Cast The Die

Chapter Seventeen

April 2019

I woke myself up gasping for air and when I tried to sit up my whole left side had gone numb. The blanket was covering my whole body, even my shoulders. I could feel something near my hands, so I fumbled around and tried to pick it up. It's a torch. I switched it on and put it against the wall behind me, it lit up this corner of the unit. Next to the torch was a bowl of water, am I a dog? I realised if they'd given me anything else, I wouldn't be able to hold it. They could just untie my hands. I shuffled onto my knees and leaned forward, like a dog would, and drank from the bowl. The water was cold and fresh, they must have only just put it here. The feeling of the water going down my neck was like watching a fire go out. The burning went away, and I could breathe properly. Why are they giving me water? And a blanket? And a torch? After they drugged me and threw me in here to starve. I wonder how long I've been in here, if I stopped falling asleep, I would be able to work it out. I drank some more water, saving some in case they don't give me anymore. I sat on top of the blanket to give my bottom some comfort, it felt like sitting on a cloud.

I was about to close my eyes when I heard the door at the end of the corridor. Time for a shift swap. I heard voices muttering but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I don't even know if they were both male voices. The door closed and there was silence. I shifted my body to lean my side against the wall and closed my eyes. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps coming towards the unit. I quickly turned to face the opposite way and closed my eyes, in the films Jen watches the hostages pretend to be asleep so when their captors check on them, they can attack them by surprise. Was I going to attack them? The shutter opened slowly, and the light shone through the unit. I didn't open my eyes. The sound of his or her boots on the floor made me jump. Were they just stood there staring at me? I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head. I had to squint because the light was so bright, and my eyes weren't adjusting to it. It's a man. He stepped back and crouched down so that he was eye level.

"I'm not going to hurt you" he said softly. Hurt me? I was drugged and kidnapped, tied up in a storage unit with wounded head, I'm starving and terrified. But he's not going to hurt me? "Did you drink the water? You need to drink some water?" he looked over at the dog bowl. His voice is deep, but soft. "I shouldn't be in here" so why are you in here? "I just wanted to make sure you were okay" okay? Does it look like I'm okay? He shook his head as if he realised how stupid he sounds. "You're obviously not okay..."

"No shit" I said without even thinking. I'm shocked at what my own voice sounds like. He opened his mouth to speak when something in his pocket buzzed.

"Fuck. Sorry. I really shouldn't be in here" he jumped up quickly and left me alone. The shutter closed and I leaned over to drink some water. He seemed nice.