HOSTAGE

"You respected her words until today!"

He looked at her with a confused expression as he quickly read her thoughts and smiled.

"I promise I carried you into that room with my eyes closed",he swore.

"What about the child...why did fate bring him to me?" she asked.

"Time will tell.Only time explains some things humans can",he responded.

Her countenance changed when she recalled that she still had to find Sandra. She sighed deeply as she looked at him.

" We will find her but it's not really going to be easy" he snapped.

"Why though?"she asked.

"You have to find your lost self first then you can find someone else!"

"What do you mean?"she queried.

"Sandra will be fine until after two days but you can't find her like this. I think you should go through the diary for more insight ",he instructed as he smiled.

"My phone...it....",she searched her back pocket but it was not there.

"It must have fallen off ",he snapped as he stood up. They had been sitting on a wooden seat outside the house.

She paused and thought for a while as she wondered how he was able to bring her there. It was miles away from the last place she recalled she had been in.

"How did.....",she changed her mind,he was already finding his way inside.

She understood that he might be weak and wanted to rest. She sighed as she followed suit, still clutching the diary tightly.

"What's the name.....the child's....?"he queried as he stopped in his tracks turned back and looked at her.

"Bryan",she responded while he nodded and continued walking inside the house.

"You can sleep wherever you want to sleep while I sleep on the couch" he said as he coughed slightly.

He reached out for the lamp at the corner of the living room and gave it to her.

"Thanks",she muttered as she took it from him while he just smiled at her in reply.

"You know the house more than I do but if you want,I can walk you around the house in the morning ",he offered and she reluctantly murmured a yes

He turned to look at her;she was visibly worried and tears were slowly forming in her eyes. He sighed deeply and held her wrist.

"We will find Sandra,I promise you",he assured as their eyes met and locked.

"Annie, come save me!" Sandra called out as Annie jerked and almost fell but he was quick enough to hold her.

He took the lamp from her and placed it by the corner. He helped her to the couch as she sat down.

"I saw her,she .....",her voice trailed off as her thoughts raced.

"I know,she called out to you for help",he snapped as he cleaned the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"I want to go save her. She's in this mess because of me",she whined, cursing herself inwardly while he chuckled.

"How sure are you?"he queried, carefully avoiding her eyes.

**********

Annie was glad that she woke before him otherwise she would have to listen to a long that would not help her.

Bryan was not lying next to her when she woke up but it was not her issue at the moment;she had to make sure that Sandra was fine.

She carefully tiptoed to the door,she did not want to wake him. He was dozing off on the armchair in the corner of the bedroom.

She slowly pulled the door open;she was glad that it did not squeak. She left the house as fast as she could without looking back.

She walked for a long while without stopping and her feet were aching badly. It was a long mile but she was determined to get to her best friend.

The road was unusually empty like it was deserted. The houses looked dirty and abandoned but she did not care

She stopped by trees to rest whenever she was tired. She had no food or water and she was gradually becoming weak.

"Water.....?" an old lady asked from her rear as she jerked and turned to look at her;she had stopped to rest for a while.

"No,I...",her voice trailed off as their eyes locked and she suddenly became numb.

**********

When she opened her eyes,she was in a completely different but familiar place.She tried to raise her arms to no avail.

She swallowed hard as she realized that she was tied to a seat. She roamed her eyes around and they rested on an unconscious Sandra who was tied on a seat next to her.

She took a closer look around her new environment;they were in their bedroom. It was empty, just Sandra's portrait and the wall clock hanging on the wall.

She wondered how she got there but she was gladdened by the fact that she finally found Sandra.

She heard someone humming some tune as whoever it was approached the bedroom. It was the humming from the kitchen the very day she lost her best friend.

Cold shivers rushed down her spine as her thoughts raced. She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be unconscious just before the door was kicked open.

She swallowed hard, trying so hard to remain motionless as someone traced her jawline and then laughed out hysterically.

"Kill her !" she heard someone command just as soon as the laughter died down;she opened her eyes abruptly.

The voice was neither masculine nor feminine but she could feel the authority and strange aura it carried

She could no longer see anything because the room was enveloped with strange darkness that terrified her.

"I knew that you were awake!You don't play games with me!" the same voice snapped in a fierce tone that sent chills down her body.

"What do you want?" she managed to ask as she closed her eyes tightly,hoping that neither her nor Sandra would be harmed

"I can feel the fear in your voice!" the strange voice scoffed,followed by a strange chuckle.

Annie opened her mouth to talk but she could not. She could have listened to Leonard,....no,she only came to save her best friend and it was not wrong for her to.

"I'm holding you hostage until the full moon!"