Doctor's Orders

Don't Die This Time

I blink. 

My new master? I can't have heard correctly. Who the hell does this guy think he is? Where am I? How do I contact my dad or Jana, or even the police? 

Is this a k********g? 

Just my luck, I guess. Gets kidn*pped, stabbed, left for dead... Survives, mind you!... and then gets kidn*pped again. 

The man moves an inch closer, leaning over me. I can't help but notice his build, trim but still muscular. My eyes move up to his face again, this time in an attempt to ignore his piercing gaze. Instead, I try to make out his expression. Useless. The man's face is perfectly composed, not quite stiff, but definitely far from revealing any of his thoughts or feelings. 

If he has any feelings, that is. 

Where did that thought come from? It's a scared little thought and I don't want these in my mind. When have they ever helped me? Control your thoughts, control your brain, and they can't break you. If you  were wondering, this is another one of the k********g survival lessons. 

Though, technically, the last one wasn't a k********g. It was a murder attempt. 

A small electric shiver runs down my spine before I can forbid myself to think about it. It was an attempt but I am still alive. That woman, though, she will suffer. Who knows, she might even repent for what she did. It's easy to say 'I would die for this or that' until you actually have to die. Humans get scared when they have to die. Humans are just humans. 

Maybe not the man that stands before me, though. It has been a good while since he last spoke to me, yet he remains perfectly still, emotionless, almost inhuman. Other than moving progressively closer to my face, not a single muscle has trembled on his face. I can feel his breath on my skin now, hot and thick with a musky smell. He smells like a wild animal yet looks like a Greek statue. I don't want to fear him but a tiny knot is being tied in my belly, not exactly terror, but something very similar...

'Who are you?' I finally ask, unable to bear the silence anymore. 

Then, it occurs to me this was what he wanted all along. Something tells me this man isn't afraid of silence. In fact, he probably revels in it. He is the master of this house, this room, this silence... The master of... me? That's what he said, anyway. 

'I told you.' he replies in his perfectly controlled voice. 

Silence falls over us once again.

I can't win at this, I realize, but I have to get as much information as possible. Already, I'd be able to recognize this room. If he plans on keeping me here, this could only last so long. He would become careless, eventually, and I'd escape. I cling onto that thought, fully aware of how close I am to panicking otherwise. Instead, I keep talking: 

'I meant your name.'

'I know what you meant,' his lips move but not his face. He is even as pale as a marble statue and just as beautiful, though hauntingly carved. 

'Why wouldn't you tell me your name,' I push. I know it's not wise but I can't stand to go back to the silence. His gaze has intensified, his blue eyes practically carving themselves into mine. 

'You know why,' he says plainly. 

'So what, this is it then? Give me some more, I just woke up, haven't talked to anybody since that woman tried to kill me, ' I sneer. That's right, be cynical, mock him, this way he can't know how scared you are. 

'You are not fooling me, Ms. Almeida,' the man speaks. His face is barely a whisper away from mine now. 'You are terrified.'

He smiles and walks away from my bed. I follow his silhouette in the mirrors, watching him stroll around the room, enjoying his every step. Why shouldn't he? It's his house, I presume. And if this is where he keeps his victims,  he must be a pretty wealthy man. 

'You don't know me,' I hiss. 'And more importantly, you don't know who my father is. He will rip you apart, limb by limb, and he'll make sure you're conscious throughout all of it. I've seen him do it.'

'Have you?' the man giggles. 'Very well, then, you must have had a wonderful childhood.'

'I have,' I snap. 'That's why I know my father would do anything to protect me. Do you think this is the first time I have been taken? I've survived more kidnappings than your sorry little twisted mind can imagine. And I am still alive while all of my kidnappers died a slow, painful, grisly death... '

'Are you done with your little rant, Ms. Almeida?' 

He is mocking me. I can tell he's not scared, not even impressed. He knows I can't do anything to him. 

'The way I see it,' the man continues. 'Your father wasn't there to save you a few nights ago.'

A few nights? I assumed I just woke up, maybe the next morning... 

'Yes, you were out for quite a while,' he says, having noticed my shock. 'If I were a worse doctor, I would've gotten worried you might not make it. Then again, I know what I am capable of.'

'You... You saved me?' 

I assumed as much but it still feels strange to say it. This man is my savior. Then again, everything about this situation screams danger. I might be saved but I'm definitely not safe here. I can tell, I can smell it hanging in the air. 

'You might say so,' he smiles ever so slightly. A proud smile, I deduct, he is pleased with his skill. 'When I found you, Ms. Almeida, you were bleeding out. Do you know where your attacker left you? It would've been days, weeks even, before somebody else went that deep in the woods. And by that time the animals would've done their part...'

I take a breath of air, as slowly as possible. I had fully expected to die that night, so much is true. Yet somewhere in my subconscious mind, I must have had hope. I had never envisioned that would be my fate - a body in the deep woods, dismembered, bloodless, lifeless... And I had been so close to that. 

'Then again, you had luck. Perhaps I had some luck, too,' he turns back to my bed and starts walking over. 'I maintain an operation room in my home, Ms Almeida. It seems like a strange caprice but I quite like it. It proved very useful, too.'

'So you took me and operated on me?'

'That's right,' he says, pulling the chair over to my bedside. 'Otherwise, you wouldn't have stood a chance. The nearest hospital is... Well, suffice to say it's very far away. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise about where we're located.'

'In the deep, deep woods, you already told me,' I sneer. 

'Smart girl,' he smiles. 'But are you correct?'

The man lifts his hand over me in a menacing gesture. Have I gone too far? Then again, what even is too far. I am at his mercy, of that much I'm sure. I shiver at the thought, now fully aware of my fear. Because yes, I am afraid of him, I am his prisoner, I am his... What am I to him? 

'So what do you plan on doing with me?' I ask, 'Keep me as a maid? I can think of faster ways to repay you. My father would give anything, you know...'

'Just a few moments ago you were threatening to have me killed,' he giggles. It's dry, unnatural laughter, nothing joyous about it. 'Which one would it be, then?'

'He can pay,' I assure him. Then again, we both know what happens after the ransom is paid. 

'I don't need your money, Ms. Almeida,' the man shrugs. 'I happen to be pretty well-off myself.'

'What do you want then?'

'I want you.' he says. 'In time, you will learn what I mean by that. Until then, I expect you to be on your best behavior. You don't want to seem ungrateful, do you? At least not to the man who saved your life...'

His words trail off into the nothingness and I realize this conversation is over. I wouldn't be able to get any information from him, not today. As he walks out the door, he turns around and smiles at me again. 

'By the way, my name is Dr. Noah Taylor,' he says, almost as an afterthought.' And no, I don't mind you knowing it. It's not like you're ever getting out of this house. You are mine now.'

He flicks the light switch and the room falls into darkness. 

'Get some rest, Ms. Almeida,' he commands. 'Tomorrow, we'll revisit the operation room. And you won't die this time, either.'

He makes a small pause and breathes out heavily. Then, in a much thicker voice he adds: 

'I trust you would quite enjoy it.'