"Don't bother trying,you can't escape through that".
I heard a voice say and I panicked.
I turned to see who the owner of the voice and that was when I noticed two women with their backs facing each other tied up at one corner of the room.
I guess they're also trapped here.
I felt relieved that it wasn't the abductors I saw.
I kept my distance as I looked at them. I thought I was in a bad condition a moment ago but looking at them, I realized my situation was much better compared to theirs.
They were in bad shape. Their hair was disheveled and there were bruises on their faces, with large eye bags under their eyes.They looked like they hadn't slept for days ...or weeks!
And they looked weak...as if they hadn't eaten in a long while.
Looking at them I felt like helping ,but.I didn't trust the way they looked ready to eat anything. They could be cannibals.
I turned back to continue to try and force open the window.
"Didn't you hear me the first time?
I said it's no use trying to escape. And even if you could you'd be caught in no time. There are guards everywhere".
I ignored whatever they were saying and continued to look for my way out.
"Are you deaf or just plain stubborn? I just said--
"Just let her be, Elana. She'll give up on her own when she realizes. Don't kill her hope". The other woman cut in.
I sighed and turned back to look at them again.
"If you're that desperate to do something please untie us then."
I walked closer to them, but I still kept some distance.
"How do I know you won't attack me after I untie you?"
I asked and waited for an answer.
"Do we look like psychopaths to you?"
I took a glance at them and then looked away.
"Yes you do", I answered
They both sighed.
"We won't hurt you. Just free us... please."
Hearing the desperation in her sentence, I decided to do as she asked.
Immediately I freed them they held their wrists, closed their eyes,and took deep breaths. Their position earlier did look uncomfortable. I guess they felt suffocated.
"See,we didn't hurt you, did we?" one of them said as she opened her eyes and looked at me.
I nodded.
Suddenly I felt an ache in my ankle,and decided to sit with them.
"I'm Arie by the way", I introduced myself.
"I'm Elana",the woman with blonde hair said.
"Xyra", the one with dark hair continued.
"Were you two also abducted?"
I asked when it seemed like they had calmed down.
"We weren't abducted. We just...we came here on our own." Elana said as she sighed.
"You mean to say you put yourselves in this position? As in you tied yourselves up and locked yourselves here? I don't understand."
I looked at them in confusion.
"It's a long story and I don't have the energy to tell one right now.Didn't you want to discuss how to get out of here anyway?"
"It's fine if you don't want to explain how you got here. But can you at least tell me where I am?Are the abductors human traffickers? What's going to happen to us?"
I waited to hear their answer but they just remained quite and stared at me. After half a minute of silence I was anxious.
Why are they looking at me like that?
Do I have something on my face?
Or were my questions strange?
"Why are you staring at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"
I finally asked when I couldn't bear the silent stare anymore.
"Umm... Xyra isn't that...
"Yeah Elana... It's the same one."
I looked at them like they weren't making any sense because they weren't.
What are these two talking about?
Me? Am I the 'it'?
"What's the same one?What are you talking about?" I finally asked.
"You... did Raiden send you here to come get us?"
Elana said and looked around her,as if she was searching for something...or someone.
"Sorry? Who's raiding this place? Is Raiding a person?" I asked as a confused smile formed on my face.
"Not Raiding,Raiden. You...you don't know him? But... I'm confused right now."
Xyra said and looked as she looked at me.
She's confused? I mentally laughed.
"Am I supposed to know this Raiden person? Is he a famous celebrity or something?" The confused smile remained on my face as I asked.
All I want to do is just get out of here but these people are only giving me a headache by confusing me and staring at me like that. I felt like I would lose my sanity if I didn't hear an explanation any sooner.
"But I don't understand.Only Lord Raiden has that mark.How come you also have it yet you don't know him?"
"You're confused? I should be the one saying that...What are you talking about.What mark?"
I finally snapped.
"The one...", Elana pointed to her neck...on your neck."
My head started to ache from the confusing things there were saying.
So... all this while they were talking about the mark I had on my neck?! But what's so great about it? And what did this Raiden person have to do with it?
Sure it's perculiar that I have a star with a backward S mark on my neck but I don't see the big deal about it.
"I don't understand what you guys are talking about.Someone please explain to me before I end up fainting"
They both looked at each other
"I think it's safe to tell her Elana,she has the mark after all" Xyra said as she turned her gaze away from me.
"I think you're...right",Elana said and nodded.
They both turned to look at me.
I waited impatiently to hear their explanation.
"I'm not sure if you're here because of the same reason we are,Arie. But..."
"But?", I urged her to continue.
"You claim to not know Raiden.But I think perhaps you were abducted and brought here because you and him both have that exact same mark,and they probably thought you are one us."
"So you're saying I was abducted because of a misunderstanding? And the misunderstanding is my star shaped mark?"
I was still confused by what they were saying.
"Yes, I think.We are here because we were sent here,by our master Raiden."
"You were sent? To do what?To get tied up and be kept in an empty room like prisoners?"
"No. We were sent here on a mission to capture someone,but that backfired and we were captured instead."
"I'm still confused. Who were you ordered to capture,and why are you even capturing this person? More importantly,what does any of this have to do with me?"
"We're not supposed to tell but.. we're from the phyton gang. We were given an order to get information on Zilan Aikin and capture him,but as you can see we failed to do that."
"Who's Zilan Aikin?"
"An enemy of ours."
"Ok but I still don't understand how I got caught up in all of this. I'm not from any gang neither was I sent to capture anyone.So why am I here?"
"Well as I said earlier you and our Master have the same mark,so maybe they misunderstood that you were one of us."
I was as confused as ever as I looked at them. They weren't making any sense to me. What does my mark have to do with my abduction?What does it have to do with anything!!!