The Brave One

Chapter 7

Curiosity


Sam woke up with a terrible headache, her head throbbed and she could barely see two feet in front of her face. She sat up from where she had slept and tried to figure out where she was now. Her mind buzzed around her with many questions. Where was she? What happened? Was she dreaming again?

The last thing she remembered was the strange gas that had knock her out unconscious. Sam figured that Crane probably used fear toxin on her and she blacked out because of it again. That most likely made it easier to transport her to a new location. Yet, she didn't understand why Crane had kidnapped her in the first place. It wasn't like she was important or anything. She was just a regular teenage girl. So why torment her? Was it maybe because of her mother? This was all very confusing for Sam and to top it all off it was extremely dark in the room she was placed in. She needed to get out of here.

The floor had felt ice cold on her knees and it painfully scrapped against her soft skin as she tried to get up. Her legs didn't seem to work anymore and her arms had been forced behind her back.

Sam felt trapped. There was nothing she could do. She tried to scream, but duct tape had smothered her cries. She looked down at the dark floor helplessly. All she could do now was sit in the dark and wait.

Sam was at the mercy of a mad man. A horrible chill crawled up her spine as the realization slowly started to sink in. Her heart reached her throat and she gulped to try to push it down. Goosebumps ran all across her arms as she began to become very scared. It hit her like a ton of bricks.

She was going to be Crane's next victim, a little guinea pig who would undergo horrible experiments from this mad and twisted man. She was going to be murdered with her worst fears and there was nothing she could do about it.

She was beginning to feel anxious, like her world was crashing down around her and she was helpless. Unlike her mother who was always so strong and brave...Oh God her mother.

Sam had remembered what she saw on the news. Her mother could have been dead or in the hospital for all she knew. She missed her mother. If only she had been more careful. If only she hadn't been curious about Crane. If only...

If only she hadn't been so stupid. How could she be so blinded? She should have seen the signs. There were signs that were slapping her right in the face telling her to get out of the house. They were all right there in front of her, screaming for her attention. Like the phone line being cut, noticing the door was unlocked, the power being out, the muddy foot prints near her bed room door. All the red flags were flying everywhere yet Sam still didn't do anything about it. It was all because of her stupid curiosity. Her damn curiosity...

Maybe she was just an idiot, a plain old idiot girl. Or maybe...

Maybe Sam was crazy. She was crazy for thinking that Crane wouldn't harm her because he was a human being, crazy for pitying him, crazy for caring about him.

Sam still remembered the quote by Carl Jung again. "The healthy man does not torture others. Generally it is the tortured that turn into torturers." Maybe Carl Jung's quote wasn't true. Maybe Crane had a wonderful family who never abused him and he still became a criminal. Maybe he killed and hurt innocent people not because he was abused as a child, but because he just simply likes it. Sam didn't know what to believe anymore. Her curiosity was going to take her sanity away or worse, get her killed. This was her fate and she could do nothing about it.

Just when Sam had thought that it couldn't get any worse, a dark figure moved into the room. Sam could barely see the figure, but she could hear the footsteps inch closer and closer to her. She assumed it was Crane.

The shadowy figure stopped right in front of her. Sam bit her lip in anticipation. She had to be strong and brave like her mother. So she would show him no sign of fear. She turned her head up to the maniac, ready for her demise.

"Hello Samantha." The shadow said. The lack of light made it difficult for Sam to see the figure's face, but she could already tell it was Crane. His tall, skinny body gave it away the second he walked in front of her. He pulled the tape on Sam's mouth off and she gave out a small cry. Crane just smirked; there would be plenty more crying and screaming after he got done with her.

"What do you want with me?" Sam asked bluntly, even though the answer was obvious.

"You will be my new test subject. I have needed to test my newest fear toxin on someone suitable for a long time now." Crane answered, while crouching down to Sam's level. She could now see his face much more clearly now. She realized he wasn't wearing his mask and his sharp blue eyes could cut her like butter.

"I told you I wasn't going to become your test subject. I refuse." She spoke stubbornly, while staring directly up at his icy blue orbs. She had to remain strong, like her mother would have done.

"You're just a foolish girl. You don't have any say in the matter. You can't hide away from your fears and I will pick them apart one by one." Crane said along with a small smirk. He couldn't believe how naive this girl was. Didn't she know that he was the almighty god of fear? Or did she need a reminder?

"I'm not trying to hide. I just want to understand." Sam stated in a small whisper. She lowered her head to the ground, not wanting to look at Crane anymore. Well at least she finally got her wish. She finally got a chance to speak to him, to understand where he was coming from. Maybe this situation wouldn't be so bad after all.

"What are you trying to understand?" Crane questioned. Part of him just wanted to gas the girl and be done with it. He only needed her to test his new toxin. He used his old toxin on her the night he kidnapped her and the effects of it caused her to faint again. Now he was sure the old formula for the toxin was obsolete. Hopefully the new formula would have more desirable results. The other part of him wanted to find out what made this girl tick. She seemed normal enough, but he wanted to find what was beneath the surface. The girl was almost too normal.

"You, I want to understand you. I want to know more about you." Sam confessed still looking down at the cold floor.

Crane just stared down at the young, silly girl. How could she be serious? No one has ever said such a ridiculous statement to him before in his life. She doesn't understand anything and he would never let himself open up to such a foolish girl. After all, he was the one who usually got into people's minds, definitely not the other way around. Now he wanted to destroy this girl from the inside out.

"Very well, I'll teach you then."

Oh, I will teach you.