[Ravaged Rose]

This is the next bit of the Sadie story, which I thought would be finished months ago. Obviously that wasn't the case. This chapter ended up being extremely long, so I'm breaking it into 2 parts. The second part will be up soon...ish.

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Coming out of the haze of sleep seemed to get more difficult each time. Perhaps it was because every time I woke up, my situation only seemed to worsen. I’d given up on trying to convince myself that it was dream; this nightmare was one I wouldn’t escape by turning on the light. The next time I woke up, I was still in the bed, tucked in carefully with a soft sheet pulled over me. My matted hair had been brushed out and smoothed over the pillow, and I was still clad in the lacy white dress, which I loathed more with each passing day. I sat up groggily, trying to remember the events that had led to my latest fitful sleep.

I remembered meeting him, that awful man; I remembered those fierce, predatory eyes and that cloying voice. My skin crawled at the thought of him, and I sat bolt upright in the bed, as though expecting to see him lurking in the corner. But he wasn’t there. There wasn’t any food, either. Had I made him angry? Was he going to stop feeding me? Maybe I was better off dead… I fought off the surge of panic and tried to clear my head. The room was quiet, and the pink-ish light coming through the window indicated that dusk was falling. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Wait here for him return and do god only knows what? Well, with the shackle on my ankle, it looked like I didn’t have much choice. I rolled over, panic rearing its ugly head once more.

I paused. Something was different…something was missing. There was no clank, no scrape of metal on metal…I threw back the covers, amazed to find my ankle free of the shackle, with only slight bruising to indicate it had ever been there at all. It was too good to be true. It was a trap; it had to be, but I didn’t care. I stumbled out of bed and over to the door; the knob turned easily in my hands. What did it mean? Had he changed his mind? Was I free? That couldn’t possibly be it. Maybe the police had found me…maybe he’d panicked and run off…maybe he’d set me free to make himself look less guilty. Did it even matter? The door was open, and I was free…

My legs were shaky as I staggered out into the dimly lit corridor that led to the room, and I leaned against the nearest wall to steady myself. Clearly the tranquilizer hadn’t worn off completely. Well, I wasn’t going to wait around for my strength to return; it was now or never. I was in such a hurry that I nearly missed the note that had been taped to door leading to my room. I caught it out of the corner of my eye and tore it off the door, my stomach sinking as I read.

Hello, Sadie.

If you’re reading this than the next part of our game has begun. I can see you haven’t enjoyed being my guest, so I’m giving you an opportunity to free yourself. If you can find your way out before I catch you, I’ll allow you to go free. But if I find you before you make it out, then…well, let’s just say I don’t think you’ll much enjoy the consequences. The game begins now. Consider this your head start. Good luck.

- Master

The words chilled me to the bone, filling me with an all-consuming and paralyzing terror. I stood, unable to move, unable to breathe, for what seemed like eternity, until I heard a sound, that of a door opening or a window creaking; I couldn’t be sure. I ran. I sprinted down the hall, nearly tripping over my own feet as I made my way towards a staircase at the end of the hallway.

I didn’t dare look over my shoulder as I pounded down the steps, my heart hammering loudly in my chest. Christ, what was I doing? I had to be quiet; I had to remain in control. If I went tearing through…wherever I was…he’d find me for sure. If the note was anything to go off of, he was likely already after me. I crept down the last few steps, scanning the new corridor in which I found myself. This hall dead-ended in a solid wall, and either side of the corridor was lined with a half dozen identical doors. How the hell was I supposed to know where to go? There was a pounding from behind me…footsteps? I wasn’t about to wait and find out. I ducked through the nearest door and into a pitch dark room. Panicked by my sudden loss of vision, I flailed around for a light switch and, after several seconds of frantic searching, found one and flicked it on. Seeing what was in the room made me wish I’d left the light off.

I was in what appeared to be a medieval torture chamber of sorts, a concrete room filled with every demonic device imaginable. Whips and crops were mounted on the wall like trophies, and bizarre machines whose functions I couldn’t bring myself to imagine lined the walls. I wanted out of the room immediately. I bolted for the door on the other side of the room, keeping my eyes fixed on the doorknob so as to avoid looking at the cruel devices that glinted from all sides. I threw open the door and plunged into the next room, which was as dark and foreboding as the first, leaving the demonic room behind me.

I found the light switch much faster in the next room, and as I illuminated the space I was puzzled to find it in stark contrast to its neighbor. The walls were painted a warm cream color, and a beautiful four poster bed with lavish sheets and silky drapery dominated the room. It was calm, relaxing even, and it threw me for a moment. What the hell was this place? The moment of distraction was all that was needed for me to lose my lead. I heard footsteps coming from the room behind me (the door to which I’d foolishly left open) and a soft, cloying voice calling out. “Sadie…Sadie, why are you running from me? Don’t you know you can’t get away?”

The voice renewed my panic, and I bolted for the other side of the room, where two oak doors stood out against the pale walls. I chose the door on the left without thinking, desperate to escape the voice and the quickening footsteps behind me. I turned on the light in the next room and shut the door quietly behind me, then turned to face whatever fresh hell awaited me in the new room. To my surprise, it was completely empty, save for a deep, dark pit in the center of the room. It looked like it went down at least fifteen, maybe twenty feet. I stared at it, momentarily transfixed, until the voice rang out again. “Sadie…come to me, Sadie…it’ll be so much easier if you do. You’re mine, Sadie…”

I took off running again, desperately running through room after room. I was in a maze, some sort of twisted funhouse, and there didn’t seem to be any way out. After awhile the rooms stopped shocking me and began to look frustratingly similar; I stumbled blindly from room to room, sometimes going in circles. The footsteps grew louder behind me, and every few seconds another cruel comment would reach my ears. “You must be getting tired, Sadie. Give up. Come back to your Master. You can’t run from me, Sadie…”

Finally, when I really was ready to give up, I staggered through what seemed to be the hundredth door and found myself in yet another room. But something was different. On the far side of the room were windows, windows showing…outside. Which meant the door at the front of the room was the front door. This was it. All I had to do was get through the door and I was home free. I sprinted across the room as the voice echoed in the previous room, my bare feet pounding across the floor. I reached for the door, forcing myself to look ahead, to look outside. He was so close I could hear his breathing; I was sure he was right on top of me. “You’re mine, Sadie…” Ten feet, five feet, three feet, reach, Sadie, reach! “Sadie, you’re…” My fingers closed around the door knob, my heart hammering wildly as I prepared to vanquish the one barrier between me and my freedom. “…mine!”