A deranged man who likes to call himself the Director kidnaps a teenage boy and girl to be his actors. He expects them to perform the six acts of his play without messing up once, or else harrowing pain awaits them.
🥇1st place / The Cosmic Awards
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NATHANIAL ROMERO COULD confirm hell wasn't hot. Not in his case, at least.
Hell was cold like the floor beneath him, rough like the bricks he leant his back against, and taunting like the four windowless walls around him. Hell was cruel like his captor's voice and brutal like his threat:
"Try removing the earpiece and I'll cut your ears off."
Hours into confinement and Nathan still didn't understand what kind of high-class psychopath would shove an earpiece in his victim's ear and choose to converse through it instead. As if the atrocity of kidnapping him altogether right on his landing to Paris hadn't been enough.
But Nathan appreciated it—partially—because it meant he didn't have to see him (yet), and if the sound waves alone could make his heart crash against his ribs, then the captor's image standing inches away would probably kill him more than the limited span of space already did.
Limited span of space. Nathan tugged anxiously at the collar of the dress-shirt suffocating his neck, chin angled upwards, chest deflating with one long breath. Couldn't there have been just one window?
Above him, the lightbulb dispersed choppy yellow beams. Its buzz hummed like a swarm of bees, but it failed to drown out the echo of the captor's words constantly ringing in Nathan's head: I'll cut your ears off.
His shoulders shuddered ashe cautiously traced his earlobe. There. He couldn't imagine the pain but he knew he wouldn't handle it well, so for once, he didn't dare rebel.
When he pressed a palm to the floor, preparing to heave himself up after sitting like a statue for too long, his legs pounded with numbness. Grunting at the discomfort, he let his hand stroll along his shin, and it was in the silence that followed the noise he made that the one resonating from behind the door caught his attention.
Nathan froze in his position. He frowned. Listened. The fair hairs on his arms bristled.
Muffled shouting. Feet shuffling. Someone getting dragged over? Maybe. It sounded like that. Then a bang against the door and chains rattling. Nathan finally stood, hesitated for a second, then took a step back.
The door creaked open just enough for a girl to be set in, surprisingly gently, then it quickly shut behind. Nathan stared down at her: battling herself, duck-tape to her lips, bandana around her eyes, rope constricting her wrists and ankles.
He jerked forwards then crouched down beside her, all his weight on the balls of his feet as he reached for the fabric covering her eyes. The moment he touched it, she flinched and kicked, legs catching him in the waist.
Nathan almost lost balance. He groaned quietly and held his waist, free hand splayed against the floor for stability.
"Hey, calm down," he said as he readjusted his position. "Let me take the thing off your eyes. I'm a victim too."
Reaching out to help her again turned out a mistake; she mumbled something unattainable and thrashed, twisting her torso either ways like a wounded animal (specifically a cat), almost knocking Nathan for the second time.
Nathan sighed. He plopped down on the floor, legs crossed, and watched her move aimlessly around as she tried to tear the ropes apart on her own. In vain. She couldn't do it, just pointlessly exerting energy.
Nathan arched a blond brow even though he knew she couldn't see it. "Are you done yet?"
She stilled, and the moment she did, her auburn curly hair finally settled on her shoulders. Her chest heaved. Probably oriented by the sound of his breath, she stared at his general direction.
"Let me introduce myself again, okay?" No move, no sound—just silence. Nathan considered it approval. "I'm Nathan," he continued, "and just like you, I have no idea what the hell is going on. Do you give me the permission to untie you or are you gonna kick me again?"
His voice harbored finality rather than option. The girl's chin tipped down barely enough to be considered a nod. Feet stable beneath him, Nathan hunched over and quickly pulled the fabric off her eyes, letting it fall aside. Frightened brown eyes stared at him. He ripped the tape away.
She ran her tongue over her chapped lips whilst briefly scanning Nathan's face. It took her a split-second to lower her gaze and a minute to function. "I . . . I don't appreciate your attitude."
Nathan just stared until it clicked in that her wrists were still tied. As he reached forwards and unraveled the ropes, he mumbled, "Understandable. I'm sorry," then abruptly glanced up at her, almost startling her with the civility in his voice and the sincerity in his hazel eyes. "What's your name?"
"Thank you. Adelaide." Once her hands were free, she untied her ankles on her own. Her shaky breath filled the silence. "What's . . . What's going on? Where are we?"
"I've been asking myself the same questions ever since I woke up here."
Adelaide had been looking around but now she stood up. Nathan tentatively watched her turn towards the door. She slapped a palm against it, then again.
"H-Hello?" she called out. "Anybody here? Somebody help!" She knocked her fist into the door repeatedly, maybe hoping she'd break it, or perhaps anticipating someone to actually listen. Nathan understood it was an instinct but observing her like that after he'd calmed down made it look pretty stupid. "Get us out of here!"
Nathan returned to his spot against the wall. "Save your breath. I already tried that. It obviously didn't work. I'm sure no one's around otherwise—"
She turned to him with her brows slanted, disbelieving, and eyes narrowed. "How are you not panicking! Don't you realize we're kidnapped?"
"Of course I fucking realize we're kidnapped," Nathan snapped, mirroring her expression. Except his was furious. He sighed and held the bridge of his nose, as if reconsidering his attitude. His tense shoulders finally relaxed. "I just panic internally, okay? I've been here for like four hours. I'm over the stage where I scream for help."
Adelaide shook her head like he was a disappointment and turned her back on him. Nathan's frown was a clear translation of: excuse me, I'm offended.
"Please, open the door!" she shouted, leaning her forehead against the door, fingers helplessly scraping down the wood. Nathan could see the energy in her drain like sand filtering through a net. Her voice dropped to a helpless whisper. "I'm begging you . . . just let us out. What do you want from us—"
"I hope you calm down, my heroine. No need to worry. The meeting is starting soon and we'll talk about everything."
The same voice that'd threatened Nathan earlier spoke into his ear again. He snapped his head up and watched Adelaide's reaction. Like him, she was frozen. Shocked. He assumed she'd heard what he'd heard too.
Nathan stood and approached her, one hand gingerly pushing her hair over until her ear was exposed. She winced at his touch, her jean-jacket clad shoulder raising a little, almost like she didn't understand what he was doing. Nathan found a beige earpiece tucked in the crevice of her ear as well.
"Well." Nathan laughed nervously. "You have the earpiece too. You might not wanna take that out because he'll cut your ears off—"
"Shut up, my villain. Look at you already being an ass," the voice spoke again. Gruff and gravely. Definitely a man's. "I decide what'll happen." This time, it softened. "I wouldn't hurt my heroine."
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a/n: ahh first chapters make me nervous. first thoughts on the characters/plot/anything ?
