Page 7 of Guarded By the Golem

The key turned in the lock, and my captor walked in with a tray of food.

“I’m sorry, Maya, but you understand. There will be some instances when I will have to make sure you don’t cause a scene.”

I looked up at him, unable to do anything. I just stared into his eyes, hoping he would show some kind of emotion, but he remained cold and heartless. I couldn’t understand how he could do this to me. He wasn’t a monster. At least not in the sense that he was of a different species than me. He was human, and he was doing this to another human. To a woman who couldn’t protect herself. He was sick beyond anything I could’ve imagined possible.

I waited for him to untie me. He placed the food tray on the ground, then slowly undid the restraints around my ankles.

“Don’t try anything stupid,” he said. “You can’t overpower me. Last time, you gave yourself a concussion.”

Right. My head still throbbed, and I was in constant pain. He’d patched up my wound and given me painkillers, but not too many, saying something about how he didn’t want the pills to spoil my blood. I had no clue why my blood was so important to him. He was almost obsessed with it.

He untied my hands, but immediately cuffed them to the chain that was bolted to the floor. Finally, he removed the duct tape. I took a deep breath and shot him a stare that was filled with hatred. He passed me the glass of water he’d brought, and I accepted it with shaking hands. I was thirsty all the time. He only allowed me three glasses a day, with the three meals he delivered himself.

“Doesn’t dehydration affect the quality of my blood?” I asked.

“I’ll bring you a few bottles of water. Don’t abuse my generosity, though.”

I huffed. “Your generosity?”

“You should be grateful, Maya. I’m taking good care of you.”

I looked around me. The bucket in a corner, the chair that was bolted to the floor, the filthy mattress I was sitting on. Was he delusional? Maybe he needed a new prescription for his eyeglasses.

He sat on the floor, legs crossed, and placed the tray on my lap. He didn’t take his eyes off me. I dug in, knowing he wasn’t going to leave until I finished eating, so he could take the tray. Just in case I thought of using it, or the plastic plates and utensils, to make some sort of rudimentary weapon.

“Do you want to know who that was?” he asked.

I didn’t say anything.

“I hired a bodyguard,” he continued. “Just for you. I told you I care about you a lot, Maya. You’re important to me. In fact, right now, you’re the most important thing I own.”

At his words, the tiny hairs on my arms stood on end. Anger boiled in my chest, and I pushed it down. He didn’t own me.Whatever he said, it wasn’t true, and I had to remind myself of that. He was impossible to argue with, so I wasn’t going to try.

“This bodyguard is expensive, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. He starts tomorrow. So, enjoy a little freedom today. Move around, exercise a little. I’ll have to tie you up again in the morning. I’ll be in my lab all day, and I don’t need you causing a commotion.”

“Does this mean...” I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say, how to express myself. My head was killing me, and it felt like my brain was glitching. It happened a lot when I tried to think really hard about something or make sense of something my captor said. “Does this mean he doesn’t know what he’s guarding?”

He grinned. “He will realize soon enough. By that time, however, he will have understood how easy this job is and won’t want to jeopardize it. Plus, you’re none of his business. I hired him, I’m paying him, so he will follow my orders. He can’t do anything for you, Maya. Okay? Get that into your head because I know what you’re thinking. You hope that if you get a chance to talk to him and play victim, he will help you. He won’t. I’ll tie you up, anyway. Just the first few days, until he gets used to his new posting. We’ll see how it goes.”

I couldn’t take another bite. He noticed and frowned.

“Finish your meal,” he said. “You won’t get anything else until dinner.”

“I’m not hungry anymore.”

“You will be hungry later.”

“Just leave it here, then. What are you so afraid of?”

He squinted at me, unhappy with my attitude, then pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Fine. You can have the plate. No fork, though.”

As if I could do anything with a cheap plastic fork.

He got up. Before leaving, he checked my cuffs and the chain.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, though I knew it was futile.

---