Blank Canvases

Chapter Three

Victim

Her eyes started to open, slowly but surely.  The room was spinning and her head was throbbing.  There was something damp on her forehead but she couldn’t tell what it was.  She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and as she regained consciousness her head began to burn.  Instinctively she moved to touch the source of the pain but with a sharp ache in her wrists she realized that wasn’t possible.  The realization that her hands had been restrained slowly dawned on her through the daze.  She tried again to pull her hands forward but felt the same jolt of pain shoot through her arms.

Panic started setting in.  Her pulse began to race and her breathing got heavier as she tugged frantically at the ropes that secured her to a chair.  With a twist she discovered her torso and legs were also bound with frayed rope, tightly knotted around the chair.  She was stuck.  She screamed for help but there was no sound through the rag jammed into her mouth.  She couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak and she couldn’t see, not clearly.  She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to focus her thoughts.  She needed to calm down.  If she could calm down she would remember what happened before she woke up here.

Ignoring the searing pain in her head she began counting back from ten, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly.  She repeated this four more times until she felt her heartbeat slow and her breathing ease.  Shutting out everything around her she tried remembering how she’d ended up pinned to a chair.  She couldn’t though.  She barely remembered the club with all the drinks she’d had, let alone what happened after she’d left.  She tended to drink far too much when out with the girls, but never had she drunk enough to forget what happened.

The cold wind hit her hard as she stood desperately clutching at her arms, letting her hair blow over her face obstructing her view.  Jessica tapped her on the shoulder and they confidently skipped the cue, shooting the bouncer a cheeky smile as he lifted the velvet rope to let them through.  They ignored the shouts of anger from those freezing in the queue waiting their turn.  Club 360 was a hard club to get into, one of the hottest clubs in town.  Like Jessica had said; there was no shame in a little harmless flirting to get on the list.

Her head started to throb harder and the memory began to fade.  As the night went on she tossed back drink after drink and there was less to remember.  Not much had happened at the club.  They drank.  They danced.  Lisa left with a man she met at the bar then she’d said goodnight to the others…hadn’t she? Yes, she did; she’d gone outside and it had been raining but she couldn’t remember where she went.

A loud bang snapped her out of her thoughts.  Her head turned toward the iron door barely visible in the moonlight.  The steel handle illuminated by the glow of the moon through the windowpane.  No noise followed the bang and the door didn’t open.  She waited a few more minutes but nobody appeared and she was still alone.  Reluctantly she tore her eyes from the door and tried to take in her surroundings.

Everything in the room was covered in a thick layer of dust.  Large footprints were visible on the ground coming toward the chair and then away.  Someone had disturbed the dust that had previously powdered the floor.  There was only one set; whoever had put her here hadn’t come back yet.  That was probably a good thing.  There were large white sheets covering some large boxes and what appeared to be furniture.  A cracked mirror hung on the wall opposite from her.  There were several cigarette butts lying beside her and there was a strong smell of stale tobacco.  There was nothing that gave a slight indication as to where she was.  She didn’t even know how long she had been knocked out for.  For all she knew, she could have been asleep for mere minutes — or even days.

That’s when she heard the shattering screams.  She couldn’t tell where it came from but it was close, maybe a room or two away.  The sound was ear-splitting and continued on for what seemed like hours.  Suddenly the cries of pain would stop and be replaced by a woman yelling profanities before starting again.  It sounded as if she was being tortured, but there was no way of telling how.