Reflective Deception

You wake up in a strange room, tied to a chair, with a single knife on the floor pointed at you-This prompt is an invitation to step inside writing creativity - Kelsey Worsham

The room was chilly, and the air smelled mildly of mildew and something metallic. My senses intensified and I suddenly realized I was attached to a chair—a bolt of horror. As I battled the ropes binding my wrists and ankles, panic shot through me; yet, they held tight, digging into my skin.

I looked about the room and my breath came in jagged spurts. Except for one solitary lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, creating long, menacing shadows, it was plain. When I saw it—a knife on the floor, its blade squarely facing me, reflecting the low light like a silent, lethal threat—my heart almost stopped.

My spine became cold, and I battled to slow my beating heart. Where had I found myself? I last thought of leaving work late, an empty parking lot, and then nothing. My fresh wave of terror surged through me as the sound of footsteps echoed from somewhere outside the room. I needed to leave.

Leaching forward to test the chair's balance, it teemed dangerously. I tipped it over with a determined heve, thumping it down to the floor with a bone-jarring force. My shoulder hurt, but I paid it off; my eye was on the knife. I wriggled toward it, every movement a stinging reminder of my fragile circumstances, inch by excruciating inch.

My fingers slid the knife's handle, after what felt like a lifetime. I moved it awkwardly to cut the ropes tying my wrists. My hands free, I hurriedly cut the ropes around my legs and sprang to my feet, grasping the knife with quivering palms. My first target was the door.

I went slowly, pushing my ear on the timber. The footsteps had stopped, replaced with a terrible quiet. Turning the knob slowly, I prayed it wasn't locked. Fortunately, it creaked softly to show a dark, narrow corridor.

Here the air was cooler, the gloom more stifling. Every squeak of the floors sent a shock of terror through me as I slid down the hall. Every door on the walls provided a possible hiding place for whoever had brought me here. I had to get out, but the stifling gloom made navigation difficult.

Then, like whispers carried on the breeze, a faint noise emerged from behind. I froze, listening closely. The voices got louder and more separate.

"Should not have brought them here. Too risky is it."

"We were without option." We depend on them for cooperation.

My heart hammering. They were referring to me here. Peering through a crack in a door, I pushed in the direction of the sounds. Inside, two darkly shadowing people argued, their faces hidden from view. The scene is even more disturbing because the low light throws lengthy, twisted shadows on the walls.

I had to act right now. I would lose my one advantage if they found I was free. I inhaled deeply, opened the door, and walked in and the knife raised.

"Don't move!" I ordered, my voice quivering even with my best attempt to sound commanding.

Their faces buried in the darkness, the two people turned slowly. Rising forward with uplifted hands, the woman We are not here to hurt you, wait.

I kept the knife at the same level. "then why am I hooked to a chair in a strange room?"

The man groaned and stroked his temples while his eyes gleamed in the low light. "We had to talk to you, but we couldn't risk you leaving. We are trying to help; you are in danger.

"Help??" I laughed incredulously. "By kidnapped me?"

"We had no choice," the woman added hurriedly, her voice shaking. You could have information revealing something quite dangerous. People are searching for you, those who would not think twice to kill you for it.

I grabbed the knife more firmly. "What data?,"

The man moved forward warily, never turning away from me. "You did find something at your place of employment. Something regarding illicit company operations?

Memories poured back: the late evenings at the office, the files I had come onto, the awareness of a large-scale cover-up. "How would you know about that?"

The woman said, her voice quiet, "We've been watching them for a long time." "We are among a group working to discredit them. We anticipated you would become a target when we learned you had accessed those data.

I gazed between them, my head whirling. "So what now?"

The man replied, his tone solemn, "now we need to bring you to a safe place where you can testify against them. Still, we have to move fast. You already are on to them.

I drew a long breath, the truth of my circumstances setting in. Still hesitant yet eager to listen, I slightly lowered the knife. All right. Let us travel.

We went silently and fast across the building, the stifling silence broken only by the odd floorboard groan. Though the outside world was a haze of risk and uncertainty, I felt hope for the first time. I was not fighting alone; collectively, we might just have an opportunity to expose the truth.