Captive

Chapter 34

Bridget Dunn called her office on Friday morning and asked for a week of vacation. She never missed a day of work, and during her years of service, she accumulated nearly a month's worth of vacation time. Naturally, her boss was concerned when she called and asked for the week off because she was a faithful employee devoted to her job. He granted her request with little hesitation, the supervisor merely asking if she was all right. Bridget made up an excuse that her college roommate decided to elope in Jamaica, and she was invited to the destination wedding at the last minute. The faithful employee promised to check her email and keep in contact with clients and her staff, but she also suggested that she may not always have access to the internet. In reality, Bridget just wanted to be left alone.

She experienced heartbreak in the past, but it had been years since she felt its sting and hurt. Bridget was confused, angry, and morose. She spent most of her days laying on the couch watching romantic tear-jerkers and eating mint chip ice-cream. It was always her in nature to hide from the world when she was sad. Every evening ended the same way: She drew a hot bath, poured a glass of wine, and sat in the tub and cried. The woman had no words to express her pain—just packs of cigarettes and bottles of Merlot.

On Sunday afternoon, her tablet screen displayed a new message from her personal email account. It was from the same address that sent her the video files of the woman hooked to the chair. She swiped the screen, opened the email application, and read the message. It said, You can't ignore this forever. Another video clip was attached, which Bridget reluctantly opened. This time, the identical woman was being dragged around a room by a disfigured creature. It released her, and she slunk toward a dead body, grabbed a pistol, and when the creature came at her again, she put the beast down. The camera zoomed in on the woman, who was crying, as she clung to the corpse. After a time, the creature grabbed her again, and injected her with something. The woman went limp, and the creature removed a layer of his face. Nathan stood there, holding the unconscious person. He was chuckling as he picked her up and carried her off screen. At that point, the camera feed stopped.

Bridget was mortified. She typed a quick response, Who are you?

The mysterious messenger quickly answered by opening a chat box. I am a friend here to help you and that woman. Bridget held her tablet in her hands, unsure of what to say next.

Who is she? Bridget typed.

She is you, or you are her, I should say.

What does that mean? She waited several minutes for a reply.

It's complicated. I can't explain it to you. Just know that everything Nathan Jones tells you is a lie. He is holding this woman captive in his psychological research facility where he tortures her and scares her out of her wits. It paused for a moment and typed some more. She's not the only one. He has others locked up in there as well.

Why would he do that?

Because he can. Bridget frowned and let out a heavy sigh. The messenger proceeded to type and erase for some time before his or her writing appeared. She needs you. The person on the other end of the conversation when offline, leaving Bridget with those final three words. She had no idea how she could help the woman in the videos. She lay down on the couch and wrapped a blanket around herself and contemplated the situation. What could she do? She loved Nathan—or she thought she loved Nathan—but he had slowly turned into a monster, both figuratively and literally. Furthermore, Bridget had no means of getting into the psychological research facility. She barely knew it existed. All she knew was that it was the place that called her boyfriend away at all hours to handle situations with patients. It was now clear that those situations were instigated, to some extent, by Nathan himself.