Over The Wall <>Shyan<>

Unfortunate Events

Video camera in his hand, Ryan Bergara was sure of one thing and one thing only. He was hopelessly lost in the middle of nowhere.

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Ryan wasn't planning to get stranded in the middle of a random forest in Illinois, but unfortunately, that's exactly where he found himself at the moment. He set out earlier that day to the great Prairie State with the intention of filming the first episode of his new true crime series. It was his big senior project for his last semester at college. He was studying John Wayne Gacy, which is what brought him to Illinois in the first place. In his research he found that a lot of the criminal activity that had gone on in that time period had taken place in the vast Illinois woods. So he did what any desperate college student would do. Ryan booked a hotel, flew there, packed a backpack full of all his camera equipment, and took an Uber to the biggest forest the state had to offer. He'd decided to explore the area while he recorded his episode, but it wasn't long until he couldn't find his way out.

It was a pitch black night around Ryan, aside from the little beam that came from his flashlight and the blinking red dot on his camera. He took a break from incessantly checking his phone (which of course, had no service) and decided to continue talking to himself in the hopes of preventing himself from panicking - well, panicking anymore than he was already.

"I'm fine. I'm okay. I can find my way back. I will find my way back." He could feel his heart beating in his chest. "Everything's gonna be totally okay. I'm okay. I'm safe. No ones gonna hurt me. It's just me out here."

"You sure about that?"

Ryan couldn't breath. He felt like the voice behind him was enough to send him into a panic attack. Which, matter of fact, it was. Because the last thing he could remember was hyperventilating so hard that he passed out.

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When Ryan opened his eyes, all he could see was black. For a second, he thought he might actually be dead. Then he tried to reach up to his face, but felt a sharp pain in his wrists. He was tied to something. So he wasn't dead but...kidnapped? His heart started racing again and his thoughts ran wild. Was that worse? Do I try to escape? Am I gonna die here? Ryan's breaths became quicker and he felt dizzy again. Suddenly, he felt a pressure lifted off his eyes and he could see. In front of him stool one a tall, lanky man with his phone in hand.

"Will you calm down?"

"W...What?"

The man sat down in a chair in front of Ryan, leaning it backwards. "I said calm down. You're gonna make yourself pass out again." He held the shorter mans phone in his hand, typing on the screen.

"W-What are you doing-" Ryan desperately tried to stop his voice from cracking. "What are you doing with my phone?" Ryan scanned the room while he waited for an answer. He saw what looked like the inside of a log cabin, decorated with antlers and flannel everywhere. A glass chandelier hung above him. It actually would look quite nice if he was being held captive in it.

"Texting you family. Demanding ransom. Ya know. The usual." The man in front of him had the audacity to laugh. He sat there and laughed while Ryan was tied up and helpless in front of him. He must have noticed the horrified look on the shorter man's face, as he rolled his eyes and stated, "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then why did you tie me up?"

"I said I wouldn't hurt you, not that I was gonna let you leave. Not yet at least." The man tossed Ryan's phone on the table, standing up and cracking his back.

"Who...Who are you?"

"Shane. No last names though, we're not that close yet." He grinned, taking a toothpick out of his shirt pocket and pushing it in between his teeth. "Why don't you get some sleep though, alright? Seems like you had a long day." The man stood up, shutting off the light coming from the chandelier. Then just like that, he disappeared out of the room.

And Ryan was left there alone, exhausted, and with no idea how (or if) he was going to get out of this.