The Door Closes

He woke up. Where was he? How did he get here?

His head throbbed, instinctively a hand shot to the pain which only lead to more pain. As his eyes acclimatized to the room he saw a shadowed shape across the room, also laying on the floor. There was no visible movement. Quick, workout what happened. It was too dark to see the details but he could feel stinging on his arms, there was a struggle. His knuckles ached, he must have got at least one good shot in. He could smell perfume. Wait. He'd been in his car, why was he in his car? Why was it such a blur? He inhaled again, and this time he remembered. As fast as his body would let him he scrambled across the cold floor to the shadow that lay there. As he bent closer he could smell the perfume, and now he could see the blonde hair tumbling into the dirty puddles. She was breathing calmly for now, when she woke up that wouldn't be the case. There was a tiny amount of light coming into the room, he looked towards it and saw a patchy window, crudely blacked out with paint. It wasn't big enough to escape from, maybe big enough to signal through though. He put his weight on to his hands and tried to lift his torso, it was hard going but he managed to get to a sitting position. He was beginning to regret the energy he used scrabbling across the room, he felt weak, his limbs were trembling from the exertion. He needed to push himself, while she was unconscious he might be able to find a way out and rescue her.

Stand up. That's all he had to do.

They'd been in his car when it happened. He'd made a joke and she'd laughed even though it wasn't funny. She was putting on her cardigan for the walk to the cinema, when they'd got in the car the air was humid and he'd opened the windows, but now there was a chill. He'd hoped she wouldn't so that he could be a gentleman and offer his jacket to her. Had there been a noise from outside the car? He thought he'd heard something but he was fairly certain it was just an animal rummaging in the garbage cans. He jumped out of the car to go round and open her door. He placed his hand on the roof and leant down for the handle, stopping to look at her smiling face, but it wasn't a smile. It had been, but the corners of her red lips were sinking and the gleam in her eye almost looked like it was from tears instead of love. He saw her eyes dart from him to somewhere just over his shoulder, he braced himself and spun towards the dart, fists ready. There wasn't much to remember after that, he must have fought, he must have been hit on the back of the head. That probably meant two people.

All he had to do was stand.

He edged to the wall and used it to push himself up from the floor. On to his knees. On to one foot. Finding finger sized cracks in the wall he gripped hard as he used as much power as he could muster to get on to that second foot. After what seemed like a good five minutes of struggling he was standing on his two feet, all be it pressed up against the damp wall with his chest heaving. Once the trembling stopped he pushed his weight off the wall and tested his balance before completely letting go. He sighed with a small amount of pride at his success, but as he looked towards the window he realised he wasn't even half way there. He could shuffle his feet, any more than that would be a risk. Left. Right. Left. Right. He made it to the shafts of light, but he hadn't realised how high off the ground they were. A stretched arm barely met the bottom of the bars, he tried for some purchase on the wall to pull himself up but the mortar on this wall was much better. He flexed his fingers to check for strength, if he could make a jump and grip the bars he could try something. Check your movement before you jump, somehow he was still thinking with some rationality. One squat, a second, a third. Do it now while you can. It felt like a slam dunk. He grabbed the bars with both hands hoping that they would simply be loose and come out in his hands. They were set firm, and while he hovered in the air like he was in freeze frame he had hope. The damp was everywhere in the room. Under his fingers it felt like the bars were greased. Then his first finger broke free. Still weak from whatever they'd given him his strength was leaving him quicker than he's imagined. Before he knew it he was held up by three fingers on each hand. He should have dropped back and waited for more strength. But the panic was setting in, he felt like he was so close to escape, he couldn't wait for another try. Willing all the power to his right hand he threw his left arm up and tried to punch at the window. It all happened in an instant. As his left hand swung, the extra weight on his right pulled his skin against the greased bar. All the leverage he had disappeared and suddenly he was airborne.

A flash of pain. Blackness.

He felt like he had been screaming on the short trip down but he didn't remember hearing anything. He had passed out from the pain that had come from the cracking of his left leg as it crumpled awkwardly underneath his body. He couldn't see it but with the sharp pain that came when he tried to move his leg let him know it was broken. Slowly he pulled himself along the floor towards the still lifeless body. A cold sweat was developing on his brow and a sickness churned in his stomach with each movement. When he was within an arms length he collapsed to the floor and exhaled heavily into the musty dirt. Stay awake. He reached out and put his hand on her exposed shoulder. When he'd last done this she had blushed, her cheeks flushing a beautiful peach colour. Despite his situation he smiled. He shook her lightly hoping for some movement. She seemed to be coming round, he rolled her towards him as far as he could. He called her name, he tried again, and again. There was no noise. How was he going to reassure her when she finally woke? He saw her eyes flicker open and her body tense as she realised her unfamiliar surroundings. He gripped her shoulder and she turned towards him with some relief. She went to embrace him and the shooting pains in his legs became unbearable. He tried to scream out but still there was no noise. She realised from his face he was in pain. She opened her mouth to speak but she seemed to be afflicted with the same problem, she tried to spout more words but nothing came out. He saw her look up at the window and he quickly shook his head, they couldn't both end up like him. She seemed to have more energy than he had when he woke up. She was on her feet and went over to the window. He frantically waved his arms in argument, but she wasn't going for the window itself. She was feeling the walls, he saw her creep round to the right into a dark corner and momentarily disappear. He knew she'd reappear but the fear was in his throat as he waited. There was a slight glimmer from her hair and she came out of the black hole. She was still frantically rubbing down the wall, now she was what seemed to be half way round the room. Suddenly she stopped. She stood up straight and focused her attention on something in the darkness.

Blinding light. Sheer confusion.

The low watt bulb had acted like a beacon in the darkness, he blinked several times and squinted into the glow. When he focused he could see she was just standing. Staring. At an almost half size black door. Neither of them moved, its appearance kept them mesmerised. There was a small square handled on the left hand side of the door. Hesitantly she reached her hand for it, stopped short, and turned as if for reassurance. He nodded his head and gave what he hoped was an encouraging smile. Too much was unknown, he had a bad feeling. He waved for her to come over and gestured for her to help him up. She reached her arms round his torso and tried to lift, but she was only slight and he was well set. He exhaled deeply and they both sensed they needed to give up, it was only sensible for her to try and break out. She moved back to the door quickly, hands straight to the knob. She turned it softly, a few clicks later and nothing. Was it panic or desperation? Probably both. She twisted it a dozen more times quickly, she threw her weight at the door. Crack. The door gave a little, she stopped, surprised. It looked heavy as she put her shoulder to it and pushed. A glance back, and her eyes said she was going, and she'd bring help. The door opened enough for her to step out, it was even brighter on the other side. She edged out cautiously. He watched her walk away. He watched her looking along the top of the walls for clues and ideas. He watched the door slowly glide shut. With terror coursing through his body he tried to scream for her.

Click. The door locked.