Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 237(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 237(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
After a few bumps to the chins and ankles and a couple of ouches, she found her purse and a quick search inside produced her phone. It read, 2:00 a.m. and then went dead.
“Damn,” she muttered. She might not have a signal now, but as soon as she was able to get one she wanted the phone working.
There was no point in plugging it in this room when the electricity was unreliable. Downstairs was her best bet, since the electricity had held firm there. After locating her charger and managing to find the purple robe she had on earlier, she went to the door, opened it, and stepped out.
It was so dark that she couldn’t see a thing and a twinge of fear engulfed her.
Calm down, she silently told herself. All you have to do is turn left, hug the wall until you come to the end and proceed forward slowly until you feel the top step of the stairs. Once you make it down the curve in the stairs, you’re bound to see the light from the floor below.
Holding tightly to her courage, she stepped out of her room. Her toe caught on the edge of the hall runner, and she stumbled and fell to her knees, her cell phone and charger flying out of her hands.
Lara frantically searched around on her hands and knees and sighed with relief when she found both. She got to her feet and was about to turn left when she realized she wasn’t sure of her direction.
Don’t panic. Don’t panic. It’s a hallway. At one end is the stairs, the other Michael’s room. If you should reach his room, you only need to turn around and go the other way.
Her sensible, silent urging did not stop her heart from pounding, but it also did not stop her feet from moving. She took cautious steps until, to her relief, she touched the wall. She halted a moment and took a deep breath, knowing she’d be fine now no matter which way she went.
After a few steps, she grew more confident and picked up the pace, tightly hugging the wall as she went. Then suddenly, without warning, she encountered an empty space and fell into what she surmised was her room.
She lay on the floor for a moment, calming herself and her breathing. At least now she knew where she was and this time, she had managed to hold on to her cell phone and charger.
Pockets. She shook her head. Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner? Probably because she was too busy thinking of her cell phone as a lifeline and not wanting to let it go. She got to her feet and checked the robe and sure enough it had pockets. She slipped her cell phone in one and the charger in the other.
Lara took cautious steps to get her bearing, and her knee hit something. She reached out to touch it. It was a wooden chest with a metal lock, and it made her realize that she hadn’t fallen into her room.
Of course, there wasn’t a fraction of light anywhere and if it had been her room there would have been the glow from low embers from the fireplace. The same if this was Michael’s room, so where was she? The other bedroom she had spied on earlier. And in what direction was the door?
She reached out hoping to connect with a wall, but she connected with something that hung on the wall. And the realization of what it was, startled her...it was a set of shackles, thick iron-cuffed shackles. Further exploring along the wall, she touched something else and after examining it with her hands, she surmised it was a cat of nine tails.
She backed away from the wall, bumped into something and fell to sit on a chair and jumped up as soon as she did, having felt something prick her backside. She cautiously ran her hand over where she had sat and felt pointy steel spikes protruding up through the seat.
What the hell was this room? She shook her head, wanting nothing more than to get out of there. But where was the door and what obstacles did, she need to get passed to reach it?
She could call out to Michael for help, but why hadn’t he realized she needed help. He read her thoughts so easily. Was he sleeping? Could he not sense her when he slept?
She shook her head again and gave herself a small pep talk. “You’re on your own, always have been. You can do this.”
Lara took several cautious steps, bumped into a thing or two, though didn’t dare touch the objects for fear of being pricked again. After what seemed like forever, but was probably only a few minutes, her hand finally connected with the frame of the doorway. She sighed with relief and stepped through the door.