One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.
Jamie opened her eyes again. But it was all still there.
Her eyes squeezed shut once more.
Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
But the same scene met her once again.
She wanted to close her eyes again, and count some more. To bask in the silence, trying to believe that she was just having a horrible dream. To believe that it was just another nightmare. But the tense, cool air surrounded her, and the cold metal chair she sat upon was unlike any at home.
There was no way that this was fake. It was sadly, distressingly, and terribly, real.
"I see you have finished your blinking and slow breathing?" Geth inquired, without a hint of humour.
Jamie didn't know how to reply, so she just nodded meekly. She suddenly felt very small and weak. Like an ant, just beneath a cloaked figure's boot.
Some instinct inside of her told her that she needed to act brave.
So she mustered her best flat-mouthed, defiant look, and stared Geth and Ms. Gisela down—or rather, stared up at them.
"Just say when you are ready, dear," her old neighbour muttered impatiently.
So, still regaining her composure, Jamie stood up, and stepped in front of the seats. Her eyes flicked away—for merely a moment—to examine the pair's unconscious faces. Both Mr. Forkle and Coco slept somewhat peacefully. Mr. Forkle was grimacing, as if tasting soured milk, and Coco's breathing was fairly ragged and uneven.
But instead of crying out in despair, Jamie squared her shoulders and looked up at the awake people she was currently dealing with.
"What is this all about?" Her voice was harsh, as she snarled out the words. She was proud of her voice for keeping steady.
But instead of replying, looking astonished, or doing anything Jamie would have remotely imagined him doing, Geth laughed. He threw back his head, cackling.
Jamie felt taken aback.
Finally subduing himself, Geth spoke.
"You, my young child, will not be taking control here," Geth sneered. "We are your leaders. You will listen to us, and do what I say, or those two"—he pointed two fingers at the sleeping people before him—"will get it."
Jamie paused, waiting for him to continue.
"You start up with your snarky questions, and comments? I think you'll regret it."
Jamie could only nod.
"Now, if I tell you—"
"Gethen."
A beautiful, deep melodic voice brought Geth's words to an abrupt halt.
Geth turned to the far corner of the room, where shadows lurked.
Jamie couldn't understand why, but the voice gave her a feeling of pleasure. It sounded perfect, and beautiful. So sad. But so beautiful. A shiver went down her spine as the voice spoke again.
"I won't let you go harassing our guest. She has nothing to fear."
A figure slowly emerged from the dim corner, stalking forward, with proud, long strides.
Jamie felt confused. She had nothing to fear?
She had nothing to fear.
This man was speaking the truth.
Jamie felt a little more relaxed.
This new figure was right.
Suddenly Jamie felt far better. She slackened her stance, and waited for the man to say something else.
"Our guest," he said, turning to Gethen, "should be fully at ease. She should be able to trust us."
At the word trust, something changed. Gethen suddenly smiled, and the man took a small slinking step, so he could lean against the wall.
Something was wrong. Jamie felt another tingle dance along her spine. But this time, she realized it wasn't a shiver of pleasure, after hearing such a beautiful sound. It was the tingle that always ran down her spine... when she was in the presence of magic.
She stiffened again.
"No."
Gethen frowned. The hooded man pushed himself off the wall. Ms. Gisela's face fell into an unbelieving look of surprise.
There was magic in this man's words. It was warping her mind. And now that she thought about it, she was sure.
There was magic here. Dangerous magic. It could make her trust someone who was not at all trustworthy.
Now Ms. Gisela was walking towards her, and so was the hooded man.
She realized another thing. If they figured out that she no longer was confused by the convincing words, they would hurt her, and hurt Mr. Forkle, and Coco. They would get angry.
She had to fake it. She had to fake her trust, so that she could figure out how to escape, and get both Mr. Forkle and Coco out alive.
"I mean, no, I don't have anything to fear." Her hands balled into fists. "I'm safe here."
Jamie tried to duplicate the dreamy, trusting feeling she had felt earlier.
She smiled.
Ms. Gisela's face fell back into a cool smile. Gethen and the hooded man both took a deep breath.
"I'm glad," the man's calm voice echoed again. "So, since you seem to be doing fine, I'll be going. Just remember, you can trust these people." Another shiver went down her spin on the word 'trust.'
"Listen to everything they say. They are good people, and will keep you safe."
Jamie nodded.
The man stalked from the room.
"Now then," Ms. Gisela murmured. "My dear Jamie. I believe you have some secrets to share."

897 Words.