Chapter 15

"Open the door or I'll shout and tell everyone that you're an intruder "

I stop dead in my tracks. I look around in case anyone heard it. Thankfully no one is in the hallway right now.

"Play along," says Alex

I walk up to the door. Those dark eyes stare back at me as I glance at them.

"That's a lame joke. " I say in a manly voice. I don't know what to do!

The guy laughs "Oh my god, stop! Don't even try to act innocent. It's hilarious and pathetic "

"I'm not! It's me, Kim! Did you hit your- " I say but he cuts me off.

"Those men must either be really really dumb, blind as a bat or they just don't care about Kim at all. You can drop the act and listen to me closely," he says while looking me straight in the eye.

I gulp hard. I glance at Alex and he simply shrugs. I place my back against the wall.

"Talk" I whisper.

"Open the door," he says. Fear begins to well up inside me.

"Why? What are you gonna do!? " I say.

Suddenly a door from the right hallway opens and a woman comes out. This is the first time I'm seeing a woman in here. She looks like she's in her late 30s. Her curly hair is in a mess as if she just woke up.

She glances at me and then ignores. It looks like she's walking up to me so I tense up. She stops at the elevator. While yawning, she presses the elevator button. She smells of cigarettes.

As she waits for the elevator to come, she looks at me "What are you doing standing over there? "

What do I say! I think for a second.

"Tell her you just felt dizzy " Alex says as he comes to my side.

"Oh, nothing, I just felt a bit dizzy from drinking too much," I say and place my fingers on my temples.

"Hmmm, whatever," she says as the elevator doors open and she enters it. As the doors close, I see she takes out a cigarette from her pant pocket.

After she's gone, I sigh in relief.

"Open the door and come in. We could talk inside. It'll be easier. Especially for you. " the guy behind the metal door says. I could feel his mouth forming a smirk.

"What's your goal here? " I say angrily.

"Don't worry. I'm not gonna do anything to you, I just wanna talk"

As if! This guy already sounds like trouble!

"I checked the room. It did seem ordinary but it was smaller than the other rooms and there's no window. There was a box of tools under the bed too." Alex says and goes inside the room. After few seconds he comes back and nods.

"How...did you know that I'm..you know," I say. Afraid that someone will hear me saying that word.

"Come in and I'll tell you. Now I'm gonna count till 3. Open the door till then or I'm going to blow your cover " he says

"1..." he begins...

I should probably just do it.

"2.." he continues.

I unlock the door. The door had 3 locks in total.

There's definitely a reason why he's locked up in here. I can already feel the dangerous vibes coming from inside the room.

The door opens a little. Then it suddenly opens wider and a hand reaches out and grabs my arm. Before I could process what's going on I'm pulled inside and the door is shut behind me.

Inside, I'm pushed onto the sofa. The room is dark. Why does he have the lights off?

"Lisa! You ok? " I can hear Alex but I can't see him.

Suddenly the lights are turned on. My eyes flinch and try to adjust to the brightness.

There's a young guy standing next to the light switch. He looks like he's in his early 20s or he may even be about my age. He's got blonde hair and clever eyes. Hate to say it but he really is good looking.

He catches me staring and smirks. I look away in embarrassment.

"You may have Kim's physique and height but that voice and face gives it away. The others never cared about Kim that much to even notice. But hey...now that I look closer, your a girl aren't you?" he says and sits on a chair. This creep.

I glance at Alex. He looks frustrated.

"Let's start by introducing ourselves. My name's Theo. You ? " he asks.

"...Lisa," I say uncomfortably. Unlike last time, I can't fight him or use the chloroform. He seems sharp and quick.

"Chill. I'm not gonna do anything to you. I just wanna talk since its been a while I had a proper conversation with someone "

" Why...are you locked up in here," I say confidently.

"Hmmm. Well, you see, the thing is, I was smuggled here. You already know what this place is and yet you came here all alone. Gotta say you got guts." he claps for a second. I stay silent.

Then he continues "Getting back on the topic, I was among the kids who were going to be sold off. But... I made a deal with them."

"What deal? " I ask.

"That'll I'll be of use to them. That I'll help them. I knew quite a bit about hacking. At first, they didn't agree but I kept insisting until finally, they gave in. They understood my expertise could be of great help. Since then, I've been locked up in this room for years." he says.

"Why...would you help them? " I ask.

He gets up and walks over to me. "Isn't it obvious? I did it to survive " he says as if it was stupid of me to even ask.

"By the way, is talking to yourself a habit of yours?" Theo asks mockingly.

I stiffen up. I totally forgot the fact that he had heard me before "Ummm, yeah...kinda "

"Lisa, This guy has shady written all over him. Better not trust him." Alex says.

Duh! I know that!

He then giggles "You know, I can already tell you must have been really scared when you were with those men playing the game. "

"What of it? " I say sternly.

"If you knew who they actually are, you would have been extremely terrified. Like you know that glasses guy? Ben? I bet you wondered why everyone feels intimidated by him right? "

Well....he's right.

"He loves killing. Especially young girls "

My face goes pale and I suddenly feel uneasy.

"You're pretty lucky. Being in a room full of bad people and a murderer." he laughs again.

"Ask him what he wants," Alex says. He looks pretty fed up with Theo. But before I could ask him anything, he begins to talk.

"Now let's address the elephant in the room. Why are YOU here?" he says sitting back down on the chair.

Should I tell him? I'm not even sure I could trust him yet.

"Well...I'm going to save the kids," I say.

He looks at me and then blinks. Few seconds he's laughing like a madman.

Suddenly there's a bang on the door.

"keep it down!!! What's wrong with you!?" someone shouts from outside.

"Sorry!, just remembered a really funny joke" he answers between breaths as he looks at me. I grit my teeth. I'm getting really frustrated with him now.

We hear the man's footsteps fade away.

"I'll ignore how you even found out about all this but don't tell me you came to this lion's den ALONE to save who knows how many kids without being caught!? " he snickers.

"Tell me what do you want from me," I say ignoring his taunts.

He grins and looks at the wall." I wanna go with you "

What!?

I look over at Alex and he simply shakes his head. He's against it too.

"I've always thought of escaping from here. Since I'm good at hacking and all. Or I could hand them over to the authorities. But...if they get caught they'll kill me. They made that very clear. So, Lisa, I'll help you save those kids. Let me help you. " he says in a concerned voice.

I know. I know that I shouldn't trust him. But...I also know how much less terrified I'll be with someone by my side. Alex is here and he may be all I need but still...

"I don't trust you though," I say.

"You know, I'm already asking you nicely. Otherwise, do you understand the position you are in right now? " he says and looks towards the door.

This handsome bastard! He's blackmailing me! I'll be leading a person who gives off dangerous vibes straight to the kids. What do I do!?

"I think the fact that your still ok should be enough to trust me right " he smiles sweetly.

"I really hate to say this but you gotta do as he says. Don't have a choice." Alex says. His face is a mix of disappointment and anger.

"Ok then...I'll as you say, " I say getting up from the sofa.

"Great! I promise I'll protect you! And the kids! " says Theo as he gets up too. He walks to another room. Opening the drawer or a table, he pulls out a cap and mask.

"I hope nothing bad happens" I whisper to Alex. He stays silent.

"Lisa.....I'm so sorry. I....re-"  He begins but I cut him off.

"Don't. I mean it. I'm doing this mostly for myself. I'm...a selfish person. Did you forget? This is my redemption " I whisper back as I watch Theo put on the cap and mask. I don't like seeing Alex like this. I want him to be his usual idiotic self.

"Lisa..." Alex begins to say.

"Let's go! " Theo exclaims and walks over to the door. Placing his ear to the door and looking through the letter hole, he nods.

"All clear," he says.

I could feel Alex wanted to say something. I glance at him but he simply shakes his head and smiles.

"Ok," I say to Theo and go to him as he opens the door.