Devi sat motionless on the floor, slumped against the wall in Johnny's lounge. She hadn't yet managed to persuade Johnny to untie her hands and the rope was beginning to rub against her wrists, stinging her skin and causing her bones to ache. Her legs were sprawled out in front of her at odd angles as she stared expressionlessly into space, not focusing on the scene before her. Ironically, she had had no success in finding a knife, or any sharp implements for that matter throughout any of the accessible rooms in the house, try as she might. She supposed Johnny must have purposely hidden all of them, aside from the one he now carried with him.
She felt completely segregated from the rest of civilization; she had no idea of the current time, or how long it had been since she'd gotten here. After what could have been several minutes, yet felt like several hours, she was brought to her senses by a muffled sound. She raised her head and kept her ears alert. After much speculation, she discovered that it was coming from somewhere below her. She gradually rose to her feet, maintaining a sense of caution, and edged out of the door. She found herself in a hallway with various doors arranged along the walls, one at the end stood ajar. With a horrible sense of foreboding, she made towards it, reached slowly for the handle and stepped through.
She was greeted with a rather pungent smell, the nature of which she couldn't quite determine; it seemed as though the air around her was decaying, as well as everything it touched. She groped around for a light switch laboriously, owing to the restriction the rope had on her hands, yet was unsuccessful. She opened the door widely so that she could see a good few feet in front of her. She placed her hands against one of the walls, grimacing at the sight of the filth that enveloped them. She gradually descended the steps, arms outstretched though bound together, fingers feeling along the wall in order to steady herself. It was a somewhat excruciating task as her lack of arm movement forced her to creep slowly down the stairs, and she had to poke her feet around to be sure of the edges of each one.
When she was certain she had reached the bottom of the stairs, she stopped to examine her surroundings. She squinted, eyes not yet fully adjusted to the dim light. She could make out a fairly large room, the other side of which was a large doorway. The walls she had felt her way along had been cold to the point of causing the palms of her hands to ache terribly on top of the discomfort she already felt, so she supposed they were make out of stone, or perhaps brick. Cautiously, she paced the length of the room and peered through the doorway.
The light provided by the open door didn't stretch far enough for her to see anything beyond here. She remained still for several minutes, deliberating over whether to venture further into the depths of the basement. A faint rustling stirred her senses. She strained her eyes. Nothing, just blackness.
She was startled by a sudden moaning sound from amidst the darkness. By now her heart was pounding, threatening to break through her ribcage. Trying desperately to silence the heavy sound of her own breathing, Devi crept forward through the doorway. Against all sense, she called out, "Hello?" Though her voice only managed a faint whisper.
"Is somebody there? Please." Came a croaky reply.
"Y-yes… who is that?"
"He locked me down here! Please, it hurts so bad!" The voice sounded hysterical, it was difficult to tell whether it was male or female.
"Who? Johnny?"
"I don't know, I don't know! He's crazy! Please get me out of here! I can't bear the pain any longer!"
"I can't see? Where are you?"
"I'm over the opposite side of the room to you. Please I can't move. O god, I don't know why I'm still alive…" Devi could hear that the person's voice was sounding choked and hoarse.
"Hang on, hang on, I-"
Creak
"Was that you? Don't go, please!"
Panic-stricken, Devi lowered her voice to a frantic whisper, "No! I don't know! O God, I think someone's coming!"
"NO! Not him! No! I can't bear anything more! If he puts anymore hooks under my skin… Please get me out of here!"
"Sssh, I can't help you if he finds me.."
Devi could hear the victim's quiet sobs of despair. She was unsure if she could hear footsteps coming towards her from behind. She swiveled round, eyes still unable to function. Again she attempted to smoother the sound of her breathing by this time cupping her hands around her mouth.
She was taken by surprise from behind, an arm coiled itself around her waist and as she lowered her own arms to throw it off, another enclosed itself around her neck, forcing her chin upwards, and she felt a slight sting as a blade was held steadily to her throat.
"Don't move."
She knew it was him.
"I'd hate to inadvertently slit that pretty throat of yours."
"Who is this you've kept down here?"
"That does not concern you."
"Why are you doing this?"
"He must learn. The world is better off without him."
"What have you done to him? You're sick!" She winced as his fingers dug into a point just off center from her stomach.
"It would only distress you, now I want you to move slowly backwards and follow my lead back up the stairs. I'd strongly advise you not to loose your footing."