As Val’s eyes adjusted to the lighting, her gaze locked on to a shadow. Tossing the quilt aside, Val finally managed to stand up. She immediately felt nauseous as the room spun, and she fought the urge to vomit. Slumping back down, Val placed her head in her hands, waiting for the feeling to pass. Then she stood again on wobbly legs, particularly the right one, and staggered towards the shadow. As she got closer she realized what it was—a partially open door—and she hurried towards it, nearly falling as she tried to move faster.

As Val pushed the door open, white tiles could be seen on the floor. There was a sink and a toilet. A bathroom. Val hobbled inside, and felt for a switch on the wall. Finding one she pushed up and quickly moved to the sink. She turned on the faucet and ran the water, dipping her hands under the stream, splashing it to her face. The shock felt good and for a moment it obliterated the dizziness from the blow to the head.

Val took a look in the mirror above the sink and raised her hand to feel a large swelling in the side of her head where she had been hit. There was a large bruise on her forehead and a gash. Jesus, what happened? The memory flooded back. She was heading to her car. She was in Bethany’s parking lot. She tried the key in the elevator door. It didn’t fit. The key? Did she still have the key? Val felt the pocket of her jeans. It was there and she pulled it out. Well, whoever put her in here wasn’t after this. Damn piece of garbage, she thought as she threw it into the toilet. Then Val realized something else. My coat. Where’s my coat? Someone took it before they put me in the bed. Shit! My phone… my phone is in that pocket.

She limped out of the bathroom and took another look at her surroundings. Whose house was she in? There were two more doors on the far side. As she moved closer, away from the lamp and the glow of the bathroom, it became too dark to see detail but it was obvious one door had no handle. She felt around the molding trying to find a latch. Nothing. Val moved to the other door. This one did have a knob. With a twist it opened. She had to stand to the side as not to block the available light and blink a few times to get her eyes to adjust to what she was seeing. It was a closet. Inside, two coats. Neither was hers.

One was a woman’s parka though. The second was that of a child. A boy’s coat?