Chapter 11: CHAPTER ELEVEN

I dropped my bag on the ground and got closer to the man. Right as I was about to scream for help, I took a closer look at him, his face looking oddly familiar.

“Mr Alaric?” I asked in shock.

What was my boss doing out here in the middle of nowhere?

It was literally the border between two states and he wasn't in the bus with us and there was no sign of his car anywhere.

Did someone drop him here? I wondered

‘I hope I'm not about to become a suspect in an attempted murder investigation’ I thought to myself but I knew I needed to be sure he wasn't actually dead. I could see his chest moving a bit but it was obvious he was really weak.

I bent down to touch him and it was like a zap of electricity ran through my body.

I felt so weak and fell down on him, his skin warm to the touch.

“What is happening to me?” I whispered as I began to see dark spots in my vision, confused and weak at the same time.

I tried pulling away from him but he grabbed me and pulled me even closer and before I could say another word, I blacked out.

***

I woke up in a strange environment.

Strange because even though it looked like a hospital room, it had books all around it and there was a substance being passed into my blood with an IV.

It was a black color and I didn't have any idea what it was so I pulled it out quickly, fear making my heart beat frantically.

“Hey! Hey, don't do that!” Someone shouted from the door and ran into the room with a panicked look on their face.

“Who are you?” I asked in confusion, sitting up, “what is this place? What's happening?” I asked in panic and I could tears building up in my head.

“So many questions,” he said with a smile and came over to the IV stand. “Just let me strap this back, okay?”

“No!” I exclaimed loudly, “there's no way that is something good. Drugs aren't that color and you have to tell me where I am,” the tears were close to pouring out now.

He scratched his head in confusion.

“Okay, um, how do I explain this to you?”

“Start from the beginning?” I suggested, holding myself back from an impending panic attack.

My memory was finally rearranging itself and I remembered the last thing that happened to me and I mentally cursed myself for trying to leave Brooklyn. Who knows where I've ended up. What if it was the Mafia that kidnapped me? With my wonderful luck, it could be some cult trying to use me for their weird sacrifices.

“You passed out and we brought you here to help you heal,”

“There was literally an ambulance at my back, why didn't you take me to a normal hospital? And it still doesn't explain the black thing you were pouring into my body,”

“Ugh! This is so frustrating!” He grumbled and got up from the bed, “look, I'll just go get Kai, can't deal with this with an empty stomach,”

He walked out of the room to get whoever this Kai person was and I quickly got out of the bed and found my shoes and my bag on the ground and rushed for the door.

I pulled it and it opened, my heart beating in excitement.

I rushed into a very long corridor and there was a door at the end of it.

It was a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel movement and I began to run towards it.

Hopefully, I got out of here before the man went to get his accomplice.

As I ran, I prayed to the universe to please let me escape this strange situation.

I mean, if I was kidnapped, would they be treating me? So it was crazy when being kidnapped could be termed as normal.

My feet hit the tiles in quick succession and I reached the door in no time and I pulled at it.

It was locked.

“Of course, universe. Thanks for nothing,” I mumbled into the air and I turned around.

My mind went through so many things. What if I was in one of those institutions where they experiment on human beings? My body shook in revulsion.

Well, at least with this situation, I'll be able to escape my father's terrible plans.

Looking on the bright side has never been more difficult.

I walked back in the direction I'd run from and began checking if any of the doors would open.

It seemed the one I was locked in was the only one that was opened and I could feel the tears begin to make a comeback.

It was like a literal looney bin, a long passage with only one entrance and I was squat right in the middle of it.

There wasn't even anybody here anymore. Where had he gone?

“Hello?” I called into the empty space.

There was no response and I was terrified.

I took out my phone from my bag and like in a horror movie, my signals were off.

I went back to the room I'd woken up in and sat on the bed, sobs wracking my frame.

What was happening to me?

Each time I tried to have a better life, it always ended in chaos.

I began to feel every foul word that had been thrown at me all my life.

Maybe they were right.

I was indeed useless, a stain on the family’s perfect reputation, a waste of Earth's resources and it would have been better to train a rabid dog than to waste finances on giving me anything since it's all going down the drain.

I curled myself into a ball and began crying, each sob making my small frame shake.

“Aria?” I heard a familiar voice at the door and I jerked up immediately.

Could this whole situation get any stranger?

At that moment, I remembered how I got into this situation in clearer details

What was he doing in the middle of nowhere and why did I black out immediately when I touched him?

“Mr Alaric?” I answered, thinking this was a figment

of my imagination

“How are you doing?” He said and walked inside.

Definitely not a figment of my imagination.