End of the Day

8:26 pm (day 619)

Flickering light. The sound of rain pattering against the roof above. Chilly air filtering through a vent, or perhaps even an open door. Pounding in her head.

Lauren takes all of these things in as she blinks away the darkness, pushing past the stars in her vision. The thump, thump, thump of her skull slows her intake of information as she scans her surroundings. Instead of an open sky in the middle of an empty road, she sees a stained, grey ceiling masked in darkness. And instead of a midday blue, she turns her head and spots a few candles scattered about providing light.

Lauren slowly sits up, reaching for her forehead with a shaky hand. She's confused when her fingers come in contact with a bandage, her memory lacking the source of the injury causing the spiking pain. What happened?

Lauren tries to reach up with her other hand, only to have it stopped midway by something cold and metallic gripping her wrist. Her head twists to the left at the sudden restriction, her haze fading when she spots a handcuff attaching her arm to a chair built into the floor.

The only sounds (other than the rain hitting the rooftop) come from Lauren: her shuffling on the floor; the clanking of her handcuffs on the metal leg of the chair; her heartbeat speeding up by the moment; and the heavy breaths coming in and out through her nostrils. She takes a moment to truly soak in her surroundings, scanning the corner of what appears to be a run-down grocer.

Across from where Lauren is seated is a mattress done up with thin blankets strewn across it, a few personal photos pinned in no particular pattern on the wall beside it. An open cabinet displays more food than Lauren had seen in weeks; snacks, cans of beans and soup, water... It all reminds her of her hunger, her growling stomach being added to all the other noise she seems to be making.

And resting atop the cabinet is a box of protein bars—a box Lauren clearly remembers finding for herself. She notices her pack, too, which sits leaning against the mattress, far out of reach. When I find out who's keeping me hostage, I swear I'm gonna—

Lauren jumps at the distant sound of a door slamming, just beyond all of the empty store shelves and out of her sight. She sucks in a breath, her eyes flicking around in a panic. Another thump followed by an object being dragged across the floor echoes against the silence, her fight or flight sense kicking in.

Lauren huffs in frustration when all she has to work with is angrily tugging against the cuffs. She hears the noise getting closer and closer, but just when she thinks by some miracle she has suddenly gained superhuman strength and the handcuffs are about to snap, something else happens instead.

Lauren calls out in pain, the cuffs splitting the skin of her wrist. Boots stomping on the cement floor register along with the other sounds, and oh god, she needs to get out of—

Thump!

Everything goes quiet.

Lauren decides she can do one of two things; She can keep her eyes squeezed shut out of fear, or she can look her kidnapper dead in the eyes and keep a calm outward appearance. She decides to go with the latter, releasing a shaky breath and slowly turning her head.

She lowers her cuffed hand to the ground beside her, looking up at the familiar figure standing above her. They're wearing a hoodie and a doctor's mask over their mouth, staring directly at Lauren. Lauren squints up at the small frame of the person hidden behind the bulky old clothes.