Stockholm Syndrome [The Cheshire Cat & Zaira]

[Nad]

With her hands still shaking, James stopped his truck. He needed to calm down and get his job done. Of course, it's easier said than done while having two bodies on the trunk of your truck. It was one of those times that you would do anything to go back in time, but you know it's not possible so, after a long moment of regrets, you stand up and face your problems. It took him 17 minutes to James to stand up and exit his trunk.

According to every movie he had seen, everything was going well. He had a pair of gloves on, it was already dark and he had found a place in the woods where no one would ever go unless he was hiding bodies. For the moment, no one had seen anything, he had no witnesses, and he kept telling himself that it was the most important thing. If no one could prove it, it would be as if it didn't happen. But it did, and he needed to start digging a big hole before something went wrong. He took the shovel from the trunk, trying to ignore the dead bodies on the plastic bags, and started to get his job done.

It took him about 30 minutes to finish digging the grave they would share. Well, the next thing should be a lot easier, but it was the most disgusting one. He grabbed the first body and threw it inside the big hole. With the second one, anyway, he had a little problem. Doing a tough movement, the plastic bag tore apart and the body fell to the floor. James sighed and picked it up once again. Well, that one was going without any bags. He just grabbed it and dragged it inside the hole. The sigh James released that time was in relief, because he only needed to cover the hole and everything could be forgotten. Anyway, he heard a noise that made him froze for a second. He desperately look for the source of it as soon as he could move.

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

As the sun started to set, Madeline glanced at the clock and gasped. Damn he's probably closed by now, she thought to herself, she must have lost track of time. She grabbed her bag and headed outside, she glanced at her car but decided to walk. Her house was just outside of town, and it backed onto the local woods. If she cut through the woods, she could be to town in fifteen minutes instead of thirty.

She had decided to get a tattoo, and luckily there was a great tattoo shop right in town. She had seen the artwork in the window every time she walked by, and she'd finally gotten up the courage to get one. She had meant to go this morning but she hadn't paid attention to the clock, so now she was kicking herself. She didn't know what time it closed, but she was hoping she might still be able to catch him.

She headed straight into the middle of the woods, and then turned left. She wandered through the trees, she was always exploring in here so she wasn't worried about getting lost. After a few minutes, she ended up on an old overgrown path. She had discovered it one afternoon, she followed it and found that it came out exactly on main street. As far as she was aware no one else knew about it, and she kind of liked it that way.

After she got about halfway, she thought she heard something. She looked through the trees and caught a glimpse of color, I guess other people do know about it. As she got closer she saw a large truck parked in a clearing, and there was some guy trying to get something out of it. She frowned and stopped for a moment, god why can't he just take his rubbish to the tip!? Is he that cheap he has to dump it in the woods!? She couldn't stand litterbugs so she headed towards him, intent on giving him a piece of her mind.

When she was just a few feet away, she recognized the guy. That's the guy who owns the tattoo parlor, what is it Jack? No that's not right, Jimmy? She had seen him occasionally when she passed his shop, but she'd never actually met him. She remembered seeing his signature on the artwork, so she knew it started with J. James that's it! She smiled for a second, he's here how lucky is that?

She started to call out to him, but then she saw the hole. She looked at the vague shadowy shape inside the hole, is that...? No it can't be. She looked back up at him, just in time to see the second body fall to the ground. She froze and stared at the dead man, her mind was horribly blank. She never took her eyes off him, it was like she was hypnotized.

When she saw James drop the body in the hole, she heard that awful thump. She knew this was really happening, he was burying actual people. She raised a hand to her mouth, and gasped before she could stop herself.

 

[Nad]

Turning around to look for the source of the noise, he spotted a figure standing right there, looking at him. W-What the hell was she doing there, all alone, in the middle of the woods? She had definitely see at least one of the corpses, it could be easily noticed on her face. That made James petrify in fear. Certainly, he did not want to go to jail or worst, be killed by that asshole followers. So, even though his body wasn't responding normally, he forced his mind to think about something.

The first thing that went through his mind was killing her. It wouldn't be that hard, because she was completely alone and looked harmless. And, as she didn't even have a car with her, she wouldn't be easily located. He might just walk free from that. But... what the hell? Why on earth was he thinking about killing an innocent woman just to save his ass? He couldn't believe he was already thinking as a criminal. Anyway, it only took him a few seconds to discard that idea; he wasn't adding any more corpses to the hole he dug. The next thing he considered was doing nothing. Maybe he could let her go, and leave the country before anyone find him. But with that plan, he would live the rest of his life in fear and running away. Prison and death sounded even more tempting. Finally, he decided he should find a way to prevent her from talking and not killing her. Yes, that was perfect for both of them. But... how? Well, he could figure that out later. Right now, he needed to make sure she wouldn't get away.

Analyzing the situation didn't take him much time, and luckily, she was still standing there, as terrified as he was. James closed his eyes for a second and sighed, relaxing. He forced a friendly smile from his face and raised his hands, showing her he wouldn't do anything, showing her he was unarmed. The man took a step closer to her, keeping his expression as friendlier as he could. Maybe, if he didn't look as a threat, she might stand there still in shock and he may grab her. The only thing he actually had on him was his murder weapon: a kitchen knife, which was on his back pocket. He could use it to threaten her and take her somewhere where he could clear his thoughts, it shouldn't be that hard. Hoping she wouldn't run away, he took another step. At that moment, he realized he knew her. He wasn't sure of her name, but he knew he saw her a couple of times previously. He was completely screwed. "Hey, I'm James, remember me? I think you are confused of what you saw, just let me explain you." said, as casual as he could. He didn't care about telling her his name, because she probably already knew it by then.

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

Madeline could do nothing, when he turned to look at her she just froze. She had never been so afraid in her life, but she felt oddly detached. It was like she was watching a movie, she felt sluggish and numb. Is this what it feels like to be in shock? She wondered vaguely.

For what seemed like an eternity they just looked at each other, she wanted to run or yell but she couldn't. It was like she was paralyzed, and she just couldn't seem to snap out of it. Her mind was screaming at her to get away, to run as fast as she can. It seemed unimportant though, like those thoughts belonged to someone else.

She watched as he closed his eyes and sighed, what is he doing? She saw him smile and hold up his hands, they were empty. She didn't even notice when he stepped closer, she was to busy looking at his face.

"Hey, I'm James, remember me? I think you are confused about what you saw, just let me explain it to you." She felt instantly relieved, his voice was calm and friendly. Of course it's just a mistake. Its dark and I'm just seeing things, this can't really be happening. He's probably just playing a prank on someone, and those are just mannequins.

Another part of her knew that was bullshit, he had murdered those men. They were real and he was dumping their bodies in the woods, in a shallow grave. This thought was to horrible for her to deal with, so she tried to convince herself that she was hallucinating.

She started to say something, when she noticed his sleeve. It had a large dark smudge on it, after a moment she realized it was dried blood. Yes it is and in case you didn't notice he's getting closer. If you don't get away now Maddy your blood will be on his shirt as well, and you can join those men in that grave. That snapped her out of the trance she'd been in, when he took another step towards her she turned and tried to run.

 

[Nad]

She may had been in shock, but she was still not stupid. Of course he was only acting, and she could see through that and started running. Luckily, the few steps he could take made the distance between them shorter, and she was only a few meters away from her. It shouldn't take him long to catch her, so he started running after her right away. Anyway, she ran faster than he expected and, even if he was slowly making the distance shorter, he didn't want to get really far. He finally caught her by getting himself in between some trees, which was a little shortcut.

With the speed they were going, he could only lunge at her to stop her. With that movement, they both fell to the floor, but he managed to rotate in the air so that he would receive the impact with the floor on his back. For the second time in his life and that day, all the hours he spent working out were useful for something else than showing off. He sat up in the floor, keeping her trapped into his arms. He was probably already feeling worse for attacking like that that woman, even though he took most of the damage, than killing those two men on his apartment. And yet, he was feeling like crap for doing the latter.

"Listen to me. I'm not going to hurt you unless you don't give me another choice, okay? You'll come with me but everything will be fine. We'll find out a way so that the both of us can easily walk away from this." told her, with a calm voice. Of course, he was just bluffing about hurting her, because he was certainly a man who would never touch a woman. But he had no other choice right then. He stayed holding her for a moment, seeing her reaction. He hoped she wouldn't struggle much, because he certainly would hate himself if he had to threaten her with a knife.

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

Madeline ran as fast as she could, she was having trouble seeing and didn't want to run into a tree. She heard him chasing after her so she turned sharply, trying to throw him off her trail. She glanced behind her to see how close he was, but he wasn't there. She turned back and suddenly he was beside her, how did he do that!?.

She yelped as he lunged at her, she tried to avoid him but she wasn't quick enough. He grabbed her as they fell, and twisted around so that he was holding her from behind. Even though he took the main impact from the fall, it still knocked the wind out of her. She laid still for a minute, as she tried to get her breath back. Once he sat up, she tried to free herself. Her arms were pinned at her sides, she tried to free them but she couldn't. He was incredibly strong, and she couldn't struggle free.

"Listen to me. I'm not going to hurt you unless you don't give me another choice, okay? You'll come with me but everything will be fine. We'll find out a way so that the both of us can easily walk away from this." She stopped moving for a moment, yeah I'm sure you wouldn't. She didn't believe that at all, but maybe if she just acted like she did he'd let go of her. If he did that, then she had another shot at escape. She'd head deeper in the woods and lose him, then she could double back and get into town.

She tried to turn her head and look at him, "okay i won't fight." She tried to sound weak and trusting, "but let go of me a little." "I can't breathe."

 

[Nad]

"Sure, I'm... I'm sorry." told her, applying less pressure on her, but still holding her. He wasn't sure if she was only acting, or she was serious. Anyway, he could only hope for the second choice. He sighed and wondered what the hell was he going to do next. Luckily, she was relatively smaller than him and wouldn't be hard to control her with his physical strength, but he couldn't even be distracted for a second. And, what if she had some kind of weapon with her? A pepper spray or something? Everything was too risky and yet, he had no other choice.

He slowly stood up, making her copy his movements, as he held her by one of her wrists and her waist. He wasn't applying much pressure, but was alert enough to do it if she tried to escape. Holding a woman like that, against her will, made him thing as the biggest rubbish on earth, as if he was some kind of psycho or raper. He just hated it. "We'll go back to the truck, ok? Keep your other hand where I can see it, and don't try anything silly." said, as he took a step to start walking. They would need to coordinate in order to walk that way, so he waited for her.

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

"Sure, I'm... I'm sorry." Well he may be a murderer but at least he has manners, the absurdity of this thought almost made her laugh. Once he loosened his grip, her first instinctive reaction was to try and break free. She managed to resit it though, she'd have to have perfect timing. If she tried while he was still alert, he'd only catch her again and then she'd never get another chance.

She copied his movements and stood up with him, she was encouraged by how lightly he was holding her. However she knew he could very easily tighten his grip the moment she tried anything, and his hand was around her waist which meant she wouldn't be able to get loose. So for now she would cooperate, but she had no intention of getting into his truck.

When he took a step forward, she started to walk to avoid him bumping into her. "Keep your other hand where I can see it, and don't try anything silly." Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't be able to reach into her purse without him seeing. It didn't matter anyway since the only thing in it that remotely resembled a weapon were her keys, and unless she could somehow stab him in the eye they weren't going to be much help.

She tried to think about her escape, the best time would be when he'd be trying to get her in the truck. If she could make him believe she was cooperating, maybe he'd let his guard down and she could surprise him.

 

[Nad]

They started walking, and he was constantly waiting for any kind of attempt to escape, but she didn't do anything. It was a big relief for him that she wasn't doing it any harder. Being a kidnapper wasn't something he was excited about, and hurting her would make it much worse. They finally get to the truck, which was right next to the still opened grave and he sighed. What was he doing with her right now? She could easily get out of the truck if she left her there, and he needed to finish his job before leaving. And, unfortunately, he didn't have a closed trunk. Oh, well, he did have a rope somewhere in there at least. He could tie her tightly to the seat and it should be enough.

When he approached to the trunk, he closed his hand a little harder around her wrist and released her waist. Maybe it was a little risky, but she didn't look exactly as a thread. She was pretty smaller than him and seemed to be scared enough to not try anything. Extending his free arm, he looked for the rope, and didn't take long to find it. He then turned to meet her and, after a few steps, told her to get inside the passengers seat. His hands were busy enough to even open the door.

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

Madeline walked along with him easily, she was still waiting for the right moment. Once they arrived at the truck, she tensed a little. She turned her head, so she wouldn't have to see the grave. She didn't want to see those poor men again, once was enough forever.

When he let go of her waist, she almost tried to run then but she didn't. His other hand was clamped on her wrist so tightly, it felt like he was crushing her bones. She thought that just maybe she'd be able to pull free, but she doubted that even if she did she wouldn't be able to without a struggle. If they struggled then she wouldn't have a head start, and without a head start there's no way she'd escape.

When she saw him go to the trunk, she was petrified. She thought he was reaching for his murder weapon, and when he found it he was going to kill her too. She almost tried to run despite his grip, but then she saw that he was holding a rope. She breathed a small sigh of relief, she had been expecting a knife. Was he going to strangle her? No he had stabbed or shot the men, she hadn't gotten a close enough look to tell which.

When he told her to get in the truck, she felt hope for a moment. If he was going to kill her too, wouldn't he just do it here? She didn't think he would risk taking her somewhere else to do it, or at least she hoped. She hesitated a moment longer, studying his face. She decided she'd just have to do as he said, at least for now. She didn't think she was in any immediate danger, so she turned and open the door.

She climbed in carefully, keeping her arm extended so he could keep hold of it. She turned her head to look at him, "can you please let go of my wrist now?"

 

[Nad]

He stood blocking the car door, making it impossible for her to leave from that door. Of course, she could try to jump and exit through the driver's door, but she would take too long and Jake would simply grab her once again. With her inside, he released her. Maybe he was grabbing her wrist a little too strong... but he was kidnapping her, so he shouldn't be so soft about hurting her a little, right? Sighing in frustration, he took the knife from his back pocket and cut the rope. He left a pretty long piece and a shorter one. He put his knife back at his back pocket after it.

"Your hands?" asked her and tied them afterwards. He left them pretty loose at first, but sighed and tighten them a little more. Maybe a little too much. After making a good knot on it, he grabbed the long rope and put it around her as much times as he could. He finished his work with another knot. This time, the rope wasn't too tighten, because as it was around her abdomen, it could actually take out her respiration. Anyway, he made sure it was a really good knot. "I'll be right back. Don't move." told her, and thought it may had sound as some kind of joke. He didn't mean to do it that way, but of course she wouldn't move. As he closed the door, he headed towards the whole, ready to cover it.

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

Madeline sat quietly, she had thought about trying to get out the other door. However she wouldn't be able to get out quickly enough, so she just sat still. She had no idea what she was going to do, for the moment she'd just have to trust that he wouldn't hurt her.

She jumped and flinched back when she saw him pull out the knife, but she relaxed when she saw he was just cutting the rope.

"Your hands?" She held them together, out in front of her. When he tied them, she noticed he'd left it a bit loose,. She hoped he wouldn't notice, but he suddenly tied them tighter. She grimaced for a moment, it was really tight. She looked away and lifted her hands out of the way, when he started to tie the longer rope around her waist. He tied it tight enough so she couldn't get free, but thankfully he left it loose enough so she could still breathe normally.

When he told her not to move, she glared at him coldly. Ha Ha very funny you murderer, she thought to herself angrily. Once he closed the door, she tried to think of what to do. She didn't know where he was going to take her, but she'd have to find a way to either escape or get some help. She wondered how long it would take for someone to report her missing, it'd probably be at least a a few days.

She closed her eyes when she heard him covering the hole, the sight of those poor men made her feel sick.

 

[Nad]

After making sure to clean his prints from the knife, he threw it together with the bodies and covered everything. It didn't take him longer than 15 minute, but he hoped the woman on his car wouldn't have enough time to do anything. After making sure everything looked normal, he went back to his truck and entered through the driver's door. Once in there, he looked at her and made sure the rope was still enough tightened.

"I'm taking you somewhere safe now, okay? Don't try to warn anyone about this or escape in any way, and we'll both be just fine. Seriously, you don't want me using something to cover your mouth because I don't think it would be pleasant." warned her, sounding as serious as he could so that she would listen. "Oh, and excuse me." said before approaching to her and taking her purse from her. He looked inside, checked if there was something to worry about and took her phone out. Knowing that someone may track it down, he removed the chip from it and destroyed it with some scissors. He left the purse at his side afterwards.

Looking at her under the light of the truck made him even more sure that he had seen her face. He talked to her once again, curious about that, right after turning the engine on. "Do I know you?"

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

Madeline waited quietly, trying to think of a way out of this. When she heard him come back to the car, she opened her eyes and watched him get in. She tried to keep her face blank, she didn't want to piss him off. "I'm taking you somewhere safe now, okay?" She wondered exactly where this safe place was, and what was going to happen once they got there.

"Seriously, you don't want me using something to cover your mouth because I don't think it would be pleasant." She shivered a little and looked away, no she definitely didn't want that to happen.

She turned back when he spoke again, she leaned away from him as he took her purse. What's he looking for? If i had anything, i would have already used it. She was surprised when she saw him holding her phone, i can't believe i forgot that was in there! She watched as he removed her sim card and destroyed it, but she noticed that he didn't do the same with her phone. If i can get a hold of it, i can still call the police. She saw him put it next to him, and then she looked away hoping he wouldn't notice she'd been staring at it.

"Do i know you?" She turned to look at him, she was surprised he remembered her face. After all she'd only seen him a few times, and she'd never actually spoken to him. "No but I've walked past your store a couple of times." She glanced out the window, "that's where i was heading actually." She spoke softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

 

[Nad]

He was driving to his house. It wasn't exactly a safe place, but it was the only place he could take a hostage. His basement should work fine for a short time, until he figures out what to do with her. Anyway, he started thinking what could he figure out. There was no way to ever make sure that she wouldn't talk about what she saw, so what were his options? Maybe, disappear? Yeah, that could work. He could keep her until he finds a way to leave the country, and then let her go. Well, that wasn't bad for a starting plan.

When he heard her answer, he felt terrible. How could he not remember her? Of course, he never even talked to her, but he thought about it. She had a beauty that called his attention several times, but he just couldn't stop her in the middle of the street to talk to her or ask her out. So he didn't and simply glanced at her through the window. And now, he was kidnapping her. That woman was on her way of getting a tattoo and, instead of being there to make it, he was killing two men and now kidnapping her. James sighed in frustration.

"I know it won't change anything, but I really wish I could make a tattoo on you instead of doing this." answered without taking his look from the route. It didn't take them long to arrive to his house, so he parked the truck and exited. Opening the passenger's seat, he realized he threw his knife and wouldn't be able to untied her. He sighed and closed the door once again, hurrying inside to get something. Luckily, it was already completely dark and he didn't have nocturnal neighbors, so nothing should go wrong with leaving her for 2 minutes.

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

She kept her gaze out window, she was trying to work out where they were. They hadn't been driving long, so they couldn't have gotten very far. Nothing looked particularly familiar though, and it was too dark for her to see much. Looking at the road, she figured they had to be on the south side of town. She hadn't been in this part of town before, but she didn't think it'd be too hard to find her way back.

She silently berated herself, you just had to get a tattoo didn't you? You couldn't have just driven there, no you had to cut through the woods at night. She knew that this wasn't helping her, but she couldn't help it.

She turned to look at him when he spoke, yeah i wish you were giving me a tat instead of kidnapping me as well, it's funny how we think the same. She thought sarcastically, she was surprised at the way she was thinking. She supposed that it was helping her cope, if she wasn't angry then she'd be panicking. If she panicked, then she could kiss any chance of escape goodbye.

When they came to a stop, she watched him get out and walk around to her side. When he opened the door, she looked at him patiently. When he closed the door again and started to walk off, she was a little confused. He must have buried the knife as well and strong as he is, i doubt he can untie these knots.

She looked around quickly, she could only see three houses. The one in the middle had to be his, so the others must be his neighbors. She thought about yelling for help, but all the lights were off in both houses. They both looked completely empty, the one on the right looked really run down. If she started calling out and no one was there, all she'd accomplish would be pissing James off.

She didn't know what to do, but as she was glancing out the window she remembered her phone. She turned to look for her purse, and was relieved to see that it was still sitting in his seat. She checked to make sure he was still inside, then she leaned over as far as she could and reached for her phone. She had to hold her breath as the rope cut into her, but she managed to grab it. With her hands tied holding it was awkward, but she could still dial it.

She was about to call 911 when she heard him coming back, she quickly slipped it into her back pocket. She slowly let out her breath, and then turned to look at him calmly as he approached.

 

[Nad]

He hurried to take a knife from his kitchen and went back to his truck. As he thought, she was exactly as he left her. After opening her door, James slowly approached to her, trying to let her know he wouldn't hurt her. He cut the rope that was around her waist, but didn't touch the one that held her hands together. "Let's go inside without running or screaming, ok?" said as he put his knife on his back pocket. He gently grabbed her arm to make sure he could catch her if she tried to escape, and gave her some space to stand up.

"Maybe you'll even like my home." told her with what tried to be a warm smile. He believed that if he treated her right, she would understand he didn't want to hurt her, and wouldn't desperately tried to do something to escape. But, still, he was alert to every one of her moves, and to their surroundings at the same time, just in case someone appeared.

He lead her to his front door. His house wasn't a great thing, but it was nice. It only had one floor and a basement, and it only had the necessary rooms, but it was well organized and clean. Luckily, none of his neighbors decided to take a nocturnal walk when he was taking her inside.

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

She waited anxiously as he approached the car, did he see me take my phone? When she saw the knife, she stiffened a little. She didn't believe that he was going to kill her at least not yet, but she still didn't trust him. She kept her gaze on the knife as he opened the door, she pulled away from him so he could cut the rope around her waist. When she was free she breathed a sigh of relief, he kept her hands bound but she had expected that.

When he told her not to run or scream, she nodded but didn't say anything. She was silently cheering, but her expression was blank. He didn't see me take it, now i just have to hope i get an opportunity to use it. She was worried about how much battery she had left, if she didn't get a chance to use it soon it would go flat and be worthless to her. After he took her arm, she got out of the truck and stood in front of him. As he led her to the house, she looked around intently for any sign of movement. Come on, isn't there anyone out here? She sighed quietly when no one showed up, looks like I'm not going to get out of this that easily.

She glanced at him briefly, like his home? She wondered what he was trying to do, was he really serious when he said he didn't want to hurt her? Or was he just trying to get her to cooperate until he could take care of her? She didn't know, but she allowed herself to hope it was the former. She nodded in response, then stood still while he opened the front door. She decided she'd just have to go along with him, and pretend to trust and like him. That way she could hopefully convince him to untie her hands, if he did that she'd have a much better chance of escape. Also it would be nice to just get them off, they were cutting into her skin a little.

Once they were inside, she was surprised to find that she did like his home a little. It looked small but everything was clean, and it was well decorated. The size made it feel cozy actually, i wonder if he decorated it himself. There were a few windows, but they weren't really an option. She turned to look at him, wondering what he planned to do with her.

"Are you going to tie me up again?" She hoped not but she guessed that was his plan, she didn't think he'd just let her roam around the house.

 

[Nad]

As soon as they went inside, he let her go and turned on the rest of the lights. At that point, letting her see his house wouldn't do any more damage. He rubbed his neck as he heard her question. "I don't know..." muttered, thinking about it. He didn't want to keep her tied the whole time, and besides he was taking her to the basement with no windows, so maybe it wasn't necessary. Anyway, he wondered if it would be better to act as if he knew what he was doing, but at that point it was already late.

"Anyway, we are going to the basement. It isn't exactly nice, but it's clean at least." said as he grabbed her arm once again and took her to the door to the basement. He turned the only lightbulb of the room on and lead her downstairs. His basement was pretty big, with a bunch of boxes piled up and some old furniture he didn't have room for. It was also dark, because the light wasn't enough, but as he said, it was clean, with the exception of some boxes covered in dust. He pulled a chair out in case she wanted to sit and he sat on the floor a few meters from it. There were many feelings going through his body that he couldn't control, so he just wanted to rest for a second. He was confused, ashamed, scared, frustrated and hopeless. How would he ever get out of that mess?

He laid his back at the wall and sighed. "What's your name?" asked her, glancing at her, as an attempt to relax a little bit.

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

She looked at him curiously, he doesn't know? It seemed like he didn't have any real idea of what he was doing, that made her feel better. If he was unprepared then he'd be easier to get away from, or at least she hoped so. His lack of a plan made her think that this was probably the first time he'd ever done something like this, so why had he killed those two then? She flinched a little when he suddenly moved forward to grab her arm, my nerves are shot.

Basement? Great the inspiration for millions of horror films, and the killer's favorite place. As they headed down the stairs, she looked around nervously. Thankfully she didn't see anything to worry about, it was cluttered and a little dusty but fairly clean. She looked at the light bulb apprehensively, it's glow was weak and it didn't illuminate very much. I hope it doesn't burn out, i don't want to be locked in here in total darkness. She watched him pull out a chair, and then sit against the wall in front of her. She relaxed once he sat down, she felt a bit better with him not so close.

She sat down on the chair carefully, mindful of her phone in her back pocket. She didn't want to accidentally push a button or something, if she did then James would hear it. She sat down and put her hands in her lap, thankfully her phone had been silent. She looked at the basement door longingly, but it was pointless. Even if she could catch him upreared, she wouldn't make it up the stairs and outside before he caught her. She looked around for other options, until he spoke. She turned back to him, she didn't really want to tell him though she didn't really know why. She had to tell him something however, and there was really no point in lying. "It's Madeline", she said softly.

She rotated her wrists a little, trying to loosen the rope. It was starting to cut in to her, and it was getting really uncomfortable. She looked at him pleadingly, "can you please untie this?" "Or at least loosen it a little?" She wasn't going to try anything, she just wanted the rope off.