Under what scenario would this ever happen? It’s obvious that something terrible has been done to me, that I have been kidnapped and locked away by someone with bad intentions. There’s no old lady out there who simply locked me in by accident as she was cleaning the building. There’s someone evil out there, someone who wants to harm me, or someone who took me for some ransom money.
Is that it? Am I rich? Am I worth something to someone and that’s why I woke up in here?
I wish I knew. I wish I knew anything.
I move back from the door, taking small and deliberate steps as I circle my dimly lit prison. Nothing has changed. There’s still no window, no cameras, no visible microphones, or anything that would provide some kind of link to the outside world. Nothing I could hold on to, nothing that could give me some kind of clue of what this is all about.
All I have is a stronghold door, a leather-button-tufted bench—and myself.
Myself.
I close my eyes, wrapping my arms around my upper body as I try to dig deep within, following a trail to the darkest corner of my mind, searching. The answers must be there, hidden behind a black curtain. I just need to pull it aside and peek behind it to reveal the hidden mystery. That’s all I have to do.
I just need to get there. I need to access my lost memories.
But doing so turns out to be as impossible as getting anywhere with that damn door. I move in complete darkness, blind and deaf as I aimlessly wander through my empty mind, searching for even the slightest hint, the smallest light, the faintest sound, the most vague image, anything that could guide me, at least telling me what direction to look in, where to turn, what idea to follow.
But the harder I try, the further anything helpful slips away from me. The blackness thickens, hiding more than it’s willing to reveal, pushing me away instead of calling me in. Instead, I see a wall being built right in front my eyes, brick after brick stacking up to hide the secrets of my mind.
The attempt is painful and sickening. I’m heaving as my throat closes up and piercing flashes of light mingle in the darkness inside my head, confusing me more than they are helping. I feel like I’m choking, finding it impossible to breathe and too painful to continue my futile search.
My eyes open at the same time I hear a noise coming from the door.