Unravel

Chapter 9

As she stepped inside the base, they walked towards the plain building. It seemed to be six storey, with small rectangular windows on the top of each floor. There was a man in suit standing in front of the building's main door. Cassandra remembered the man, it was Bella's husband.

She squinted her eyes to see better, the man had a sly smirk on his face. She frowned, not liking where this was going. What if they were going to torture her now? She knew she made a mistake by messing with their matters, but she couldn't rest until Bella told her something about her mother.

The leader stopped walking, and went to talk to the man in suit. They turned both to look at Cassandra, their expressions unreadable.

As Cassandra drew nearer, Conrad's expression took a twist of a sneer.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said, his voice filled with mockery, "the intruder from yesterday. You think you were going to escape, you little rat?"

Cassandra's jaw clenched at being called little rat. She didn't even had business to do with this man. "I want to talk to your wife," she snapped.

Conrad chuckled evilly, the way his wrinkles and lines stretched, adding to his vicious look. "And you think you'll do this?" He paused for a while.

"Bring her inside the cell," he ordered the other man. The other nodded, motioning for the guards to force Cassandra inside. Cell? Were they going to torture her?

"Listen here, I know I tre-"

"Shut up," the military leader snapped, his hand grasping her arm. "You dare say something else and I swear I'll kill you just here."

Cassandra glared at him and jerked her arm away. His grip tightened and he shoved her inside himself. The interior was blank, with white doors here and there. The floor was dusty and there was a smell like gunpowder and she tried hard to hold her breath.

The man guided her through a dark hall, with lights flickering dimly. There was a buzzing sound of machineries probably. And the smell of gunpowder was strong still. How could they breathe this?

He unlocked a white door, showing what seemed like a basement. It was cold and dark and the man's grip on her arm was hard as steel. She didn't care that it was hurting, more than she cared about what they were about to do.

The basement was lit by a few lights and soon, Cassandra saw barred cells. They were empty, but they were scary.

The man stopped to a certain one. He unlocked the barred door and shoved Cassandra inside. She rubbed at her arm and gritted her teeth.

"I want to meet with Bella," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"You surely will," the man retorted, his voice filled with mockery. He slammed the barred door shut and then locked it. Then, he eyed her again, narrowing his eyes. He left and Cassandra sighed, knowing she couldn't stay here.

The cell around was dimly lit, with a faint bulb hanging from the ceiling. The floor was damp and the walls were made of brick. Somewhere, the brick had cracked, but there were metal bars holding it still. She searched around for some trick to get out, but found none. The walls were strong, although cracked and there were no windows. It was empty, with only a chair standing there.

"My God, now what?" she said, growing unsettled.

She leaned against the wall for some time, wondering of a way out. The barred door was securely locked. She tried to pick the lock with a hairpin and the pocket knife, but it didn't work. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, footsteps echoed around the hallway. It was the man in suit and the military man.