Chapter 150 150

Chapter 150 150
SPADE

A sense of dread raised the hair at the back of my neck.
The moment the lights flickered, I sensed something strange— a subtle whiff of uncertainty in the air that shouldn’t be there. It was just too subtle to be recognized by someone whose life had never been in danger, but for me, I felt it. 
Robyn felt it too. Her instinct was strong. 
It was only three seconds until the tall shadow loomed in the dark— a man in a ski mask, dark eyes staring back at me. I instantly froze in terror. I’d never thought of learning how to protect myself, maybe learn how to shoot, or practice Karate. 
I always put my life in the hands of the people who were paid to protect me. Now that the danger was right in front of me, my only regret was that depending my life too much on my protective details. 
My lungs ceased the moment our gaze locked. I turned completely paralyzed, and the universe just knew when to strike its fate— my panic button was inside the room where the man was standing. 
Before my vocal cords started to function, Robyn sucked in a breath, standing next to me. At the same time, I felt a sting on my neck. 
I hissed. In a flash, I was hit by something hard on the forehead. My head flopped backward before I fell on the floor. I didn’t feel much of the pain. I was instantly consumed by terror.
When my head started spinning and my lids threatened to flutter closed, I called Robyn, but my lips barely moved.
“Robyn,” with a racing heartbeat, I muttered under my breath as she fell on top of me. 
As hot blood trickled down my forehead, I was completely helpless, trying to wrap my arms around her to protect her from the assailant, but all I saw were feet, moving fast in haste. A lot of them in jeans and work boots. 
Footsteps thudded against the floor before my vision faded.

Nothing had registered in my head just yet, but a headache. I raised my hand to rub my temple, but something prevented me from doing so. I instantly sensed something eerie and odd in the air that had been gasping. What happened at the house came in a rush, flashing back in my head.
I began to panic. My heart drummed in my chest. I jolted up, only to be yanked back and hit something hard— something cold against my back. Metal? Tiles? 
The first thing I thought was that I was shirtless and pinned down. My wrists were strapped and secured with something hard and unbreakable, and so were my legs, leaving me helpless to get free. 
It didn’t matter because right now, I knew what was going on.
I blinked rapidly, but I saw nothing but complete blackness— it was too dark, like an abyss. Was I blind, too? I didn’t think so. My eyes didn’t hurt, except for my head. I remembered my head was bleeding.
If there was one thing I was sure of, it was something thick blocking my sight. I twisted my head from side to side, trying to loosen whatever was covering my eyes. It was too tight, and my head felt like it had been gripped in a vise, one that tightened more with each passing second, that could crack my skull into pieces. 
As silence loomed in the place, a new set of panic settled in my chest. It was dark and dreadful. I took a deep breath and tried to get a hold of myself until I remembered my wife falling on top of me.
Robyn. Oh, no. God, no.
“Robyn?” I wiggled my wrists and struggled harder until they hurt. “Robyn! Can somebody answer me? Hello? Anybody there? Can you untie, please?” When no one responded, I called out again. “This isn’t funny anymore? Do you know who I am?”
Then something flashed before my eyes, startling me, blinding my vision. The initial shock wasn’t that bad. I blinked a couple of times until my eyes began to adjust to the light and realized what it was. A VR Headset— virtual reality was what covered my eyes. I expected more of an old school black cloth or a bag.
“Anybody there? If this is a part of your sick game, why don’t you untie me and see how it goes? This isn’t funny anymore!” I just finished my words, and the video rolled. My whole body heaved up as terror ran in my blood.
The video looked like bodycam footage, too shaky, and the audio was altered, replaced with something taken from a horror video game, hurting my hearing.
When it played from entering a familiar house, my throat clenched as my panic turned uncontrollable so quickly. 
“Hey! Stop this!” I twisted my wrists, kicking to free off the straps, but the restraint was too tight and strong. 
I quickly imagined being on a laboratory table, ready to be cut open, or I was in an abandoned mental hospital, in the basement, strapped to a chair for torture or electroshock therapy. A lot of scenarios popped up in my head because I was too scared alone in the dark, triggering the memory I had avoided visiting again. It didn’t help with my panic attack. It was instinctive.
The fading white painted door swung open. The camera angle moved to the living room with old furniture covered in stains and scratches. Empty bowls, cans, plastics, and pizza and Chinese takeout boxes were littered everywhere. It looked like it had been abandoned for months.
The video didn’t cover the entire house, yet I began to hyperventilate as the camera shook and traveled through the narrow hallway. The familiar wooden floor was dirty with shoe stains and fading wood polish. 
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block the image and the terrifying, horrific sound. I pushed everything back in my head and remembered what my therapist constantly told me. 
Shoving down the fear threatening to choke me, I inhaled, held it, and exhaled. 
I did it a couple of times, and it somehow worked. 
I started singing, “Crawling in my skin! These wounds, they will not heal!” I had the lyrics memorized, stuck in my head. 
I thought of myself singing in front of Robyn, in the entertainment room with the LP Hybrid Theory playing in the background. She laughed out loud, holding her tummy as I missed a couple of beats because she was too beautiful, distracting me.
“Fear is how I fall, confusing what is real.” It halted. She stared at me in shock, and her image vanished into thin air, replaced with her own scream.
“Stop! Stop! Please, stop! Just fucking stop!” I screamed in shock and shook harder. “Don’t hurt her, please? I’ll do whatever you want!” I remembered telling her not to say it, yet I risked everything for her. For Robyn, because she was worth everything I had, including my life.
“Do you want me to fucking watch it? Fuck you! Play it, but know this, asshole! Whoever you are. Once this is over, I will fucking kill you!” My whole body was a trembling mess, tears streaming from my eyes. 
As my chest tightened, I cracked my eyes open. The white door with a vintage doorknob was chipped and dented as if it had been forcefully smashed open. I knew there were wooden steps descending into the darkness, the torture room. The basement.