"Where am I?" she wondered aloud to herself.
"Hell."
Leila's heart jumped into her throat at the sound of that voice. She stumbled backwards and bumped into what she assumed to be a chair.
"My apologies, Miss Orlando. Did I frighten you?" He chuckled.
"I'm as good as blind in here," Leila managed to mutter through her fear. "At least turn on the light."
His reply came in a purr. "No, I think I'd like to keep it off." Footsteps. Those rhythmic footsteps she had heard entering her room. Her body tensed as she felt his firm grasp on her arm, and she flinched as his thumb came to rest over a gash in her flesh. "Sometimes I like to see how animals manage without the use of their eyes," he continued. He began to brush her wound with his thumb. "I like to see their other senses put to use." He released his hold on her arm and walked behind her. Within seconds, there was a blindfold over her eyes. She shut them tightly as she felt the knot tied behind her head. The fabric was warm and slightly wet. Tears of fright and frustration pushed their way through Leila's lids and dampened the blindfold further.
"Just in case," he whispered, adding that despicable chuckle to his statement. "Anyway. These animals. They have to use their other senses, as I said. Like their sense of smell." She felt her body heat rise to her neck and cheeks as he pressed his nose against her hair and inhaled. She stood perfectly still, even when she felt his hot breath in his ear as he whispered, "Their sense of hearing." He paused. She could feel him draw back slightly. "Their sense of taste." He placed his forfinger on her lips and pried them open. He quickly slid his finger along the edge of her tongue, then took it back again. She frowned in disgust, the taste of sweat and mud lingering in her mouth. She wanted to spit on the ground, at his feet, but she controlled herself out of fear and forced herself to listen to his voice. "And touch." She heard a soft chime, and then cried out in pain as he deepened the cut in her arm, slowly sliding a knife through her flesh, and then withdrawing it again.
"Are you learning yet?" he asked softly. She opened her eyes under the blindfold, releasing more tears that remained trapped behind the blindfold, stinging her eyeballs. "Are you learning yet?" he repeated, placing emphasis on each word. She would not reply. She couldn't. "You're waiting for me to yell, aren't you?" he asked her. She heard his footsteps as he circled her again. He stopped directly in front of her. "Well I won't. At least not now. Trust me, Miss Orlando." He placed his hands on her shoulders and flung towards the chair. She bumped up against it, but without her sense of balance, she fell straight to the floor. He continued. "You'll never know what to expect from me. I know what information you hold about what I do. I assure you, you won't escape with it." He gave her a small kick, and she drew in her breath harshly in pain. After a few seconds, she heard the sound of his footsteps grow fainter, followed by a door being opened and then shut very quietly once again.
