Damned Paradise

Darkness. Everything was dark. My back was pressed against a cold, hard wall and something metal and cold was wrapped around my wrists and ankles, anchoring me to the cement-like ground. Absolute raw adrenaline and fear pulsed through my veins and my breathing came in quick, shallow intakes. I strained my ears hoping to hear voices or a noise but I couldn't get past the sound of my racing rabbit-like heartbeat in my ears. I scanned the darkness frantically, my eyes flitting from one dark spot to the next. What I assumed was perspiration, slid down the back of my neck and over my eyes, soaking my shirt and slicking my long hair to the back of my neck and on my forehead. I reached chained down arm to wipe my face when suddenly I was blinded by a bright light. I blinked rapidly to regain a sliver of my vision and squinted, holding a hand eyes shielding it from the light. As my eyes slowly regained focus I saw that I was in a white room decorated only with a chair and the metal chains that chained me that disappeared into the wall behind me. In the chair sat the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

She wore a skin tight strapless violet mini dress that showed the beauty of her long, smooth legs and the sinful curves she possessed. Her dainty feet were bare and her toes were painted jet black just like her smooth fingernails on her delicate hands. Her nail polish matched her hair that trailed down below her waist and arced just underneath her right eye. Her eyes. They were absolutely mesmerizing. They were a bright purple, almost lavender, with a black ring around them making them hard to look away from. She had a heart shaped face with sexy, pouty lips and a small nose that rounded at the tip. Absolutely gorgeous.

"Hello, Cain." She said in a sweet, angelic voice that had me breathless.

"How do you know my name?" I asked, or mostly rasped.

My throat and mouth were both extremely dry. It felt as if I'd eaten cotton.

"Don't speak. Just listen." She said and I obeyed but my mind was bursting with questions. One of which she answered in her next sentence.

"My name is Tara. You're dehydrated, hungry, and possibly freezing."

I hadn't realized how hungry I was until she said so. My stomach was growling viciously and it felt as if it was eating itself. I groaned softly, not wanting to show weakness. It wasn't very effective considering I was chained up, dirty, hungry, and dehydrated.

"I've arranged a 3 course meal for us to enjoy together while we talk. Unfortunately you are incredibly filthy so I've also arranged for some clothes for you to wear and the possibility of a shower for you. I'm sure you have many questions that I'll be glad to answer during our meal." She said.

I opened my mouth to speak again but only a rasp followed by a cough came out. Tara smiled. How beautiful she was when she smiled.

"Until then." She said and as if on cue I began to drift out of consciousness. The last thing I heard as my body thudded to the ground was her beautiful voice saying "Bathe him and escort him to the dining hall."

I awoke, dazed, in a dimly lit hall, seated in a chair at a table with my legs chained to the legs. My arms were free and I looked down and saw a salad sitting in front of me accompanied by a tall glass of water. My mouth watered as I tore into the food, finishing it without even tasting it. I downed the water and my body craved more and I scanned the table for a pitcher. I found the object of my quest and grabbed it, upending it in my mouth and resulting in a soaked tuxedo. Tuxedo? I didn't even own a tux. Yet here I was sitting in a black tuxedo with dress shoes on. I felt my hair and it was washed and combed neatly around my face. Thankful that whoever did it didn't cut it, I ruffled it up into my natural just-got-out-of-bed look. My hair was long and it fell down to my back. It was dirty blonde with a few black streaks through it. My eyes were clear blue, similar to an oceans' surface. I wasn't an ugly guy. I was muscular, toned, and I had a nice face. It wasn't very hard to get a date either. My looks coupled with my British accent landed me any girl I set my eyes on.

My brutal murder of the salad and the waterfall of water I'd created went unwatched as I realized that I was alone in the room. I took in the surroundings around me. The dining hall had a surprisingly small table. It was about the size for a family of 4. The walls were an off white color that coincided with the ceiling and even the floor. It was like being in the all white room again. Thinking of the white room made me think of Tara. How beautiful she was.

"Tara." I said, softly testing out my throat. It seemed fine to speak but it did ache.

"Yes, Cain?" came the sweet voice of the woman of my thoughts.

I looked around and saw her as she walked in the door. She was wearing a different dress. This dress fell about mid thigh and was made out of red silk. The straps tied around the back of her neck and the neck line plunged down to her panty line so her slim stomach and accentuated her breasts. She wore red heels and her hair was pulled up into a half up half down style with a bun. I couldn't look away.

"I was just wondering where you were." I said, sheepishly playing with my hair.

She smiled at me. God how I loved to see her smile. Now I know you think these are weird things to be saying considering this is the woman who drugged me, kidnapped me, chained me to a chair, and kept me prisoner for only God knows how long but I'm a man. She was an insanely beautiful woman and I was a one track minded single bachelor. Wanting her was natural instinct for me.

"I see." She said and she made her way to sit in the chair opposite me. She picked up her plate of salad and exchanged her plate with mine and sipped her glass of water.

Every bone in my body wanted to dive into that plate like a savage but I refrained and ate civilly, after all I was in the presence of a lady.

"How's the salad, Cain?" she asked but my mind was too distracted by the billions of questions running through my brain.

"Never mind the salad, love; I've got a few questions for you." I said, getting down to business and wiping my mouth with a napkin, which I folded neatly and placed next to my plate. I'm not sure how classy I looked with a sopping wet tuxedo on but I'm sure I looked the best I could considering the situation.

"Which I'll be glad to answer." Tara said and I smiled.

Commence interrogation.

"Where am I?"

"In my home." She responded.

"How long have I been here?"

"3 weeks."

"Does my family know where I am?"

"No."

"Did you kidnap me?"

"I guess you could say that." She said, shrugging a shoulder.

I laughed a little.

"If you wanted me to come back to your place, love, all you had to do was ask." I said smiling. Tara smiled back and sipped her water.

"I'm obviously not injured so I can only assume you've been taking good care of me. I mean aside from the chains, starvation, and dehydration. I've really no more questions about my whereabouts or well being but I've questions about you, Tara." I said, picking my fork up and placing some leafy greens into my mouth.

"Is that so? Normally people I bring back here are more concerned about themselves and their families. Why so curious about me?" she asked, setting her water down and leaning forward. Now me being a man and all, I couldn't help but glance at her chest but, granted, it was only momentarily.

"Well that's fairly simple. You're my captor who obviously is either fascinated in me or seriously sexually attracted to me." I said, confident in my answer and shocked by my Sherlock Holmes-like reasoning skills.

"What makes you say this?" she asked. Her face seemed to have a small smile on it but aside from that she had an amazing poker face.

"Well, for starters, I'm not dead or chained up in a white room, I feel somewhat safe here, I've been fed course one of a three course meal, I've been bathed, properly clothed, and treated like a human being. I don't feel like I'm in any real danger." I answered, honestly.

Tara laughed. I thought her smile was beautiful. When she laughed it was so angelic that it almost brought a tear to my eye.

"If only everyone else who was here believed they weren't in any danger." She said and just like that, a thousand questions burst into my mind.

"Everyone else?" I inquired.

"Yeah. You're not the only person here." She said.

"Where are these other people? Are they nearby?" I asked, shoving the last forkful of salad in my mouth and letting the fork clink onto the plate.

"There's a person across the hall actually." Tara said and looked into the far corner to her right and seemingly spoke to no one.

"Dean. Second course." She said and I thought to myself, I hope Dean isn't her husband or boyfriend because if they've been listening I'm in for a beating.

The man who I assumed was Dean came into the room and gathered up our plates. Dean was a rough looking man. He looked like he was a big rig driver or something but there were countless lacerations and scars all across his face and hands. His eyes looked like a man who'd been through a lot and was just looking for a way out. I have a bad habit of staring at someone as I take in their appearance. I apparently was doing this because Dean looked at me and said, in a rather rude tone of voice, "What are you looking at?" I shook my head and averted my eyes, focusing instead on the plate of steak and baked potatoes placed in front of me. I didn't speak until Dean left the room.

"Well he's just a ray of sunshine." I said and cut into my steak. Tara laughed. My goal was to keep her laughing. I loved the sound too much. I noticed she was picking at her food and I immediately felt self conscious because I was already finished with the steak and I was preparing to dive into the potato.

"Something the matter, love?" I asked, setting my utensils down and leaning away from the food. That action hurt my heart and stomach because my body was dying for me to finish that potato and devour Tara's plate as well. Instead I occupied myself with the champagne bottle that rude man Dean left for us to share. I poured myself a glass and sipped at it while I awaited her answer.

"Not very hungry. I always lose my appetite after I do it." She said and placed her fork down.

"Do it? What did you do? If you're talking about sex I get thirsty afterwards." I said, smiling sheepishly.

Tara just smiled. She looked me straight in the eyes and how gorgeous her eyes were.

"Kill someone." She said simply and to my surprise I wasn't the least bit affected.

"Who'd you kill?" I asked, shoving a piece of potato in my mouth and chewing contented.

Tara's face flushed with confusion and she cocked her head, studying my face.

"You're not shocked or scared?" she asked, genuinely mystified.

I shook my head and spooned more of the potato into my mouth.

"I'm more curious as to how you do it to be honest." I said, finishing my food and reaching around for her plate.

I ate in silence while she traced the top of her cup with a slender finger until she spoke.

"Would you like to see?" she asked and the question threw me off guard. With a mouth full of my second steak I mumbled over my food and asked her what she said.

"Would you like to see me kill someone? You said you were interested in how I do it. I could show you if you want."

I considered this offer in my mind for a second. A drop dead gorgeous woman who has grown fond of me has offered to let me see how she murders her victims in a casual offer over dinner.

"Sure. Sounds interesting but only after dessert." I said.

Now I know you're thinking that I must be losing my mind but I was never very squeamish at the sight of violent acts. I actually thought them to be cool. Though comparing this situation to just a simple violent act would be like saying Hitler's genocide towards the Jewish people is similar to a disturbed child killing a ladybug. Though those two situations are similar and all what with the killing but the child didn't declare he wanted to eliminate all the ladybugs in the world. So I pieced together this whole ordeal in my mind. I came to this conclusion: This woman offered to let me watch her murder someone in front of my eyes. Like any normal person I've always thought about murdering someone and imagining the consequences of it and just playing out a whole murder scene in my head and it always resulted in me being in jail as someone's bitch boy.

Tara watched me, in curiosity I assume, as I ate and awaited dessert while rude boy Dean set it on the table in front of me. This time he didn't bother to place Tara's plate in front of her, he politely placed both the plates of strawberry cheesecake in front of me and left, grumbling to himself. I paid this no mind as I dived into the cheesecake, thoroughly enjoying it. I almost forgot that Tara was there, I was so engrossed in the food. I looked up at her and she reached across with a napkin and wiped the side of my mouth. I grinned and said thanks. She nodded and sat back and studied me with her beautiful violet eyes.

"Something the matter?" I asked, just before taking a sip of the wine.

She looked as if she had something to say but she hesitated.

"Go on, love. I don't mind." I said, eating.

Before I could process what was happening, Tara reached across the table and struck me, hard, across my face. The food that was in my mouth flew out and across the room and the spot where she had hit me stung. I held my hand to my face and looked at her, appalled. The look on her face sent shivers through my spine. Her gorgeous features were twisted into a look of pure disgust and her mysterious eyes shone brightly with raw hatred. Her fists were clenched so tight her knuckles were white and a thin line of blood escaped from her nails digging so deep into her skin.

I was speechless and I was unsure of how to react. Right now I was terrified. One second we were having a nice chat, she offered to let me see her murder someone, I accepted, and then she hits me. I raked my brain to see if I said anything offensive to her but I was a perfect gentleman. What happened next increased the fear sevenfold.

Tara's face went completely blank and then she seemed to look at me with renewed eyes. Her face went through a series of emotions, ending on regret and horror. She rose quickly from her seat and came to me. Of course I drew back slightly considering the last time she came to touch me I was hit but now she was gentle. She touched my tomato red cheek softly and she looked confused.

"Who did this?" she said and I looked at her like she was mad.

"You did. Not but 20 seconds ago." I said, outraged but trying, and failing, to control my anger.

The look of utter confusion on her face told me that she was completely unaware of her action. That scared me. Her face went from confusion back to that twisted angry face again and she began to yell at me.

"Are you accusing me of hitting you?" she shouted, rising to her feet, fists clenched.

My jaw dropped. How do you deal with someone like this? I felt that if I said something that she would pick my fork up and stab me in the eye so I said nothing. Tara closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She opened them again and she grabbed my face. I had no idea what was going on. I wanted so badly for her to leave. Suddenly, she pressed her lips to mine and that feeling of wanting her to leave left. I wanted her to stay with me forever. She broke the kiss and a little piece inside of me doubled over and died. She looked at me, smiling, but her eyes didn't match her expression. Her eyes were angry.

"Come with me now, Cain. I'll show you how I kill someone." She said, unlocking the chains around my ankles and she left the room.

I flew from my chair to the door, slightly dazed from the kiss, and followed her across the hall into a door that was made of steel. We went in and there was one of those one-way windows that you see in Law & Order or something and she told me to stay on the side where the person couldn't see me. I obeyed, much like a dog, and she flipped a light switch and there was a man chained to a chair, much like how I just was, except his arms were chained as well. Tara looked at me and I hoped she would kiss me again but she did no such thing. She simply smiled and touched her slender finger to my lips before walking through the door leading to the man. He was a rather rough looking man, not much unlike Dean. He had scraggly hair that looked like string it was so dirty and his mud brown eyes were devoid of any emotion or maybe they were so full of emotion it was hard to pinpoint just one. It was too hard to tell. His clothes were in rags and hung off of his bone thin body and his skin was so dirty that it was hard to tell his actual skin color. When Tara entered the room he sat rim rod straight and his face went from emotionless, or emotion filled, to just naked dismay.

I hadn't realized that there was another man in the room with me until he clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"Dead man, that's what he is." He said and he had a strong Scottish accent.

I looked at him and he was clothed much like me. He was bathed and sat in a chair with his feet propped up on a table, sipping out of a bottle of Jack Daniels. He looked comfortable. He was built like me and looked to be around my age, a ripe 23, and he had silky hazelnut brown hair that fell to his shoulders. His striking green eyes seemed friendly so I spoke to him.

"Who is that man?" I asked.

He looked up at me and smiled. He motioned for me to sit in the chair next to him. Both chairs were facing the window. Nothing had happened yet really. Tara had taken a seat in a chair at a table and there was something being obscured by her body that was shining in the light.

"Not sure, brother, but that lovely lass knows. She feels that people brought here for death shouldn't be addressed by name." he said offering the bottle to me. I took it and took a hearty swig and handed it back to him. He refused politely.

"If I have much else to drink I'll blow chunks."

I nodded and drank again.

"Milo." He said, extending a hand for me that I shook.

"Cain." I said and Milo grinned.

"Nice name, brother. Where are we from?"

"England. You?"

"Grand old Scotland. Beautiful land, England. I've been on business at one point in time. Lovely group of people."

I said thanks and we both turned our attention back to Mr. No Name and Tara. I was glad that I'd made a friend here who was just a normal guy like me. I couldn't help but compare No Name to me and Milo, both appearance wise and how he was being treated.

"You say some people are brought here to be killed. Is Mr. No Name one of them?" I asked.

" 'fraid so. He's been destined to be killed ever since Tara brought him here. The others she brings get treated like us. We get clothes, food, showers. We get full reign and get treated like royalty. Anything we want we just mention to one of the many servants, also on death row, and they have to do what we want no matter how ridiculous it is." Milo said and as he spoke he sounded almost sad.

"Does Tara choose the people like us randomly or does she bring people here purposely to be treated like us?" I couldn't help but wonder. Was I lucky or did I draw her eye?

"Not sure, brother. I do know that there are only about 5 of us, 6 now that you're here."

As he said this I couldn't help but feel special. I could've ended up just like No Name but she chose me for a reason, one I was unsure of but there was one. I began to wonder if we were supposed to sleep in the cell I woke up in or did we get rooms. I expressed this thought to Milo.

"We get rooms that are like suites in 5 star hotels. I'm not used to this yet, brother, and I've been here for almost a year and a half. Before Tara brought me here I was practically homeless. I was crashing on couches of friends and family, drinking myself crazy, promiscuous, and I had no job so I was financially supported by the person who I was staying with. When she kidnapped me in that alley it was the best thing that could ever happen to me strange as that sounds. I've just been thankful every day, for both being alive and for everything that I have now. You know?" he said and I thought to myself in a way Tara saved Milo's life. Then I thought how does she save lives when she kills people? I began to think Tara had some kind of god complex thing going on in her mind, making herself believe she has the power to choose who lives and who dies. In a way I was glad No Name was where he was because if he wasn't there was the possibility that I could've been No Name instead of Cain or Milo could've been No Name and No Name could've been the guy I was sitting talking to and drinking Jack Daniels with.