Chapter 3

The first thing Chase became aware of was that he could barely move. His legs felt very heavy and his arms were behind his back. He couldn't move them. A sharp pain in the back of his head drew his attention. It felt like he was reliving his worst hangover ever. He wanted to cradle his head in his hands and streak away his hair, but still, his arms refused to work. Slowly, he opened his eyes and tried to see where he was, but his mind was working very slowly and nothing seemed to make sense.

Chase was sitting on the floor, his legs stretched out in front of him, as if useless. His hands were behind his back and were tide together. The room he was in was half dark. One small lamp that stood on a low table threw its yellow light into every corner of the room. There was only one small window which gave Chase the opportunity to see the nearly black sky filled with stars. No moon was visible.

And then the memories came back. He remembered talking to Cameron. Fear filled his mind and he quickly looked around him but she was nowhere to be found. It didn't reassured Chase though. He could only hope she was safe.

Chase closed his eyes again and took in a deep breath. He forced himself to remember what had happened. He had walked to his car and then someone had called out to him.

Chase's eyes fluttered open as he remembered again. A man had attacked him, had probably given him chloroform or another sedative. Chase tried to move his arms again but he was still unable to do so. A thick rope held his wrist together. Again, panic overwhelmed him, but this time, it was about his own safety. He pulled his knees up against his chest and he rested his head on them. He had to stay calm, he had to think clear.

A door that Chase hadn't seen before opened and the man who had attacked him entered. He was holding a chair which he placed underneath the small window, the opposite of Chase. Then the man just sat down, watched his prisoner for a moment and then sighed.

Chase, feeling very uncomfortable and scared, went sitting up with a straight back, and to his surprise, he stayed fairly calm.

'Normally,' the man began, 'I don't do this.'

Chase didn't answer and just kept watching the man's every move.

'But when I saw you,' the man continued, 'I just had to!'

The man shifted his weight, now leaning towards Chase, his elbows resting on his knees. Only now Chase realised how small this room was. But he stayed calm. The last thing he wanted to do was make this man mad.

'The way you spoke to her, the way you made her smile again… What gives you the right?'

Chase couldn't follow the man anymore. Who was he talking about? Her…a female…Cameron? That just didn't make sense. The man didn't see Chase's confusion and just went on.

'Lauren is a very, very special girl,' the man said, 'that's why I chose her.'

Chase started to understand the situation he was now in but that knowledge didn't reassured him.

'I made her,' the man continued, 'and then I had to watch you destroy her. How would you feel if I destroyed one of your masterpieces?'

Chase had the sudden urge to crawl back but the wall prevented that. That man was crazy and Chase had no idea what to expect next. He wasn't a psychologist after all. He didn't know how to react to a sudden outburst of rage; he just didn't know how to keep himself safe.

'Wouldn't you get angry? Wouldn't you get absolutely furious?'

Chase swallowed heavily and kept watching every small movement the man made.

'Answer me!' the man yelled.

Chase's heart made an extra jump and the little hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He had to answer the man but he had no idea if his voice still worked.

'Yes, I guess I would be mad.' Chase answered in a low voice that was barely more then a whisper. But he felt relief though; at least his voice still worked!

'That's what I thought. Everybody would get angry and even the always so calm doctor Robert Chase would.' he smiled.

Hearing his name come out of that man's mouth made Chase panic a little. This man knew who he was, what else did he know? How did he know? How did he know he had spoken to Lauren? How come he knew she smiled so much?

'All of this,' the man said, 'I did in an impulse. You, I took in an impulse. Lauren, the others, them; I chose. I watched them. I love them. But now I'm unable to love Lauren because you ruined her.'

The more the man spoke, the more Chase knew that he was crazy, delusional. He thought he loved those women, that he had made them by raping them and than he therefore owned them.

'I'm not going to let that happen again. Nobody will ruin my girls, I'll make sure of that.'

The man leaned back again and Chase felt like he could breath more freely now. But he still felt a little claustrophobic in here and that surprised him. He normally wasn't scared of small rooms at all, but in here, it was suddenly all he could think about.

'You'll have to make me a promise, Robert,' the man nearly whispered, 'Can you make me a promise?'

Chase was still overcome with fear. Fear for the crazy man. Fear of this little room. Fear for his own safety. It was all he could think about and he tried to distract his mind, but that was impossible in here.

'Can you?' the man asked, his voice hard and loud again.

Chase's voice refused to work and he felt so helpless, so powerless. He tried clearing his throat but even that failed.

The man got angry and jumped up from his chair, knocking it onto the floor. He walked to Chase with 2 big angry steps and kneeled besides him. His hands grabbed Chase's hair and pulled his head roughly backwards, smacking it against the wall. A sharp pain threw of Chase's senses and for a moment he couldn't hear nor see nor feel. But it luckily all came back soon and Chase felt nauseous.

The hot breath of the man was quick and Chase knew he had pissed him of. The man grabbed something out of his pocket with his free hand but Chase was unable to see what. He then pulled up Chase's sleeve and gave him a quick but rather painful injection.

The pain and pressure of the needle made Chase aware of what was happening, but there was nothing he could do against it; his hands were still tide together.

His mind became fuzzy again and his body refused to take any orders. The man walked back to his chair, picking it up from the floor and then he sat down again. Chase's head fell backwards to the wall and he could see the man watching him closely.

'You'll promise,' he said, calm again, 'when I'm done with you, you'll promise.'