock that will travel through your body, and stun you for a few moments. If you try again, it will knock you out completely."

"That sounds pleasant," I mutter under my breath, sarcastically.

He grunts and turns to walk away.

"Wait!" I stand up and stop him, careful to stay in my square.

"What?" he growls as he turns around.

"Please don't leave me here! Please!"

He chuckles and winks as he walks away. I sink onto the floor next to the cot and lean back onto the hard mattress and scratchy sheets, hugging my knees to my chest and sniffling.