Something about this felt... sloppy. Alaire couldn't put her finger on it, but she didn't feel as in danger as she ought to. And she knew that because as of late she was borderline insane with paranoia. But something was off.
After intimidating her the one time, the hooded man let her free from the chair but kept her on a chain like a dog. Another reason Alaire found this to be sloppy. It was like the hooded character couldn't decide to be evil or treat her more as a pet. She was fed and even given a pillow and blanket because it was freezing. He worried about her comfort?
Death didn't seem to be a factor in this scenario. She had to make a plan to escape. It was hard to plot when it was mostly dark in the room. She explored as far as the chain let her, but there was nothing to grab, no potential weapons or anything.
The door of the basement opened again. This time, the hooded man flipped the lights on. Alaire shielded her eyes, not accustom to brightness. She could hear his uneven breathing... no wait... crying? Was he crazy?
Her chains tugged, and she flinched, waiting for him to finally hurt her in some way, but then the chain went limp. She blinked a few times and saw that the chains had been removed.
"Go."
Alaire couldn't believe what she was hearing. Could it be a trap? His voice wavered, and he wouldn't look straight at her. His broad back faced her, almost like he was ashamed.
Alaire knew she should've run, taken the opportunity and bolted, but she had to know, "What?"
"I said... go. You can leave. Fly you fool."
Sarcasm? That's rich coming from the kidnapper.
"What did you do to Aaron?" she asked.
"Nothing."
"But... all this?"
"Yeah well, I changed my mind. I don't... want to do this anymore."
He couldn't have decided that before he stole her from her home? Again, something was eating at her from the inside, and for some reason, couldn't bring herself to run. She inched towards the door, making sure it wasn't a gimmick and he would come after her any second. Relief flooded her when she reached the stairs, and she turned back once, "Did something happen? You aren't with them... are you?"
"Them?"
"The cult?"
"No."
No? He could be lying. She started up the stairs, still in disbelief how easy this was. Alaire knew better than to not expect a trap, but nothing was in her way. Her fingers clenched together, why was this bothering her? She should go!
"What happened?" she called back downstairs. In her right mind, she should lock him in the basement, barricade the door, and call the police.
"I can't tell you, just go."
The disguised voice he practiced from before was gone. His voice was deep, but he sounded young. Still he hadn't moved from his spot, almost like he'd really given up like he didn't care what Alaire did. She wanted to kick herself, "If you aren't with them, then why do you have the recording from that night? How do you know Taylor?"
The man sniffled. Sniffled?
"You cared about her... right?" Alaire pressed.
"They gave me the recording. Told me no one else cared. Told me I could bring her justice... But I can't. I'm... sorry for what I did."
Alaire kept a safe distance at the top of the stairs. She was in a kitchen, a model kitchen. It looked too perfect and clean for anyone to actually live there.
"Why don't you turn them in then?" Alaire asked.
"I don't know who they are. But they knew me..."
"They knew to contact you because..." Alaire pondered.
The man finally turned around, Alaire braced herself, ready to run if she felt the need. He wasn't wearing a mask any longer, just the dark hoodie. Underneath were a pair of chocolate brown eyes and a stern handsome face. A young face...
It wasn't a perfect match, but his face looked very similar. Very similar to...
*****
"You ready?" Matthew pointed to Ethan. He was positioned closely to the snake, crouched and unmoving. Matthew readied the knife in his hand. They didn't have time to waste, according to Ethan, a creature could be coming for them at any moment. Ethan didn't explain, or couldn't, but whatever was behind the door Ethan arrived through was terrifying enough to really shake him. Matthew wasn't keen on waiting to see what it was.
If Matthew's prediction was correct, the key card they needed might be in the bowels of the snake. Considering the sadistic nature of this prison they were in, it only made sense. Genessee and Capri got ready for any rebounding, stationed on either side of the snake, but far enough that it wouldn't care about them.
Ethan pounced, right atop the snake's head. His hands firmly held the neck of the snake so the mouth was no longer a danger to any of them. The snake stronger than Ethan thought, but he was still able to steady himself. The snake's body flailed angrily.
"Alright, do it already!" Ethan said.
Matthew tried to straddle the thick scaly body, unfortunately, he didn't have the anatomy memorized, so he stuck the knife as close to the head as he could get and made a jagged cut as far as he could reach. The snake twitched.
"Gosh... put it out of its misery," Capri complained.
Ethan nodded, "Give me that."
Matthew tossed the knife to Ethan, and he stabbed it through the snake's head. He looked disgusted and anguished to do so, but once the snake stopped slithering, everyone was more at ease. Matthew pulled at the incision he made, feeling the slick stickiness of the snake's blood and muscles. The stomach was closer to the center, and a rectangle shaped object peered through the thin layer of the stomach's lining.
"I was right," Matthew made a face, "Here's the key to our freedom..."
He pulled out the key card, a piece of entrails dangled from one of the corners. Everyone looked away. Matthew shook it off and left the snake corpse to open the door. Luckily, even with the junk on it, the door automatically opened.
"This doesn't look like freedom," Matthew frowned.
Before them was a long dark tunnel. The walls were made of metal, and there was no sign of sunlight or an opening anywhere. That could only mean one thing.
"We aren't done here," Ethan groaned.
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