The Brave One
Chapter 21
A Small Act of Kindness
Samantha was shattered.
All of the confidence that she had about finding a way to escape was shattered…
Into a million fragmented pieces…
She was fractured, but not completely gone. He had shown her some mercy, but she knew that he was still incredibly dangerous.
He probably wouldn't show any compassion towards her the next time he would come into her room.
She dreaded having him walk in again. In fact, the anxiety of having him return nearly stopped her from consuming the meal that currently sat in her lap.
It was cold, but the girl didn't care. Her hunger made her a lot less picky about what she was eating.
After all, oatmeal was better than no meal at all.
Samantha held the spoon in her hand, consuming every last drop of the cold oatmeal. She didn't know why Crane had decided to feed her, but she was glad that he did.
The girl figured that he was going to kill her, but she was pleasantly surprised when she realized that he had brought her food instead.
Even though she was grateful for his sudden act of kindness towards her, she also felt somewhat bothered by it. It was strange that he had been actually nice to her after her little escape attempt.
Why would he do that if he was just going to kill her anyway?
Another part of her wondered why she had felt the need to thank him for his actions. He tortured her, broke her, and nearly killed her…and now she was thanking him for it?
What the hell was wrong with her?
She didn't know. Her mind had been a mess after he had punished her for trying to escape and invading his chemistry lab. Maybe she was just a mess…
…And a tad bit insane.
She had to get herself together, but all her will power was gone now. He took it all away. Her strength, her confidence, her faith…he took it all…everything that she had. She felt powerless and she hated it.
Her fighting spirit was gone.
No one was going to save her. She had lost hope that anyone was even looking for her. If they were looking for her, then they probably would have found her by now…
Batman wasn't coming…and neither was anyone else.
She sighed in misery as she sat in her little corner, trapped by her own thoughts and feelings.
Her eyes kept drifting in and out of sleep from being so exhausted. The girl had been worn out by all of the fear that she had been feeling for the past couple hours.
Her exhaustion was catching up to her and she tried to lie down on the floor.
She didn't want to fall asleep, but her mind and body were drained. Her eyes stared up at the door, trying desperately not to drift into slumber. She had to stay alert for Crane.
However she couldn't stop herself. The need for sleep was too strong to fight off. Her eyes finally closed and with a full belly, the young girl allowed herself to rest.
...For the moment, at least.
Of course, her moment of sleep did not last long.
Samantha felt rough hands started to shake her awake after about an hour of sleeping.
"Get up." Crane's stern voice had spoken. He started to shake her hard with his palm placed firmly on her shoulder.
The girl opened her eyes and was greeted with the sight of the irritated man. His light colored eyes examined her weak form with slight interest.
She just stared back and shivered at how close Crane was to her. His face was inches apart from her, searching for something. Her heart began to race.
After a few seconds, Crane grabbed her arm and pulled her up off the floor. She stood up with him, trying to compose herself.
"You're going to hurt me again, aren't you?" She spoke feeling weak. Samantha accepted the fact that Crane was now in control.
"No." He answered her back as he held her fragile wrist in his hand. She felt a twinge of relief wash over her.
She wondered what he wanted with her now. Was he going to experiment on her again?
"Where is my note book?" He asked her dangerously as he grabbed her chin. Her relief was gone and she was on edge again as she saw the anger flash in his eyes. He really thought that she had taken his note book? "I won't hurt you, if you just give it back to me."
"It is…on the floor." She stuttered and motioned her head to its location. He let go of her chin and walked over to the object.
He calmly picked it up and put the note book into the pocket of his pants.
She thought he would leave, but she was sadly mistaken.
Instead, he walked back to her and grabbed her by the arm again. He pulled her by his side as he walked to the door.
Was he taking her somewhere? She thought as he opened her door to the hallway. The light blinded her for a bit and she looked at Crane questioningly.
He looked back at her wordlessly and then walked her out into the hall. She was a bit reluctant to follow him, which only made him more irritated.
"Let's go." He yanked her arm as he took quick strides in the hall. She struggled to keep up with his fast pace. He was practically sprinting.
Soon, after Crane had nearly dragged her down the hallway, they had reached their destination. It was a door similar to the one Samantha had found when she was trying to escape. The door had a similar gargoyle perched above its metal frame. The thing looked like a bad omen as it faced down at her. Samantha took it as a bad sign.
Crane opened the door quickly and pulled her along inside. He turned on a light switch and then closed the door back up.
Samantha was confused. Why did he bring her here?
Almost as if he had just read her mind, the man turned around to her and spoke.
"You're lucky that I am showing you some mercy, Samantha." He said as he began walking towards her. She was becoming frightened of his presence again. "Normally, I wouldn't keep an experiment for as long as I have kept you."
She knew that was most likely true. It was expected that he would try to get rid of his 'experiments' as quickly as possible to avoid getting caught.
"However, since you show such an interest in my work, I suppose that you can be of use to me for a little longer." He said as he looked in her eyes searching for a reaction.
Oh, great! She thought sarcastically. She wished that he would just let her go. Hadn't he tortured her enough?
He caught a glimpse of her displeasure and smiled a bit.
"What's wrong? Isn't this what you had wanted?" He asked tauntingly. "I thought that you had interest in me? Or has your time with me dissuaded your interest?
She didn't answer him because she was lost in her thoughts. Somewhere deep inside, she could still feel the need to find more information. There was curiosity that was building inside her again…but now part of her questioned whether she should follow her curious instincts. It always seemed to get her in trouble.
She never could seem to keep her nose out of places where it didn't belong.
Yes, she still held an interest in this man, despite what he had done to her. However, now she was getting wary of trusting her instincts. Was the chance to acquire information really worth it? Did she really want to know anything about this man?
The answer came to her as a definite yes.
Her instincts were telling her that she needed to find out more about him. After all, she still didn't know why Crane had kidnapped her in the first place…and strangely she felt that it had something to do with her mother.
She had to figure it out.
While she was thinking, Crane looked at her with interest. He studied her as she was deep in thought.
"Interesting…You seem to have a strong thirst for knowledge." He spoke more to himself than to her.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by his voice and returned her attention back to him. Her need to obtain information was growing. She knew that he wanted her for something more than to just become his experiment. Why else would he continue to keep her alive?
He had even decided to bring her into a nicer room. She could even tell that the room had a bathroom at her far right. Was he actually being kind to her?
No, that wasn't possible. Crane was not the type to be kind. Her mind told her as she was about to open her mouth to ask him why he had moved her here. However, he had already beaten her to it.
"You want to know why I brought you here." He grinned down at her.
"Yes." She confirmed timidly, surprised that he already knew what she was about to say.
"Well, I thought that would be obvious. You're here because I have decided to keep you longer." He continued as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "You will be staying in this room for now on."
"What?" She muttered in confusion, baffled that he was placing her in a nicer room.
"Yes, Samantha. You will be staying in my room for the time being so I can keep a close eye on you." He said in slight amusement of her reaction.
The girl remained frozen, shocked by what Crane was telling her. She couldn't speak.
Crane just continued to hold her chin and firmly pulled her head back to look him in the eye.
"Don't think that this changes anything, Samantha. I am only keeping you alive because I still need to use you for my experiments." He spoke dangerously in her ear as his hand on her shoulder tightened.
Her body began to get tense, sensing Crane's growing anger. Fear started to grip her again as she wished that he wouldn't get this close to her.
"You will not escape me again." He snarled angrily into her ear and she trembled at his voice.
His hand slid off her shoulder and he turned calmly away from her shaken form. Crane walked quickly out the door without another word, leaving Samantha to her suffering.
Samantha just continued to stand there as she felt a horrible sensation crawl down her spine.