Do As I Say

The Room

Trace

I stared at the sinister numbers 205 embossed into the polished mahogany wood.

I'd finally come to realize that this nightmare was a heartwrenching reality. That my fears had become flesh and bone. I'd come to believe that I would never be able to escape. That the devil had come to take me away to his sanctuary; hell.

I looked around only to find walls surrounding me on every side, the wallpaper frayed at the edges. The elevator stood in the far lone corner. The rest of the place was shrouded in empty shadows. This room seemed secluded from all the others so it really did belong to Val.

The thought made fear inflate in my stomach. I tried to calm myself as cold shivers tingled along my spine. The walls spun around in my peripheral vision and I could feel the crown of my hands growing moist. The iron cuffs had cut and squeezed into my wrists that they'd gone almost numb with pain.

I giddily pushed the door open with the slight nudge of my boot, my heart beating in my throat and slowly entered. A warm light greeted my eyes and the smell of takeout dinner invaded my nose. Confusion sparked through me at the sight. I hesitated near the threshold.

"Hey there," the voice made my insides crawl. "Come in. Come in. I just set the table."

I backed away towards the door as I noticed Val emerging from another room. He was wiping his hands on the rim of his hood while running fingers through his mussed up hair with the other hand. His gaze met mine and he slowly ran his eyes from the top of my head to my toes, smirking all the while. The sight of him alone revolted me beyond words and the fact that his room was so normal disturbed me even more.

It was spacious and airy. The furniture composed of sofa comforters, coffee tables and even a dining table for four. A decent sized LCD stood in the center of the room accompanying an aquarium bare of any fish. A modest lamp hung from the ceiling radiating the room in a healthy light that I'd come into contact with after two hours.

"Don't be scared," he assured while slowly swinging a step closer to me. "I've ordered ramen noodles. Care to join me?"

I gazed up at him, my heart thudding madly in my chest, my legs had become too weak to move. Damn it, why couldn't I just scream at him, throw myself at him and scratch his eyeballs out or just get away from this hell and this fucking monster.

Fucking heck, I wanted to do it but in the end, I knew I couldn't. I guess that guy in the elevator was right. I was just another one of Val's victims who'd die. I was going to be just another sack of rotting flesh. I was-

He suddenly grabbed my trembling arm before I could react and steered me to the dining table. I was numb on the outside but fear had licked me from head to toe. He sat down and patted a seat beside him, his hazel eyes fogged with darkness trained dangerously on mine. I sat down and stared ahead at the wall and its crisp wallpaper.

Slowly red swam in front of my vision as blood started leaking out of the sides of the walls and I imagined the wall like me. I imagined myself perched in my own blood and watching as it seeped out through the holes in my broken body. I saw Val standing over me with his revolver, his smile tainted and his shoes drenched in my blood.

I looked away, breathing hard. Oh my god. Oh god. Oh god. I was going crazy. I was going crazy just like him. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. It echoed in my ears shrilly and I shrank against the table's edge.

"You didn't eat your noodles yet," Val leaned over towards my ear, his lips almost brushing against my earlobe. "Eat them, cupcake."

"I-I-I'm not h-hungry," I stuttered and further leaned into the edge.