Man in the Wall (Who is he?)

Chapter 6 - Dark, dull and dreary

I notice three other rooms. One next to the room I just exit from and another two across from it. All the doors are made of steel with a peephole in the middle of the top half. The passage is broad in width from my end to the other but short in length. A blank grey concrete wall is to my right and to the left are stairs. Honestly, everything here is concrete and steel. Every wall, the floor, the doors, that desk. Everything.

Heading upstairs, I'm amazed by what I see. I thought that the place would be as dark, dull and dreary as downstairs, but it's the complete opposite. Downstairs looks rather funereal while upstairs, the walls consist of dark charcoal bricks. A champagne grey wooden floor with a laminate finish. The interior doors were made of wood, some with glass panels. The ceiling was fairly high up with glass windows at the top and sides. From just below the windows to the ceiling, it honestly looked like it was made out of gold. I know they used the metallic gold paint to get that shiny effect, but wow. It's stunning.

I notice that it's late afternoon looking out the glass windows. I turn my head back for a moment to take a look at the stairs I just came up from. That's when it hit me. We are now on ground level. That was an underground bunker or basement, something like that. That's why it looks so dreadful.

We walk through one of the wooden doors with glass panels and eventually make our way to a long corridor with several doors on either side. At the end of the corridor is another glass window. This ceiling isn't as high as the other side and not gold either, but white. The floors are tiled and cream wallpaper covers the walls. I notice a few cameras in the hallway too. Only the doors remained the same wood, however, these doors ranged from 001 - 024. We stopped in front of door 016.

"This is your room from now on," My nurse breaks the silence that grew deafening. She opens the door and gestures for me to go inside and I do just that. This is my room!? I scream internally, eyes as wide as saucers.

Since when do victims EVER get decent, clean, furnished rooms from their kidnappers? There's a queen size bed to my right with white pillows and blankets as well as dark brown throw pillows. A white dresser with a mirror at the end of the bed against the cream wall. A dark brown bedside table with a lamp on top on either side of the bed. The closet is on the far end of the room. And there's a bathroom with a toilet, hand basin and shower. Which I can see, because the door leading to it has big glass panels.

The thing however that snaps me back to reality and out of my awestruck state... Is the camera with the red light, in the corner of my new bedroom. I already feel violated. I don't want this room, no matter how glamorous and proper it may seem.

What's the bigger picture behind all of this? This really can't be true. They're trying to make you comfortable here. My conscience reminds me. They really are determined to making you forget about your previous life. Well okay thoughts, that's enough. I get it. Thanks.

"Let me start by introducing myself," my nurse begins and my soul leaps to the ceiling. I had no idea she came in as well.

"I'm Peggy and I'll be your assigned nurse for the next few months. Marcus already told you about the evaluations and treatments. So-"

"Treatments?"

"Yes, treatments. We weren't going to spend so much time on evaluating you for nothing. You need to be improved. Appearance wise."

My face drops to the ground. Even she thinks I'm ugly. I know I am, but really? Do I really look that bad that they had to kidnap me in order to fix me up so that I can fit into society?

As if sensing my sudden glumness she speaks up. "Not that I'm saying your features aren't good enough. You are a pretty girl. Flaws and all. However, they want you beautified even more to a point of perfection and that's where I come in. I will simply enhance the beauty within outward." My face lightens up a bit. Peggy's a rather sweet and kind woman.