Status Quo | ✓

*-21-

I had no idea what time of the day it was when the man entered the room again. He pulled me by the hair and yanked my head back to wake me up. My senses spun and I couldn't think about anything except for all the sore and ache of the cuts and bruises from all his abuse.

From my blurred vision, I saw the sickening smile on his face as he looked down at me, staring eye to eye while asking, "How was your night?"

Being held by the restraints, I attempted to strike at him with a spit on his face again but he dodged it this time. Angered, his hand grasped at my throat and tightening his grip to cut off my air supply. My hands jerked reflexively, wanting to pull his hands off me but they were bounded and I was left struggling helplessly. The feeling of asphyxiation was striking at me as black spots appeared in my vision and my legs kicked when my lungs started to ache. Before I could pass out, he released his hold on me as I heaved and coughed while pleading for dear air to keep me alive.

"You just never learn, do you?" he questioned, slamming my head on the table and black flashed across my vision.

I let out a bitter laugh, "I learn that people who deserve shit, get shit."

My phone buzzed again and my heart nearly stopped when the man reached to hold onto my phone, swiping to receive the call. My eyes widened in horror and I froze, unsure of what to do when my first reaction should be shouting for help. Walking behind me, the man rested a hand on my shoulder and whispered into my ear, "Come on, beg for help."

"Rae?!" Leon sounded desperate over the phone. "Where are you? Why haven't you picked up your phone at all?!"

Instead of screaming and crying for help, I bit down on my lower lip to prevent myself from making a single sound. I know that it was probably the dumbest idea but I didn't want to hurt Leon. I refused to let him know about my predicament because I cannot imagine all that he would go through if he knew that I was here — in this state.

"Talk to me, sweetheart," Leon pleaded, his voice softened and his helplessness could be heard. "I'm begging you."

The man behind me was gripping onto my hair so tightly that I nearly cried out, he demanded in a voice that could only be heard by me, "Come on, make a sound or I'll force you to make."

But I remained silent, pursing my lips so tightly together to ensure that I could utter a single sound. My refusal to obey his demand had caused him to snap, the next thing that happened was beyond my ability to expect and tolerate. Out of nowhere, he was armed with a swiss knife and I watched in horror as he swung the blade out and pushed it right into my thigh. The pain that jolted through my body caused me to scream and underneath my ear-piercing cry was his despicable laughter. Yes, that fucking psychopath laughed.

"Rae?! What's going on?" Leon shouted through the phone, his tone filled with horror and distress.

My voice was hoarse and a sob threatened to escape. I clenched my fists tightly, forcing myself to hold back my tears as I exhaled weakly, "Leon, I love you—"

If these were going to be my last words to him, I wanted him to know that my heart felt so much for him since the moment we met as children. My body was trembling from a sudden coldness that rippled through my body and in my half-conscious state, I heard Leon calling my name, "Rachelle—"

I didn't manage to hear what Leon had to say to me because the man hung up the call, switched off my phone and swung it away. At the sound of my phone crashing against the ground, my heart shattered with every bit sinking so deeply at the fact that if I were to die here, that was the last time I would ever hear his voice calling my name.

The man's voice was pure taunting and evil, holding onto my jaw and moving me to face him, he only spat, "Don't worry, you won't die from this."

He swung my head out of his hold violently before turning to leave the room. I stared right into the darkness, towards the direction where the door should be. Overwhelmed by the weakness in my body, my consciousness floated while the metallic smell of blood permeated the air surrounding me. Warm, sticky liquid flowed from my thigh down the length of my leg.

Maybe he's right.

I would rather die.

-

Air.

I need air.

I can't breathe.

Gods above, I can't breathe.

My throat constricted and my eyes flew wide open. I struggled and tried to push myself out of the water, but my head was held in place by the arm gripping onto the back of my neck. There was no air left in my lungs and my hands flailed in the water as I made my last attempt to fight for my life. The arm tightened harder on my neck and pulled me out of the water. Reflexively, I took a sharp breath and the sudden influx of air into my lungs sent me into a coughing fit. My eyes zeroed in on the person right in front of me and noticed that it was one of the subordinates of that psycho. Rolling my eyes to the side, I saw the devil staring right at me. 

He scoffed, "I can't believe that I haven't played you till your death yet." 

I directed my gaze up to the blank ceiling, feeling all empty on the inside. There was no way I could figure out how long it had been since I was captured here and neither could I differentiate day from night when I had totally lost connection with the world outside. All that was left to me was darkness and hopelessness. 

I was losing myself each day. At some point, I stopped feeling pain, I stopped feeling afraid and I stopped feeling totally. Like an empty shell that was void of any emotions, I comforted myself that all that matter was that I stayed alive. In my most futile attempt to stay sane, I started to count. That was only the continuity in my life through this endlessness. However, the more I counted, the stronger the despair felt. It was an ache in my chest to be losing all hope and I begin believing that no one would ever find me here. 

I sat in the tub of cold water, all alone in this place with my tormentors. Closing my eyes, I felt myself sink beneath the surface and I no longer struggled. I simply held onto my breath reflexively and I started to count again. 

Twenty-eight thousand, five hundred and sixty-nine.

Twenty-eight thousand, five hundred and seventy.

Twenty-eight thousand, five hundred and seventy-one.

I was slowly losing my consciousness and my body numbed with each count I made while being held underwater. Perhaps it was my imagination, but I thought I heard the sounds of sirens while the grip on the back of my head loosen and I fell deeper into the water. 

My world went pitch black.

- 

✿ 

Did help arrive?