Captivated by shadows [h.s.]

15.

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see

The lyrics of Stand by me by Ben E. King have been ringing in my ears for a few hours now. I don't know what time it is because the light in the room I was sitting in was switched off, so it was pitch black. There were obviously speakers on the walls to keep me from sleeping.

I felt like I was going crazy when the song was played for what felt like the hundredth time.

So darlin', darlin', stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Oh, stand
Stand by me, stand by me

I didn't have a problem with the song at first. At first I wondered why they were playing music at all, as it was a welcome distraction for me at first, but now it's pure torture.

Suddenly, the bright lights on the ceiling made me squint. The music was switched off and the door to my room was opened. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the brightness.

"Have you had enough yet?" the bald man and his two companions come over to me, amused.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, my eyes still narrowed.

"You know that." He shrugs his shoulders. "Tell me where the chip is, and you can go." He leans down towards me and rests his hands on his knees.

"I don't know where this damn chip is." I curse, which makes him laugh.

"I've got to hand it to you. You're really persistent. Eduardo did a excellent job."

"I have nothing to do with Eduardo," I say, almost spitting, and less than two seconds later, he punches me in the face, just like the first time we met.

I was tired, my body ached from the electric shocks I had received a few hours ago, my head hurt from the beatings, and gradually I could no longer concentrate to keep my composure.

"Great, you made her cry," groaned one of the other men, annoyed, when they saw the first tears running down my cheeks.

"I really don't know anything," I whisper and look into the steely grey eyes of the man standing right in front of me.

He laughs bitterly. "You want to play? All right, let's play." He stands up straight again. "Steven," he says, whereupon one of the men runs to a table with a silver suitcase on it. "We'll find a way to get you to talk." he continues with a devilish grin on his lips.

When the aforementioned Steven opened the case, surgical instruments such as scalpels were revealed. My heart immediately skipped a beat.

"Please. I really don't know anything." I shook the chair in panic, trying to find a way to free myself.

Steven took out one of the scalpels and came to me. "Please, you have to believe me." My heart was about to jump out of my chest and my vision was slightly blurred by all the tears.

He raised the scalpel to my face, which made me hold my breath. He didn't cut me, but I could still feel the cold metal on my skin.

"Let me just introduce myself. I'm Richard and this nice man here," he pointed to the man holding the scalpel to my face. "Name's Steven." I looked up at him with widened eyes. "How old are you, sweetheart?"

"21," I breathe. He nods with pursed lips.

"Have you ever taken drugs or actively smoked in your life?" he asks another question.

"No," my gaze travelled from Richard to Steven, who looked down at me with a smirk. He had a light brown beard, and although he was wearing a suit, I could see how muscular he was.