Chapter 13- I Remember...
She stirred slowly out of her thick sleep, it felt like she was trying to wade through cotton wool and her eyelids were heavy. The light which trickled in through the slits of her eyes made them throb and her head was beating with her pulse. She squeezed her eyes shut again as the pain tore through her body and her stomach flamed, her hands flew to her body and she hugged herself tightly.
Christine swallowed her fear and opened her eyes with caution, for a second they were half open and as they adjusted she observed that there was no one around, she opened them fully. In front of her was a large wardrobe and small fireplace. She was lying propped up by pillows in a bed and noticed that there were two seats across the room.
But nothing else.
The room was completely devoid of all personal effects and was dull except for the small amount of natural light that the one window to her left, allowed in.
Her eyes shifted to the door and she stared at it, judging what her next move should be. She had no idea where she was all she knew was that she had been unconscious all night and that she did not know where Raoul was. She also knew that she was in trouble. She stood carefully, and looked down at herself thanking the heavens that she was still fully clothed, including her shoes. She ached from head to foot and her body cried out to her to lie back down but she couldn't. She needed to get out, to see the police, to do something.
On tiptoes she made her way across the room towards the door and every time a floor board creaked so did her nerves. When she reached it she carefully placed her hand on the door knob and turning it she tried to pull it open. At the discovery that the door was locked her composure began to crumble and she fell against the wall, anguished and crying. But something caught her attention.
Her eyes darted to the window and her heart swelled with hope as she warily made her way over to it and as she peered out she realised that she had no idea where she was. She didn't recognise anything she saw outside. It was not a busy road, there were no people walking along it nor were there any obvious landmarks. Just a few trees and a few buildings and slowly her hope began to diminish.
Then she glanced down and realised that unless she were to drop and risk herself further injury and maybe death, there was no way she could escape through this exit. She wiped her face with her hand as she detected sweat beads forming on her brow. She was truly trapped, she was a prisoner of one of those men and there was no way to break out. She walked back over to the bed and sat down, wincing as she did and bringing her hands to hold her stomach. The burning had not stopped and now, along with the pain, she felt sick at the thought that she would die. And that Raoul was already gone.
She didn't understand what had happened but she remembered it vividly. She had been awoken by noises from the front of the house and at first thought perhaps the servants were finishing cleaning. When the footsteps began on the stairs she had started to become frightened and before she had known it there was a tall man at her door. He had said nothing as he grabbed her hair and pulled her from her bed. He had literally dragged her, struggling, down the stairs and her body had bounced off every single step. She remembered being dropped in the entrance and then the man had kicked her in the stomach. She recalled watching the man walk away only to be shown Raoul bound and bloody with a knife at his neck.
She shuddered at the recollection of the blood coating his clothes and of the horrific fear spread across his handsome face. The floor was cold and harsh on her soft skin and her stomach was hurting but she knew that she had needed help. She remembered that she had somehow managed to bring herself back to her feet and with some miracle found the ability to run. And run she had, out of the door, down the front steps and along the street in an overwhelming haze. It was dark and the fog was thick and she hadn't really known where she was running to but she had made it to an alleyway before stopping. How foolish it had been to stop, she thought. She had been caught and now she did not know where she was or what had happened but…
That voice.
Before she had passed out she had heard the man speak and she may have dreamt it but she thought she recognised it.
And as the notion flooded her aching brain she looked once more around the room and right ahead of her was a mirror almost completely covered with a blanket.