64 Hours

21 H0urs

ALMOST 500 READS :O TYSM.

{SLIGHTLY UNEDITED}

~the twenty-first hour~

"If lying was a crime, we'd all be in jail." -Emily, Pretty Little Liars

I've had to go through terrifying events in my life, but nothing could explain the past hour. 

Unknown - 7:30 PM: This is how Lucas feels in the dark.

I stared at the text with shaking hands. I finally found my phone after pitiful minutes of searching the ground, breaking into shudders. But it still pierces my head, even though it stopped - the scream. 

I crouched beside the door midst the musty air and listened hard to make sure I was just imagining the scream. It might've been just my imagination because I was so paranoid, but my ears were still ringing. I had vivid thoughts every so often, but could they really be that powerful?

I replied to Unknown with swear words, my screen the only source of illumination in the darkness. When I tried to send the message, it failed to send. No cell service, and I was only in an unauthorized place. 

I tried calling Aria again. No service. I considered calling 911; but Unknown could have Bella under his nose at the second, and I wasn't going to risk anything to get me out of this crappy place. 

I got a new message from Unknown. 

Unknown - 7:30 PM: Let's play a game, Adam. You do exactly as I say, quickly and without complaint. The aim is to find out where Bella is. If you win, you get to keep Bella in one piece. If you don't? I'll have my share of fun with her.

I read the message three times to make sure the words weren't overlapping through the dark, and I felt my lungs burn. Unknown was really pushing my limits. Who knows what he'll do? I knew that this 'game' didn't include me abiding by the rules or not. As usual, it's forced, Unknown style. And he had my treasure at his keep.

I tried my best to keep it all in together. It was even harder imagining that Bella was safe and sound with my sister, wailing to her mother to get some new book.

I didn't reply to Unknown. I couldn't even if I wanted to. For a minute or so I screwed my eyes shut, praying this was all a dream, wishing that I would wake up on the cushiony material of my couch - but when I opened my eyes tentatively, I was back in that nightmarish world of the dark.

Suddenly, light met my eyes. The whole area was greeted by flourescence, coming from hanging rectangular shapes on the ceiling. I had to blink several times to get used to the instant change of setting. When I recovered, I had a good look of the place. 

I was in a hall. The floor was tiled under my feet and the narrow walls were barely white from all the dust that covered them, with wilting dry paint peeling off the walls. I carried on until there was what seemed like two light blue doors, equally adjacent to each other on the right side. 

I winced out of terror when the light flickered over my head. It was going on and off, like I just stepped into a horror movie. But this wasn't intended; the place was already old and rusty from the beginning, and all Unknown did was pick the perfect spot to do things. Now, how on earth could he see me right now? Especially since he just pushed me out of the library a few minutes ago, he wouldn't be able to see me right away, with whatever device he was using.

Unknown - 7:34 PM: You will walk to the end of the hall, and you're going choose a door of your choice. Then you will enter it. 

I'm not his toy. This person is demented, maybe insane in a mental, critical way, but I couldn't contradict his action now. Instead, despite how nervous and jumbled I felt, I took a long walk to the end of the hall.