Fearless – A web novel
Chapter 3 – Absolutely gothic
Stone, cold stone on bare skin. My skin. Where was I? I was not sure but it sure as hell wasn’t my apartment. Definitely not my bedroom, where my last memory placed me. I had a slight headache and a fading unease in my stomach. Drugged? Where the hell was I and how the hell did I get here? I looked around as well as I could but in all honesty there was nothing much to see. Darkness. Absolute impenetrable darkness. I was standing at a wall that I now knew, by examining it with my bare foot as my arms and hands had limited use at the moment. Consisted of huge stone blocks. Slightly damp and perpetually chilly. How perfectly gothic.
I blinked a few times. There was a slight difference so I hadn’t suddenly gone blind as well as abducted and strung up like a haunch of beef in a meat cooler. Well, that was something. Always look on the bright side; I had heard someone say not too long ago. Ok, assuming this was the dark side of the wall I was chained to, thee aught to be another side of it and if that was the bright side, then that is where I should go. I just didn’t know exactly how.
I started a critical analysis of my faculties, mental and physical. Everything was feeling just about right. No pain, no particular bodily needs like hunger or a need for a toilet. Perhaps a little bit thirsty but there was no dizziness. My breathing was as regular and steady as always. It was a bit cold and I shivered. I really wouldn’t have minded something to wear. I was naked after all.
That was kind of weird. Like, really weird come to think of it. I sighed heavily. What had I gotten myself into this time? I had been in some freaky situations in my two decades as a walking and talking human being but this may just take the price.
Ok, I was hanging from a steel chain in a dark room with stone walls, not very big but not quite small enough to make someone claustrophobic. At least I didn’t think so. I wouldn’t know. And I was in my birthday suit and someone had obviously brought me here for a reason I was sure.
Oh well, nothing to do about it just now. This was where I had been put and this was where I would stay unless I could somehow free myself from my restraints. It seemed unlikely.
I pulled at the steel around my wrists. They were attached to a chain that was in turn attached to the wall somewhere above me but I couldn’t see where or how. They made a sound as I shook them. A soft metallic clinking, almost melodic in its glassy clarity. They were no less than a meter in length and completely without give. Unyielding.
I gave up on the chains for the moment and examined the darkness more carefully. It actually wasn’t totally without features. Off to my right, I could make out a thin; no it was three lines of light, making an open sided rectangle. Like a door. Ok, a door. Now that was something else.
I breathed deeply through my nose but it found nothing but a slight mustiness, old dry soil and earthy decay. A dirt floor? I also noticed that my own body odour overpowered the other scents, the unmistakable scent that was simply me, now with a hint of something foreign, perhaps chemical. I needed a shower. I also needed answers.
Were they, whoever they were, trying to frighten me? If they knew who I was they would know it was useless. Or was that perhaps the point?
I had a problem. I personally didn’t think of it as a problem but I had finally come to terms with the fact that I was different. I had no fear. I couldn’t describe it to you if my life depended on it. I was surely not afraid now. Uncomfortable, yes definitely having your arms chained above your head, being forced to stand for a longer period of time would possibly be very painful after a while. Being naked was no big concern to me although the cold temperature could eventually be harmful and very uncomfortable. Fear? I didn’t know what they meant. There were other things that bothered me but I was mostly curious and baffled by the audacity of these people.
Oh damn! I grimaced and forced my back against the rough stone. I contorted and wiggled and dragged my itchy skin across the surface. I wondered how much skin I was rubbing off in the process but that was not important. I closed my eyes and groaned when I found the offending itch and scraped it into submission.
That’s when my first guest arrived. The door suddenly opened and a figure appeared outlined by light. I wasn’t very interested in who was coming, I would know soon enough and perhaps I would get my questions answered. No, I squinted to pierce the glare beyond the doorway.
The door was open for only a few seconds and I couldn’t quite discern details through the painful brightness but I was sure that what I had seen before the door slammed shut was not a crude stone tunnel or dungeon style hall. Out there were electric lights, Walls not made out of stone, light colored flooring, other doors?
The darkness returned but I was no longer alone in my cell. I waited, fearless.