5.
The light was so bright she couldn’t open her eyes without feeling as if she was being slapped in the face. She tried to lift her hand to shield them, but she realized that her arms were secured down by her side. She was lying flat on a hard surface and all she could hear was a dull buzz running all around her.
She geared herself up and finally opened her eyes ever so slightly. Bit by bit, white light pierced her vision and as she let her eyes become accustomed to it, she realized that the room she was in was completely empty apart from her. She was raised up, on what could only be a flat, white, hard bed. The rest of the room was white and empty. It was eerie in a way but she felt nothing but calm. She felt as if she belonged there.
She smiled and looked up at the ceiling. Spotlights shone down on her and as she looked down at her own body she realized that her red dress had gone and she was now wearing a pair of tight white leggings and a white smock. She closed her eyes again and tried to remember what had happened.
She had been at the party of a man they didn’t know and had been drinking vodka and lime with Sarah. They had gone to use the restroom. Sarah had been intent on making the host hers. Chantel had gone in to use the restroom and then she had left and spotted Ben. Ben with another woman. Ben entwined with someone else. The disappointment as she relived it thumped through her and she felt the tears well up behind her eyes again, but she couldn’t cry. It was as if whatever force was in the room with her wouldn’t let her be sad. She was being carried along on a wave of happiness. After she had seen Ben she had gone out into the garden, she had watched the stars. And then… That’s when it all went blank.
Something happened to me out in that yard, she thought. Did I pass out? Were Sarah and I drugged?
She cast her mind back to several news reports she had read only months before about girls all over the country being slipped roofies and waking up in compromising positions. Whilst this certainly wasn’t a usual thing to happen to Chantel, and even though she was waking up in a strange, brightly lit room in different clothes, she couldn’t help but feel as if everything was fine. She wasn’t afraid and she didn’t feel violated. She knew that whoever had brought her there wasn’t going to harm her.
She let the warm sensation rising up from the bed below her fill her entire body and she closed her eyes and smiled. She was so relaxed and content, she never wanted to move. She was just about to drift off into a welcomed sleep when she heard a noise at what had to be a door. It sounded as if a key was turning and slowly a black crack began to appear down the center of the stark white wall ahead of her. She raised her head and shoulders up as much as she could so she could get a clear view and watched as a man walked into the room with her. She could tell immediately that he was familiar and with a jolt of recognition it dawned on her that he was the host from the party.
“Hello?” she asked. “What’s happening?”
The man turned and looked at her and smiled. He really was very handsome, but there was something different about him there in that room. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but she could tell that he wasn’t the same person.
“Hello Chantel,” he said softly. “Welcome.”
She smiled back and wriggled her wrists.
“Would you be able to untie me please?” she asked with a giggle. She didn’t know how to act, the whole situation was so bizarre, but oddly, she was really enjoying it. It felt exciting and also very right. She was more than comfortable there and the fact that she was in the company of a man she didn’t know wasn’t bothering her at all.
“Of course,” he smiled as he approached the edge of the bed and with what felt like nothing, seemed to remove the restraints so they evaporated into thin air.
Chantel sat upright and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The man stood in front of her and they stared at each other. There was something about him that was making her want to reach out and touch him, but she didn’t dare, for some reason she knew she had to hold back.
“During your stay with us, this will be your room,” he told her. “Make yourself at home, relax, and get your rest. We’re very excited to have you here.”
Chantel wanted to ask him what he meant, but instead she just nodded and smiled obligingly. At the back of her mind she knew it was wrong, but on the surface it all felt okay and she didn’t want to upset the happy rhythm and the calm feeling she had washing all over her.
“One of my colleagues will be with you shortly to start the process,” he said. “In the meantime, it would be best if you just relaxed and enjoyed your time here.”
Chantel nodded and watched him leave the room.
The black crack of the door sealed up behind him and the line of the entrance completely disappeared. It was as if it had never even been there. She was in so much white light that she felt the beginnings of a headache, and now that the man had gone, she felt a sense of dread creeping up on her.
None of this makes any sense, she thought. He was just like the man from the party, and yet I know that it wasn’t him. He says I have to stay here? But where am I? And what did he mean by process?
She thought on his words and although she knew deep down that she should have more questions and be determined to get the answers, she also wanted to do exactly what he had told her and to lie down and get some sleep.
She kicked her feet back up and lay down on the hard, solid bed. Even though there was no comfort in it, she had never felt more at home and she felt as if it had been made just for her. She closed her eyes and somehow managed to block out the blinding glare of the lights beaming down on her. Within moments she was asleep.