APRICITAS [ENG] || Johan Liebert || Monster

Chapter 18 - In the Monster's Cave

The young woman was walking down a corridor lit by yellow electric wall lamps, through which the silhouettes of people she didn't know were strolling. But she ignored them as she headed for the side exit of the building.

As she approached the door, it suddenly swung wide, revealing a bush of white roses growing in the garden in the distance, lit by the sun.

'...I have to...'

She moved quickly towards the patio exit, but was unable to reach her destination. The wooden door suddenly closed with a bang, followed by the clink of keys twisting the lock on the door...

'... someone closed the library's door...'

Her feet stood on a mountain made of books in dark, burnt covers, and the shelves from which they had previously been thrown, were on fire... Everything began to be devoured by the flames...

'I'll never get out of here... never... NEVER!'

****

Emiko woke up screaming, trying to sit up on the bed because of her nerves, but at the same moment she felt an incredibly intense pain that forced her to stay where she was. In an instant, she remembered everything. The headache was gone, but this time she felt numbness in her back and in the still tied wrists.

'Since it's still evening, I haven't slept very long...' she thought, looking around the room, where was completely dark, not counting the faint streak of light from under the door. After a while she heard footsteps approaching, and after a few seconds the door was opened. The room in which she was staying was immediately filled with a strong beam of light, which began to hurt her eyes mercilessly.

"Good evening, my dear. Did you sleep well?" The girl narrowed her eyes. Johan looked at her with such a heartfelt smile as if she were in a holiday resort on her summer holidays. The man was dressed in a light, well-fitting gray suit and a white shirt tied with a blue tie that perfectly emphasized the color of his eyes.

"What do you think?" She growled, clearly displeased. The formal outfit and the fact that Johan seemed to be in a good mood, as long as the term "good mood" suited him at all... she began to feel extremely uncomfortable.

'Where had he been for such a short period of time?' She thought, but quickly put away this thought in order to keep the last bit of common sense and inner peace, just for her own good. Johan chuckled.

"I am thinking about many things now, Emiko... and I am absolutely sure that you wouldn't want to know most of them." He was still staring at her with that careless smirk of his, as if he was watching an interesting exhibition at an art museum. The girl was almost grateful to her back pain, which distracted her from other thoughts, for example about how his presence and his present appearance affected her well-being. "I think a warm shower would be good for you. You don't look very good." Emiko looked at him hesitantly. Did he just say "shower"? Confused, she continued to stare at him, slowly becoming aware of something. The fire in the library and the omnipresent smell of a smoke... The young woman realized that her current smell was like a smoked fish's one, taken straight from the barbecue; which by the way, she didn't particularly like. But taking a shower in a flat shared with... a man... No. It was a bad idea. Very bad.

Her thoughts however, took too long, because in that time Johan managed to get closer and slightly bend over her lying figure.

"Emiko..." He began, slowly picking up one of the ends of the rope that her hands were tied to the bed's railing, and playing with it for a moment. "Because I consider you an intelligent person, I believe you understand what kind of behavior I would not like to see after I untie you, or, what consequences this may have on the people you are close to." From his pocket, he pulled a small, retractable knife. "You know where my short speech is suppose to going, right?" The girl watched his hand as it deftly twisted the knife several times. Johan turned his attention back on her, having his gentle, undisturbed smile on his face. "Right?"