CHAPTER 4
1473 Words
“Turn it off.”
“No.”
My voice came out low this time. Not as sharp as it was before. Just… stuck.
“Vanessa,” he said, coming closer, “you really don’t need to keep watching that.”
“I said no.”
I did not look at him. I just couldn’t.
Because the minute I look away, it would feel like I was pretending this wasn’t happening. And I couldn’t do that. Not when it was happening right there.
Live.
Real.
The girl was still tied to the chair. Same position. Same room. But this time
there was somebody else in the video.
I couldn’t see their face clearly. Just the side of their body. Dark clothes. Still. Watching her.
Watching us.
My fingers kept shaking around the phone.
“Wait Can they hear us?” I asked.
No one answered immediately.
That was enough to make my heart drop.
“Can they hear us?” I repeated.
Tiffany finally spoke. “We don’t know.”
“That’s not good.”
“No,” she said. “It’s not.”
my eyes were still glued to the screen.
The girl moved a little, like she was trying to sit up. Her head tilted, very slow, shaky.
“She’s awake,” I said slowly.
“Yes.”
“Does she know what’s going on?”
“No.”
I let out a sigh of relief . “Good.”
That came out wrong.
. “I mean no, not good. Just… better than knowing, I guess.”
No one corrected me.
The person in the background shifted a little.
Just a step.
But it was enough.
Enough to remind me this wasn’t some video someone sent for fun.
This was happening right now.
“Stop watching,” he said again.
I ignored him.
“Vanessa”
“I said I’m not turning it off,” I shouted. “You can’t just tell me to look away like that fixes anything.”
“It’s not about fixing it.”
“Then what is it about?”
He didn’t answer.
Exactly.
I held the phone tighter, my hands were hurting from how tight I held it.
“They’re waiting,” I said.
“For what?”
“For me to do something.”
That felt obvious.
Too obvious.
Another second passed. Then another.
Nothing changed on the screen.
That somehow made it worse.
“Say something,” I said .
“To who?” he asked.
“To them.”
“That’s not how this works.”
“Well, how does it work?” I yelled. “Because from where I’m standing, they’re running the whole thing and we’re just what? Watching?”
“We’re not just watching.”
“It feels like it.”
Tiffany stepped closer now, her eyes finally on the screen. Really on it this time.
“Move back,” she said suddenly.
I frowned. “What?”
“Move back,” she repeated, sharper.
I didn’t move. “Why?”
“Just do it.”
“I’m not just doing things because you say so”
“Vanessa,” she cut in, “move.”
Something in her tone made me stop.
I took a step back.
Then another.
She took the phone from my hand before I could do anything .
“Hey”
“Quiet.”
I stood still in shock.
She tilted the phone slightly, Watching closely.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Looking,” she said.
“At what?”
She didn’t answer right away.
Then she turned the screen slightly toward him.
“Behind her,” she said.
He leaned in.
I stepped closer again, ignoring the way my heart was racing for a completely different reason now.
“What?” I asked. “What are you seeing?”
“There,” he said softly.
I followed his eyes.
At first, I did not see it.
Then
A reflection.
Faint. Barely there.
But enough.
A mirror.
Or something like it.
And in that reflection
My heart dropped.
“That’s…”
I stepped closer.
“That’s this room.”
No one said anything.
But I could see it.
Not clearly. Not perfectly.
But enough to recognize.
The same layout.
Same walls.
Same everything.
“They’re here,” I said, my voice shaking .
“No,” Tiffany said. “That’s not possible.”
“Then explain that,” I shouted , pointing at the screen.
She didn’t answer.
Because she couldn’t.
Another second passed.
Then the person in the background of the video moved again.
This time, they stepped closer to the girl.
My heart started beating faster immediately.
“Don’t,” I said to myself, even though I knew they couldn’t hear me.
The girl flinched.
Like she heard something.
Or maybe she just felt it.
Either way, it made my stomach hurt a little .
“Do something,” I said, looking at them.
“We are,” he said.
“No, you’re not,” I said sharply. “You’re standing here.”
“And what do you expect us to do?”
“I don’t know!” I shouted. “But something other than this.”
Silence again.
Always silence.
My phone buzzed.
Tiffany still had it.
She looked at the screen, then at me.
“Read it,” I said.
She hesitated.
“Read it,” I repeated.
She turned the screen toward me.
One message.
You’re wasting time.
My chest felt heavy again.
“I’m not the one wasting it,” I muttered.
Another message came in almost immediately.
Decide.
I let out a breath. “Decide what?”
No one answered.
I laughed, but there was nothing funny about it.
“Right. Of course.”
The video shifted suddenly.
The person in the background moved fully into frame.
Still no face.
But closer now.
Too close.
The girl started shaking her head, weak, panicked.
“No, no”
The sound cut out.
But I didn’t need it.
I could see it.
“Stop,” I said, louder now. “Stop it.”
My hands were shaking. I hated that.
“Vanessa,” he said, stepping toward me, “you need to calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down,” I snapped. “They’re about to hurt her.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Are you serious?” I turned to him. “What else would they be doing?”
He didn’t answer.
Exactly.
I looked back at the screen.
The person reached out
And grabbed her face.
Hard.
My stomach dropped.
“Stop it!” I shouted, stepping forward like I could somehow reach through the screen.
“Vanessa”
“DO SOMETHING!”
The room felt too small again. Too tight. Like the air wasn’t enough.
Another message came in.
Tiffany read it this time without me asking.
Her expression changed.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
“What?” I demanded. “What does it say?”
She didn’t answer immediately.
“What does it say?” I repeated.
She looked at me.
Then she said it.
“They want proof.”
My stomach dropped. “Proof of what?”
“That you’re the one.”
I stared at her.
“I’m not the one,” I said slowly.
“I know that.”
“Then what proof?”
No answer.
Of course.
“Say it,” I said, my voice dropping.
Neither of them spoke.
And that silence
That silence said everything again.
“No,” I said immediately, shaking my head. “No. Absolutely not.”
“We don’t have time”
“I said no!”
The video shifted again.
The girl’s head dropped forward this time.
Too still.
Too quiet.
“Do something,” I whispered.
No one moved.
My chest felt like it was caving in.
Another message came in.
Tiffany didn’t even need to read it out loud this time.
She just turned the phone toward me.
And I read it myself.
Five minutes.
My mouth went dry.
“Five minutes for what?” I asked, even though I already knew.
No one answered.
I looked back at the video.
At the girl.
At the person standing behind her.
Then I looked at them.
Both of them.
Waiting.
Watching me.
Like the decision had already been made
They were just waiting for me to catch up.
My chest tightened.
“…If I do this,” I said slowly, “she lives right?”
None of them answered.
And that
That was the worst answer of all.
Because it meant even if I said yes
There was no guarantee.
Another buzz.
I looked down.
One final message.
Time’s up.
And on the screen
The person behind the girl reached into their pocket
- Writer
