The Shrink Program

Chapter 57

The Niche hidden under the dingy old pool was actually pretty spacious.

The decors inspiration seemed to be "evil basement" as the large room was dark and sparsely furnished.

On the far wall, there was a door, presumably leading to another mystery room.

The only way out was the ladder leading up to the trapdoor,

The most noticeable thing in the room was the large wooden bench on which sat, creepily enough, a dollhouse.

It was fully functional, already plugged into the wall socket and stored with the same water tanks as my mini apartment at home.

They were so similar in fact, it could almost be said they were made by the same people.

Except this one had an entire wall replaced by glass.

Hell no.

"No way!" I growled beginning my struggles again in earnest. "There is no way that I am going in that stupid thing. Ever!"

"Relax." Apollo murmured as we approached the bench. "Like I would put you in there just so you can chuck a tantrum and break the furniture. This thing is expensive."

Oh. Excuuuuse me. Just put me in a cardboard box then and spare your fancy house my presence...

He reached up, pulling out a huge jar from the shelf hanging above the bench.

...You have to be kidding me!

"Until you calm down...." He dropped me unceremoniously into the glass jar.

... SERIOUSLY!?

Unlike the last one, this jar didn't have a lid but was bigger to compensate.

Just that bit too tall for my jump boots to manage. There wasn't any drilled holes or locks, just a ring of black tape that circled the inside of the opening.

"...you can stay in here." Apollo informed me calmly."I'll upgrade your living conditions once I'm sure that you will appreciate the change. Now, if you will excuse me..."

He turned, and I watched through the glass as he walked towards the mystery door. "I have some business that needs to be taken care of."

With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Leaving me.... completely unsupervised.

...I didn't know whether to start laughing maniacally or to just get up and perform a victory dance.

"Underestimated me you have, defeat you, I will," I said in my best Yoda impersonation.

Needless to say, it wasn't very good.

Just in case Apollo decided to make a sudden appearance, I turned away from the door, using my body to hide the mobile I pulled out of my pocket.

The only way I knew how to call someone was to dial the number from scratch.

Besides my mum, dad, brother and my favourite pizza place, Vain's mobile was the only number I had memorised.

I would have to call him and get him to send in the rescue squad.

And if all else failed... Only then would I call on my pizzeria mob connections...
"Jeeze Apollo..." I muttered as I put in the last numbers. "For such a smart guy, you can be unexpectedly stupid sometimes..."

I froze, my finger hovering over the call button.

"Apollo isn't stupid." I murmured to myself. "Ever."

He had been wrong before.

Had been misinformed.

But he was a far cry from stupid, and this move he was making was just careless.

Warily, I looked up at the dollhouse in front of me, and I could see the reflection of the room behind me in the glass.

Apollo leaned against the doorway, watching me calmly.

I hadn't even heard him return to the room.

I quickly lowered my gaze from the glass, not wanting him to know that I knew he was there.

I continued thinking out loud, quietly so that he wouldn't be able to hear.

"Apollo isn't stupid, so why would he take me to his secret hideout without so much as a blindfold. Why would he show me the secret to getting in, and then leave me in the room alone?"

I held the phone up to my ear, so he wouldn't get suspicious.

"Because he knows that I have a phone," I whispered. "He wants me to ring them, wants me to bring them here."

I cringed.

"It's a trap."

That tricky little bugger.

Just when I had started to think that I was so clever, it turns out that he had been anticipating my brilliant escape plan all along.

It was pure dumb luck that I had managed to figure it out in time.

I probably won't get a chance like this a second time.

I hit the call button, listening to it ring. "Too bad for you, Apollo, traps only work when you catch them by surprise."

"I couldn't agree more." Apollo's voice came from above me.

I spun just as Vain picked up on the other end.

"Maddison?"

The cascade of freezing water hit me in the face, swallowing me under in an instant.

I thrashed blindly, completely disorientated.

No. No nonononononono...

Heart screaming in my chest, I broke the surface.

Gasping, I shoved my soaking hair out of my eyes, treading water as I watched Apollo lower a large plastic jug.

"Surprise." He sang mockingly, his green eyes pissed.

"What?" I gasped, spitting out a mouthful of water. " How...?"

Apollo lent down, hovering above me menacing. "Next time you want to keep your intentions a secret from me, try checking that I haven't bugged your jar first."

He pointed at the black tape that circled the rim of the jar.

A small bump marked were he had a listening device hidden.

As I stared at it in stunned horror, Apollo flicked his hair back, momentarily revealing a black earpiece.

Damn it!

"You-" He used a finger to poke my head under the water.

I bobbed back up, furiously spitting out freezing water.

"Let's keep this clean Maddison." He mocked, setting the empty jug on the bench beside my jar this a sharp thud.
He was fuming.

And so was I.

Not only had he tried to drown me in freezing water, but he had just undoubtedly murdered my phone.

Just when I was actually starting to like it.

I stuck my head under the water and just screamed.