Perilous

Chapter 7: Never-ending Nightmares.

Arizona woke up from her fitful sleep in the room where she had been locked to the hard, metal chairs. On her lap she saw a tray with steak and green beans, a change from what she was usually fed. It was warm this time.

"What's the special occasion?" Ari thought. As if on cue, she heard a voice coming from directly behind the chair she was sitting in.

"Congratulations, you passed phase one." Arizona recognized the deep, nasally voice as the mystery man. She could feel his warm breath on her neck. Ari didn't dare move.

"You aren't quite as fun to watch as the others were. I wish I had kept some of them. Oh well, rules are rules and what has been done cannot be undone. It was fun while it lasted. Anyway, you better step up your game, or things won't look good for you," the man explained slyly.

"What is in the next phase?" Arizona questioned, terrified of the answer.

"If you knew and were prepared, it wouldn't be any fun for me, now would it?" Mystery Man pointed out.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them before Mystery Man left. Once again, Arizona was trapped with her own haunted thoughts. When she dreamt, she was trapped in a nightmare. When she woke up, she was always relieved she escaped her nightmares, until she realized she was living in one.

The only thing on Arizona's mind was when phase two would occur. Could she survive?