Excessive worrying

The dim lamp cast a small glow allover the dark room. Liana ate slowly, occasionally looking at the gun in the man's hand. He let her eat in peace provided she didn't scream. She obeyed, knowing that one wrong move could end her life. She had so much to live for and did not want to die because of Gina's stupid hobby or whatever disorder it was.

"I talked to your friend, today." He said, playing with his gun. It seemed he had used it for to many times he wasn't scared of it. "I offered to get you back home. All she needs to do is kill Cole Miller. Easy right?"

Liana gasped. "Easy for a psycho like you. How dare you tell my friend to do something like that?"

"You and I had a deal."

"You haven't told me the particulars so it's not a deal yet," she insisted. He couldn't just decide they had a dealer when she had no idea what it was about.

"I thought it was clear," he said. "We both unite in revenge against our common enemy."

"Gina is not my enemy and you know that," she said, raising her voice. "Even if she was, I wouldn't tell her to do something like that. You're crazy."

"It's not my fault you said yes before asking about the contents of the deal."

"I was a little mad at her but I thought about it. I know she's helpless right now. Gina would do anything for me. Contrary to what you think of her, she is actually a good person. She loves me and will do whatever she can to help me."

"So let her."

"I'll not let you do this to us. I don't want her to go to jail because of some bastard like you."

"If she doesn't kill Cole, you'll either have to kill her or I kill you. Someone has to die."

"What sort of stupid game is this?"

"I don't know," he said, tying her up. "I'll tell one thing, though. I'm merely a player in this game. One day you'll know who the psycho behind this game is. Trust me, you won't believe it."

Who could that be? Who would want them to suffer? They didn't have major enemies. Except for the key stealing, they lived fairly normal and boring lives. The two girls had never got in trouble with anyone in town.

"If this was my game, I'd have called your parents to let them know you're missing. I'd then kill and dump you in Gina's bedroom. Everyone would suspect Gina of wrongdoing and the police would arrest her. She'd rot in jail because she deserves it. She was last seen with you and instead of reporting your disappearance, she chose to lie. Unfortunately for me and fortunately for both of you, I'm just following orders."

He placed his gun on the floor and stood up. Walking towards Liana, he picked up the cloth to gag her. Liana cringed but opened her mouth, letting him tie it. There was no need to resist it because that would only cause her injuries. He picked up the plate, lamp and gun then walked out of  the room. Liana shivered in the cold and painfully waited for morning or sleep, whichever was to come first.

It was a long night in which she struggled to sleep. Her body was tired and in mild pain from the discomfort. Her brain was tired but it could not shut down which was all she needed to get some sleep. She didn't feel she needed it much but she needed to stop thinking and forget. Sleep was what would help her do that. It came in the early morning hours and vanished a few hours later, leaving her with sad thoughts.

The man came back in the morning with a digital camera. Liana figured he'd just showered because he smelt of perfumed soap. She lowered her head towards her armpits and realized she needed a long warm shower. Or a cold one. A shower would be adequate to rid of the scent that was developing.

"Work up some tears because your friend wants proof that I have you," he said, opening the blinds. Little rays of sunlight seeped into the room. Sunlight always reminded her of happiness and now it reminded of the good things she couldn't have. The rays of sunlight did not reach where she was yet she wished for a little bit of warmth from the sun after being in the cold room for a long time.

Liana closed her eyes, willing the headache to go away. She hadn't slept enough. She felt a slap on her cheek and opened her eyes wide. The pain tore through her skin and tears cascaded down her cheek. The man took a photo and left the room.

Liana let the tears flow, hoping that one day, she'd get out of that hellhole. She'd look for the bastard and kill him with her own hands. She didn't deserve to be locked up in some dingy room in the middle of nowhere.

After a while, the masked man came back. He seemed to be smiling, judging by the shape of his lips. He was holding a carton of milk. "That'll convince your friend that I'm serious. If all goes well, you'll be out of this place by the end of the day. You should be very happy, dear Liana."

Liana wanted to believe him but she couldn't. He and whoever he worked with were not to be trusted. They were murderers who wanted someone else to do their dirty work. She hoped Gina wouldn't do anything stupid like killing Cole.

It was possible they were not even after revenge on her and Gina. They were just looking for a person they could blackmail to do their dirty work. Given that they had information about Gina's cagophilia, they had decided to use it against her.

Killing Cole was not going to do any good. However, she did not know if it was better to let Cole live in exchange for her freedom. Now, it was up to Gina to decide whether to save her or Cole.