Counting

CHAPTER SIX

"I have three knives in my hand. I'm going to toss them all at you. You have five seconds after I throw the first one to come out and beg for your life. You have three seconds after I throw the second. You have no time limit with the third one."

He was correct; I had been scared before, but now I was terrified. I was trembling. I didn't want to die, especially not here or in this way.

"Let's get started," were the last words I heard before I felt excruciating pain in my left arm. As I knelt on my knees, a low scream escaped my lips.

My cheeks began to flush with tears. I noticed a blood-splattered knife on the marble floor. My arm was scraped just below the elbow. It began to bleed more than it should have for a scrape.

"Okay, are you still not coming?" He spoke softly.

I knew I couldn't take it any longer. If one could inflict this much pain, I'd die once he threw the other two.

He counted calmly: "five, four, three, two, one." A swish sound resounded once more.

And once more, pain shoots through me, this time on the side of my neck.

I tried to keep from whimpering or yelling, but it was futile. I didn't have a high tolerance for pain. My lips screamed in agony, louder than I had anticipated.

My wounds were causing me to bleed excessively. I put my hand on my neck to stop the bleeding, but it didn't work as expected. "Three," he began to sound irritated.

My entire body began to shake violently. It was excruciatingly painful. I had to put a stop to him. I knew I'd die of pain if he threw the next one.

"You know what's going to happen if I count to one," he grumbled, and began counting again, "Two..."

"No, no, please wait," I said as the words slipped out of my mouth.

"What? That was not audible to me." Irritation had given way to amusement.

"One," he added.

I had to put a stop to him. I needed to do something, anything at all. I drew the curtain back to reveal myself.

"I'm sorry, please," I choked out. His eyes were devoid of contempt or anger. I averted my gaze anyway as he sighed and looked at me.

Suddenly, he was in front of me.

"Get up, and I'll take care of the pain," he said softly. I used all of my strength to do what he said. I didn't want to aggravate him any further. He towered over me, making me feel even more insignificant.

He took a step forward, looking down at me. I leaned back, causing my back to collide with the solid and cold wall behind me. He took another step closer to me.

His body was now directly in front of mine, pushing me against the solid wall even harder. As he looked at me, his eyes were stern and cold.

"You were given instructions, rules, and instructions on what you should do from now on. You were supposed to accept it whether you liked it or not. You don't have a choice, do you? "He said it coldly. "Because I won't be so nice the next time."