The Second Day

It was late morning. Kate was still asleep, curled up on the floor in the corner with the blanket covering most of her. Ethan leant against the opposite wall watching her. For the first time he really let his eyes wander over the length of her body. He took his time, looking her up and down slowly while she was unaware.

Kate awoke with a jerk and glanced around the room quickly. She was alone. She sat up and instinctively wrapped the blanket tighter around her. Cursing herself under her breath for falling asleep.

Then she saw it.

On the floor a short distance away sat a change of clothes. Kate glanced at the door with caution. She stood up, still holding the blanket around herself and went over to the pile. She looked up at the door again but there was still no sign of Ethan.

They were female clothes. They were not hers but she wasn't about to complain. The only thing he hadn't replaced was her shoes. She changed quickly. It felt good to be dressed in dry clothes again but she still felt disturbed by the thought that he had been in here while she was asleep.

By that afternoon Kate felt she was starting to go crazy. She couldn't stand being locked in, being trapped, being held prisoner. She hated that she had been caught. She felt uneasy about being alone, her body ached and she felt tired and thirsty.

Kate was sitting cross legged back in her corner when the door opened. She stood as Ethan came in. This time he walked right up to her and held out a bottle of water that looked suspiciously like one of the bottles from the camp. But at that moment she wasn't concerned about the water.

She stared at him in horror. Ethan's shirt was stained with blood and Kate doubted it was his own.

"What did you do?"

He ignored the question and instead grabbed her hand, shoving the bottle into it and turning his back on her to leave again. Kate felt numb with shock. Without realizing she was doing it, she followed him across the room.

"What did you do?" she repeated louder this time.

When he reached the doorway he stopped and turned around to face her again. "They're looking for you now." He said simply, again ignoring her question and then closed the door in her face.

Kate stood in stunned silence as her thoughts raced. Whose blood had it been? She numbly unscrewed the top off the bottle and took a shaky mouthful. Suddenly she didn't feel as thirsty as worry flooded over her instead. Who had it been?

Her gaze drifted back to the door. She felt like she was going to lose it. She put the bottle down and tried to take a few deep breaths to remain calm. She suddenly felt like she was going to be ill. Had somebody been hurt because they were out looking for her?

"You sick bastard! What did you do?" Kate yelled as loud as she possibly could.

Then with the strength she could muster Kate continued to yell, curse and scream. She swapped between shouting curses at Ethan and screaming for help. She ran to the door and began pounding on it with the flat of her hand. Even if she was wasting her time and her breath, Kate couldn't control herself and right now she didn't care.

Kate snapped out of it quickly and fell silent the moment she heard noises behind the door again. He was back. She backed up quickly just before the door flew open and Ethan strode in. He didn't look impressed. Kate stood her ground in the middle of the room and locked eyes with him as he approached.

When Ethan reached her he backhanded her across the face, hard enough to send Kate to the floor. She tried to sit up, but her head reeled and her vision blurred. To Kate it felt like her head had almost been taken off her shoulders.

He stood over her menacingly and for a moment she thought he was going to strike her again. Kate's eyes rolled back and she closed her eyes as she tried to stay conscious. He bent down and roughly rolled her over onto her stomach.

While she was laying face down too disorientated to fight back, he straddled her, grabbing her wrists and fastening them together behind her back. He leant over so he could whisper low by her ear.

"You disappoint me Kate."

When Kate next opened her eyes, she couldn't see anything. Ethan had blindfolded her again, but this time he had gagged her as well. She was back to lying face down on the hard floor in the dark.

Not again, not again, not again. She banged her forehead against the floor gently. He had taken away what freedom she had gained all because she had lost her self control. She was back to where she had started because she had panicked and become angry.

Kate could feel the tears begin to well up. Being locked in this room was already hell for her, but being restricted like this she felt was going to kill her.

The hours passed slowly and as difficult as Kate found it, she tried to remain as still and quiet as she possibly could. The side of her face ached and she had no sense of time. Sometimes she was able to sleep, but the rest of the time she could only lie there and be driven mad by the silence.