Page 10 of Written in the Scars

My phone pulls me out of the staring competition I was having with Reagans front door, Chuck, he’s been pretty pissy with me too, since I went dark. He doesn’t seem to understand that nothing matters without her by myside.

“Yes, Chuck?” I’m blunt, I have no patience for his whining.

“Orion, Finally, just wanted to check in. See if…”

“I need to keep the line free” I grunt, a sigh coming from his end.

“Look, there’s been talk between the security at Glass, some of them being offered jobs elsewhere with a much more generous pay” he’s hesitant as he goes on.

“What do you…”

I interrupt him a second time “Then let them go, I’ll talk to you later” I hang up as I see Selene enter the apartment, it's late morning so this seems unusual. I rest my elbows on my desk running my fingers over the stubble growing across my jaw as she walks through the apartment calling out for Reagan.

She enters Reagan’s bedroom and sits on the edge of her bed, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks, her eyes turning a deep shade of pink as she rubs at them. I feel an ache in my chest as I watch her. They must have been closer than I thought.

I make my way to the bathroom, I need to smarten myself up. I plan on visiting her office today, maybe she called in after theweekend. I feel like it's going to be a waste of time but until I hear from Frank, I have nothing but watching the camera footage and visiting Crawl to keep me burning this world to the ground to find her.

Everything’s the same as I exit the elevators, walking towards the same receptionist I met on my first visit. She meets my gaze, standing straight to her feet. Her fingers reach for a button next to the phone “Hello again, are you here for Reagan?”, she forces a smile as she looks over my shoulder, but I don’t bother to look. “Yes, is she in her office?” I play along, as if I have no idea that she is missing.

“No, I’m afraid she isn’t in today.” Her voice is low not far from being a whisper. “She is working from home, I believe.” Well, I know that’s not true, does she know something. Confusion must cross my face as she shakes her head slightly, but then goes back to sitting in her chair and continuing to answer the endless incoming calls.

I turn myself to leave, my mind planning on how to get this woman on her own and ask her what she knows. She had a nervous demeanor about her today. As I head back to the elevator, I look down the hallway, getting a glimpse of Nathan round the last corner, I consider following him but in my current mood it would only end badly, for him.

Reagan

My head is pounding, my ears filled with the sound of my own heartbeat. I try to open my eyes, but they are covered with some sort of blindfold, the material is rough against my temples. My hands bound above me by what feels like rope, my body hanging, I can feel the sway as my body moves, pain electrifying through my shoulders. I’m freezing and it's then I realize I’m naked, completely bare to whoever has me.

Panic begins to surge through me. I start screaming, begging for anyone to help me. I stop to take a breath when I hear something shuffling, am I not alone. “Who’s there?” not that I was expecting a response, it was a pathetic attempt of communication. “Please, let me go!”Great, now I’m begging my captor!Then the tears flow, the realization that I have a captor.

Nightmares start to flash across my mind,hecrosses my mind. They aren’t nightmares, they are memories.

It can’t behim, it's impossible for it to behim.

I hear more movement but it's distant, maybe coming from behind a closed door. “Hello, is anyone there?” my voice is horse now, the screaming has burnt my throat and the crying hasn’t helped. I hear footsteps come from behind me, moving my head to try and peep below my blindfold, my entire body on fire from the pain.

The steps stop in front of me. “Please, don’t…” tape, sticky thick tape, now not only can I not see but I can’t bloody speak either! And I’m struggling to breathe through my nose since I’ve been a blubbering mess of tears and screams. I grunt, trying to argue at the situation, it’s all I can do as the footsteps walk away, closing a door behind them.

I try to go back over the events leading up to how I got here, the large figure, the speeding car that nearly hit me, the men in suits. I can’t remember their faces, there must have been a fourth. The only thing I strongly remember is that smell, it must have been chloroform. My nose stings at the memory.

And brings forward the memories from before, memories I’ve tried to bury so deep I’d forget them.

I must have passed out or I’ve already begun to black out periods of time. As I come back around, I notice my body hurts more now, my arms feel numb due to the lack of circulation to them. I try to move my fingers to see if I can get a feel for what I’m hanging from. The tips of my fingers meet the cold, rough texture of metal, a hook? Maybe,heused a hook so why wouldn’t this one? I stretch my toes trying to gage how far off the floor I am but there’s no hope, I’m not exactly tall.

I try to move my legs, feel for anything around me, a chair, a stool or just a box, something I can use to help raise me up just enough to unhook myself. I let out a muffled cry as the strain on my arms increases from the movement. I feel something to my left, metal, but I’m not sure what it is. I brace myself, clenching my teeth as I prepare to grab it with both feet.

A bed is the only thing that comes to mind, the curve of the frame rings a familiar image in my mind. I feel sick, I try again, trying to wrap my ankles around the frames to pull it closer. An almighty rattle of metal fills the move as the contact shakes thebed.

Waiting to see if my captor comes to see what the noise was.

When I hear nothing, I try again, crying with every movement.

Reagan

I was hoping it was all a terrible dream when I woke up again. However, I know I’m not alone this time, I can hear someonebehind me. Their breathing is heavy and tapping away on their phone. I grunt as I try to turn slightly but it's no use, my body rejects all movement.

I wonder for a moment how long I’ve been here and how long I will be here for. I know for sure I won’t be leaving alive, I’ve covered the story of young girls gone missing. You know, the kind of girl who keeps to herself, has a small circle, not many will question her whereabouts. My thoughts jump to Selene, is she worried about me? Has she even noticed I’m missing, or does she think I’m still knocking boots with Orion?

Holy shit, Orion.

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