Chapter 7

Chapter 7

What the hell was happening to her?

Naomi stumbled forwards, led on remorselessly by her attacker, who was dragging her down an uneven set of concrete stairs. She could barely take in her predicament, she felt nauseous, unsteady on her feet, her vision oddly blurred. She remembered getting a lift with her guardian angel, the strange route they'd taken through the back streets of the city, but after that everything was a blur. They'd stopped outside an unprepossessing building, which didn't look anything like the hostel he'd promised her, then he'd asked her to get something out of the glove compartment. His ID? A key? She couldn't remember. All she could recall was the horrible rag that he'd clamped over her mouth and nose as she leant forward – that awful smell, the burning in her throat, then the darkness that engulfed her.

She must have passed out because the next thing she knew she was here, being manhandled down dusty stairs that seemed to rear up to greet her, tripping her, impeding her. Her companion was swearing and cursing, angrily yanking her back onto her feet, marching her down, down, down. Despite her stupor, her alarm was growing with every step and Naomi opened her mouth to speak. She wanted to tell him he'd made a mistake, that she didn't want to be here, that she wanted to go home. But as she parted her lips, no sounds came out. Her tongue felt thick, her mouth numb, and she was struggling to breathe. What had he done to her?

Naomi held her hand to the wall to steady herself, but her attacker pulled it away, pushing open a battered door and dragging her into the room beyond. Again, Naomi stumbled, struggling to take in her surroundings. They were in some kind of basement storage area, which was empty save for some old building equipment and a couple of discarded coke cans. What was this place? And why had he brought her here?

Naomi looked up at him, hoping to see some kindness, some explanation, some semblance of reassurance in his expression, but ignoring her, her captor forced her down onto her knees.

‘Stay,' he barked, turning away from her and hurrying to the back wall.

Naomi did as he commanded, unable to move. She wanted to be sick, to scream, to pass out, but instead she just knelt there, watching as he got to work. Now Naomi was sure she was hallucinating. Her abductor seemed to be taking things off the shelves that lined the back wall, then removing the shelves themselves. What was he doing? She blinked once, twice, shaking her head to dispel these confusing images, but now things got stranger still. Reaching down, her abductor tugged at something and – incredibly – the back wall seemed to open, a joint in the middle releasing to reveal a secret chamber beyond.

Naomi felt bile rise in her throat. She couldn't see what was in there, but she didn't want to know. Moving one knee forward she tried to rise, something telling her that she needed to leave this building fast, that if she allowed herself to be manhandled into that dark space, she might never come out again. But she was still seriously disoriented and she fell sideways as she tried to right herself. Now her attacker was upon her again, dragging her up by her arm and pulling her towards the sinister opening. Once more Naomi tried to scream, to cry out, but managed only a dull murmur. It was too late and he propelled her into the gloomy, claustrophobic space. There was no air, no light down here, just an overpowering smell of crumbling plaster and stale urine. Naomi tried to jerk back, to free herself from his clutches, but her attacker was too strong, too determined, and she now felt herself forced down onto the ground in the far right-hand corner. Her back hit something hard and cold, a pipe of some kind, but before she could register the pain, her abductor had taken hold of her ankle, clamping something round it, binding her to the wall. Reaching down, he tugged at it a couple of times to make sure her bonds were secure, then he rose.

‘Please …' Naomi gasped, finally managing a word of protest.

But he took no heed, pausing only to shove her roughly back down onto the ground, before turning and exiting the tiny, fetid space. Seconds later, he sealed the doors behind him, plunging the room into total darkness.

Which is when Naomi realized that she wasn't alone.