3 - Once Again, Trapped

I wake up coughing, my neck is sore. I try to see something around me, but I can't, it's too dark.

I smell dust and the hard, cold ground beneath me. No air currents pass me and unfortunately it doesn't make me all that uncomfortable.

It's sad to say, but I've gotten used to being stuck in an unhealthy place.

I breathe and let out a moan of regret, I wanted so much to be free, but it ended up being trapped again. And worse, in a place that reminds me of my captivity before.

I manage to get up and feel the air, trying to find something to support myself and maybe a way out.

I stay silent, I'm not stupid enough to draw the attention of whoever threw me here, I'm not so naive to think they're not watching me.

I keep trying to find something, feeling around in the darkness, until... "Ouch!", shit I stubbed my toe on something.

I put my hand over my mouth, trying to swallow the tears. I think it was bad, because it hurts a lot.

I sit back down on the floor, bite one of my hands, while with the other, I pull out the broken nail.

It hurts a lot and I can only moan quietly, still not knowing the consequences of someone listening to me.

I decided not to explore any further and stay put. I might find other dangerous things and end up hurting myself more.

I lay down on the floor and start to imagine myself in a better place. Doing things I would like to do, like going to a paradisiacal beach and just relaxing sitting on the soft sand.

This is a tactic I learned to keep from going crazy when Aghata left me trapped for days in the attic.

The same thing happens here... I've been lying on this floor for days. I don't know exactly how many days have passed, it's easy to lose track of time in this situation, but at some point a beam of light hits my face.

I can't see well, my eyes hurt and I can only grunt. I see two silhouettes appearing in front of me.

My eyes adapt to the light and the first thing I see clearly are those eyes… shit, why is my mind obsessed with those golden eyes? This guy almost killed me! Is this what they call Stockholm syndrome?

I stand up, sitting and he squats silently, just distilling his disgust and hatred in his expressions.

My heart is pounding and I'm so scared that I forget how to breathe. Did he come to kill me?

"I'm not Susan.", I finish what I was going to say before he tries to choke me.

He slaps my face a few times, asking:

"How are you still awake and moving after five days?" he asks me, curling his lip and showing a glimpse of his canines, "Who helped you? Who disobeyed me and fed you?"

"No one… I'm not Susan.", yes he is right in thinking that someone could have fed me, perhaps anyone else in my place would have succumbed, but not me. I look weak and too thin, but I'm resilient.

This time he slaps me hard across the face, making my head bend to the side and I feel the metallic taste of blood running from my lip that was just cut.

I remain without a reaction for a few seconds, I don't know what I did to make this man hate me so much.

He gestures with his hands and the second man also bends down and takes my chin, examining my face.

I think I had déjà vu, but this man examining me is very different from the other. He also has an intriguing appearance. He has straight, black hair, his haircut has shaved sides and on top his black strands flow down to chin height.

His arms and neck are covered in tattoos, and he looked like that kind of cold, hot bad boy, but it's not those features that impress me most, what impresses me is that he appears to be a... a priest?

He wears a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the shirt has a Roman collar. Something I've only seen priests use.

He also has a wooden crucifix hanging around his neck, something that reinforces my thoughts.

"She's definitely Susan, Connor."

The priest says and I despair, nodding. “No, no! My name is Sammy, please help me!”

The priest walks away from me, looking at me as if I were a disgusting worm.

"With each passing day my hatred for you only increases.", Connor grabs my neck and starts squeezing again, "How even in this situation you continue to try to deceive me. Woman, your days are numbered and you are only alive because I need to of you, but you will no longer have the life you once had. I will break your spirit until you beg me for death."

I struggle to breathe, looking at the man, confused. Who is Susan? And because he hates me… I mean, why does he hate this woman so much?

This time, Connor, let go of me before I passed out. I start coughing incessantly, trying to catch my breath.

"I'm telling the truth, my name is Sammy!" I look desperately at the priest and grab the hem of his pants. “Father! You're a priest, aren't you?, Help me! You can't deny help to anyone?”

At that moment, I receive another blow, the priest kicks me, making me let go and my body slide until my back hits hard against the wall.

He comes towards me and I cower in a corner.

The priest grabs my hair, pulling it and making me look at his face, as he says, "Susan, when you die, you won't even receive extreme unction."

He releases me and leaves me alone with Connor who continues to look at me with contempt. I shrink more and don't dare say anything else, lest I get beaten up.

"You may come in!"

He shouts and a man with a briefcase in his hand and a stethoscope hanging around his neck enters.

For a second I breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that despite the threats he called a doctor, but my hopes are dashed when he doesn't even look at my face and just waits for a needle in my vein and starts collecting my blood.

I let my head fall back, thinking that this time I'm really going to die...

"Shit! There's no way, Connor! There's no way to take the amount I need, she has no blood pressure and her blood is thin, almost transparent. If you really want her to continue being your mother's donor, you're going to have to feed her ."

"Keep trying…", Connor says, threateningly. “I don’t care if she dies in the process, she was to blame.”