THE SECOND SYMPTOM

I realized something too late. Being a therapist to just one person was not enough to fill my time. At the moment, it was in the early hours of noon and I had nothing to do. I had already unpacked my belongings, watched videos and done everything that could coming to mind. Still, I was bored. So, I decided to check out those paintings on the ground floor. 

Using the elevator, clicked on the button G thinking it meant ground floor. Little did I know I was taking myself down to a place I should never have known existed. The elevator took me way past the ground floor, down to a basement that was probably under the underground garage. I didn't realize how far down I had gone until the elevator doors open and revealed a very dark hallway. I looked at the buttons and noticed that before the one labelled G, there was another one with the label 0 . That was probably the one for the ground floor so, I clicked on it, expecting the elevator to move up but it didn't. It didn't even budge!

"Amanda, you should have just stayed in your room." I muttered to myself. I was already regretting ever exploring because the hallway I was seeing before me looked like something from a horror movie. Like a scene where a monster would appear from the depths of darkness and drag you in it. 

I hugged myself as I began to feel goosebumps rise. I check the pockets of the shorts I was wearing, hoping that I had brought my phone along but it wasn't there. 

Suddenly, I heard a low growl from afar. It sounded like a growl that would come from a dangerously big dog so I tried to close the elevator doors but it didn't budge. It remained open. Even the light from the bulb in elevator flickered. Things were beginning to turn to sn intro of a horror movie. 

"Mr. Slander! Mr Slander!" I tried calling for help but it felt like my efforts were futile. How would Mr. Slander hear my voice from afar? What if he was on a higher floor? How would anyone find me? Would this be how I die? My mind reeled over those thoughts. 

Suddenly, I heard another growl. This one louder than the one I heard before. My heart stopped beating for a moment. I forgot how to breath. I was so terrified I felt a cold sweat at the back of my neck. I was instantly aware that I wasn't alone in that dark place. There was something lethal lurking in the dark, waiting for me to make the wrong move. I clicked desperately on the buttons repeatedly to take me up to whatever floor. As long as it was away, I would be okay.

Slowly the sound of the growl got louder, closer. I took many steps backwards until my butt hit the walls of the elevator. "Somebody, please help me." I cried out of desperation. Fear creeped in my body, in every fiber of me. How was supposed to escape this when the elevator was stuck? 

I noticed a pair of dark brown eyes shining in the dark before I saw one of the paws of the beast stepping into the light. It had claws sharp enough to tear me into two. My body shook in fear. "Somebody, help me! Please, help!" I screamed louder this time with everything in me. I didn't want to die. Not like this. Not when I was so far from home. 

"You can stop screaming now. It is not going to hurt you..." I heard a familiar voice say. "... At least, not while I am holding its chains." The man walked out of the darkness to reveal himself. It was Mr. Greystone. 

"What are you... How?" I was lacking the words to speak. 

"What are you doing here? Didn't Cal tell you about the restricted part of the mansion?" He asked in slight frustration. 

"No...no he didn't." I shook my head repeatedly. 

"You shouldn't be here." He murmured before hitting a switch and the entire hallway suddenly was revealed. How did I not notice the switch earlier? I wondered. 

Looking at Mr Greystone, I realized that he was way handsome than I had thought. He was currently shirtless with a pair of sweatpants hanging in his waist. Little beads of sweat glittered on his abdomen. My eyes unintentionally traced his body. He was ripped! I knew he was muscular but I didn't know he looked this sexy underneath his clothes. My gaze slowly looked up until I met his eyes. The way his dark grey eyes stared at me made me realize that he had just caught me checking him out. I looked away, embarrassed.

"Follow me. It's not safe for you to stay alone down here." He said before leading me down the hallway. All the while, the huge wolfhound that had been growling looked at me ferociously like I was his meal. What breed was this? I asked myself. I have never understood why people kept dangerous animals as pets. Of all the ways to spend money, that was definitely not an option for me. I walked at Mr. Greystones other side as he held the chains to the dog firmly on his other hand. 

"You have barely stayed here for six hours and you nearly had yourself killed. My dog would have shredded you to pieces if I hadn't been here. Are you sure you can survive being here?" He raised an eyebrow at me when he threw that question. 

"I wouldn't be in danger if you keep your dog chained properly in a cage." I blurted out. He glanced at me for a moment.

"Tsk. Tsk. This basement is his cage. I let him roam about down here. Look around, do you see any cage?" He asked.

It was then I noticed that there wasn't any cage. Just a large expanse of room. It was like the garage above, only that it didn't have any car. I had so scared I didn't notice all these even when he had turn on the lights. Then I heard another growl. I looked at the dog beside him and noticed it wasn't that dog that growled. 

Wait a minute...

"How many dogs are in here?" I stopped to ask. He stopped walking too. He dog he had restrained tried to jump at me but he held it firmly before responding.

"Ten." He said with a nonchalant way like he had merely told me the time. 

"Ten? You mean there are about nine more dogs like this..." I looked at the huge dog baring his teeth at me. "... roaming about in this...this... I don't even know what to call this." I was terrified. 

"It's a cage for all of them." He muttered before he resumed walking. 

"Where are you even taking me to? Shouldn't we be going that way to the elevator?" I pointed in the direction of the elevator that had brought me down there. 

"Are you not supposed to be one of the smart ones?" He threw a question back at me.

"Are you with a phone? Let me call someone? I don't feel safe here." 

"You shouldn't even be here in the first place. You and that little restless feet of yours." He kept walking ahead. I followed him because I didn't want to be alone when any of his dogs find me. The growls became louder as we walked forward. 

Soon, we got to a dark corner. When Mr. Greystone turned on the lights for that corner, it revealed the remaining nine dogs chained to a wall. 

"You could have told me they were already chained." I facepalm myself. 

"And risk you discovering an eleventh one. I have only known you for a short while but I know you have a knack for walking into places you shouldn't, discovering things that will endanger you." He countered. 

"You don't know me." I said it more to myself because a little of what he had said was true. I had a knack of discovering things I shouldn't. Like how the fact that my ex was cheating on me was glaringly obvious but I refused to see it. 

I watched him secure the chains of the tenth dog to the wall. He did that before walking straight to an elevator close by. "You have two elevators?" I asked rhetorically. It now made sense why he had chosen to walk all the way there. "You could have just told me there was another way out. "

"Unless you are enjoying the company of my dogs, come with me." He simply said before entering the elevator. Without hesitation, he clicked a button and had the doors closing while I was not yet in there. I rushed in before it would completely close.

"Why did you do that?" I asked. Every action of this man baffled me. Didn't he care that I might end up as his dogs' dinner if he had left me there? 

"Why did I what? Close the doors? The questions you ask sometimes..." He scoffed. "You are supposed to be the smarter one, a doctor! Your questions make me wonder if you have ever seen the walls of a university before." He looked down at me, literally. 

"I am a certified therapist. An expert in my field." Before I could say more, he cut me off. 

"Oh, now I see why you are dumb in other aspects of life. " He retorted.

"Mr. Greystone. I do not care if you are the president of this fucking country. You do not have the right to insult me!" I spoke firmly as I glared at him. His huge body frame didn't intimidate me. Not in the slightest, especially when I was angry with him. 

"I do. You are my therapist and I can talk to you however I please. You can see it as a part of our session to make your ego feel better." He countered without even glancing at me. Soon, the doors to the elevator opened and revealed a spacious suite. It was three times the size of my suite. 

It was then I realized the elevator we used was a private elevator. An elevator that took him directly to his room. Who the hell was this guy? I asked myself. 

"Cal, come up to my room right now and get this walking nuisance out of my room." I heard him suddenly say. He was on a call to his personal assistant. The way he had spoken made it like I had come to his room to harass him. I turned to face in annoyance, ready to blast him with a dose of insult in my mother tongue but he wasn't there anymore. It was when I heard the shower running that I realized he was I the bathroom. Fortunately for him, I could not go there.

I walked out of the room, not waiting for Mr. Slander to meet me there. I saw him in the hallway, coming from the other end. 

"Miss. I need you to come with me." That was all he said to me before turning around. He led me to my room which was just at the end of the hallway. 

When we entered my room, I realized that something was off. There were about four men in black suit standing around a chair. They a looked mean like they would attack me if I made the wrong move.

"Mr. Slander, why are these men in my room?" I asked as I took a step back.

"I would advise that you sit quietly on that chair." He said calmly as he sat across the seat those men were behind. "You can not run far away even if you tried. It is best you comply." He crossed his legs and stared pointedly at me.

At that moment, I knew I had gotten myself into something dangerous. I should have listened to my family.