Astray in the Dark

Chapter 4

Alicia's POV

Slowly coming to, I found myself in a world covered in white. Snow fell from the heavens slowly and gracefully, like a thousand feathers drifting down from above.

Where am I..?

Instantly catching my attention, before me was a boy sitting by himself on a swing set, his midnight black hair contrasting with the colourless surroundings. He stared at the snow-clad ground in solemn, melancholy twisting his handsomely young features.

"What's the matter..?" I spoke up, hearing my voice echo throughout this empty space.

The boy looked up at me, but his eyes were as rigid as the frosted scenery around us. Those oceanic blue orbs were cold like the Atlantic, so deep and mysterious they could be hiding anything underneath.

When I tried to approach him, he started to drift away from me. No matter how much ground I made, no matter how fast I ran, he just kept getting further.. and further... and further away....

"Please.. don't leave!!" I cried out.

Before long, there was no more trace of the boy. He was gone, and I was lost. Isolated. Adrift in an endless void of white. Although those eyes were like stone, I could tell that they were scared. They were alone. They were crying out for help...

The next thing I knew, I had shot up into a sitting position, breathing heavily as that strange dream faded into the depths of my memory. "Ugh..." I grumbled beneath my breath, dizziness forming from the sudden movement. Allowing my head to fall into my hands, I inhaled a deep breath.

When my light headedness eventually dissipated, it left me with a banging headache. I glanced up... only to see that I wasn't in my apartment. I was in what seemed to be a small room, the walls being comprised of wooden panels variating in size, shade and shape.

"Where am I..?"

Stumbling, I found it hard to move. Frowning, I saw a cuff tightly clasped around my ankle, it's long chain snaking its was around a oaken column. I stood up from the mattress I woke upon, making my way to one of the windows as the interlocking metal hoops clattered against one another. Standing on my tip toes, I couldn't make out anything apart from some bars on the other side of the frosted glass. Is this a prison or something..?

"What happened.." I asked myself.

A piercing pain split my head in two when I tried to recall how I got here; in that moment, everything that had happened seemingly minutes ago hit me like a tsunami...

"I don't think you understand the situation you're in.." His husky tone resounded lowly. "You're going to come with me now, whether you like it or not."

"Wha-.."

Without having time to question it, I was suddenly pushed down to the cold, hard, floor. He sat on top of me, applying his hefty weight to my back which trapped me underneath. I squirmed and struggled helplessly beneath him, flinching at the ragged sounds of tape being peeled and torn above me.

"Get off of me!!" I cried out.

Quickly squeezing my wrists together behind my back, he wrapped the binding strip around them tightly. Moments later, he did the exact same thing to my ankles.

I couldn't help but tremble as he loomed over me, frightened curiosity sparking inside my mind. "Don't speak, or else.."

"Or else what?" I snarled.

A great force suddenly collided with my stomach, causing me to curl up into a ball whilst coughing. "Or else that."