Little Girl Lost.
006.
Once inside, I was met with a sudden and stark contrast. Bright, fluorescent bulbs hung overhead; the glaring light sending my head into a spin and causing my eyes to throb against their sockets. I fought back the urge to rub them with my hands, as my wrists were still bound tightly behind my back.
Blinking rapidly, trying to right my vision, the room around me slowly came into focus. Dark, concrete walls surrounded me on all sides. There was no furniture aside from the long, metal desk sitting on the opposite side of the room. Directly next to it was a large, metal door- identical to the one I had just been forced through. Standing between me and that door was a large, body scanner; the type you walk through before boarding a plane in airports.
My heart hammered in my chest as a whole new spree of questions battered my mind.
"Where am I? Who are these people? Terrorists..? Spies..? What is going on?"
My captor grunted to two guards stationed behind the metal desk. One was focused on a series of screens mounted in front of him, the other was reading from a file in a pale, manila folder.
"Isn't it a bit late for processing, Bates?" The guard holding the folder mumbled to him, squinting his eyes at me as if he was sizing me up.
I fought off a shudder.
"Had to go out of my way for this." He, 'Bates', snapped back violently.
The guard didn't respond, just continued to look me up and down as if I was a piece of meat. My stomach churned and I let my gaze fall to the floor; suddenly feeling very small, alone and helpless.
Bates tossed the file he had been holding beneath his arm over the desk to the guard, "There's that, make sure her O.A gets it before tomorrow morning. I don't want him barking down my neck for your laziness."
"O.A?" Every moment that went by fed me more questions and less answers.
The ties were cut from my wrists and my sore arms fell to my sides. I shrugged my shoulders, grateful for the small amount of relief I was granted.
"Walk."
I was shoved forward to the front of the body scanner. I nearly fell to the cold, dark floor beneath me but my balance was recovered at the last moment. Shaking it off and turning around, I crossed my arms across my chest.
"No, tell me where I am first. I want answers." A sudden, unexpected streak of defiance surged through my veins.
"What did you just say?" Bates spat in return, eyes narrowing into two, small, dark slits. He swallowed hard and cocked his head, a vein in his jaw jumping simultaneously.
"I s-said, tell me where I am first." My voice wavered slightly, but I fought for control of my nerves.
"Little girl, I don't think you are in the position to be giving orders." A guard behind me retorted, surprisingly calm in comparison to the demeanor of my kidnapper.
"I'm not in the mood for putting up with your attitude." He, Bates, snarled; grabbing a fistful of my brown hair and pulling me towards the scanner.
"In case you have forgotten, you don't have the upper hand in this situation. Walk through the damn machine so I can get on with my night and be rid of you." He hissed in my ear, pushing me forward until my forehead nearly collided with the gray and white plastic of the machine.
"Place your hands above your head, feet apart."
I did as I was told, despite every part of me dying to turn around and punch the sniveling creep in the face. I doubt it would get me very far.
My hair ties, bobby pins, earrings, and shoes were all taken from me, thrown into a cardboard box and handed off to another guard who wrote something on the lid in permanent marker. I didn't get the chance to see what he wrote, I was immediately pulled through the metal door laying just in front of the scanner.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I'm positive it was more than a flight of stairs. Concrete stairs descending down into the ground, until I could no longer see where they ended. My captor tugged on my arm, his fingers digging into my skin roughly; I could feel where a bruise was beginning to form. I nearly tripped several times and I lost count of how many steps we had descended until we finally came to a halt at, yet another, metal door.
"I'm telling you again, things will go such much easier for you if you get rid of that attitude of yours." He hissed in my ear, emphasizing his words with an extra squeeze on my arm. I whimpered softly at the pain.
"That's more like it," I heard him mumble.
He scanned the small, white card in his hand and the heavy barrier slowly slid open. Another long, dark hallway lay in front of us; more nauseating, fluorescent lightbulbs swinging from the ceiling. Inside, two armed guards stood on either side of the opening. I glanced back behind me as the door slid shut and I swore one cast a sickening smile in my direction.
"Please, just tell me what is going on. I just want to know where I am." Desperation began to kick in and I felt the ominous lump growing in my throat, threatening the imminent cascade of tears that was about to overflow.
No reply.
We came to yet another door with armed guards standing on either side. His card wasn't swiped, instead one of the guards pushed a small black button laid into the wall and the barrier slid open. On the other side, was a large room. Metal tables were scattered around and a long counter sat at the opposite end of the room.
"Is this a cafeteria?"
Again, my captor offered me no response as I was pulled across through the room through a large doorway into another equally dark hallway. My legs began to ache. I was exhausted, I was hungry and I was terrified.
"Please, I'm so tired.." I mumbled, nearly losing my balance as I tripped over my own feet.
"Hush." He snapped back.
I looked around, desperately searching for a clue as to where I was or what was going on. On either side of the corridor were smaller hallways. Each marked with a number hanging in the entrance. I could see more metal doors littering the walls. My heart hammered a little harder when I noticed more armored guards stationed every few feet inside the halls.
"What is going on?"
Finally, we came to a stop. He grumbled to himself and glanced down at a small piece of paper I didn't realize he was holding until that moment.
"165." He remarked to himself, I don't think he realized he had spoken outloud.
"What?"
"I said be quiet."
Suddenly, we veered to the left-- through the opening, into one of the hallways. We passed by what seemed like hundreds of identical, gray doors before coming to a stop in front of one. I could barely make out the faded numbers on the surface, 165.
"No, please. Look, if you just let me go now I won't tell anyone. I just want to go home!" I managed to make out before the door was opened and I was shoved into the dark room that lay inside.
Blinking rapidly, trying to right my vision, the room around me slowly came into focus. Dark, concrete walls surrounded me on all sides. There was no furniture aside from the long, metal desk sitting on the opposite side of the room. Directly next to it was a large, metal door- identical to the one I had just been forced through. Standing between me and that door was a large, body scanner; the type you walk through before boarding a plane in airports.
My heart hammered in my chest as a whole new spree of questions battered my mind.
"Where am I? Who are these people? Terrorists..? Spies..? What is going on?"
My captor grunted to two guards stationed behind the metal desk. One was focused on a series of screens mounted in front of him, the other was reading from a file in a pale, manila folder.
"Isn't it a bit late for processing, Bates?" The guard holding the folder mumbled to him, squinting his eyes at me as if he was sizing me up.
I fought off a shudder.
"Had to go out of my way for this." He, 'Bates', snapped back violently.
The guard didn't respond, just continued to look me up and down as if I was a piece of meat. My stomach churned and I let my gaze fall to the floor; suddenly feeling very small, alone and helpless.
Bates tossed the file he had been holding beneath his arm over the desk to the guard, "There's that, make sure her O.A gets it before tomorrow morning. I don't want him barking down my neck for your laziness."
"O.A?" Every moment that went by fed me more questions and less answers.
The ties were cut from my wrists and my sore arms fell to my sides. I shrugged my shoulders, grateful for the small amount of relief I was granted.
"Walk."
I was shoved forward to the front of the body scanner. I nearly fell to the cold, dark floor beneath me but my balance was recovered at the last moment. Shaking it off and turning around, I crossed my arms across my chest.
"No, tell me where I am first. I want answers." A sudden, unexpected streak of defiance surged through my veins.
"What did you just say?" Bates spat in return, eyes narrowing into two, small, dark slits. He swallowed hard and cocked his head, a vein in his jaw jumping simultaneously.
"I s-said, tell me where I am first." My voice wavered slightly, but I fought for control of my nerves.
"Little girl, I don't think you are in the position to be giving orders." A guard behind me retorted, surprisingly calm in comparison to the demeanor of my kidnapper.
"I'm not in the mood for putting up with your attitude." He, Bates, snarled; grabbing a fistful of my brown hair and pulling me towards the scanner.
"In case you have forgotten, you don't have the upper hand in this situation. Walk through the damn machine so I can get on with my night and be rid of you." He hissed in my ear, pushing me forward until my forehead nearly collided with the gray and white plastic of the machine.
"Place your hands above your head, feet apart."
I did as I was told, despite every part of me dying to turn around and punch the sniveling creep in the face. I doubt it would get me very far.
My hair ties, bobby pins, earrings, and shoes were all taken from me, thrown into a cardboard box and handed off to another guard who wrote something on the lid in permanent marker. I didn't get the chance to see what he wrote, I was immediately pulled through the metal door laying just in front of the scanner.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I'm positive it was more than a flight of stairs. Concrete stairs descending down into the ground, until I could no longer see where they ended. My captor tugged on my arm, his fingers digging into my skin roughly; I could feel where a bruise was beginning to form. I nearly tripped several times and I lost count of how many steps we had descended until we finally came to a halt at, yet another, metal door.
"I'm telling you again, things will go such much easier for you if you get rid of that attitude of yours." He hissed in my ear, emphasizing his words with an extra squeeze on my arm. I whimpered softly at the pain.
"That's more like it," I heard him mumble.
He scanned the small, white card in his hand and the heavy barrier slowly slid open. Another long, dark hallway lay in front of us; more nauseating, fluorescent lightbulbs swinging from the ceiling. Inside, two armed guards stood on either side of the opening. I glanced back behind me as the door slid shut and I swore one cast a sickening smile in my direction.
"Please, just tell me what is going on. I just want to know where I am." Desperation began to kick in and I felt the ominous lump growing in my throat, threatening the imminent cascade of tears that was about to overflow.
No reply.
We came to yet another door with armed guards standing on either side. His card wasn't swiped, instead one of the guards pushed a small black button laid into the wall and the barrier slid open. On the other side, was a large room. Metal tables were scattered around and a long counter sat at the opposite end of the room.
"Is this a cafeteria?"
Again, my captor offered me no response as I was pulled across through the room through a large doorway into another equally dark hallway. My legs began to ache. I was exhausted, I was hungry and I was terrified.
"Please, I'm so tired.." I mumbled, nearly losing my balance as I tripped over my own feet.
"Hush." He snapped back.
I looked around, desperately searching for a clue as to where I was or what was going on. On either side of the corridor were smaller hallways. Each marked with a number hanging in the entrance. I could see more metal doors littering the walls. My heart hammered a little harder when I noticed more armored guards stationed every few feet inside the halls.
"What is going on?"
Finally, we came to a stop. He grumbled to himself and glanced down at a small piece of paper I didn't realize he was holding until that moment.
"165." He remarked to himself, I don't think he realized he had spoken outloud.
"What?"
"I said be quiet."
Suddenly, we veered to the left-- through the opening, into one of the hallways. We passed by what seemed like hundreds of identical, gray doors before coming to a stop in front of one. I could barely make out the faded numbers on the surface, 165.
"No, please. Look, if you just let me go now I won't tell anyone. I just want to go home!" I managed to make out before the door was opened and I was shoved into the dark room that lay inside.