She Laid There Unmoving

Jo turned white as a sheet, she'd never seen such a gruesome scene before her, in her whole life. She had a deafening sound in her head, her vision turned blurry, while her knees softened and then she fell on the ground unconscious.

She had a bad dream that she couldn't wake up from, in the end she slowly opened her eyes when a darkness and a strong foul smell enveloped her being in an instant. She rubbed her eyes multiple times and checked puzzled, to see if they were open or not, why couldn't she see anything. They were open, she put her hand right in front of them, but she couldn't see anything. It was pitch black and there was no sound. Has she gone blind? Jo was starting to get scarred, a flash crossed her mind and she remembered the scene at the restaurant. This strong foul smell was like the smell of a carcass. Jo was stunned, she pulled her hands and legs close to her body and stood very still and quiet, was this smell coming from a body?! Has she been locked here with a dead body? For a second she felt lucky she couldn't see. Then panic engulfed her and she started to screamed loudly and frantically, she cried and screamed so much for a very long time, losing even her voice, but in the end nobody came to help her.

A long time has passed, she counted seconds and minutes and hours, until she fell asleep, then she woke up, she cried and screamed again, then slept and woke up. She didn't move from her spot. Thirst and hunger was making her dizzy, while she was sick a couple of times because of the smell. She now couldn't feel it anymore. Because of the darkness, Jo couldn't even tell if she had her eyes open or closed, she had to check with her hands. She was losing her senses one by one and she wished, she would rather be dead than alive. Was she going to die here like this?! Why? What sins has she committed in her life, for God to punish her this way

She laid on the ground and closed her eyes, she didn't dare to think, or dream anymore. Before she had to invent stories in her head, to fall asleep at night, now it was as easy as closing her eyes and she would drift away. She had lost the notion of time, actually since she woke up in this place she didn't knew what time or day it was. Jo used to dream in this dark place about her family and her life back in London when her dreams become rescue situations where various people found her and took her away from here. She was rescued a lot of times in her dreams, but in the end she would still wake up here, in this dark room again.

Jo gave up on life, she laid there unmoving on the cold floor, not distinguishing dreams from reality anymore. It felt like she was looking at a TV in a dark room, where the characters were playing a part and she seemed to be the female lead of this rescue movie. A door was opened and two men entered in a dark room holding a torch. The one holding the torch, pointed it at the feet of the girl, while saying something in Chinese, to the man next to him.

"Master there is a woman here, she seems to be still alive!" The other man looked at the girl with a conflicted gaze. He had never seen someone in this state, looking so serene and peaceful. It looked like she belonged there in that dark room and it felt like he was almost disturbing her rest. The man was quiet and stood there looking at her for a few good minutes while she didn't even looked up at them like they were non existing to her.

"Mufeng... Take her" Said the man eventually.

"Yes Master!" Replied He Mufeng and picked the girl up in his arms.

"Take her to the Phoenix residence and call for doctor Ming" Instructed further Lu Ye Ze.

"Yes Master!" Replied He Mufeng and left with the girl in another car.

Two days later Jo opened her eyes, a warm light engulfed her body and she felt pain all over her body. She looked around and realised she was laying on a bed in a very luxurious room, beeping sounds were coming off from the machines around her and an oxygen mask, was fastened on her mouth and nose. She was in a daze, is this real? Have I been saved from that place? But why am I in a house, rather than a hospital. She tried to move, but the needles and cables around her body were stopping her.

Jo kept looking around waiting to wake up in that dark room again. A while later a woman came in, she was wearing a maid uniform and stopped in her tracks, looking shocked, when faced with an awake patient laying on the bed. She muttered something in Chinese and left the room in a haste.

Downstairs, Butler Gu, was in his study looking at some files, when the girl barged in.

"Sir... the girl! That girl woke up!!!" Butler Gu lifted his gaze from the paper and pointed his eyes at her. He put the pen in his hand down and removed the glasses from his nose. He seemed to move in slow motion while the girl in front of him, was burning with impatience.

"Has she..." The man replied a while later. "Let's ask Dr. Ming to pay us a visit then!" Butler Gu picked up the phone receiver and dialled a number.

A while later in the bedroom, Jo was still waiting to wake up from her dream in the hell she was living, her dark room. So she tried to occupy her time, while laying there on the bed unmoved, by studying her surroundings, at least this seemed to be a nice dream.

She began to analyse the components of the bedroom and tried to guess the materials and the cost of each object. She saw on a wall a beautiful piece of artwork, the frame was very detailed and it looked a bit decayed, while the canvas seemed to have layers and layers of paint. A few thousand pounds, the girl thought to her self, while her gaze fell down on the console table beneath. A familiar vase caught her eye, it seemed to be the same model as the one she selected for Mr. Sun... No no no... don't think about that now... as its gonna... ah... to late.

Jo really wanted to forget about that scene at the restaurant, but it was impossible now. She was traumatised for life. Her trail of thoughts was stopped, by the people at the door. The girl's gaze travelled towards them, without muttering a word.

A Chinese dialog was heard between the two men that entered the room, while occasionally they were throwing looks at her. They were talking about her. One of the men approached her and took her arm, placing two fingers on her wrist. A minute later he retrieved his hand and started removing the needles pricking her skin and disconnecting the machines around her. He then said something to the other man, took another look at her and left the room.

The other man stood with his back straight, a few steps away from the bed, looking at the her quietly. A moment later, he turned to one of the girls standing behind him and took a piece of clothing from her hands.

He then approached Jo, who was laying on the bed and stretched his hands holding the piece of clothing, uttering something in Chinese. Jo was looking at him, with no trace of emotion, like she was looking at a vase.

The man fell pensive for a few seconds and tried again.

"Do you speak English? Put this on and come out, I will be waiting outside the room!"

Jo turned her head, to face the man and opened her mouth, but no words came out. She hadn't spoken in so long and she momentarily had forgotten how to. Also she was still thinking this is a dream.

The man laid the clothes on the bed next to her and left the room along with the other two girls present. A while later, Jo moved her arm from under the comforter and picked up the piece of clothing from the bed. It looked like the maid uniform the two girls were wearing just now. Is she going to be a maid in this house? But why? She didn't had to... she had enough money to hire one for her self. This must have been a misunderstanding.