Nathan awoke to the sound of screaming. He didn't know where it was from, but it was close enough to be heard. As he looks around for some sort of weapon, he takes time to realize his situation. Metal. He was surrounded by metal. He could move around the room, but other than that… he was stuck.
At least that's how it looked.
As the wobbly man felt around for some type of crack in the wall he couldn't help but use the place around him as a crutch. What even happened? He remembers drinking his drink, feeling woozy, then…nothing.
"I need to find Clay." His voice sounded raspy as he pulled against multiple sheets of metal. His fingers become ever more flaked from his own callus. Where was he? Wasn't he just in Joe's car. Nothing made sense. "Clay! Clay, can you hear me?" He tried to scream as loud as he could. Nothing. Nothing, except the sound of crying emanating from a corner of the room Nathan didn't care to look in.
On the floor, A woman sat shivering ever so slightly. She looked to be in her mid thirties as her eyes carried bags and hair looked as stringy as possible. But she wasn't in her mid thirties. She was twenty-three. The same age as him. His sister. Related by blood. Tears and everything else that stained their bedroom floor. They're family.
"Hay, Bri." He watched as the woman's body stood still after hearing his voice. It was clear, after all this time, she was still on it.
"Nate?" She looked around the room once before her dark brown eyes landed on him. Although he expected some type of pent up anger to come raging out, she did her best to run up to hug him. Her cold and fragile finger felt weird around Nathan's neck. He wanted her to get off him. Because there was nothing she could do to make up for her past. But he also knew, if anyone needed a hug right now, it was her.
Feeling somewhat sickly from his decision, he began to slowly wrap his arms around her as well. They stayed like this for a while. Both know what the other wanted to bring up.
The incident
"Do you know where we are? I don't know how I ended up here." He spoke low so as to not upset her even more. He didn't need to deal with anyone else's emotions, but his own. As he felt a shaking no on his shoulder, he still continued to look around for some type of exit. "They had to put us in somewhere."
He released himself from the awkward entanglement before getting to his knees and scanning the floor. If not a normal door, there had to be a trap one. Something to let them leave. As he checked, He heard the slight "what are you doing" from his sister. For a second, it seemed that they've switched places. Sabrina, standing in her right mind questioning what he, a crazed fanatic, was doing. But he didn't answer. He needed silence. Complete silence.
When his fingers felt a slight groove, his eyes lit up.
"Here, it's here." Nathan smiled as he lifted up the granite texture metal before ushering his sister over. "Hold the door open while I go look."
Sabrina gave a quick nod before watching her brother climb down the barely suitable ladder. Nathan's eyes glared at his footing, trying to find some balance in the dark. There were no windows in the place they were in. Just a couple of lights in the room before. As he headed down further, he used the light to secure his way.
Only to feel nothing more.
Nathan felt a slight wave of panic as he bent down to feel the ground below him. It wasn't nothing. He heard space, air, freedom.
But he also felt a lock.
It wasn't big, just enough for a key though. As he cursed to himself, a part of him felt relieved. That means the key is with them. He has to find it. He took a deep breath before climbing his way back up again.
"Did you see something?" Her words weren't answered. Instead Nathan moved around once more, searching for the missing key. "Nate?" Still nothing.
"Nathan?" It had to be somewhere. If not, we're gonna suffocate. Nathan thought to himself as he moved. I can't die here. She can, but I'm not.
"Nathan!"
The man looked back with anger. He couldn't find it. But it had to be there. They wouldn't be able to lock it if it was outside.
"Do you have it?" His words were met with confusion. As she stammered her words, she quietly paced back.
"Do I have what?" She looked at him with wide eyes. "What are you talking about?" He watched as she moved towards the hole in the floor. He needed that key.
"Bri, we need that key to leave." He spoke softly, so as to not make a fuss, but the fact still remained the same. Whether he needed to kill her or not. "You know that, so just give it to me." He could feel the blood in his veins getting warmer with his rage.
Slowly, he walks closer to his sister. He watched as Sabrina's eyes flashed fear of what he was planning to do.
"Nathan, what are you planning to do?" Her voice sounded… scared. But not as scared as he was. Not as scared when used to fear his father. The beatings, the burns, everything.
As it was all thanks to her.
"Bri, I need the key." She still shivered at his voice. And he knew why too. As he got older, he realized that his voice started to sound more and more like the cruel man that raised. Both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, people knew whenever he spoke seriously, he wasn't playing around. And people knew that. On the other hand, people fear who he could become.
Just like him.
"I'm not supposed to. He said…"
"He said what, Bri?!" Nathan's voice rose with the anger that he kept swelled inside. Who was he? Why was he keeping them here? And what did they have over Sabrina? The frightened woman continued to talk about her arrangement. She promised to keep him safe… at least that's what she claimed. She talked about how she met a man yesterday. He wore a skin colored mask and wore a dark colored suit.
Walking up to her randomly, he threw a bag of cash and demanded her help. At first, she refused. He wanted nothing to do with a pompous hidden face prick. But after he spoke of his plan to kill Nathan, she couldn't help but stop it.
Nathan couldn't believe his ears. The man was after him? Why? Did he know the person? Nathan's ear rang as it picked up the frequency of Sabrina tears, but he didn't care. If that man truly wanted to hurt him, then it was even worse to leave Clayton alone. The man could have him by now. Worse, he could be done with him. Feeling confused, angry, sad, and betrayed at the same time, Nathan still held his hand out for the key.
"Nate, I'm not giving it to you. Didn't you hear what I said!" Sabrina yelled as she held her hand ever so tightly around her jacket pocket. So that's where it was. "He's going to kill you, why can't you understand that?" Her words sounded genuine…but they weren't. Nathan could smell her bull from a mile away.
She wasn't telling the full truth.