The Starling Vigilante [Watty's 2015 Award Winner]

Chapter 4

There, in the middle of the small room, sat Harper, her body tied to a chair like I had, the only difference than her rope was much tighter and neater than mine. She must be the one they wanted, not me. They had paid way too much attention to her, from being in a secluded room to having a blindfold over her eyes. Running towards her, I ripped the blindfold off her and started at the ropes.

'Harper!' I whispered quickly. 'Its me, Aria!'

'Where am I?' She asked just as disorientated as I had been.

'I don't know,' I stated through gritted teeth as I struggled with the rope. 'But I'm going to get you out of here.'

'No, you can't help me,' Harper retaliated. 'Its not your problem, Aria.'

'It became my problem when I was taken here!' I retaliated back, annoyed. 'Why are you here, anyway?'

'It doesn't matter,' Harper answered, looking straight into my eyes. They shone with tears, her bubbly personality gone and speaking in a tough voice, running mascara telling me she had been crying under her blindfold. 'Wait, you're not even upset and it's your first...' She stopped.

'First what?' I asked, feeling left in the dark and stepping away from Harper.

Silence. I sighed in annoyance. I then realised how I had been talking to my new friend.

'I'm sorry I snapped at you like that,' I apologised.

'Its fine,' Harper replied. 'Its not like I was perfect either.'

I carried on with the ropes again, the rough, tricky texture slipping through my fingers and disagreeing with me. Stubbornly, I kept trying, my eyes full of determination.

'Who do you think drugged us and took us here?' I asked, curious. It seemed Harper had more experience in this type of thing.

'I don't know,' she said simply but unconvincingly. 'How do you know we both got drugged, anyway?'

'Well, if you think about it, we both fainted, and that wasn't just a coincidence,' I started with my deduction. 'I don't believe in coincidences. I think it was from the drinks last night.'

'When I catch that son of a-' Harper started.

'Wait,' I interrupted her, hushing her to silence. 'Sorry, I thought I heard something.'

---

'Aria, stop!' Harper exclaimed after what seemed like hours of friction burns and struggles passed, my hands soon sore from the tension on my skin. 'You're hurting yourself! The rope won't budge!'

'I won't stop until I get you out if this!' I stubbornly stuck by Harper through gritted teeth. 'Nothing will stop-'

Suddenly, a hand silenced my voice, and I tried to break free from my constraint. I could feel his breath against my neck, the warm air sending a cold chill down my body. Fighting against the obstruction with no end result, I became more and more determined, even though at the back of my mind I knew I had no chance.

'Maybe I'll be the one to do that,' he said, his deep voice masked by some sort of robotic device.

'Let her go!' Harper shouted. 'She has nothing to do with this!'

'Oh, Harper, Harper,' the man mocked. 'She has everything to do with it.'

'I said. Let. Her. Go!' Harper bellowed.

'You have showed great resilience,' the man continued, ignoring Harper. 'You would do great as a detective.' As I managed to nip his palm with my teeth, he shook his hand in pain. 'And she's a fighter too!'

'Shut up, you-' Harper started again.

'I'm not talking to you!' the man shouted. 'Its Aria I need.' He added in a softer tone.

'Well, Sir,' I said sarcastically as I broke away fron his grasp and gaining confidence. 'I'm not being your detective or whatever you want to do with me. I'm an astrophysicist. And I plan to stay that way.'

'You have underestimated the power of the people above your... status,' he remarked. 'I need you.'

With that, the lights flickered on and the ropes around Harper became loose. And the man was gone.