"I… I wan-…" Joseph stuttered, "I'm out." He finally said with a blatant shiver in his voice.
"Sit." Emma commanded. Her voice was stern. Authoritative. "Let me tell you what really happened."
Joseph did not want to know, nor did he care enough to stay in this small box of a room. He wanted to get away from here and lock himself safely in his own room. He began walking out the door.
Emma rushed to the cupboard, push aside its sliding door, reached in and pulled out a bowie knife almost 6 inches long. "Sit." She instructed calmly as she pointed the knife at Joseph. Her eyes locked into his as she showed her dominance.
He froze in his tracks and instinctively raised his hands to show submission. Slowly, he stepped back to the bed while keeping his eyes fixed on her and the knife. Making sure nothing she didn't lunge out at him out of nowhere. His mind went wild. He didn't know what to do. What can he do? The four walls of Room 404 was now his prison.
Joseph sat on the bed. His hands were still up showing compliance. It was intentional because he would want to react as fast as he could if anything went wrong though he wasn't sure if he could do much considering how badly his hands were shaking.
"Don't worry Joseph. I won't hurt you." Emma said as she inched closer. "I'm not a bad person." She continued, "He had it coming."
Joseph assumed 'he' was the guy he was currently sitting on. The corpse still looked vivid in his head. It was horrifying. The man looked quite big and tall but he still fit under the bed. What had she done to make that happen? Joseph couldn't even begin to imagine it. He might just puke on the spot. The light- he was experiencing would not help to prevent that.
"What d-…" he swallowed to clear the lump in his throat, "what do you mean he had it coming?"
"We were just spending time last night." She stood right in front if Joseph, "Then he said: 'My wife thinks I'm on a business trip' as he was laughing. Imagine that."
Joseph waited for more explanation. That couldn't be the only reason, right? Was he drunk and started attacking her? Was it self-defence? He tried to make sense of it. Still not accepting this sweet and innocent looking person in front of him was a psychopath.
"Reminded me of my late husband. Even after I let him beat me up everyday, take my money without me knowing, kept quiet while he went around with other people again and again," her head slumped low, "he still wouldn't love me enough."
The knife in her hand moved to Joseph's throat, "I even learned how hack into phones to see what he did." She retold. "So I one time, I caught him and his whore at her house. Had to end him and his whore while they were in the bed. Very messy, wouldn't recommend." She giggled at her own sick joke.
The blunt edge teased at his carotid artery, drawing a line straight across as if she was nostalgic about what she had done. Sweat rolled down everywhere. Joseph was at her mercy.
"Please let me go." He began pleading, "I promise you that I won't tell nobody… please…"
"You're not a hostage here. I like you and I really want to get to know you more." She smiled.
Emma sat down right next to him and placed the knife beside her but away from Joseph. Then she held his both his hands and held his gaze, "You are a very nice person. You made me feel whole again after so long." She held his face in her hands, "Stay with me and we can be happy together."
Nope. Not a chance. You are a murdering lunatic. Joseph did not dare say any of it out loud because it might be the last words he say. Instead, he thought of a way out. Joseph nodded in agreement with what she just said.
He's going to need wit to survive this. He needs to think, solve this problem. Staying on this bed with her isn't going to help him think. He asked to go to his room but Emma denied his pathetic request. She won't let him out of the room, that's for sure. So he asked to go to the bathroom like a 6 year old in a preschool.
"What did you get yourself into, man." He whispered to himself in front of the mirror after splashing his face to cool himself down.
Gone was the Joseph who tried to find the best smile for his selfies. Excited Joseph was gone. This Joseph was terrified to the core. Shaking and trembling in every limb. What can he do to get out of this?
Right next to the sink was a hairdryer. He picked it up and realised it had a heft to it. He had a terrible idea. One that disgusted him so much but he had to do despite his feelings towards it. Joseph unplugged the hairdryer and hid it behind his back. He took a deep breath and went to the door. He stopped at the doorway when he saw Emma waiting for him.
"You okay?" Emma asked. She was leaning against the pantry with her knife in her hand.
Joseph halted and hid the hairdryer behind the door. He just nodded in response.
"You don't look okay." She moved closer. She was in range.
"I'm sorry." Right before he swung the hairdryer to her head. She staggered back against the pantry but the knife remained firm in her hand. Joseph ran outside to his room but when he reached his door, he realized his phone, wallet and room cardkey was on the bedside table.
Joseph looked frantically around. Using the elevator would mean suicide. He looked around and finally saw a sign that pointed to the emergency staircase. Immediately, he dashed straight for it. Joseph looked around just for the tiniest, briefest moment and saw Emma already out the door and hot on his heels.