Human Again (A Jeff the Killer story)

16. Trapped

Hi guys! Thanks for being here once again. Sooo....is Emilie dead? Well, you'll see, even thought it's easy to guess I think. Anyway, I'm starting a new part of the story. It's time to bring Jeff and Emilie closer! I'll try to make them understand each others in the next chapters, and that's not an easy task ahah.
Please, stay tuned, and enjoy :)

***************

Emilie's pov

Darkness....It's all I can see or feel. It's already been a long time since I'm in this strange state, and I'm sure I must be dead by now.
When I was alive, I didn't believe in God, nor in heaven or hell. But I did believe that there was something after death. It can't possibly just be nothing? I can't stay here forever, in this darkness full of....emptiness. It's going to make me crazy. Maybe I'm in hell after all. That can be my punishment for letting a serial killer in freedom. I was such a fool...Maybe I'm going to be trapped here forever. In this emptiness...

Suddenly, a light in front of me appears, far away from where I stand. Is that it? The end of the tunnel as they say? The more the light is coming closer to me, the more I can distinguish a face. It's like I'm flying to it, in an attempt of hope. The face becomes more and more visible. At first, I thought it was Peter, then my father. But when I'm just in front of it, I can't recognize it. I just figure that it's a man's face. He's..serious and strict. His face has no emotion, and I can't help but feel like I've seen him somewhere before. But I just can't remember where or when.

Bip bip bip

What is that sound? It sounds like...a monitor. A heart rate monitor. Abruptly, I feel my body again. I open my eyes fast, before shutting them again because of the light. It takes me 5 minutes to be able to reopen them again. When I succeed in that task, I look around the place. I'm not dead. Damn, I'm not dead! How is that possible? I was supposed to bleed to death in that damn cinema!

Truth is, I'm in a bed, in a bedroom. A dirty bedroom indeed. The bed ricks something I can't recognize, the walls are supposed to be white, whereas a lot of dirty spots can be seen. Moreover, a lot of food, dirty clothes and alcohol bottles are everywhere on the floor. Where am I?
That's when I try to get up that I feel the pain in my stomach. I cry out in pain for some moments, before lifting my shirt to analyze my wound, but there's a bandage all over my stomach. Near me, I can see the heart monitor, and other medical stuffs. The equipment gives the impression of a good hospital, but the room is too dirty to be one.
Suddenly, my head is not that dizzy and I remember everything. The date with Peter, the cinema, Jeff, the young boy... Please, if there is any God right there, please, tell me that you saved him.

It's at that moment that the bedroom door is opened. The man I saw in my dream, or coma I don't really know anymore, walks to me. I still have this impression of déja-vu. Who is him?
He grabs my hand to check my pulse roughly, giving me a little pain. He doesn't seem to care, thought.

"Good, you seem okay now." That's all he says before grabbing me, making me get up like I am some sort of doll, lifting up my shirt a little, and checking my stomach. Even thought he probably saved me, I can't feel comfortable around him. First, he seems in his 40's, his right eye is missing but covered with a tissue and then, he has this strange aura around him. The aura of a murderer. Of a criminal.

"Th...thanks for saving me." I try to start a conversation to get some information about the whole situation, but I end up shuttering because I am thirsty. I have probably been out for more than a day. "May I ask your name?"

He looks at me like I'm some crazy girl, but answers me anyway, with a grin on his serious face.

"You don't remember me, doll. That's fun. I thought you would have remembered that night forever. I'm Anders, the landlord of the bar."

Oh my god. I should have noticed, but my mind is so dizzy right now. This man is the landlord and the barman of this hellish bar I went to with Jeff a little more than a week ago. A feeling of nausea and dizziness touches me as soon as I remember that horrible night. The bar, the murderers, the prostitutes, the drugs, and of course that dirty man who touched me.
I instantly take a step back from him and put my shirt down. I need to get out of here soon. If I'm here, that means that Jeff may possibly be here too. I don't want to see him ever again. I have to find a solution to make him lose my track, and sooner the better.
I search for my bag, which is next to the bed, before grabbing it.

"Thanks again for all you've done to me. I need to leave now." I say urgently, I need to leave this place quickly.

He continues to analyze me with his smirk. What is wrong with all these guys smirking at me like I'm a fool?

"You can't." Is all he said before grabbing my wrist, preventing me to go. He's so much stronger than me, and I don't know what he's capable of. I can't really take risks with him like I can with Jeff sometimes.

"Why?" I ask him with anger. I'm fed up with people trying to control my life.

"You're still hurt. I can't let you go."

I want to laugh at that moment. Is he telling me that he care about my health? He's a killer, or much worse.

"Thanks for caring, but I need to go, it's important."

It is him who laughs this time, taking me off guard. "I don't care a single bit about you, little girl. I just don't want people to know about your injury, and to recognize you. You might be caught by the cops and have to answer some questions. I can't risk you to reveal my bar, and to put Jeff in prison. As long as what happened in the cinema is on the news, you stay here."

I don't understand a single bit of what he has just said. Why can't I go home? People won't recognize me! I'm not a famous person at all... Wait. Were there really cameras in the cinema? The police might search me at that time! I need to get out of here and find them. I need to tell them what happened, who is Jeff and how to catch him. I need to get back to my normal life.

With all the confidence I have, I stare at him directly in his one eye.

"You can't make me stay here if I don't want to."

"Well I can," he replies with calmness, like my anger means nothing. "Sorry for you, but you won't get out of here until I allow you to."

Resigned for now -before I can find another plan to leave-, as I can't do anything against him, I decide to ask him the question I had in mind since I'm awake, before looking at the floor to prevent my tears to fall.

"In the cinema....did...did Jeff spare people's lives? Please tell me, I have to know. And why am I alive?" I ask him, defeat in my voice.

He seems deep in his thoughts, like thinking of if he should tell me or not, before replying with his serious tone.

"I can't tell you, you will have to ask Jeff." That's all he says before leaving the room and locking the door, leaving me alone in this mess.

I'm trapped. Trapped in a house, with crazy murderers. What did I do to deserve this?