The Things We Do (Under Editing)

Darkness

I opened my eyes. At least, I think they were open. There was nothing but darkness around me and my other senses were foggy.

If waking up like this became a habit, I was going to write a complaint. Who I'd send it to, I'm not sure... probably Wraith.

Scratch that, complaining to Wraith is a terrible idea.

Unlike last time, I was sitting upright in a chair, and I was tied to it. When I clenched my teeth, I found a gag between them. I thought I heard shuffling on either side of me, but I wasn't sure. I wouldn't be surprised if blunt force trauma had started causing auditory hallucinations. My heart pounded an irregular beat, and my head throbbed along. Add some chords and we'd have a song. Ok, I was definitely out of it.

Suddenly, there was the sound of an opening door. Footsteps circled around me, seeming to echo oddly. I tried to follow them with my head, but the movement only made my senses foggier. A few clicks sounded on one side and the sound of static came from in front of me. A shriek filled the room, letting me know just how small a space it was. I flinched, though the sound was dulled slightly like it was blocked, probably by a gag like mine. The following silence was filled by the throbbing in my head.

"Now, I expect you all know me." The voice was altered: inhuman.

Know you? I can't even see you.

"As you can see behind me, I have a few hostages."

Hostages? They were talking to someone else.

"Now, this time, I didn't go for someone as high profile, but, as you can see, there are quite a few. We're going to see if you care as much about this group as you did one little girl."

Quite a few? Group? How many people were here? And "This time"? What little girl? Every word the person added only gave me more questions.

"I'd like you all to know the blame for this isn't on me. Who it's on, I don't know. That's the problem." The speaker sighed. "This is only happening because someone let poor little Anna Gray go. All I want to know is who did it. If they come forward, they're the only person, or people, who have to get hurt."

Why did this person care about Anna? What was happening?

"However, the longer you make me wait, the more people die."

I heard what sounded like a child's whimper to my right.

"Every day that I don't get a confession, someone gets a lovely hole in their head."

My body started shaking uncontrollably. I think I might have been laughing and my breath choked me. The situation was just too ridiculous. Here I was, unable to see, unable to speak, unable to even move, and someone was going to kill me to find out who had crossed... me. I missed the next part of the speech, but my attention was dragged back by the horrible, scratching laughter. Their voice modulator made the sound likely to give me nightmares.

"Stay tuned. This show isn't over yet."

I didn't realize how much clearer my head hadgotten until it started getting fuzzy again. I lost the strength to hold my headup and my chin dropped to my chest. Being knocked unconscious was another thingI didn't want to make a habit, yet here I was. The last thing I heard was thedoor shut. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I would be waking up this time.