Our Stormy Ride

*47 °Dungeons and Death

Nadia

The hours bleed together as time goes by, merging both night and day till its impossible for me to tell when is which. I've become used to the darkness as a companion, so much so that it doesn't make a difference whether my lids are shut or not.

Except for the rare moments when the door leading to the basement is briefly opened, and a ray of light slashes through the dark like an intruder.

One minute I'd been in a taxi, and the next, I'd woken up in a strange place. Panicked and scared out of my mind, I'd tried to move my limbs, only to be restricted by the thick bindings of rope tied around my wrists and ankles. I'd screamed at the top of my voice till it became hoarse, and when it was reduced to nothing but a whisper, the tears were my next show of frustration.

The door had opened then, the light from the room above forming a perfect silhouette of the person. He'd taken the short steps down to the basement, pausing to do something.

A dim glow suddenly filled the room, providing enough light for me to see his face.

Sola.

The cruel smile I'd come to know him with was missing on his face as he'd stared at me with a foreign expression.

"What do you want with me?" I'd asked, my legs barely able to hold me up as I used the wall to push myself into a standing position.

He'd racked his gaze down the length of my body, and I could feel the dread slither over my skin.

"That's not a very good question to ask," he'd replied, approaching me.

Despite the clothes on my body, I'd felt exposed in front of him and terrified of being in the same space with him. The fact that my hijab was missing had been the least of my worries, and probably Sola's greatest delight as he regarded me.

Backed up against the wall, I stood as he burrowed his face into my hair, fighting the revulsion that made my skin crawl as he threaded his rough fingers through my curls.

"Is this what you've been hiding from the world?" He skimmed a finger from the side of my face, aiming lower and lower past my neck. "What your husband only gets to see?"

I'd squirmed and tried to wriggle away from him, but he had me trapped in between his arms and his body.

"Is that why you've kidnapped me? To finally live out your fantasy?" I bite back, pushing past my fear. I'd needed to get some information out of him; a reason to why I was being held.

He chuckled. "Of course not sweet thing. The boss himself wanted you, and besides, you've managed to piss someone off so bad that she wants you gone."

I inhaled deeply the second his body was away from mine, falling to my knees to stop my quivering.
There's only one person who'd go to extreme lengths of getting what she wants–

"Ah, here she is," Sola said.

I'd look up to find Badra sauntering down the steps like a queen descending her throne– her superficial beauty carefully disguising a venomous heart.

"This should be interesting," Sola commented, pulling out a switchblade from his pocket.

He'd cut the ropes binding my wrists and stood by to watch, as if there would be something pleasurable in my dilemma.

"I told you I'd be seeing you soon," Badra had stated smugly, crouching low to my position. "How does it feel? Being away from the outside world, helpless–" she tugged at the ropes around my ankles. "And weak."