The Starling Vigilante [Watty's 2015 Award Winner]

Chapter 3

Water droplets hit my nose as I opened my eyes, feeling cranky and aching at every movement I made. My eyes groggy, I felt disorientated and tired. Sneezing as dust aggravated my nose, I pinched it to make the reaction stop. My throat felt coarse and dry as little saliva filled my mouth, my body calling for moisture.

Trying to work out where I was, I looked around for hints. I could see tall, grimy windows letting in a limited amount of light, many of the panes cracked, which just made the light problem worse. Broken, worn pipes lined the roof, explaining why I could feel water on my face. And as I looked down, I realised I was in danger and it wasn't some sort of crazy dream.

Coarse, rough rope messily tied my torso and thighs to an old chair, it's giveaway creak making it hard for me not to be heard by whoever had me here. Cliché. It was clear that my capturer wasn't very skilled at tying a person to a chair, so they were obviously amateur. They hadn't even blindfolded me!

Laughing at my deduction in normally terrifying circumstances, my voice echoed through the room. That meant I was somewhere large. And empty. And it seemed like an abandoned factory. There were many of those in Manchester. Yes, I felt alone, but I also knew I had company.

Trying to break out of the rope, I tried to think of a reason why I would be here, of all places and of all people. I hadn't done anything wrong, and I certainly wasn't anyone special. The only people I had met so far today were Isaac and Ethan. Ethan had seemed slightly suspicious, but I'm sure he wasn't anyone of interest and he wouldn't be able to pull this off, that's for sure. But, I had fainted in his room.

Finally untangling myself from the shoddy work I had been tied in, I crept along the room, close to the ground, not sure about what to do or where to go. I felt too obvious, too out in thee open. And my breakout felt too easy. Bracing myself for anything, I continued down in the shadows towards a small, old door I could see in the distance.

I know, I didn't really freak out or panic, but really, I was terrified. I just knew that I had keep calm and stay focused. One slip up could put me in danger, not that I already wasn't.

Suddenly, I heard a short scream, just loud enough to be heard. And it was coming from the door. Trembling as I held my hand out to the handle, I pushed the door ajar and slipped inside. And when I entered the room, I couldn't believe who was there.