Barbara Walters was sitting. She was confused for a second; this wasnât the shuttle seat sheâd fallen asleep on. This chair was wooden. She tried to stand up, only to be met with resistance. Her hands were tied. She jerked upright, adrenaline pumping through her. The ties did not break.
âHello?â She called. âIs anyone there?â No answer. She took a deep breath and tried to get a bearing on her surroundings. First thing she knew; she was ankle-deep in water. Cold water. Now that she was awake, she realized her feet were already completely numb. She tried to lift them out of the water, but her ankles seemed to be tied to the chair.
âHello?â desperation was creeping into her voice, âPlease, is someone there?â Again no answer. Barbara looked around, desperately. The room was dark, but there was light coming from somewhere. It reflected off the water, giving the room a slight bluish glow. There didnât seem to be a door, but she couldnât turn around to see behind her.
âPlease, can anyone can hear me? I need help!â Barbara shouted. She was shivering. This water was cold. Barbara strained at her bonds, but they didnât break. She groaned, falling back in the seat. How long have I been here? she wondered. Last thing she could remember, she was on the shuttle from the airport. She had fallen asleep on the way... did someone carry her? That didnât make sense. There were too many people.
Sheâd worry about it later. She had to get out of the water. She was already shivering violently, and the feeling in her legs was almost completely gone. She had to get somewhere warm.
She couldnât tell what kind of bind was around her legs, but the rope on her arms felt thin. She started to rub it against the back of the chair, hoping to weaken the bond.
Progress was too slow. The ropes didnât seem to be getting any looser. Now that her eyes had adjusted further, she could see that the light was coming from behind her. There must be a door. Maybe if she could bang on it, someone would hear her?
Barbara took a deep breath. This was risky. She started to rock her weight back and forth, building momentum.
Her chair toppled and Barbara splashed into the water. She cried out; she hadnât realized how cold it really was. She thought she could even see small shards of ice floating around. Gasping for breath, she rotated to look towards the light.
Suddenly, Barbara heard laughter. Something like a low chuckle. Then there was a voice. âThatâll only speed it up, you know,â it said.
She lifted her head. Who are you? she tried to shout, âWhuuuryoo?!â
She was met with more chuckling. âSounds like you donât have much longer,â The voice was strange. It was like a raspy whisper. Barbara couldnât tell if it was a man or a woman, although it did sound strangely like her grandmother after smoking a pack a day.
Barbara put the most effort into her next words, making sure they came out as clearly as possible, âH- Help... me.â More laughter. âPlease....â
The laughter stopped. She heard water sloshing as the stranger moved closer. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the door. âNo.â
Barbara screamed in frustration, writhing in the chair. Her entire body was soaked, and she could feel herself losing sensation in her limbs. She slammed her hands against the wall.
Wait. Her hands. Barbara pulled her arms in front of her... The water... she thought. It must have weakened the ropes. She fumbled for her feet, feeling around in the water until she found something that felt like her ankle. She tugged at them until she fell free of the chair. Immediately, Barbara stumbled for the door.
Suddenly, she was in the water again. She was starting to lose her motor functions. She crawled for the door and started slamming against it. The laughter on the other side started up again. âCome on, my dear,â it said, âKeep trying.â
Barbara got mad. She threw her entire body against the door, before collapsing in a heap against it. She might have been crying; she didnât have enough feeling left to tell.
The laughter built. âOh, dearie... itâs not locked.â
Barbara stopped for a second, wondering how much she could trust this person. But she decided she didnât care. She stretched her hand for the doorknob; it took her six tries to get her fingers to co-operate. The door swung open.
It was a hallway. A single light hung from the ceiling behind a dark figure, and at the end was a set of stairs leading out of the water. Barbara tried to stand, but didnât have the coordination. She dragged herself forward; if she could just get somewhere dry...
The figure didnât stop her. It stood aside, watching her crawl with a sick amusement. Barbara reached the stairs and was about to pull herself up when she found herself in the water again. She was moving backwards; the stranger had grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her back.
No! she tried to shout, but it just came out a groan. She looked up at the stranger. âWhy?â she managed.
The stranger lowered their head and simply said, âYou know why,â before turning and leaving. They climbed the stairs and Barbara heard a door close at the top. She heard the tell-tale click of a lock at the other end and collapsed where she was.
She was prepared to just go to sleep when she heard something rolling down towards her. She raised her head one last time to see a gavel head roll down the stairs and splash into the water as her vision finally blacked out.