Dream Girl: Chapter 3 - Hostage

 

Chloe came awake slowly. Lying on a cold stone floor in pitch black, Chloe wiggled a little to find her wrists and ankles were lashed together with itchy rope. Essentially, she'd been hog-tied. Chloe began to contort her body, trying to get her hands close to her mouth. Rolling her head down, the blackness lightened and then returned to its original form. It was then Chloe realized she'd been blind-folded. Suddenly, a wave of nausea crashed inside her stomach and Chloe almost threw up in her mouth. She'd been bound and blinded before. And then she'd been buried alive.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she flashed back to the warehouse and the sound of dirt hitting the coffin. Panic crouched in the corner of her mind and Chloe knew she needed to calm down or it would pounce. Taking herself mentally in hand, Chloe slowed her breathing and concentrated on making a plan.

She had no idea what time it was, but soon Lana would wake up and read Chloe's note. When Chloe didn't return or answer her cell, Lana would send out the alarm. Clark would be involved somehow, if not already because of her frantic phone call, and he would see what no one else could. He would follow the paper trail and rescue her, Chloe mantra'd in her mind. Until then, Chloe would do what she could to help him or get herself free on her own. With renewed effort, she started yanking her hands up to her mouth once more.

"Don't move," a low voice came out of the darkness. Chloe froze. "Don't move a muscle or you'll be dead."

"Newsflash, you've got me tied down in such a fashion the only way I could reach my hands is if I was a circus contortionist." Chloe shook as she spat out her fake bravado. Lure him into a false sense of security and maybe he'll make a mistake, she coached herself.

"I knew you had spunk. That's why when I found out you were so interested in my little narcotic, I had to have you. You're planning a news article, aren't you? Wouldn't you love an in-depth exclusive from its creator? Maybe even take a ride? Just to get a full appreciation for what we're doing here." His voice rolled and flowed like that of a dynamic speaker. It slithered down Chloe's spine, sending goose bumps along her flesh.

"Oh, good. You're seriously unhinged. I always find the rational evil masterminds harder to reason with," Chloe responded with an acidic tone.

"Would that be a no?" He asked calmly.

"That would be a hell no. It's dangerous, what you're doing! It's not some fun game. You're dealing with people's lives!" Chloe could hear the soft squeak of his shoes as he circled her like a vulture.

"That's where the fun is," he explained patiently. "You see, it's like Russian Roulette without all the blood and bullets and mess."

"So I've heard," Chloe deadpanned.

"Each time we send someone under we don't know if they will be able to fight their way back. Those who participate are stronger for it." He spoke with such assurance and Chloe felt her skin crawl in revulsion as he stepped closer to her.

"Not everyone shares you views," Chloe said simply, trying to keep him occupied with talking.

"Like who?" He queried with a slight laugh.

"Like the ones who die. I know, for a fact, that at least four of your junkies didn't make it back from your little death trip." Chloe fought against the rising sickness in her throat; the cold floor and the heat of her damp clothes making her lightheaded and queasy.

"You know nothing!" Chloe jumped as his voice boomed right behind her head. "I am on the verge of the greatest medical discovery on this planet! If I can take people right up to death, I may be able to find some way to stop it altogether."

"That is not your decision to make," Chloe began calmly, not meaning to have angered him. "You are not God. Ahhh!" Chloe screamed in pain as her captor grabbed her short blonde hair and yanked her upward, her neck at an awkward angle from her body.

"Let's see what you say after you have a taste of my potion," he whispered seductively in her ear. "I promise you will like it."

Chloe forewent all her supposed courage and started to squirm and thrash blindly. The maniac laid his body over hers, pinning her down with his lower half. Chloe could feel his groin against her hip, a hardness stirring, making her mind spin crazily with fear. Striking out, she scratched cloth. Chloe continued to fight as he continued to rip at her jeans. On her third try, Chloe connected with skin, feeling it give way to sticky, hot blood underneath. The man yelled and still she fought blindly, wrists and ankles burning from the friction against the coarse rope.

"You're going to pay for that, bitch." Chloe heard him say a moment before he smacked her violently across the cheek. Chloe was stunned temporarily as she watched stars shoot around in front of her eyes. A moment was all he needed.

Pressing down upon Chloe more fully, he straddled her tightly between his legs. Quickly snagging her jeans and pulling them down enough to expose her hip, he stabbed the needle through her skin. Chloe shrieked as she felt scalding, boiling heat run through her veins into her extremities, hitting every nerve. She felt as if she was literally burning from the inside out. Seconds later chills began and then Chloe blessedly lost consciousness for the second time.

The man retracted the needle only after he was sure Chloe's body was limp. He rose from the floor and looked down at his victim now lying peacefully at his feet. With a sick and twisted smile he bent down to untie her and slip off the blindfold. Gently gathering Chloe in his arms, he carried her down the hall to one of the fully equipped observation rooms.

Inside, he laid her on the bed and proceeded to strip her of her clothing. He didn't linger, though he wanted to. There will be time for that, he thought with a shiver. He dressed her in a pale yellow nightgown after he threw her clothes in the trash. Then, lovingly, he tucked Chloe beneath the covers.

At the door, he flicked the light off, the room lit by the ghostly glow of the moon high in the corner of the only window.

           "Sweet dreams, Ms. Sullivan."

     To read Ch. 4, click here.