Chapter 0004

Darcy woke up suddenly, feeling like she had been hit repeatedly, barely able to move. Her head throbbed and tiny bumps and bruises covered her whole body. The last thing she remembered was being in the taxi as it tumbled through the air. She had been thrown about like a rag doll and quickly lost consciousness before the car hit the ground. After that, she had no recollection of events and now found herself in a dark and dirty room. She tried to stand, but her legs wobbled, and she staggered forward before landing firmly on her behind. She sighed in frustration.

Looking round the room, there were no windows, only one door at the far end, a table in the center and a single light hanging from the ceiling. She could smell the damp and felt the cold moisture in the air. She must be in a basement somewhere. Darcy immediately thought of Jones and Williams. They had confronted her in the hotel, and she remembered seeing their faces just before the accident. Now she was being held hostage in this cold, dark room. Darcy shivered a little. The single light barely gave enough light as the beam shone on a single spot against the floor.

She tried to stand again, pushing all her weight up with her hands and arms. Finally, able to stand, Darcy felt shaky, but managed to keep upright. Her head hurt and her body ached. She could see the door in the distance through the dim light. Staggering forward, Darcy moved on, and putting one foot in front of the other, she slowly made her way to the door.

She must have hit her back in the taxi because it really hurt and would probably be covered in bruises and cuts. Darcy stopped at the door and hesitated. Was it locked? What was on the other side? More importantly, who was on the other side?

Darcy put her ear to the door and listened. Nothing. Not a single sound. Without thinking, she pulled a hairclip from her head, a pink one, pulled it open and pushed it into the lock. She listened, turned the hairclip round clockwise and pushed a little deeper into the tiny hole. Click. The lock snapped open.

Darcy stood back. She had a confused expression on her face. How did she know how to do that? She had never picked a lock in her life and yet she did that as if it was second nature. It was not the time to worry about that, first, she had to get out of here.

Opening the door tentatively, she placed her ear to the opening and listened. No one was around. Moving out into the dimly light corridor, Darcy quietly moved forward. She had no idea how to get out of here, but that would not stop her.

When faced with immediate danger, people react in two ways. Some people become paralyzed with fear, unable to move and become consumed by the danger. Others will not be beaten, and face the danger head on, hoping to avoid the sudden peril. Darcy was like the second group. She was not going to be beaten by her predicament.

Following the corridor as it curved left and right, she would occasionally stop and listen. The only sound was her own footsteps, quietly brushing against the floor.

The passageway came to stop at a set of stairs going upwards. Darcy had no choice; it was the only way out. So she put one foot on the step, careful not to make too much noise and began the climb. That is when she heard footsteps coming down. Darcy froze. Stepping back, she hid against the dark wall of the dimly light passage. The footsteps continued toward her; they sounded heavy, probably from a man with large feet. She tried hard to disappear, pushing back into the wall. Listening. Waiting. Holding her breath. The sound was right next to her. Darcy could just about see the outline of a man, as he stepped off the stairs and carried on walking. He was looking down at something in his hand and paid no attention to his surroundings. He quickly vanished out of sight and Darcy sigh with relief. She had to move fast. The silhouette looked like Jones and he would soon find she had escaped, so she ran up the stairs, two at a time, breathing hard.

Reaching the top, Darcy did not stop, she kept running, looking around for a way out. There was a security camera mounted to the wall, and by now Jones would have reached the room. She was right. Because a security guard stepped out of a door, giving her just enough time to slip into another room unseen. Jones would now be running back up the stairs, angry that he had missed her.

The room was dark and filled with desks and books, which covered an entire wall. Her breathing was rapid and in the quiet surroundings, it sounded extremely loud. Sometimes you have to calm down to think clearly and gradually, the sound faded away into a slow gentle rhythm.

Darcy cautiously moved into the room, careful not to stumble. There was a large cupboard at the other end, perhaps giving her enough space to hide in and avoid being found. Groping through the darkness, Darcy bumped into a desk. She stopped and listened. Her breathing was starting to escalate. She waited. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and the thin light that was coming from beyond the door broke through and glowed around the frame.

Darcy eyes then caught the outline of a stack of papers on the desk. She picked up a sheet, allowing her curiosity to get the better of her and held it toward the light. In bold, on top of the page, she could just make out the words ‘Darcy.’ The rest of the print was too small to see in this light, so she stuffed the paper into her pocket. Why her name was on a sheet of paper?

But her thoughts were interrupted when she heard talking outside the door. She opened the cupboard, trying desperately to keep her breathing under control. Thankfully, it was bare, without any shelves and could fit a person. Whatever it held, it now held Darcy. Shutting the cupboard door behind her, the main door to the room suddenly swung open and the light was turned on.

She immediately recognized Jones’ voice as he spoke.

‘Are you sure you’ve searched every room?’

Darcy remained perfectly still, afraid to move, barely making a single sound. Her heart was beating fast and in the darkness of the cupboard, the loud thump of her own beat, echoed in her ears. She could hear the two men, pacing around, wondering what to do next. Although it was only seconds, to Darcy it felt as if they had been in the room for hours. The light went off and the door slammed shut. Darcy let out a sigh of relief and jumped out of the cupboard. Hopefully, they would think that Darcy had already escaped the building.