Awareness crept back into Kevin's mind. Eyes moved beneath their lids. Head rocked from side to side. And a horrible headache buzzed through his brain, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut from the pain.
That was not the only pain he felt. His wrists stung. He tried moving them, expressing his discomfort with a groan, but they stayed in place. That gunshot wound in his leg throbbed, reminding him of the danger he went through. His eyes tried to resist the drowsiness and slowly opened.
Everything was a blur. Kevin wanted to rub his eyes but only a clank of metal came from above. From the way his body swayed, he could tell he was hanging. Those sore wrists above his head carried his weight.
As soon as his vision was restored, panic flashed across his face. His pounding heart matched his erratic breathing. He gasped through his nose. A scream was on its way out, but a piece of duct tape on his mouth made it muffled.
Terror deepened within him, draining the blood from his face. His arms hung above his head and refused to come down no matter how hard he shook them. The cuffs binding his wrists together dangled him by a hook in the ceiling. His feet were chained and barely touched the ground.
A breeze gave him a shiver, alerting him to the fact that he was half-naked. His clothes were missing except for a pair of boxers. A bandage wrapped around the bullet wound on his leg and it didn't seem to hurt as much.
His eyes went to the walls, left and right.
'What is this place?' was Kevin's first horrific thought.
The place resembled a basement—a rusty, spacious, dimly lit basement. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of concrete. There were no windows, only a door at the top of some stairs to his right, a steel vault door under the stairs, and a wooden door behind him. Not a single sound was to be heard except for his muffled breathing.
Wall speakers hung from the corners. Why would you have speakers in a place like this?
His nose wrinkled in disgust. And what's that awful smell?
Turning his head to the left where the lighting was brighter, his heart seized. There were dried bloodstains everywhere, an operation bed with pink stains, surgery tools on a metal table, a small refrigerator with a transparent front displaying all kinds of liquid medical supplies, and bloody hooks hanging all over the ceiling with decayed pieces of flesh glued on them.
Kevin tried to stand straight with his healthy leg and did his best to wiggle his wrists free from the hook.
God. They hurt so much. I can't budge. It's no use.
He slumped in his restraints and pain shot from his wrists to his shoulders.
Helplessness sunk into him as he realized that he was not able to move or even scream for help. Fear manifested as a growing weight on Kevin's ribs and an ache in his eyes, smearing his vision. A single tear fell down his cheek.
Why am I here? What does he want from me?
Without a warning, the basement's door slammed open, causing Kevin's limbs to twitch.
Then came the music.
What the hell? Kevin frantically glanced at the walls. Who plays music in a place like this?
And not just any music. The harsh tones of Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams" blared through the speakers.
🎶 Sweet dreams are made of this 🎶
🎶 Who am I to disagree 🎶
🎶 I traveled the world and the seven seas 🎶
🎶 Everybody's looking for something 🎶
So many questions ran through Kevin's head that could be summed up with one; What the hell is going on here?
A shadow concealed the light that came through the door.
Kevin turned his head toward the top of the stairs, eyes wide open, heart hammering against his ribs.
There he stood; the man who drugged him and imprisoned him in this rotten room.
🎶 Some of them want to use you 🎶
The man descended the stairs, singing along to the song, slightly moving his body to the beat while shooting a smiling glance at his prisoner from time to time.
Without a doubt, this man was unstable and it scared the life out of Kevin.
🎶 Some of them want to get used by you 🎶
The psychopath who had laughed when he pulled the trigger, was doing the shimmy shake like there was a party in this basement-turned-dungeon. When he reached the concrete floor, he circled around Kevin, still dancing and singing, even playing air guitar during the lyric-free section of the song.
What kind of a sick man does that, shamelessly, in front of a suffering human? Kevin knew that the answer would be far from pleasant. His stomach twisted in knots, scared to the point he felt he might puke his guts out.
🎶 Some of them want to abuse you 🎶
Kevin stared at the man, watching his every movement. His handsome face did nothing to detract from the intimidation factor of his tall, muscular figure.
Fighting off the nausea of fear, Kevin paid attention to details that might help the police catch this criminal, if he ever got out of here. The man seemed to be in his mid-to-late twenties. He had shoulder-length, blonde hair; a stubble, short, boxed beard, and a pair of blue eyes. He was wearing dark jeans and a black, biker, leather jacket.
Kevin's eyes kept following the madman's movements while his head was slightly bowed.
🎶 Some of them want to be abused 🎶
When the screaming section of the song began, the man came closer to Kevin's face and started screaming the song's lyrics, "I'm gonna use you and abuse you. I'm gonna know what's inside."
Kevin flinched, closed his eyes tight, and whimpered quietly. He could have sworn that his heart jumped out of his chest and flew across the place. It stopped beating for that moment. In his entire life, Kevin had never been so frightened. Soon, his heart frantically pounded against his chest. His body uncontrollably trembled through the remaining duration of the song.
🎶 Gonna use you and abuse you
I'm gonna know what's inside you 🎶
As the longest song Kevin had ever heard drew to an end and the room grew silent, the quivering in his body gradually decreased. He carefully peeked to the sight of the madman standing in front of him.
The man pointed up at the speakers with a cracked smile. "I just love that song."
The man's left ear had a bandage on it, slightly stained with red liquid that seeped to his neck.
The man put his hands on his waist and laughed like crazy while leaning forward. "Wooh! I haven't had this much thrill in years. Thank you."
Even though Kevin managed to reduce the shakiness of his body, he still had trouble calming his breathing, especially after that crazy laugh.
Is this guy excited and laughing about the fact that I hit him with a lamp? The thought petrified Kevin. This man's insane.
The laughing steadily faded.
"You know what? I like you." With one thick finger, he drew a smile on Kevin's chest that matched his own crazy grin. "I think I'm gonna keep you here a little longer than the others."
Ah, crap. Kevin's features twisted into a cringe of repulsion. That sick fuck. Something told him that 'keeping him here longer' was not a good sign at all. I wonder how many people he trapped here before me?
The tremors returned, but they never made it to his facial muscles. Kevin masked his fear with a glare. Sweat dripped down his temples.
The man spread his arms wide. "Oh, how rude of me. Here I am talking while your mouth's taped."
He viciously ripped the tape off of Kevin's mouth.
"Ow!" Kevin grimaced then recovered quickly, letting anger overwhelm his pain. He stared into his captor's eyes and tried to convince them both. I'm not afraid of you.
"So." With hands behind his back, he cleared his throat. "It's Kevin, right?"
"What the fuck do you want?"
The man scoffed at Kevin's soft, husky voice. It was not intimidating at all. If anything, it was so pleasant to hear.
The man walked closer and whispered in his ears, "You'll soon find out."
He gave him a pat on the shoulder and smiled. He seemed to always smile. His smile was beginning to get on Kevin's nerves.
Kevin scowled at him from the corner of his eyes.
The man recoiled with a laugh. "Aww, how cute. Look atchu, looking all tough now." He smacked his palms together as he walked toward the stairs. "Well. As much as I'm enjoying our little meeting, unfortunately, I got some things to do. See ya later."
"Wait," shouted Kevin, desperation shaking his voice. "You're just gonna leave me here like this?"
The man didn't stop, didn't answer.
Kevin yelled at him, "What do you want from me?"
The man kept moving up the stairs. Once he walked out of the door, he closed it to Kevin's screams.
"Don't leave me here. Don't leave me hanging like this. Help. Somebody help me!"
Uh-oh! #PrayForKevin ❤ :<