Everyone else heard the threatening sound. Some were trying to hide, while others became frozen with fear. I was one of the latter.
I felt so paralyzed. I could hear my own heartbeat like thunder in my ears. My limbs seemed to refuse to budge, my muscles tense as steel. A cold chill washed over me like a wave, terror hitting me like a tsunami.
I heard the door click as it was unlocked. The handle turning. The door open, and close behind the owner of the house, the keys being placed on what I would assume to be the table. Gigantic steps rumbled the floor beneath me, growing closer, each footfall more jarring than the last.
A feminine foot as tall as I was entered my view, clad in sandals. An exposed leg stretched far above me. I lifted my head up at the monolith as the rest of it entered view.
As I had thought before, it was a woman. She was thin, to an almost unhealthy extent. She wore a black dress that revealed her pale skin. Her hair was brown and short, only going down to her shoulders. I could not see her face.
Out of seemingly nowhere, she recoiled in surprise. With a turn of her head, she saw every one of us. She stopped when she saw me. We made eye contact, recognizing each other immediately.
It was Kailee. I knew her from high school as a bit of a loner. At one point I had tried to befriend her, but instead accidentally ended up embarrassing her in front of the entire school. I still cringe at the thought of it to this day.
I could see her resentment immediately. Adrenaline kicked in, my body finally responding to my mind’s demand to run. I snapped out of my frozen state, spinning on my heel and rushing back towards the wall. I dove head-first into the crack, sliding out of reach but not daring to leave the house. My best bet was to remain inside the walls.
Kailee let out an annoyed groan. “I saw you shrinkees!” She hissed, “Don. I saw you, too. If you come to me, I will let your friends leave.”
I was terrified. My chest was heaving in the dusty cavity in the wall. I had to go. I couldn’t leave my group back in there.
I composed myself. “LET THEM LEAVE FIRST, THEN I’LL COME OUT!”, I shouted.
There was silence for a moment.
Finally, she responded. “Alright. But, if you don’t come out, I will personally find all your buddies and kill them myself.”
I gulped. I was soooo fucked. But maybe if I explained myself to her she’d let me go? For now, all I could do was wait for all of my friends to leave.
…
After a few minutes, Kailee had released every single one of them through the front door, locking it behind herself.
I had no choice anymore. I took a deep breath, and slid my body out from the crack, hanging my head low. She stepped into the room.
“Listen, Don. I’m not evil. I believe in justice. It just so happens that you’ve been put into the perfect place to allow me to finally deliver it.”
“Kailee,” I pleaded, “I didn’t mean to embarrass you, I-“
“Cool the act.” She scoffed, “I don’t want to hear it. It’s a tale as old as time, popular guy embarrasses loner in front of everyone. Only difference is this time, I get ultimate revenge. I own you now, Don.”
That last part sent a shiver down my spine. It wasn’t true. She had not yet signed the papers that dictated it so. I was still legally a free man for now… right?
Kailee continued. “Now what do I do with a little bully… let’s go find out!”
She quickly scooped me up and brought me to her room. I felt completely unprepared for whatever awaited me.
“Now I can’t completely break you just yet, but there’s so many things I want to try!” She cheered, opening the door to her room.
I immediately noticed It was quite a mess. Unmade bed, clothes strewn about, glass cups everywhere. She didn’t seem to care, navigating between the sea of litter expertly.
I was quickly tossed into one of her empty mugs, a bit of water pooling at my feet. I could not see outside, but I could hear her doing something.
“You should take those clothes off, they look like shit.” Kailee muttered,
“I worked hard on this…” I retorted pitifully, my voice echoing around the ceramic walls. It was shameful, but I had a lot of pride in this particular set of rags. It had brought me through a vicious encounter with a rat at one point.
“Just take them off.” She demanded. Reluctantly, I reached for the string tied around my waist that held my robe closed. I would much rather embarrass myself than find out what would happen if I didn’t listen to her. After a couple seconds of fumbling with the string, it finally came undone. The previously tight cloth slid open, cold air meeting my now exposed chest.
I quickly slid off the robe, letting it drop into the wet ground. I gave it a solemn salute. You will not be forgotten, dear cloak.
I was sitting in a mug. My feet were wet, it was dark. I was completely nude. It had been five minutes. At this rate, I have absolutely no idea as to where I could be tomorrow.
The ground began to shift and rotate below me as I was dumped onto her desk next to her keyboard, the jarring shift leaving my head spinning. I could feel Kailee’s massive presence looming above me. Craning my neck up at her, my squinting eyes seemed to be refusing to focus.
She was wearing a tight workout outfit. With the revealing outfit I got a good look at her, well, everything. Her pale, clear skin, her thin form that was borderline anorexic. I didn’t do that, did I? God, I hope not…
I had to stifle a groan when I saw her keychain dangling from her finger, a gym membership card strung on it. I quickly put two and two together: we were going to the gym.