Day 1 (1)

~*~

When he regained consciousness, the first thing Chrees noticed was the excruciating pain that was running through his entire body. Not only did his face hurt, but also the back of his head, neck, back, shoulders, arms, and lower limbs. The young man simply felt like he had been beaten up and had absolutely no idea why he was in this state. At first, he thought it must be the result of a hangover, his memories being equally fuzzy at that moment. However, the pain was far too great and too widespread to be the case. The cause must therefore be elsewhere.

But no matter the reason behind his pain, it didn’t change the fact that he was hurting everywhere and even more in his face, the area where the pain seemed to be the most intense. Therefore, he tried to touch it – and also to remove what he had in his mouth – but then found out that he was unable to move as he pleased. Something…something was preventing him from doing so. Moore began to gesticulate in all directions, hoping to finally be able to be free of his movements. However, the more he moved, the more he felt that his movements were more and more restricted. And finding himself in a situation he had never experienced before, the young man naturally began to panic.

Chrees wanted to know what was holding him back…what was stopping him from moving, but he was unable to. Even though he had his eyes wide open, everything was dark around him. He was in total darkness. The young man kept moving in all directions, even trying to scream for help, but all his attempts to be able to move freely or to attract the attention of anyone who could help him all ended in failure.

Exhausted and desperate, Moore continued to struggle and call for help, but with less intensity than at the beginning. In addition, he tried to think of a solution to get out of the situation he was in, but the task proved extremely difficult. Indeed, not really knowing where he was and finding himself completely in the dark, the young man had a lot of trouble keeping his ideas clear. Not only was he trying to think of one or more solutions to his problem, but he was also trying to remember how he had ended up in this place. His memories were still confused, the youth only remembering the conflict he had with Russell. And to make matters worse, the constant noise of a machine working nearby, the excruciating pain that ran through his skull and the rest of his body, and the feeling of claustrophobia he had prevented him from focusing properly. Chrees knew, however, that there was a reason behind his presence here. But what was it?

*

At 5 am, Alicia’s cell phone suddenly started ringing. The young woman immediately turned off her alarm before going back to sleep. However, five minutes later, the device started making noise again, which prompted her to turn it off again. The same scene happened two more times before the young lady finally stayed awake. And like anyone whose sleep was interrupted in this way, Garnier was not showing her best side. Indeed, her hair was completely disheveled and she had slight bags under her eyes.

After several minutes of wondering whether or not it was worth going to work, the young woman finally got out of bed before going to her bathroom where she observed her reflection in the mirror for a while. Her gaze then fell on the adhesive bandage she had on her neck, the result of her eventful encounter with Chrees.

“What possessed you to do such a thing?” she wondered aloud after remembering the events that had taken place the night before.

Garnier felt guilty about what she had done, especially since she knew she should have done something else and called the police. However, it was already far too late to turn back. The only option she had left now was to try to fix things her way. Yes, it was the best thing to do. So, the young woman removed the bandage in addition to the only item of clothing she was wearing and went into the shower, hoping to succeed in what she was about to do next.

About twenty minutes later, the young woman came out of the bathroom. And after taking care of her long red hair and the rest of her athletic body, Alicia returned to her room where she selected the clothes she would wear during the day. Her choice was rather simple: a plaid shirt, jeans, a pair of sneakers, and everything that went underneath.

Alicia, now dressed, went to cook something to eat in the kitchen which happened to be the room right next to the one she was in. In truth, the place she lived in looked more like a loft than a classic apartment, everything being mainly separated into two rooms.

While cooking her breakfast, Alicia couldn’t help but glance several times at the wallet that was lying on one of her dressers, a wallet that belonged to the young man who had tried to steal her money the night before. Seeing this object, Garnier’s feeling of guilt resurfaced and she wondered once more if they would be able to find common ground together. They had both been at fault, and as such, she told herself that there was a good chance that this story would end positively. She therefore finished cooking and put what she had made on two separate plates. The young woman grabbed one of them and finished its contents. She then grabbed the second one, then the wallet, and left her apartment.

*

While he was still in the dark, his strength having left him, Chrees was still thinking about the reason that had made him end up in this place. It was surely not because of his altercation with Russell, the latter not having the balls to do such a thing to him. Besides, none of the people he used to work with were capable of doing this to him. So, who was responsible?

Moore tried as best he could to remember what he had done the day before, but his memories were still fuzzy. He couldn’t properly recall what had happened after his fight with Russell. And every time he tried to do so, he couldn’t help but get angry with himself, sometimes calling himself stupid. Chrees told himself, however, that if he ever got his hands on the person responsible for his situation, he would beat the crap out of him. His desire to meet this person was not long in coming, however. Indeed, the young man began to hear noises coming from somewhere, footsteps that made him understand that someone was nearby.

“Help!” he then tried to say.

Unfortunately for Chrees, because of what he had in his mouth, all he could say were incomprehensible words. He still had to get noticed, it was his only way out of this mess. So, he kept screaming as best he could, hoping to attract the attention of the individual he was considering at that moment to be his savior.

The footsteps grew louder, prompting Moore to make even more noise. Finally, he heard the sound of a key being inserted into a lock followed by the sound of a door being unlocked. Finally, an entrance appeared, then a figure, and the young man found himself engulfed in a blinding bath of light. When his eyes finally adjusted to the new environment which they were now in, Chrees found himself in front of a beautiful red-haired woman who held a plate of food in one of her hands.

And as he was looking at Alicia, his eyes wide with surprise, the events he had tried to remember on numerous occasions came flooding back to him. He recalled walking into that bar after accidentally destroying his cell phone and having a brief conversation with that woman. He remembered taking her hostage and demanding that she give him all her money. But most of all, he remembered…he remembered what happened right after.

At this point, to say that Chrees was pissed off was an understatement. The young man was more than pissed off. He was downright mad with rage because the person who had put him in this room was none other than this “whore”. And because he was true to himself, he began to insult her and call her every name under the sun. He then wanted to attack her, but still unable to move, he was unable to carry out his plan. Moreover, it was also at this moment that he finally knew why he couldn’t move as he wanted. Indeed, Moore realized that he was tied up like a homemade dry sausage.

“You’re going to pay for this, you dirty whore! Wait until I get my hands on you!” he tried to say.

*

For her part, Alicia was also looking at Chrees, whom she had tied up and locked in this room for hours. From his look, but especially because of all the incomprehensible sounds he was making while gesticulating in all directions, the young woman suspected that he was angry with her, which was completely understandable. If she had been in his place, she would have necessarily reacted in this way. However, she had to find a way to resolve the delicate situation which they both found themselves in, she had no choice.

“Listen, Chrees, I’m going to remove the gag you have around your mouth and we’re going to have a civilized conversation over a good breakfast. However, if you make the slightest noise, I won’t hesitate to leave you rot here forever. Nod your head up and down if you understand.”

Garnier was obviously bluffing. She had no intention of letting him rot in that room forever. Nevertheless, she hoped to make him a little more cooperative by saying that. Unfortunately for her, it didn’t have the desired effect. Chrees had no desire to do what she had asked him to do and continued to hurl insults at her, even though she didn’t understand what he was saying.

Despite all the insults he was hurling, insults that Garnier obviously didn’t understand, Chrees couldn’t help but glance several times at the plate she was holding in one of her hands. Indeed, even if that wasn’t shown on his face, the young man was starving, having spent many hours without swallowing a single thing if you didn’t count the beer he had drunk the night before. From then on, he was tempted to accept Alicia’s offer and keep his cool.

However, he didn’t want to be led around by the nose by this whore. He was a man goddamnit. He was supposed to be the one who gives orders and not the one who receives them. So, she could go fuck herself with her food, he would never obey her. Unfortunately for Chrees, his body didn’t agree with him and ended up betraying him by making his stomach gurgle.

“It’s all your fault,” he thought at that moment. “If you hadn’t locked me in this damn room, I would never have found myself in this situation. Wait until I get free, you bitch. I’m going to make your day.”

Hearing the sound his stomach had just made, Alicia told herself that she couldn’t let him starve to death. Hence, she put the plate on the floor before placing Chrees in a slightly more comfortable position.

“Let’s get this straight, Chrees,” she said, sitting down in front of him. “You came after me with the goal of stealing my money, which is obviously punishable by law. So, I could’ve called the police after knocking you out yesterday and you would’ve probably been rotting in a cell right now. But I decided otherwise and I locked you up here so that you could think about the consequences of your actions. What I’m offering you right now is a chance to start over and maybe change your path. So, what do you say?”

The young woman, who was hoping to get a positive answer from him, removed the gag he had around his mouth.

“Food.”

“Of course. You need to be in good shape to strike a deal.”

Alicia gave him a first bite, then a second one, then a third one… and all the while, the two of them were observing each other in silence. However, it was clear to the young woman that Chrees was angry with her. And how he could not be, she had tied him up like a dry sausage and locked him in the dark in this room. Unfortunately, this situation did not suit her. She needed an answer as soon as possible.

“So, what do you think of this offer?”

And while she was hoping to receive a positive answer from Moore, she received something else instead, something much more disgusting. Indeed, instead of giving her what she wanted, Chrees simply spat what was in his mouth in her face.

“Fuck you and fuck your deal! Who do you think you are, you dirty whore?! You know who I am?! No, bitch, you have no idea who you’re dealing with! Wait until I get free, I’ll destroy this filthy shit face of yours!”

Now that he no longer had the gag in his mouth, Chrees was sure that his cries of distress would be heard by someone. So, he began to scream for help at the top of his lungs. For her part, Garnier was both surprised and disgusted by what had just happened. Not only had he refused her offer, but he also had spat in her face. How dare he? Furious, Alicia landed a violent punch on Moore who was disoriented for a split second.

“You bitch! How dare you hit me! You’re gonna see what I’m gonna do to you when I get free! Just you wait! You’re gonna beg me to stop.”

“I really hoped we could come to an agreement and that everyone could go back to their business in peace. What an idiot I was to think that a piece of shit like you who dares to attack women could understand something so basic. You don’t deserve to be free,” she retorted, putting the plate on the floor.

The young woman then put her hand in her pants pocket while Chrees kept insulting her and threatening to rape her.

“Time to go back to sleep,” she interrupted him after putting on her knuckle-duster.

Without giving him time to say anything else, Alicia gave him another punch that sent him this time into the world of dreams. The young woman then picked up her plate of food and left the room, taking care to turn everything off and close it behind her.

*

Back in her apartment, Garnier was visibly angry and frustrated with what had just happened. Not only had Chrees refused her offer, but he had also dared to throw the food she had taken the time to cook for him back in her face.

“Fucking son of a bitch!” she exclaimed as she came to stand in front of her bathroom mirror.

Seeing everything on her face and clothes, Alicia’s bad mood grew. She wanted to go back and beat him up, punch him until his face turned into a soup of pixels. However, this was not the time to let herself go like that. She had a bigger problem on her hands. Chrees was still locked in her basement and the more time passed, the more she risked that one of her employees would discover him. She couldn’t let that happen. But how to fix it?

Garnier unfortunately couldn’t get him out of her basement. It would take too much time, time she didn’t have. The young woman would have to open her bar in a few hours. To do that, her establishment would have to be closed for the whole day. And even if she managed to do it, other problems would arise. Chrees Moore was locked in her basement. So, she had to get him back up on the ground floor, which wouldn’t be an easy task. And she couldn’t even count on his cooperation since he had been very clear with her. And even if, by some miracle, she managed to keep him unconscious and get him out of the basement, the young man knew where her bar was. The chances that he would come and mess things up later were quite high.

“Shit! What on earth possessed you to do that, Alicia? You should’ve just knocked him out and called the police? Why did you have to do that? Why?”

Frustrated by her lack of judgment, Garnier decided to go take another shower. She figured that having a cool head would allow her to think better and find a viable solution to her problem. Plus, it also gave her the opportunity to clean up all the shit Chrees had done. So, she hurriedly took off her dirty clothes and rushed into the shower.

To be continued!!!