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Madi’s eyelids fluttered open, her vision blurry and unfocused as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the throbbing pain in her head, a dull, relentless ache that pulsed with every beat of her heart. She tried to lift a hand to her head to soothe the pain, but her fingers met something unexpected—rough, coarse fabric wrapped tightly around her head, like a makeshift bandage.
She blinked, trying to clear the fog from her mind. The room around her was dim, the only light coming from the cracks around the door. The walls were bare, the paint peeling away in long, jagged strips, revealing patches of dark wood underneath. The air was musty and thick with the scent of damp and rot, making her stomach churn.
"My backpack," she thought desperately. Before she could start searching for it, though, she realized her hands were shackled.
A surge of panic shot through her as she looked down, her breath catching in her throat. Cold metal handcuffs encircled her wrists, one on each wrist, connected by a short chain—one attached to the head of the bed and the other to the foot of the bed, clinking softly when she moved. The cuffs were old and rusted, their edges digging into her skin with every movement. The chain was attached to the metal frame of the bed she was sitting on.
The bed itself was ancient, the frame rusted and creaking with even the slightest shift of her weight. The sheets beneath her were stained and worn, the fabric threadbare and torn in places.
She tugged at the shackles, but they held fast, the metal biting into her skin. Her heart pounded in her chest, fear rising like bile in her throat as she took in her surroundings. She was in a small, dark room, barely larger than a closet. The walls pressed in on her, the ceiling low enough that she could almost touch it if she stood up. There was no furniture aside from the bed, no place to hide, no way out.
She strained her ears, listening for any sound beyond the pounding of her heart. The house was eerily quiet, the only noise the faint rustling of leaves outside and the wind gently howling through the trees. But then the silence was broken by the sound of a chair sliding across the cabin's old wooden floor.
Someone was in the kitchen.
Sid.
Her heart skipped a beat as the memory of what had happened came rushing back—the truck, the cabin, her desperate escape through the woods, and then… falling. She had fallen, hadn’t she? But how had she ended up back here, shackled to a bed, her head bandaged and throbbing with pain?
She swallowed hard, trying to steady her breathing, to push back the rising tide of panic. She needed to think, to figure out what had happened and how she could get out of this. Her mind raced, searching for any clue, any fragment of memory that might help her piece together the events that had led her here.
But there was nothing—just darkness and pain, a blank void where her memories should have been. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to remember, but the effort only made the pounding in her head worse.
The clattering from the kitchen grew louder, and she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps, heavy and deliberate, moving closer. Each step sent a jolt of fear through her, the sound echoing in the small room like a death knell. Madi’s breath quickened, her pulse racing as she strained against the shackles, desperation clawing at her insides.
She had to get out, had to escape before Sid returned. But the chains held firm, the metal digging painfully into her wrists as she pulled and twisted, trying to free herself. It was no use—the shackles were too tight, the chain too short. There was no way she could break free.
The footsteps stopped just outside the door. Madi froze, her body tense, every muscle coiled in fear. She could hear the sound of breathing, deep and slow, just beyond the thin wooden door that separated her from her captor. The doorknob rattled, then slowly turned, the door creaking open on rusty hinges.
Sid stood in the doorway, his massive frame filling the narrow entrance. He was backlit by the dim light from the kitchen, casting his face into shadow, but Madi could still see the gleam of his eyes as they locked onto her, cold and calculating. He stepped inside, his boots thudding heavily on the wooden floor, the room seeming to shrink even further in his presence.
“Well, look who’s finally awake,” he said, his voice a low rumble that sent a shiver down Madi’s spine. He moved closer, the floorboards groaning under his weight, until he was standing right in front of her, towering over her like a dark, twisted shadow.
Madi shrank back, pressing herself against the wall behind her, as far as the shackles would allow. Her heart pounded in her chest, her mouth dry as she stared up at him, her mind racing with fear and confusion.
“What do you want?” she managed to whisper, her voice trembling.
Sid didn’t answer right away. Instead, he reached down, his hand rough and calloused, and gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His touch was almost tender, but there was a dangerous edge to it, a promise of violence lurking just beneath the surface.
“Don’t you worry about that, missy,” he said softly, his breath hot against her skin. “You just do as you’re told, and we’ll get along just fine.”
Madi’s skin crawled at his words, her stomach turning with revulsion. She tried to pull away, but his grip tightened, holding her in place. She could see him more clearly now, the dim light casting harsh shadows across his face. His eyes were sharp, predatory, gleaming with a sick kind of satisfaction as he watched her squirm.
“What… what happened?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. “How did I get here?”
Sid’s smile widened, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You took a little tumble, sweetheart,” he said, his tone almost mocking. “Found you at the bottom of that hill, out cold. Could’ve left you out there for the coyot's, I suppose, but where’s the fun in that?”
Madi’s breath hitched, fear tightening like a vise around her chest. She remembered falling, remembered the earth giving way beneath her as she ran blindly through the woods. She must have hit her head when she fell, knocking herself unconscious. But instead of escaping, she had only succeeded in getting herself captured again.
Sid released her chin and straightened up, towering over her as he looked down at her with a cold, assessing gaze. “You’re lucky I’m a gentleman,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “Could’ve been a lot worse, you know.”
Madi’s skin prickled with fear, her heart racing as she realized the full extent of her situation. She was completely at his mercy, shackled and helpless, with no way to defend herself, no way to escape.
She swallowed hard, forcing down the rising tide of panic. She needed to stay calm, to think clearly. If she could keep him talking, maybe she could buy herself some time, figure out a way to get out of this.
“What… what are you going to do with me?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Sid’s smile faded, his expression turning serious. “That depends on you, missy,” he said, his tone flat and emotionless. “You behave, and maybe I’ll let you go. You cause trouble… well, let’s just say you won’t like what happens next.”
Madi’s heart pounded in her chest, fear clawing at her throat. She didn’t believe him—she couldn’t. There was something in his eyes, something dark and twisted, that told her he had no intention of letting her go. But she couldn’t let him see her fear. She needed to stay strong, to find a way to survive.
She nodded slowly, trying to keep her voice steady. “Okay… okay, I’ll do what you want. Just… please, don’t hurt me.”
Sid’s smile returned, cold and calculated. “That’s more like it,” he said, his voice softening. “Now, you get some rest. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
He turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him with a heavy thud. Madi heard the click of a lock turning, the sound sending a chill down her spine. She was trapped, alone in the dark, with no way to escape.
She slumped against the wall, her head throbbing, the reality of her situation crashing down on her like a wave. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them back, refusing to give in to the fear that threatened to overwhelm her.
She had to stay strong. She had to find a way out of this.
Madi looked around the small, dark room, her mind racing as she tried to come up with a plan. The window was too small to crawl through, and even if she could, the shackles would hold her back. The door was locked, and she doubted she could break it down even if she wasn’t chained to the bed.
But there had to be something she could do, some way to escape before Sid decided to come back and… she shuddered at the thought, pushing it from her mind.
She looked down at the bed, at the rusted metal frame that held the chain. The metal was thick and solid, but her eyes drifted to the tattered mattress beneath her. It was stained and torn, the fabric thin and worn in places, exposing patches of the rusted springs beneath.
An idea sparked in her mind. If she could rip open the mattress, maybe she could find something useful—something sharp or sturdy enough to help her get free.
Madi took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She didn’t have much time. Sid had said they would talk in the morning, but she couldn’t wait that long. She needed to act now, while he was still in the kitchen, still distracted.
With renewed determination, she leaned over and began tearing at the mattress with all the strength she could muster. The fabric ripped easily, the sound loud in the stillness of the room. She worked quickly, pulling away the shredded cloth until she exposed the rusted metal springs underneath.
Her hands trembled as she gripped one of the springs, tugging and twisting it with all her might. The metal groaned and resisted, but she didn’t stop. With a final, desperate pull, the spring snapped free, and she held it in her hand like a makeshift tool.
Her heart pounded as she turned her attention to the handcuffs. Carefully, she inserted the jagged end of the spring into the lock, fumbling as she tried to maneuver it into place. The metal was old and rusted, and she hoped it would give way with enough pressure.
But as she worked, the door to the room creaked open again, and Madi froze, her heart leaping into her throat. Sid stepped into the room, his eyes narrowing as he saw what she was doing.
“Well, now,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “Looks like we got ourselves a little troublemaker.”
Madi’s blood ran cold as he took a step toward her, his eyes dark with anger. She scrambled back, still trying to pick the lock, but her hands shook too much. The spring slipped from her grasp, clattering to the floor out of reach as Sid closed in on her.
Sid reached down and grabbed her by the arm, his grip like iron as he hauled her to her feet. “I told you to behave,” he growled, his breath hot against her face. “But you just couldn’t listen, could you?”
Madi whimpered, fear gripping her as she tried to pull away, but his hold was too strong. With a sudden, brutal motion, Sid lifted her by the shoulders, yanking her upward until the shackles pulled tight, forcing her arms painfully behind her. "I'm gonna teach you how to listen," he whispered, his eyes wide with a devilish glint, before dropping her roughly back onto the bed.
“You’re gonna learn to do as you’re told,” Sid said, his voice cold and menacing. “And if you don’t, well… you won’t like what happens next.”
“Please,” she gasped, her voice trembling. “Please, just let me go. I won't tell anyone.”
But Sid didn’t listen. He turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The lock clicked into place, leaving Madi alone in the dark, the cold metal of the shackles cutting into her wrists, the pain and fear overwhelming her.
She curled up on the bed, her body shaking with sobs that she couldn’t hold back any longer. The darkness pressed in on her, suffocating, as the reality of her situation sank in.
She was trapped, completely at the mercy of a man who had none. And there was no one coming to save her.
Madi lay there in the dark, her mind racing, her heart pounding, as she tried to come up with a plan, any plan, that might save her. But the more she thought, the more hopeless it seemed.
The only thing she knew for certain was that she had to survive. No matter what it took, no matter how much it hurt, she had to find a way out of this nightmare.
Because if she didn’t, Sid would make sure she never left that cabin alive.
Her mind raced at a hundred miles an hour, desperate for a plan, but exhaustion weighed her down, and despite her best efforts, her eyes grew heavy as she reluctantly drifted off to sleep.
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