Chapter 21

25th December 2019

Cathy's POV:

We were following Victor as he led us to the house, maintaining a safe distance from him. Thank god he gave me a pair of slippers before coming out, otherwise, both of my feet would have been all blood and bruises by now. As the thorns and branches scraped against our skin I immediately regretted wearing this dress.

Mishelle squeezed my hands with a warm smile noticing the tears of joy that escaped my eyes. "I know how it feels when being held captive for a fricking whole week. Thank god we didn't know the way out of the woods, otherwise, we wouldn't have saved you"

I nodded turning to her and taking hold of both of her hands in mine, "Thank you so much! I can't be more grateful for what you three have done for me"

Imran who was walking in front of us turned back and smirked, "No problem! Just wait for thirty minutes, we will get the phones charged and will leave"

I nodded as the excitement of going back home raced into my nerves.

"Yeah! Once it is charged, we will immediately call the police", Mishelle said still holding my hand in a death grip as we pushed through the harsh vegetation.

"No, I have to call my mom. She had called me at least a hundred times since morning, asking me when I would return home. I had told her that I will be home by the afternoon for lunch but I don't think we can make it home by afternoon if we start even now", Imran said glancing at his wristwatch.

"I have to call her to inform that I will be late and she should have lunch alone. If I didn't she will be waiting for me all day to come home, without having lunch"

"Since how many days are you guys here?", I asked as the house came to view. It was a small cute one in beige and brown, with so many windows around but all lined by bars.

"Three days maybe. Our trip should have ended by this morning but fortunately, we got lost", Mishelle said smiling at me and giving another squeeze.

"He is very clever! You guys have to be careful to him", I said rubbing my running nose and the damp cheeks with the tissues that Mishelle had offered me a few minutes back by the lake.

"Yeah? Well, he looks dumb to me! Dressed up like a baffoon with red wig and joker mask. I can even handle guys who are far worse than him. I know martial arts too", he winked. Mishelle rolled her eyes, "Can you stop blabbering rubbish for a while and keep an eye on Nicole?"

Imran shrugged and turned away. We climbed up the stairs to the front door and walked into the house as Victor plopped on one of the couches in the living room and glanced at me. I quickly averted my gaze looking around the house. I couldn't stand his stare and I don't know why regret filled me whenever he looked at me. He is a kidnapper after all. He deserves it.

The living room was plain with a couple of couches arranged in a square pattern with a teapoy in the middle and there was no other furniture. The walls didn't have any photo frames or wall decors, they just had nails. He would have probably removed everything that once hung there. There was a brown door in front of me with a big bronze lock hanging down the latch. Was it the door leading to the basement?

To my left was an open kitchen which just had a fridge, sink, microwave, and a couple of plates. There was no stove or any other utensils. To my right were four long hallways stretching out from the living room. The last two were locked.

"We will be here for another thirty minutes? Do you mind if I want to collect some of my things from the room I was held in?", I whispered into Mishelle's ears.

"Of course", she said in the same volume as mine.

"Ask him which hallway leads to the room", I said as Mishelle nodded and asked it aloud. Victor just glanced at the four hallways and stayed quiet.

"Answer them!", Nicole roared.

"The second one, just keep taking alternate rights and lefts. The first turn you take should be left", he said as we both scurried into the second hallway.

It was narrow with no lights or any source of light. There were few doors leading to a room on the way but placed very far from each other like just one room after each turn. We tried to push them open to see what he had behind them but every door was locked.

One more weird thing that we noticed was out of every door were placed similar kinds of big flower vases. We took two lefts and two rights alternatively and finally ended reaching the bedroom. Which amazing engineer planned this house?

Mishelle gaped at the huge black door of the room. "What kind of door is this?", she asked as she examined it. "I have never seen one like this before"

I strolled inside the room pushing away the roller table which had the remains of my breakfast and the dried up plate. I looked around for a bag to put the things I wanted to take from here now and didn't find one. Mishelle had a cross bag just like the other two had.

"Can you lend me that bag to keep my things. Not too many just few", I said.

"Sure! Why not?",  she removed the bag from above her head and passed it to me as she continued gazing around the room. I stuffed all the three diaries that I had left by the bedside table in it. Then I ripped off the dreamcatchers hanging near the window before shoving it into the bag followed by the black manila file that held my important certificates.

"Are these your friends?", she asked observing the pictures that lined the wall.

"Yes", I said as I imagined how Renita would react after seeing me. I have to immediately call my parents after informing the police. I can't wait to get back to them.

"Did he set this room for you?", she asked taking one big look around the whole room.

"Yeah! He had been stalking me for a long time before he kidnapped me. So he knew how I wanted my room to be. He says that he loves me very much and I am so much like his mom", I said zipping the bag and flinging it over my shoulder.

"I have only seen these types of lunatics in thriller movies and Wattpad stories", Mishelle gasped leaning over the window and staring at me as I sat on the foot of the bed.

"You read Wattpad?", I asked suddenly excited.

"Yes, I do! And I love thriller stories. Have you read The Cellar by Natasha Preston?", she asked as equally excited as me.

"Woah I love that story! It was an amazing book. What about Psycho billionaire and Red Leather?", I asked pulling my legs up and wrapping my hands around them.

"Psycho billionaire is an awesome story. I haven't read Red Leather though, what is it about?", she asked as we heard someone approach the room.

"I think we should leave. Has it been thirty minutes already? Its maybe Imy coming to call us", she said as she walked to the door. I sat staring at the green and blue out of the window which Mishelle had been blocking from my view for the past few minutes. I am not going to have to sit gazing at these all day anymore.

I was very much relieved and happy that I was finally getting out of this place until I felt Mishelle's shrill scream piercing my ears.

HAPPY READING!