VALERIAJudging by the dull headache I felt, I had been asleep for a long time. I had just woken up rather abruptly. Lately, I had been doing a lot of sleeping. Who would blame me? What else was there to do in my lonely cell but to plot on how to escape if I ever had the chance, and to sleep. At least dreams brought oblivion and made me forget how miserable I was for some time.I stretched my legs, began to sit up and froze. The hairs on the back of my neck began to prickle. The room was dark as usual, but I felt instinctively that there was someone with me in the room. Someone was there, watching me. Seconds later, I was sure it was this feeling that had woken me up.I blinked rapidly, shut my eyes tightly and blinked again. Opening or shutting my eyes made no difference in the oppressive darkness of the room. I could not see a thin, just a solid wall of darkness that somehow looked more solid at a spot on my left. Or maybe that was my imagination. The feeling of being watched made m

VALERIAI laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. She stopped what she was doing immediately and turned. It amazed even me that I was somehow able to smile at her despite the hundred different thoughts that were going through my head now and all through yesterday. Valeria (or was it Grace now?) gave me a smile and leaned into my touch.It was a few minutes past 7 on a weekday, time to head out to work, but I couldn't trust her not to want to initiate sex no matter the hour. In her book these days, nothing seemed as important as getting laid. I now had an even stronger reason not to want it."Were you looking for something?" I asked quickly before she could start getting any ideas.Her smile slowly became a slight frown. She remembered what had got her to search her handbag and half the contents of her own side of the drawer for quite a while this morning."Actually, yes. I'm looking for a folder I brought home yesterday... or at least I think I did," she added in an undertone. In a norma

VALERIA"Wake up!"After this curt command, I was shaken roughly. I curled in more on myself, afraid to open my eyes, afraid of what was in store for me the moment I opened my eyes. I gasped in pain when I felt a stinging slap on my arm. My eyes flew open. The old man who brought my meals was squatting beside me. This close to me, his nose was wrinkled in disgust.I stank. I knew I stank. The only water Grace had allowed me during my incarceration here was just water to drink."Get up," the man barked, seeing I was fully awake. "You are coming with me.""Where?" I asked.His expression turned ugly. "Stop asking questions and move. Now!"He made a threatening gesture. Not wanting to be manhandled again, I scrambled to my feet. He got a hold of the chains which he had already loosened and used it to lead me out of the room into another room which was a bathroom.He pointed to the soap dish on the floor. "Use that. Take your bath."I started to nod, because frankly I couldn't wait to wa

DIMITRIMy phone rang for what felt like the umpteenth time that day, and without looking at it, I knew it was Noah, no doubt calling to learn of Valeria's whereabouts. The man had been blowing up my phone for hours and hours. I hadn't even had a clue on how to go about telling him about Valeria, about what was going on. It had seemed much simpler to ignore him which I was currently doing.There was blessed silence in the room seconds later when the phone stopped ringing. Just before I could begin to relax and marshall my thoughts, the ringing started up again. "Damned stubborn pest," I cursed.I threw a glare at the ringing phone before shooting to my feet. How badly I wanted to turn the ringer off, but I could not afford to do that. Not now.Not when Valeria was missing and Grace was still at large. There were lots of people out there, looking for Valeria. They could call me with information at any time and I had to be ready.I had heard nothing from anyone throughout that day, on

VALERIAThere was someone commotion outside. I quickly shifted soy back was against the wall and listened. Someone was running and the person was headed right here. Grace and the old man never hurried, never ran. I swallowed nervously, wondering what Grace had planned out for me now.The door of my cell was pushed violently open and Grace stood there, bosom heaving, trembling from head to foot, more agitated than I had ever seen her. Her gaze swept around the room until it lighted on me in the corner. "You bitch!" she said, her voice sounding choked and enraged. "You ruin everything. EVERYTHING!" She poked me in the chest. "Do you know what just happened? Huh?"Not giving her an answer would most likely earn me a slap or a shove in her current mood, so I forced myself to say, "How can I when you keep me locked up in here?"She snarled. Actually snarled."How smart of you to point that out," she mocked. "Of course I keep you locked up in here so everything can go according to the pla