…What? Where am I? My head is pounding. I can’t think straight.
Okay, let’s think logically.
Time: I reach for my watch, but my wrist is bare. In fact, it feels sore to the touch and I flinch unexpectedly.
Location: I can’t see where I am. It’s pitch black and my eyes aren’t able to properly adjust. I slowly and cautiously stand up. As I stand, I feel a tug on my right ankle. I realize that I am shackled to something.
Trying not to panic, I sit down and continue my mental exercise. Time, location… What comes next? Name. Yes, that’s right!
Name: My name is Virginia Townsend. Good. My wits seem to be about me, despite potentially being hit on my head. I try to search the corners of my mind for the last memories that I can recall.
Time: The last time I remember was 11:45pm on New Years Eve. David’s party was raging and with midnight quickly approaching, he asked me to retrieve some champagne from the root cellar–
Location: The root cellar! That must be where I’m at now! I suddenly notice how cold I am. I was hot at the party, and went into the cellar without a jacket on.
Not only do I feel cold but also damp. As I touch my bottom half I realize that my clothes are wet from where I’ve been sitting. Using my hands instead of my eyes, I feel around for a dry spot nearby, as far as my shackle will allow me to move. My hand hits something solid.
I feel it carefully. Rubber, then smooth leather, laces… a shoe! I continue feeling upwards and–
I gasp, and jump up. That shoe is attached to a leg. Not a severed leg but the leg of a man who has been standing there, in the dark, next to me this entire time.
For a brief moment, a flame appears in the darkness. A second later, a sparkler ignites. The light from the sparkler is dim. I peer through the darkness and my eyes meet his.
“Robert,” I say, as I step as far back as my shackle will allow.
“Virginia,” he replies in kind.
“What are you doing here? Did you follow me… all the way from Scotland?”
“Aye.”
“So this is your revenge, then?” I ask, knowing that I am deserving of it. “Why now, after all these years?”
He keeps his voice low as he quotes, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?”
I exhale as I accept my fate. I cannot run forever.
The sparkler dims, and we are engulfed in darkness once again.
