Ambushed Love

Brittney’s head lolled slowly on to her shoulder as she awakened from her unconscious state. She could feel her limbs aching and hanging from her body as if they were made of brick; her skin felt as though it was on fire. The unusually icy air that surrounded her had a bite to it that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. It was obvious she was somewhere she wasn’t normally supposed to be.

She squinted against the harsh white light filtering in from a window beside her. Head aching, she felt around her for any furniture she could use to pull herself up, only to find none. She slid her fingers across the grimy surface beneath her. Dust gathered in between her fingertips, shifting into the air and tickling her senses. Adjusting herself so she was sitting up against the peeling wall below the source of light, Brittney forced her eyes open.

The scene around her slowly slid into focus. The light streaming in from behind her illuminated the tiny dust particles she had just released into the air, yet they were by far the most interesting things in the room. The room was completely empty – completely devoid of any furniture, ornaments, even a working light. The lamp hanging from the ceiling consisted of only a shattered light bulb and a stained yellow shade.

Brittney closed her eyes tightly, giving her head an abrupt shake. She was sure she had just imagined the room in front of her.

She snapped her eyes again, wishing that she had imagined it. Yet the room remained exactly the same. Now that the dust had fallen back to the floor, Brittney’s surroundings remained eerily still. And quiet – now that she had fully acknowledged where she was, the blonde noticed how perfectly silent anything and everything around her was.

The single window, with its clouded glass panels and peeling white paint, revealed little of the outside world as Brittney stood to peer through it. It appeared that wherever she was, she was on the second floor of a small house. A suburban scene was what met her eyes, yet there was little movement outside. She couldn’t make any note of the location, and it didn’t appear to be anywhere near her neighbourhood.

It was as though she was standing in the middle of some terrifyingly cliched horror film. The dust sprinkled over the few surfaces in the room; the eerily swinging, yellow-glowing light bulb; the peeling paint on the architraves - it was all too unreal.

Her head began to spin, the room around her circling faster and faster. She felt her knees give way, sending her entire body crashing into the wooden floorboards. Brittney couldn't recall ever having had the same reaction to anything before - to have her mind go completely blank, her limbs to lose all control and her brain to lose any connection to the rest of her body was a scary feeling.

But not as scary as the sudden presence of a man who she faintly recognised - for all the wrong reasons.