6 Danger of Power

"Oh, that is our Shrine of Beauties. You were probably the seventh women worthy enough to be put up there." Isaac, the younger man said as he closes the door. He acts as if that thing on the wall was never disturbing. I do not need to look into their minds to say that they are sick up there. "You are the first woman to step foot in here."

I blinked in disbelief. Is this really happening right now in a place where these crazy movie kidnappings should not take place? Christopher is in the kitchen chopping up stuff maybe for lunch. I could feel Isaac tense up in front of me. I try to avoid him by running to the small kitchen. "Christopher, what are you cooking?"

The cook turns around and I must say, his eyes were terrifying. The knife in his hand did not make me feel any safer. Christopher attempts to grin yet it looks more like a sinister smirk. "I am preparing lunch for the three of us. Isaac is a vegetarian so I will make him a salad later. You will have the same thing as me but I think you need to eat less."

"What? Dude, don't you think she would need energy to live with us? What if her powers have side effects?" Isaac takes a banana from a woven basket on the coffee table. He took off his jacket and lay on the couch. "Imagine all the things she can draw and make. The Blood Sword had already been made from the first picture."

"I do not understand. My ordinary artwork became something real? The Blood Sword?" I thought I should act dumb but Isaac reached under the couch to pull out a red sword that shone even in the dim light. "Wow, that looks cool! You must be mistaken, I wish I can make a sword by just drawing it. Looks like the doings of the supernatural."

"No, we confirmed your powers by watching you work with other clients. For them at least one thing from your artwork became something real. Clothes, food, even pets. Your powers are very valuable but you aren't using it well." Christopher had stopped his knifework to point at my tote bag. "You said you do not understand? Draw something and we will know then."

"No, I am fine. I had a long day and all I want is to rest after having lunch. I met a very annoying man earlier today." Their heads shoot up at the same time making my heart beat erratically. They looked crazy and dangerous. I could barely keep my legs up but I need to be careful of them. "It's okay now. I am so tired."

I was hoping they would bring me to another room to stay alone but Isaac followed me into the "Shrine Room". If the building was not so tall I would have risked jumping out the window if I was left by myself. Too bad, Isaac is monitoring me and if I had the guts to jump out the window, I'd be dead. I cherish my life enough to not do that and endure the two sick men.

The room had two beds placed on opposite ends of the room. One looks like someone sleeps in it every night while the other one looks new. The untouched bed is decorated with red curtains and it even has fancy headboards that I think depicts small angels. It looks more elegant than the plain bed at the right of the cluster of photos. This is getting more creepy.

"You will rest here and I will watch you. Christopher and the others usually sleep in here so if they come back just ignore them. I'll tell them to be quiet." Isaac watches me as I pretend to inspect the bed. I pat the mattress which made him flare. "We would never hurt you, just go to sleep."

Startled out of my mind I scrambled to take off my boots and jacket before jumping through the curtain. I sit on the bed and wrap the pink blanket around my shoulders, afraid to lie down. Who would feel comfortable sleeping in the presence of their kidnapper?

"Can you tell me some of your stories? I am like a kid because I need to listen to stories to fall asleep." I clutch my tote bag under the blanket, trying to turn on the drawing tablet without him noticing. I can barely see Isaac's facial features from behind the curtain. He should not be able to see me clearly either.

"I was lost in a huge mall in Alberta when I was younger. My parents never came to look for me so I went straight to a foster home. After so many years I came here to look for work." Isaac stopped talking and I assumed he is deep in memory lane or something. He must not see me digging in my bag. I hold my breath and press the on button.

Then, the silence was ruined by a series of pings which made my heart stop. I have gotten six emails and seventeen notifications from apps. I look up in shock to see Isaac standing in front of the curtain. I thought he would try to take the tablet away from me because I can communicate with people through the device. "Why are you not coming in?"

"I cannot," He said softly. I raised my eyebrow because he actually can come and rip the tablet away from me. If I lose this device I am totally under their control which I thought they wanted. Isaac seems to be at least a meter away from the bed which I found extremely strange. "We cannot touch your bed, especially if you are in it."

My jaw is hanging because I cannot understand his words. I really think he should check his head. He could have fell somewhere but then I forgot Christopher is the second one. Could they both hurt their head or were they both mentally harmed? If Isaac was telling the truth he really was abandoned by his parents in a mall at an age he could remember everything. Even when I am typing something he does not move.

"Our friend made sure no one would be able to use the internet even if they have data. Christopher and I do not use technology at home." Isaac is still standing a meter away from the bed even when he sees me fooling around with my tablet. "Do you wonder why this place is so quiet? No one knows about this place because I own this whole building."

I turn off my device, surprised by his words. I would not think that Issac would be so rich when he has enough time to stalk and kidnap me. Christopher is wearing an expensive suit while he is wearing street wear that looks pretty cheap. I do not know much about fashion and clothes so I may be wrong and his plain black shirt could be worth more than one hundred fifty dollars.

"This is our world where we rule over everything and everyone in it. There are many other people living here but they are not lucky enough to stay in our place. But you, Vivian." Isaac moves closer but still does not touch the curtains. I cannot understand his actions at all. I have read many books with messed up serial killer characters but Isaac and Christopher are just plain weird. I assume the others living here are also their victims.

"Vivian, you are very special. The others are dancers, musicians, teachers, whatever but you are the only one who has a valuable power. Imagine all the good things we can do using your powers!" He cackles loudly which made the hair on my arm rise. "I am not talking about becoming richer because I already have a lot of money. Do not worry, the things we will make you do are not so bad. You might even understand us."

"I will never understand why you think it is a good idea to kidnap me during the day. Since you already know my powers, I admit it but I will not submit to you. I must warn you that I will be useless in some areas. For example, I cannot draw dead people back to life and I cannot make someone die if those were the good things you wanted." I cannot see his face because of the curtain but he is silent.

After two minutes of silence he let out an airy laugh that had a hint of sadness. "We know your limit and we were not even thinking of those things. We will show you what we want when you gain energy. We did see what happened at U Finance so we think you should recover from a stressful day. We were also planning to bring you outside if you were good enough."