Two

I was abruptly dragged from my dreams by yet another bucket of iced cold water.

Gasping, I push myself on trembling arms to sit and lean against the damn wall. Eagan was staring at me with a puzzled look on his face.

" I thought you passed out," He says as a way of explaining himself, " You haven't eaten. Planing on starving yourself to death or perhaps dieting," That sort of hurt. Did he think I was fat? Or that was his attempt at humour. Bastard.

" That's a sorry as of a joke," I grumbled back. I haven't seen anyone else yet other than Eagan.

" Twice in a day. I must be special," I bite back when he pushes yet another bowl of the same beige mush in front of me.

I take it without looking at him, and when I raise my head, my lips twitch with amusement because I know in the next two point five seconds is going to be all over him.

When the bowl hits him in the face he stumbles back a few steps giving me a full view of his nice little leather jacket and face covered in pureed food.

" It's a good look on you," I can't keep the laughter in my voice at bay," I'd say it's an improvement," I add, and he sneers.

" Bitch," He curses some more, wiping the remnants of my supposed lunch or dinner off his face, and flings it onto the floor.

" Fine, you want to starve yourself. Be my guest," He adds backing away from the little alcove.

" You'll be begging for food in a day or two," I heard Eagan say from the recesses of the dark corridor he'd vanished into, while I revelled in that little victory.

It was small but I counted it as a win.

I just needed to find Mason again. Now that was a herculean task, I was definitely not ready for. I didn't know where he was being held but one thing I knew it was nowhere near in the northern hemisphere. The heat that clung to my skin wasn't typical of the time of year we were in.

He'd mentioned that he owned a business in the Middle East. It's always suffocatingly hot no matter what time of year it is. That was a start.

Although, I was left with plenty of other puzzles to solve. Shay? Never heard the name spoken from him or otherwise. Enid seemed to be in the dark as much as I was.

Call for Shay. He will find you.

Easier said than done. Worry was niggling at me. He was being tortured and I was being held captive. Both of us were in a shitty situation. And I frankly saw no way out.

Maybe Emmy would come looking for me. Or maybe our history together has run its course. Maybe she was just part of a contingency plan gone wrong.

There isn't much one can do whilst chained to the floor, other than let the mind roam. Reality is nothing more than a well-crafted illusion. It's only a matter of which illusion we choose to live in.

That didn't make any sense not even to bashed up brain. Clearly, I was losing it, if I came up with that kind of philosophy that could only be induced by hallucinogenic mushrooms.

The events were taking their toll on me. It was too much and so little time to process.

I needed to break it down, whatever I could remember. The devil is in the details. My father used to say. But then again he was speaking about balancing books, not figuring out how to find someone all the way across the world. How to find someone named Shay.

Or how to break into cuffs thicker than my arm. I wasn't sure I could move with those things strapped to my legs. I suppose that was the purpose.

I wouldn't be able to lock pick them even if someone gave me the step-by-step instructions along with the tools.

Oh, Joy.

Can you tell I was in a shitty situation?

Soft whispers dragged me out of my musings, I squinted hoping to catch a glimpse of the people that lurked in the darkness. Or perhaps I was hearing things.

Apple

That boy that appeared while I was in the white plains, and I never saw again. Maybe I could summon him again.

It was worth a try. And I had nothing to lose. For once, I looked forward to returning to the white plains. That place had been trying to kill me from the very beginning. For once I'll let it succeed and hasten the path I had chosen for me. It was only a matter of time before I'd find myself getting dragged in there. Patience is a virtue, they say.

Virtue is grace, and grace is an annoying little girl if you ask me.

It's best that you don't ask me.

I'm not known to be the most sound person alive.

My mind is in overdrive ninety-nine per cent of the time, and my imagination goes full throttle whether I like it or not.

I think I dosed off after that thought because my mind went blank and I didn't find myself dragged anywhere other than into a dreamless sleep.

Strange, since that was exactly what I needed.

I need to gather my thoughts, so I can tackle the mystery of my life with a somewhat clearer mind and even an emptier stomach.