R/Nosleep (Get Spooked)

I Got Taken Prisoner By The HOA (Suburbia Part 13)

By u/firesidechats451

I'm not sure how long they carried me for, but they complained the whole way. At one point, I heard Shirley hiss, "Why are we doing this? Wouldn't it just be easier to kill her?"

My heart skipped a beat at that, but Karen responded with a condescending, "And waste a good sacrifice when all she needs is re-indoctrination? You have no idea how difficult it is to extract someone from outside. Kill her indeed!"

Her words brought me some relief (I'm very happy to be alive, thank you very much), but hearing that they were going to "re-indoctrinate" me made tears burn behind my blindfold. I was going to think I'd caused the deaths of children, and I was going to forget about everything that had happened. I was going to forget Francesca.

Francesca. I wondered what she'd think when she came back and found the house empty. I hoped she'd stick with the plan and defeat the hag—if she could take down the HOA, then I'd be free anyway, right? I could only hope so.

Eventually, the HOA members set me down—none too gently—on a hard, cold floor. I heard the creak of iron, then a slam and rattle.

"Be a good girl," Karen said. "And don't cause too much trouble. We'll be back soon."

Dan and Shirley laughed, then started talking amongst themselves, though I couldn't make out the conversation. Their voices gradually faded as receding footsteps took them away.

I laid there for a while. My body hurt from being in the same position for so long, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. I strained to hear something—anything—but soon grew used to the silence. For a time, it was just me and my thoughts.

Gradually, I became aware of another sound: soft padding along the floor. Was it the HOA? Had they come back for me? I listened hard.

It was only one pair of feet. No voices. My heart rate sped up.

What if it wasn't the HOA at all? What if it was something worse? What if the hag itself had found me?

The steps came closer, stopping a few feet from me. If I'd been able to move, I would've trembled in fear. I was kind of glad that I was blindfolded—if I was going to die, at least I wouldn't have to face my killer.

Instead, I was surprised by a familiar whisper. "Kate? Kate, can you hear me?"

Relief washed through me so strong I wanted to cry. Francesca had found me! Just as I was rejoicing at my rescue, a terrible thought struck me—

What if it wasn't Francesca?

The image of Francesca transforming into Shirley haunted me. What if this was the HOA playing some cruel trick? What if they wanted to get information out of me?

Well, joke was on them. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't open my mouth, let alone speak.

"Kate?"

There were a few moments of silence, then a scratching sound. Not a minute later, iron rattled and creaked, and the padding feet made their way to my supine body.

Fabric rustled as someone knelt beside me. Fingers pressed against my throat, my pulse jumping beneath, and I heard a hiss of relief. Hands untied the blindfold, revealing Francesca's concerned face. I blinked at her, trying to convey my predicament.

"Kate, can you hear me?"

I blinked rapidly.

"Okay. Good. Can you move?"

I held eye contact.

"Right. Okay. I can fix this. Just hang on a second."

Francesca placed her hands on me and chanted under her breath. After a few seconds, the force locking my body in place disappeared and I sagged onto the ground in relief. As I moved to sit up, I realized my joints were stiff and my legs had gone to sleep at some point.