Reflections In The Mirror

Prologue

Tess took the same path she always did, dirt, surrounded by tall evergreens. The only sounds she heard were the soft sway of the trees, and the crunch of her shoes against the forest floor. She took note of the eerie quietness of the forest today, normally it would be filled with the chirps of birds, rustles from the occasional chipmunk racing past her on the path. Tess didn't think anything of it though, she enjoyed the quiet. She smelled the air as she lifted her face towards the sky, the sun peeked through the canopy of trees and lit her face in a soft glow. It smelled like it was going to rain, her favorite weather. After a short walk into the forest Tess made it to her favorite spot, a small opening in the forest, a large rock dead center and surrounded by plush greenery. The perfect spot for her to sit and devour the book she had brought with her. She set down her thermos and pulled her deep blue blanket out of her bag and laid it on the ground. She sat with her back propped up against the rock, grabbed her book and began to read. Only a few moments had passed before she began to notice the creepy feeling that she wasn't alone. And that she was being watched.
Goosebumps began to raise on Tess's arms as she scanned the wall of trees surrounding her. Something wasn't right and she got up cautiously deciding she better cut her reading short for the day. Tess quickly stuffed her blanket and book back into her bag and grabbed her thermos. She made her way back down the path to get to her bicycle at the entrance of the trail. The forest was still as quiet as ever, paranoia starting to set in with each second she was still inside of it. A snap of a twig to her left dropped her heart into her stomach and she quickly looked over but all she could see were trees, and more trees. She started to walk even faster, sweat beads welting on her forehead. She could see it, the entrance of the trail, and relief began to wash over her. Her pink bicycle winked at her from the sun's reflection, and she had to squint for her eyes to adjust as she stepped off of the trail. Then suddenly all she saw was darkness, as someone slipped a black cover over her head.
Dazed, Tess began to wake, her hands were bound and the cover was still over her head. She bit down on her cheek to keep herself from screaming, she knew she was in a vehicle because she could feel the bumps and turns of the road. Tess needed to get out and fast, but before she could try and free her hands the vehicle jolted to a stop. She could hear the creek of the door and then the slam as it closed. The trunk clicked open and this time she screamed, a blood curdling scream, and then darkness again. When Tess woke again the cover was gone and her hands were unbound. She sprang up to try and run towards the door that was in front of her but was stopped by the chain that clasped her ankle. She let out a yelp, and fell to her hands and knees. Feeling defeated, she looked up and surveyed her surroundings. It was a weakly lit concrete room, no windows and one door. Tess crawled back to the corner and wrapped herself in a ball, overcome by fear she wept silently to herself.
Tess's head snapped up when she heard a klanking at the door. In the doorway stood a man, he was tall with brown hair and dark brown nearly black eyes. He was strikingly handsome, with a strong set jaw and a scruff on his face as if he hadn't shaved in a few days. She guessed she expected a monster, but looks can be deceiving. He gazed at Tess, studying her for a few moments, then he stepped forward and gently set the tray he was holding down in front of her. She shuddered at the nearness of him, afraid of what his intentions were. He left the room without a word, locking the door behind him. Tess stared at the food, tempted to eat as her stomach began to moan in hunger but she lay down instead not trusting this man or the food he had given her. She chewed at her nails nervously, thinking someone had to notice she was missing by now. She didn't have family or any close friends but she worked in the research department at the university and surely at least her coworkers would be wondering where she is. She thought about what he wanted, why she was here and how she was going to escape.
Again klanking at the door revealing the man in the doorway. He had shaved, but his hair was still in messy truffles, some fallen on his forehead. Tess forced her mind to steer away from thinking of his obvious good looks, this guy kidnapped her for fucks sake. She was terrified and angry. She spoke first, screaming to let her go, asking what he wanted from her. But he stood there towering over her, silent. That wasn't working so she spoke softer and shakely pleaded with him to free her from the chain clasped to her ankle. Then he spoke his voice deep and smooth. "I'll take the chain off but you have to promise you will behave." She nodded, she wasn't going to make a peep and risk upsetting him. He approached her cautiously and reached for her ankle. She scooted it towards him, not meeting his gaze directly. He pulled a key from his right pocket and twisted it inside of the lock releasing her ankle from the chain. His hands were so warm, and she was freezing, she was only wearing shorts and a light short sleeve flannel button up that she felt were a good choice the morning before her walk into the forest. Tess pulled her ankle back towards her body and wrapped her arms around her legs. "I'll get you a blanket." Anger rose up in her again, she didn't want a blanket, she wanted to go home. He left the room again, then returned with her deep blue blanket. Seeing it gave Tess comfort, it was a glimmer of her life that she felt so far away from. Then she was alone again, silently weeping and wishing she had never left her home that morning.
The next morning, Tess woke and blinked, her vision fuzzy and her body felt so sore from sleeping on the floor. Once she got her bearings, she decided that today was the day she would escape because she refused to sleep another night here. A couple of hours later she heard the man at the door, he opened it and was carrying a new tray of food. She realized the old tray was gone, he must have come in when she was asleep and that struck fear into her once again. "You need to eat something." He said as he set it again in front of Tess. Without hesitation Tess grabbed the metal tray spilling the food onto the floor and smashing the tray into his head. His head flew back and he fell backwards on the floor. Tess jumped up and flew towards the door racing past him. She ran down the hallway toward the stairs. She heard a groan from the man and she scrambled up the steps reaching the door at the top. It wasn't locked, and she twisted the handle, and the sun blinded her as she swung the door open. She was outside, aside from the small cabin to her left she was surrounded by forest. She burst into a sprint running into the forest. She could see the man stumbling through the door looking around to find her. He spotted her running through the trees and barreled after her. Her heart was racing as she dodged trees and tried her best not to trip. Tears filled her eyes but she shook them away because she knew she needed to focus on getting away. She ran looking back to see where the man was and if he was gaining on her. She couldn't see him so she kept going, running into a tree and scraping her left arm on a branch. She cried out in pain but quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. The man heard her cry and changed his course to her direction. Tess saw him and ran as fast as she could, her right hand on her left arm where it was bleeding from the cut. After a while she slowed to catch her breath and hid behind a shrub, looking to see if she could see the man. Tess couldn't see or hear him. She wasn't sure where she was and in what direction she should continue in. She decided to keep going in the same direction to get as far away from the cabin that she could. Just as she stood to run the man wrapped his arms around her and she began to scream. He put his hand over her mouth and she bit down on his fingers as hard as she could. Then he wrestled her to the ground and wrapped his hand around her neck, she kicked and scratched to try and get away but slowly her sight got fuzzy as he choked her into passing out.
Tess's eyes snapped open again, and she gasped as she sat up. She looked around her realizing she was in her bed. In her bed, in her apartment. She scanned her bedroom looking for anything out of the ordinary. Could that all have been a dream? She got up from her bed and made her way to her bathroom in the hallway. Her heart was still pounding as she sucked air into her lungs. She looked into the mirror above her bathroom sink, her eyes were swollen red like she had been crying. Then she saw it, on her left arm was a white bandage, and on her neck was the light purple impression of a hand.