Unbroken

“Yeah, yeah, it was—”

“Same—”

“He said he’s going to pluck my eyes out, Fay!”

“Me, too.”

“Said I need to behave or I’ll die like all the others—”

“He said that to me, too.”

Ice cold sparks run down my spine as my breaths come out heavier. Did I seriously get abducted by a serial killer this time? What are the chances?

Clearly high.

“Fuck,” I growl out as I pull desperately at the ropes around me. “Fuck!”

It’s alright, I tell myself. I’ll be found. I’m certain of it—

Britney screams, “We’re going to die!”

Fuck.

“Yeah,” is all I can manage.We’re going to die.

What have you done, Skye?

Why did you poke the bear?

They’re screaming louder. They’re saying the same word over and over again.Help. Help. Help.And I know that’s probably something we should all be screaming because it’s just one of those things you ought to do when you’ve been drugged, abducted, and bound in a room with a dirt floor.

But I also know it’s pointless.

Someone doesn’t go through all this effort so we can be heard by Doug the neighbour.

No, this is hardcore shit.

And I sort of deserve this.

“Save your energy,” I tell them. “Be calm.”

“I’m so scared,” Britney cries.

“I know, I am too.” That horrid nausea is twisting my insides. “But fear just incapacitates you. Stop and breathe.”

To my surprise, they do just that. They sniff and breathe. Their tears peter off and suddenly the room falls quiet.

“Okay,” I say next. “Are we all bound and blindfolded?”

“Yes,” they say.

“Great, we’re all on the same page then.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Well, no, but…it’s a start.”

“Why do you sound so fucking chill?” Fay asks me, like I’ve somehow offended her for not falling to pieces.