I regain consciousness with an ache in my body and my neck is stiff. I groan as I try to stretch my joints but feel restrictions in my body.

I open my eyes to a dimly lit area and blink, trying to adjust to the dim lights. The whole place is too dim to make out. There is only a small window by the wall on my right, but it’s barred down, letting only a few streams of sunlight into the room, facing me are stairs leading up.

I look down at my limbs and see that I've been bound to the chair with ropes. I try dragging my hands free but the rope bites into my skin. I struggle for a while then stop as the rope digs in tighter.

I sit there in confusion, wondering where I am and how long I have been tied up. As the sun sets, I cry to myself, thinking about how worried my parents are about not seeing me back home until sundown.

Just as I was about to force the restraints on my hands and feet again, the sound of keys rattling made me freeze. I hold my breath as the door atop the stairs opens up and I get momentarily blinded by the sudden light that comes through.

Just as I adjusted my eyes to the sudden light, slow, calculated footsteps came from the door, then the figure of a large man blocked the light passing through the door and covered my form in his shadow.

He stands by the doorway but I couldn't make out his facial features,” Who are you and what am I doing here?!”I shout at his form but I'm just met with silence, just as I'm about the shout profanities at him, he comes down the steps calmly and stands in front of me.

My breath catches in my throat at the sight of the large man, he has sharp black eyes that pierce into one’s soul, a chiseled jaw, full lips with a beard framing them and his hairstyle is that of being cut short on the sides and a few inches longer at the front. He's a really attractive male but he stared at me like he'd crush me with his shoe and I don't recall knowing such a man.

Two burly men also come down from the stairs and close it behind them, plunging us into darkness momentarily before turning on the light for a single bulb above us.

Being surrounded by all these strangers, I feel the surge of panic start to bubble up within me as they surround me from all sides,” answer me God damn it! Who the heck are you?!” I shout at them in panic and in a flash, the man on my left grabs my jaw harshly and forces my head upwards to stare at the man with the piercing dark eyes.

I take in sharp deep breaths to quell my rising panic attack, I couldn't afford to get a panic attack in front of these men.

The dark eyed man looks deeply at me,” your a loud thing for someone powerless “, his deep voice sounds off in the enclosed space, he bends towards my face and studies me,” you owe me a debt that is very much overdue so I decide to see to this matter myself” his breath fans my face as he speaks, a mix of tobacco and mint.

I stare at him with furrowed brows in confusion, I've never met this man before in my life so his talk of a debt is all new to me,” What do you mean by debt? I don't even know you” I tell him as I watch his eyes. He raises one brow in silent amusement and takes a step back with a smirk on his face,” Oh really? Want to play the innocent game with me, pretend you know nothing, quite original” he says mockingly as he takes slow, predatory steps around me,” but no issues, let me play along and jog your memory shall we?” he asks while still circling round me,” in 2015, Roman Alexe and his wife had a sudden decline from business that they tried to rise from, then all of a sudden got struck with the accident of their children which resulted in the demise of one and the long term hospitalisation of the other and with all those bills rounding up they had no way to go about it” he continues while I pale upon hearing his words,”how-how did-”,” but then, left with no other option, they decided to steal from my shipment and stab me in the back” he interrupts me while still taking circles round me,” nobody, will betray me and not get what's coming for them, hence why you're here", he finished and stops in front of me.

He stared at me with his cold, hard eyes at my pale self. The man holding my jaw lets go of my head with a shove making my hair stick to my sweaty, tear-stricken face. The hard-eyed man roughly grabs my hair by the roots and forces my face towards his,” and now the option left is to pay me otherwise….” he leaves the statement hanging and draws out his gun from his back and grazes it at the side of my face.

The cold pistol is pressed to my forehead as the smirk falls from his face and he looks at me like a nuisance he would not be bothered to shoot right this instance,” a life or two has to be traded for it” he pushes my head backward with the tip of his pistol and turns away towards the stairs,” so now we play the waiting game, shake them up then we see what option they choose” he says without looking back and like a silent command, he's two men follow him up the steps and open the door for him,” no, stop wait!!!!” I shout just as they slam the door behind them, plunging me into darkness.