TRAPPED (Remaster Coming Soon)

Chapter 6: Korbitron

Charlie groaned and slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry and her head ached. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, hoping that her vision would focus again. When it finally cleared, she sat up and looked around the room confused. She was laying on a small bed in a room that was poorly lit. The light above her was quietly flickering and the rusty pipes were leaking water. On the opposite side of the room was a dirty wooden door that was slightly cracked open. She quietly gasped when the rusty door knob turned and the door was slowly pushed open further. A familiar person popped out from the darkness and smirked at her.
       "Agostino..." Charlie said quietly.
        Agostino walked into the room and over to Charlie.
       "Ah, so you do remember me," he said.          Charlie looked at him confused and said, "Of course I remember you, we met not too long ago."
        He chuckled and moved closer to Charlie. She quickly backed away from him causing him to smile even more. He continued to move closer and soon there was no longer a gap between them. He was bending over her with both of his arms at her sides. Charlie was frightened, but she tried not to show it.
       "W-what do you want from me?" She asked.
        Agostino stared into her eyes and replied, "I need to ask you some questions and I want you to answer truthfully. If you aren't honest," he pulled his knife out of his pocket and held it up to Charlie's throat, "you die."
        Charlie's breathing quickened. She tried to lean away from Agostino, but he just moved closer.
       "If you try to escape, you die. If you try to assault me, you die. Understand?" He asked her.
        Charlie quickly nodded and Agostino flashed another one of his signature smirks. She didn't know if she was nervous because of how close she was to such an attractive man, or if it was because she was probably about to die.  
        Agostino continued, "First question, why are you here?" He continued to stare directly into her eyes which made her even more nervous.    
        Charlie quickly thought of an answer and replied, "W-we're here because we want to k-know what's happening."
        She was mad at herself for not being able to answer confidently. She knew it would make Agostino even stronger knowing that he was in full control.
        Charlie broke out of her thoughts when she heard Agostino laugh maniacally. "I knew you were going to say that," he said while chuckling. "Listen, kid—" he was suddenly cut off by Charlie, "I'm not a kid!" She immediately regretted her decision when she felt the tip of Agostino's knife dig into her throat.
        "I-I'm sorry, Mr. Agostino," she said while closing her eyes. He chuckled again.
        "That's not my last name, dearie," he whispered into Charlie's ear while slowly pushing the knife deeper into her neck. "My last name is Florentini," he said a bit louder.
        Charlie flinched when she felt her skin break open from the knife. She could now feel blood trickling down her neck.
        "M-Mr. Florentini, please..." Charlie started.
        He leaned in closer. "Please what?" He asked while smirking.
        Charlie lifted her head up and replied, "Please, b-be a little softer with m-me."
        Agostino laughed and blurted out, "You really expect a psychopath like me to be softer with you? Not after you interrupted my story."
        Charlie grabbed his arm when she felt the knife go in deeper. "P-Please! I'm sorry I interrupted you. It won't happen again, Mr. Florentini!" Charlie's grip tightened and she closed her eyes again.
        Agostino chuckled and pulled the knife away from her neck. He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up.
        "Listen carefully, love," he said in a low voice.
        He walked away from her as he started his story. Charlie exhaled in relief when Agostino finally moved away from her.
        "Before I was forced into this asylum, I was a powerful and brutal killer. When I murdered someone for the first time, I discovered my true self and what I really wanted to do. Nobody knew who I was until I started killing more frequently. People began to fear me. Wanted posters were posted everywhere and many articles online were about me. It was the greatest feeling ever knowing how many people were afraid of me. It was like taking over the world. I was enjoying it until the authorities finally caught me. They diagnosed me with psychosis and locked me up in a padded room....until now. I escaped along with a bunch of other patients thanks to a corporation called Korbitron Inc."
        Charlie just stared at him with widened eyes. Some of her questions were answered, but she still had a lot more. She wanted to ask him those questions, but she was afraid to speak.
        "You look very confused. You must be full of questions. Ask away, my dear," Agostino said.
        'It's like he's reading my mind.' Charlie thought to herself.
        She immediately started asking him questions, "I have tons of questions, Mr. Florentini—"
        "Please, call me Agostino," he interrupted.
        Charlie nodded and continued, "Agostino, what exactly is Korbitron Inc?"
        The man sighed and turned towards the door. "I am not entirely sure. All I know is that they are a powerful corporation that bought out the asylum. They shut it down to the public, but left the patients and some of the staff they trusted. I have heard many terrible stories about them," he explained.
        "What kind of terrible stories?" Charlie asked. She was truly interested in Agostino's stories and she wanted to hear more.
        "They...torture the patients here and they perform horrible experiments on them. I believe that is true. Look at my loyal Guardian. Why do you think he looks like that? You see, I am not the true villain here. Korbitron is," he finished explaining.
        Charlie felt bad for him now. She got up and did something she thought she never would've done. She walked up to Agostino, turned him around, and gave him the biggest hug she could.
        Charlie buried her face in his chest and whispered, "I'm sorry, Agostino."
        She could feel his muscles tense up. He was speechless. Charlie blushed and quickly backed away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean t—" Charlie was cut off by a pair of warm arms and a warm body. Agostino had pulled her back into the hug. Now Charlie was speechless. She was surprised at how quickly he had accepted her. Maybe now she didn't have to worry about being killed by him.
        "Charlie," he started, "join me."
        Charlie's eyes widened and she looked up at him.
        "What?" She asked.
        "Join me. We can team up and stop Korbitron. Then, we can get out of here and run somewhere far away," he said again.
        "I-I can't. My friends..." Charlie started.
        Agostino shook his head and replied, "Forget about them. They're gone."
        Charlie suddenly remembered everything that happened not too long ago. She remembered seeing Max and Emily fall through the floor during Agostino's Freak Show and she remembered passing out after a large piece of wood fell and hit her head.
        "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll join you," Charlie suddenly said. The words accidentally slipped out of her mouth.
        Agostino's face lit up and he smirked as he always does.
        "A wise decision," he said devilishly.
        Suddenly, his eyes turned dark as he stared directly into hers. Charlie felt something jolt inside of her and she soon realized she was no longer in control of her mind or body. She could still see what was going on, but she couldn't move or control her thoughts at all.
        Agostino laughed maniacally and grabbed Charlie's arms, pulling her out of the small room. He dragged her down a hallway and then turned right into another room. Inside the room was a wardrobe, a large, red curtain, and a mirror that was hanging on the wall. They were backstage.
        Agostino walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a small, black suit, and some dress shoes that looked exactly like his.
        "Put these on," Agostino commanded.
        Charlie obeyed and walked over to him. She quickly slipped out of her normal clothes and put the white undershirt and black suit on. She then put the dress shoes on and waited for Agostino's next command. He handed her a pair of black leather gloves and gave her a large knife after she slipped the gloves on.
        "Perfect," Agostino whispered, "together we will destroy Korbitron, escape the asylum, and then destroy the world."
        He laughed maniacally and so did Charlie. This was Charlie's hidden personality. The personality that she buried in the very back of her mind. It only came out when she was depressed or enraged, but somehow Agostino managed to find it and take control of it. There was nothing she could do.