The Viral Chase

Chapter 38: Trapped

Chapter 38

Trapped.

Light steps, controlled breathing and alert senses. That's all I need. Yes, I can do it. I chant those words in my mind in an attempt to motivate myself. I carefully place each step, after checking twice for any passing guards. Somehow, I have managed to keep my breathing silent and not heavy that can be heard from a distance but unfortunately, my heart has a different story to tell. It is ready to jump out of my ribcage with the amount of beats that have far crossed the normal range.

I keep a hand on the pocket knife inside the pocket to be ready for any situation or rather a guard popping out of nowhere. I have decided to slide with my back against the wall. That way, I can keep an eyes on both the sides. The corridors are dimly illuminated as usual, with an eerie silence creeping in the air. It reminds me of my dream, a nightmare that I had in the cellar on the night of arrival. It takes me some effort to keep the dark thoughts away, at least for now.

A faint sound of footsteps echoes, approaching me slowly. I push back against the wall and crouch down, behind the pillar in the stone wall. The solid wall suddenly disappears and I slip back landing on the stone floor. What place is this? A secret room, I guess.

My back hurts when try to pull myself on my feet. The room is just plain old, nothing seems to be occupying it, just plain walls. And its dark, like all the places I ever land up. I sigh knowing that it will take me a lot more time to reach Harry now. I keep moving forward in a random direction until I reach a wall. They are a good way to know about your surroundings.

I reach a wall and a small bulb lights up suddenly, lighting up the dark room. I squint my eyes as the sudden brightness has blinded me. The moment I open my eyes, I see a man, an elderly man appearing like he is in his fifties maybe, standing in front of me and staring at me curiously.

"Who are you?" He questions me in a low voice, keeping a distance of few feets from me. He doesn't seem to be a part of this criminal gang but I am not trusting this one. "I should be asking you the same thing." I respond quickly, keeping my gaze fixed on him. "First they lock me here and now they have sent her." He mumbles to himself, making a face towards me.

"So they have captured you too?" I ask him, astonished on finding one more captive in this rotten place. "Yes, so what!" This guy is much more rude that he appears and obviously, I had to end up with him, here. I don't understand why do I have to end up with an idiot everytime. Every single time!

I think I will have to go with the truth now. "Look, They have sort of kidnapped me too and I am trying to escape. It would be really nice of you to help me so that I can successfully get us both out of here." I finish my long speech and he stares at me wide eyed. When I gesture him to say something, he finally finds his voice back and answers me in an indifferent tone. "Sounds good to me." There must be a way out of here but the man says that he hasn't found one since his arrival, which according to him is more than a month.

I slump down, tired by the frantic roaming around this small room to find an exit. "I am Alina Russel, by the way." I finally give up and decide to give out my name. "I am Ben Harrison." He replies in a tone similar to my weary one.

How hopeful do you feel when you find a match box in a pitch dark room? A ray of hope is born in your heart and swells to an emormous size. How amazing does it feel when you find a glass of water in a desert under the scorching sun? You feel relief, yes a relief worth a pond full of water. That is what I am feeling now, relief and hope. He can definitely help me, a government security employee will have a full agency searching for him. But why haven't they arrived yet, been a month.

"You are an government employee. Aren't they searching for you?" I voice my query, surprised by the silence of the agency on this. "How come they haven't tracked you yet?" "The agency thinks I am dead." "What!" This case is seriously getting more scary day by day. "Why would they think so?" "Because that old man here, he got me kidnapped, bursted my car into flames and put a dead body in there. And that is enough for them to fool the agency." I am taken aback as to how does he know about all this. "He showed me the whole footage of the scene. He makes his men tape everything to prove that the job is done and then footage is burnt after the task is done." Ben replies to my stunned face, clearing all my doubts.