You Are Dead

21

Friday 12 December

‘How long? How long are you going to keep me here? How long, whoever the hell you are? Let me go!’ Logan shouted out into the green-tinged darkness. ‘I need sugar, I need water! Please.’

The sheer terror of her situation had made her forget about her toe, until now. It was throbbing painfully. The restraints across her stomach, wrists, thighs and legs felt as if they were cutting into her flesh. Her right leg was cramping and she desperately needed to stretch it, but she could not move. She tried again to lift her head, but immediately something cut into her neck, choking her.

Her mouth was dry and her lips were sticking together, but her body was clammy. She recognized the signals that she was desperately low on sugar. Soon, she would have a hypo and pass out.

Who had screamed earlier? Was there someone else in this place with her?

Anger had momentarily replaced the deep, sick sensation of fear inside her. How long had she been here? Wherever here was? Was it Jamie doing this? What was he going to do? Keep her here until she agreed to marry him after all? That sure as hell would be a great start to a life together.

Yeah, she broke it off, so I drugged her and locked her in a cellar and starved her and refused to give her any sugar or let her pee until she agreed to marry me.

Two weeks till Christmas. Two crucial weeks for her, for Chrissake. She was really starting to contribute to the clinic’s profits, and being able to put aside a little money to top up her savings would allow her to buy a small property for herself after she and Jamie parted.

But every day counted. She had no idea of the time, nor how long she had been here. It was her mother’s birthday today — if today was Friday — and she had planned to call her, in advance of driving this weekend to see her parents.

Compared to her previous boyfriend, who was serially unfaithful, Logan had found Jamie, initially, a breath of fresh air. He was kind and gentle, a good cook and she liked his humour.

It had only been as she got to know him better that she began to understand quite how limited Jamie was. In the first few months of dating, they did everything together. Drinks, meals, walks, movies, watching stuff on television. It was very gradually and subtly that she began to realize he really didn’t have many interests of his own, beyond watching sport on television and occasionally going to the AmEx stadium to watch Brighton and Hove Albion home games. He was like a chameleon, fitting into her life by adopting everything that she liked to do.

Last year, when she had begun training for the Brighton Marathon, he took up running for a short time, to train with her. She loved road cycling, so he bought a fancy road bike himself, to accompany her. In those early days she’d been all for it, it was nice to have companionship — not many of her friends were that sporty. But gradually she had started to miss her solitude. A big irritation had been three months ago, when she had joined a book group, and immediately, although he rarely read books, except genre thrillers, he asked to join too. After the first meeting at which he’d insulted everyone present by calling them pretentious nobs, he’d abandoned the idea.

He had taken it hard and been tearful when she’d told him she had decided she did not want to marry him, and they should go their separate ways. But never in her wildest dreams did she imagine he would do this to her, kidnap her and keep her prisoner.

If it was him.

It had to be him, surely?

Jamie was not a violent or cruel person. It didn’t make any sense. Was there something deeper in his character she had missed? Was he going to keep her down here until she agreed to marry him?

She saw a light moving. A faint green glow. Coming closer.

‘Jamie?’ she said. ‘Jamie, please, let’s talk.’

She heard something sliding above her head.

Then a beam shone directly in her eyes, momentarily dazzling her. The beam moved away for a moment.

Someone was standing right above her. Their face obscured by what looked like a gimp mask.

Then she felt something pressed against her lips. Something sweet. She tasted honey and gulped it down. Then two capsules were placed in her mouth, followed by water from a plastic cup.

She heard the sliding sound again above her. Then muffled footsteps receding.

As the sound faded she had a ghastly thought and a terrible slick of fear slid through her.

Was she being illogical in her thinking? What if it was not Jamie? Where did the man in the car park fit in? Were they working together?

What if this was a total random stranger?