22
My head bobbed as I blinked my eyes open. They felt puffy and heavy just like the rest of my body. I was sitting on a metal chair. My wrists and ankles were bound tightly to it. My breathing labored as my injury throbbed. The pain killers had worn off hours ago.
Where am I? Shadows twisted through the room, filling nearly every inch. A dripping pipe was the only sound in the room.
“Hello?” I croaked. I twisted my bound hands.
A movement in the shadows prickled my skin. I stilled, listening for the sound. My pulse spiked rapidly.
“Who are you?” I asked. Silence. “Where’s Aaron?” The dripping water was all I heard. My parched throat longed for those wasted drops.
Footsteps fell near. I searched the blackness.
“I know someone’s here,” I called.
Spotlights flipped on. I squeezed my
