A Story For You
I struggled with the knots. There was no slack. Whoever had tied me up had done a thorough job. The small room had a musty but familiar odor. Light filtered in from under the door up the stairs. I tried to think of how I got here. My mind was blank. All I remembered was sitting at home with a beer and in front of the TV. Nothing after that.
The door creaked and bright light illuminated my prison in a brief flash before darkness returned. Feet shuffled and a man walked down. I squinted, trying to get a better view of him. Metal clamped down hard on my neck, held by the chain that ran from my neck to a large metal hook on the wall.
He knelt down beside me. “Are you hungry?”
The question was incongruous as that was the last thing on my mind.
“Why am I tied and chained?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” His voice floated gently.
“Who are you?” I struggled with my hands.
“I’ve got a story for you,” he continued as if I had not spoken.
“Do you remember your dog, Flame?” he asked.
I shook my head in confusion. “What?”
My dog had died many years ago. No one who had seen Flame was alive. I realized he was insane.
He smiled. “You had him locked in this very basement. And tied and chained him.”
How could he possibly know that?
“Ye..yes,” I mumbled.
“Why?” he spat.
I had derived a certain pleasure from torturing the cur.
“I don’t know, but why have you tied me up?”
He sat down on the floor beside me.
“I am Flame.”
Flash fiction for a writing prompt with the words ‘I’ve got a story for you’
