Her vision was blurred, but Annalise knew that she was in a barn of some kind.
How did I get here? What happened?
His face flashed in her mind.
But this time, it wasn't her kidnapper. It was Chris.
The Collector.
Annalise dropped her head and cried. How could this happen?
She had trusted him. Told him things. Thought of him as a close friend. Why would he betray them? Was it all an act?
Now wasn't the time to cry. It was time to look for an escape. Annalise looked behind her at her hands and saw that they were tied together, just like last time.
Like last time.
His face flashed in her mind. Reed.
That name would haunt her. And now Chris.
She groaned as she remembered how she walked right into the house, trusting him. She was a lamb led to the slaughter. Trust seemed like a bitter word now.
All he did was lie. Nothing he said could be trusted. All that nonsense about Sara lying?- No. It was Chris. It was him.
Sara could be trusted. Why had she doubted?
Don't cry again. Focus, Annalise. You are smarter than this. Look for an escape.
A door behind her opened slowly.
Footsteps reached her.
A hand on her shoulder. She shuddered. The feeling was all too familiar.
"Hello, Annalise."
Annalise squirmed out of Chris's grasp. "What do you want, Chris? Is your name even Chris?"
"Of course my name is Chris. I would never lie about who I am, not to you, Annalise. Oh, wait- I would." Chris moved in front of her and smiled the friendly smile she had always loved. Now, she hated it.
"I want to know..." he drew out the question as his eyes traced her face.
"...what is Sara hiding?"
Annalise scoffed. Like she would tell him. If he tried torturing her again, fine. She had gone through it before. She will go through it again. For Sara.
"You better tell me what I want to hear," Chris warned.
"Then you better like what I say," Annalise tossed back. She lifted her foot off the floor and kicked him in the face. I guess he forgot to tie up my feet.
"I never told you that I took self defense classes in the past month, did I? Oh- that's right. I told Sara," Annalise hissed at him. She also knew a little martial arts from when she was in high school, but she wasn't about to tell him that. I'll let him find out for himself.
Annalise kicked as hard as she could. She did everything she could to harm him. As she was kicking him, she noticed his arm in a sling. That must be from recently.
Somehow, Chris managed to grab her legs and pull her to the ground. Annalise landed with a hard hit to the head and tried to stand.
But Chris was already on top of her. With more tape.
"This time, I will tape your mouth. Until you are ready to talk, of course."
~~~
The door creaked open.
Annalise flinched. She wasn't ready.
You may not be ready, but you are strong. Face your fears.
So she did.
But when she turned around, it wasn't Chris. It wasn't Reed.
It was a boy.
A boy who looked lost.
YOU ARE READING
Trails of Secrets
General Fiction"So, what's your name?" "Yeah... about that. I don't know." "Don't know what?" "My name." "How can you not know your own name? Were you never given one or something?" "I don't remember it." ~~~ Just a small, average town. Quiet. Peaceful. Friendly...
