"Please, somebody help me!" Belle cried.
"Be quiet, or we'll throw you into the machine!" One of her captors threatened her, grabbing her harshly by the chin. Belle Tanzen was the daughter of a senator and a famous actress. Her family had a lot of money, which is exactly why she was here. Five men had kidnapped her and were holding her for ransom. They demanded to be paid hundreds of millions of dollars in cash, or else Belle would be killed. They kept her at the abandoned steel mills area of the city. It was dark and creepy already, but these men made it even more terrifying for her. She didn't want to die like this. No one should die like this. It was such a horrible way to go. They said that they were going to let her go once they had the money, but Belle knew better. She'd seen their faces. She can tell the police what they looked like and identify them if they did a line up at the station.
There's no way that she's getting out of this alive.
Belle whimpered and closed her eyes, praying for someone to come save her. The men left her alone in a locked room, slamming the door shut behind them. She was tied to a chair, her arms and legs stung because the ropes were so tight. "P—Please... Someone... Anyone..." she whispered under her breath. At this point, she might even be willing to take the Devil's hand if he offered it to her. Tears slid down her face, even though she wasn't sobbing. Now she felt a presence with her, but no one else was inside the room. Who else could be here though? It was just Belle and her captors. She blinked her tears out of her eyes and saw the silhouette of a tall man in front of her. She kept blinking, her vision clearing with each one. Her jaw almost dropped when she looked back up at the silhouette.
Except it wasn't a silhouette now, it actually was a man. She didn't recognize him, and he couldn't be one of her captors since she was able to confirm that there were only five of them. He looked irritated, but also like he pitied her. "W—Who are you?..." Belle asked after a moment. The man frowned at her. "That's none of your business." He said in a hollow, echoey voice, "Just like it's none of your business being here."
Belle felt another tear escape her eye. "I'm s—sorry..." she told him, "If I could leave, I w—would... I want to go home..."
The man huffed and searched her eyes with his own. There was so much fear and pain. He stalked behind her and muttered under his breath. Belle felt something cold on her hands. She felt the ropes come loose and fall. "There. Now untie your legs." He told her. Belle pulled her arms in front of her and rubbed her wrists before leaning over and untying her legs. There were marks where the rope had rubbed her skin raw, but she didn't mind it too much as long as she still had a pulse when she left this place. The woman shakily stood up and smiled at him, whispering, "Thank you. Thank you so much."
The man simply nodded at her. He walked forward, gesturing her to follow him. Belle cautiously trailed behind him as he opened the door. Her eyes widened, then she realized that none of her captors were in the hall. "They're all in one room, not too far from here. Keep your voice down if you must speak. Be as quiet as you possibly can. If you want to get out of here alive, you will listen to me and do as I say when I say it. Are we clear?" He demanded. Belle nodded. "Good. Now come on." The man gestured for her to follow again. Belle walked closely being him, tip-toeing through the empty halls. She shivered every now and then. It was cold and creepy, and she felt like spiders were crawling up her back. Suddenly he stopped and put his hand up. Belle stopped behind him and listened carefully. "They're in that room," he said monotonously as he pointed to a door up ahead, "They won't hear you if you're quiet, but they'll see you if you're not fast enough. I'll create a distraction. You have to sneak up to the door and wait until there's an opening. Run as quietly as you can when they start yelling. There's a hallway intersection up ahead. You'll turn left and wait for me around the corner, okay?."
