Katelyn could tell from their accents that they were from somewhere across the ocean. Something about the woman’s accent gave it a British flair, although to Katelyn’s untrained ears, it could have been anything. One thing was clear to her; these were not petty thieves. She sat blindfolded and chained to a radiator in an especially damp corner of the stone cellar. She had been captive for more hours than she could count, and she began to think that the time had accumulated into days. Initially, she was confident that her guardsmen in the Eastern Bluffs would protect her stash, but within a few hours after her imprisonment, she heard the noises of men carrying a heavy safe down rickety wooden stairs. They had made quick work of her organization. It had been what seemed like a long time before she heard the woman again. She came only after the fourth or fifth time Sergio would come to let her drink her daily water. That time, Sergio removed her blindfold and allowed her to see. She squinted for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the new light. Sitting in a metal chair not far from her was a black haired, rather strikingly attractive young woman. She looked no older than Katelyn herself, but sat with a regal, upright poise as she stared vacantly at her captive. Her eyes were the feature that were the strangest, and perhaps the only truly frightening thing about the petite dark woman. Katelyn studied her gaze with a heightening sense of fear. Her eyes did not reflect light. They were the eyes of a corpse.
“Your outfit is officially out of commission.” The woman said. “You have no support coming to rescue you. But I’m sure that’s already become apparent.” Although she was rather young, she spoke with the authoritative tone of an aristocratic older woman.
“Who are you?” Katelyn finally gathered the courage to ask.
“My name is Isabella Rossellini.” She said. Her brother Carlo who was standing behind her, smiled widely, as if his sister had told a joke.
Katelyn was a keen observer. “I guess it makes sense that you don’t want to tell me.” She said to Isabella.
Isabella smiled and nodded. “Then we understand each other. Who I am isn’t important. What is important is what I want.”
“I can’t give you the combination because I don’t know it.” Katelyn replied.
Isabella smiled. “Do you know how you can tell when an American is lying? When he openly tells you he doesn’t know something.”
“What will you do with me if I tell you?”
“I will let you go.” Isabella responded quickly.
“How can I be sure? You could just as easily kill me.”
“Now is not quite the time for murder.”
“And if I don’t tell you?”
“Times change.” Isabella replied flatly.
“That’s everything I have. I can’t give it to you.” Katelyn looked at the three siblings, whose figures were obscured by a singular flood light that was hanging from the ceiling above them.
Isabella stood up. “I’ll see you when you’re ready to give me the combination.” Her brothers approached Katelyn and pulled her up to her feet. She screamed as her wrist twisted from the weight of the radiator she was still handcuffed to. Sergio un-cuffed her and punched her in the face with such force her hearing and sight momentarily failed. While she was limp and unable to break away from the pain, Carlo and Sergio pushed her inside of the metal animal cage, which was roughly five feet tall and six feet wide. They re-cuffed her to one of the bars on the side of the cage and then bolted the cage door. Kicking at them and screaming, Katelyn attempted to protest her imprisonment. Carlo backed away from one of her flailing limbs and laughed, looking at his younger brother. Sergio and Isabella were standing on the stairs, watching Katelyn’s futile struggle. Isabella walked back down the steps and put down a Bluetooth speaker device. She programmed it to play “Gangam Style” by PSY on double speed at full volume on infinite repeat. The three siblings left the basement and closed the wooden doors, leaving behind Katelyn Campbell, whose screams were barely audible over the deafening music.
Editor’s Note: If you enjoy Adam’s writing, be sure to check out his previously featured works with Big Easy Magazine here! Also, be sure to read some of our other short fiction. This includes works from Nolan Storey, Margaret Marley, Camille Goering and Fritz Westenberger!
