Chapter 12

When I opened my eyes again it was dark

I didn't know for certain that it was night any more than I had been sure that the light I had seen last time had been daylight.

All I could say for sure is it was near enough to pitch black, that the air smelled the same,

and that I was still in the same damn chair.

Except...

Except that my hands were no longer tied.

I pulled my arms forward quickly

as if they might be unexpectedly bound once again

and rubbed my wrists.

There was no sense memory of the rough rope that had restrained them the last time I was awake.

I could not feel any phantom sensation of it digging into my arms.

So whoever had untied me, they had done so quite some time ago.

Which might just mean that I was alone.

I try not to get too optimistic about this fact. I like the idea of

getting out of here better than you could imagine. But if I was being released, it's because that's

what happened to fit into the plan. So far, the plan had not worked out that well for me.

I sat forward in the chair. My back and limbs screamed in protest.

My feet were all pins and needles, but I was pretty sure they would hold me if I tried to get up.

I stood with a creek.

Whether it was made by the old wooden chair I had been in for what felt like a full day

or actually by my spine, I couldn't say.

...