Dusk

Chapter 6: Dark Rooms

I woke up in a dark room.

Where am I? I thought groggily.

My thoughts felt heavy. It took effort to make my mind work. I winced tried to move a hand up to my head, and realized with growing concern that both my hands were tied behind me with a thick, rough rope, impossible to grasp. The more I began to analyze my surroundings, the more panicked I became.

I was seated in a stiff-backed wooden chair, my hands tied roughly with thick rope, impossible to grasp. My eyes adjusted to the dim lighting after a few moments, and I was able to see the outline of the small, cement room, with a single metal door leading, I expected, to the outside world. Though it didn't seem to have a lock on it, I doubted I would be able to escape, considering the position I was in. I decided to examine myself next. My dress was ripped and dirty, as if I had been roughly handled and thrown into the room. It looked like my right leg had a small scratch on it, but was scabbing over. Otherwise, I was unharmed.

Memories were slowly creeping back into my ever awakening mind. Tyler. He had disappeared. Where was he? Could he find me here? Where was here? How did I end up getting from prom to an empty roo—

At that moment, the door burst open violently, scaring me out of my wits, inciting a small shriek of terror. I felt my heart race as Tyler was thrust into the room, his mouth bleeding from the corner, shirt torn to shreds and almost falling off his thin frame. Cuts across his chest, his hair I adored so much dripping with sweat, falling into his eyes. He wiped his lip, then looked up from the ground as the door slammed shut quickly behind him. Our eyes locked, both widening as if in shock.

"Ty...ler?" I gasped hoarsely, tears forming in my eyes, my breath coming in shaky bits, "Where are we, what's—" I was interrupted by his hands on my cheeks. He had stumbled over to me in two seconds flat, kneeling in front of me, staring into my eyes, his honey brown ones flooding with tears. He held my face in his palms, rubbing my cheeks with his thumbs.

"Scar...." he said in a quiet voice, looking at me with all the pain in the world, "They told me you were dead...."

"Dead?? Who?? Who did this to you??" I cried, tears beginning to stream down my face, "Ty...what's going on...."

He shushed me gently and pressed his forehead into mine, looking into my eyes. "They have cameras and mics everywhere," he whispered, glancing to the right. I followed his gaze to the corner of the room where, sure enough, a small, blinking red light signaled the presence of a camera recording our every move.

"Who are these people?" I whispered harshly, crying hysterically at this point, unable to help it, "Why are we here? How long have you been here?? Ty??? Answer me, please!!"

Tyler furrowed his brow and nodded slowly, putting his hand behind my head to comfort me, his fingers feeling their way into my hair. He quietly explained that he had been in this place for about three days. He had no idea who the maniac behind this scheme was, but, from what he gathered, whatever organization handled this sick project had drugged our drinks at the prom. In a sudden burst of remembrance, I recalled the waiter by the drink table, how he watched us while we were dancing. I forced myself not to freak out and focused on Tyler's soothing voice. He continued to detail how he noticed me feeling strangely and went to get help, but was
incapacitated when taken off guard by some men in a back hallway. Before he knew it, he had ended up in a room similar to the one we found ourselves in, and a man in a black masquerade mask emerged who told him that they had killed me, and would kill Nat and Erik as well if he didn't compete in the trials they had set for him.

"Wait, Nat and Erik are...here?!" I whimpered, trembling. Tyler responded by shaking his head. I let out a small sigh of relief, then whispered weakly, "Trials? Murder? What is this place? What do they want with us, Ty? Why us??"

A voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

"I like to take the broken ones."