Uncovering You 3: Resistance by Scarlett Edwards

Chapter One
     
    Three days.
    That is how long I’ve been trapped on this bed.
    Three days.
    Three days of being a prisoner on a mattress.
    I can almost say that I preferred the floor. At least that way, I had the ability to move. I could stand, walk, stretch my legs.
    Now, all that is gone.
    I’m frightened of going over the edge. I remember the red, pulsing ring that Stonehart showed me when I awoke here. It cut over the four corners of the bed.
    When I sleep, I curl up in a tight ball in the middle. I try not to move.
    It’s hard.
    I’ve started having nightmares. All of them revolve around him . But in my dreams, I cannot see his face. It is cloaked in deep shadows.
    All I see is the shining light reflecting off his dark, cruel eyes. Watching me. Always, watching me.
    I dream of snakes, too. I do not know why. I dream of snakes wrapping themselves around my body and constricting my movements. I dream of serpents slithering around on the floor. I dream of fangs sinking into my flesh, and—
    Those are the dreams I wake from screaming. More often than not, I’m tangled in my bed sheets and drenched in sweat. My heart is always pounding when I awake. My first terrifying thought is that I’ve thrashed over the boundary.
    That hasn’t happened yet. Thank God. But I’ve come close.
    On the second night, I awoke with my face inches away from the edge. I froze as soon as I saw how close I’d come to activating the collar.
    I remember the adrenaline that shot through my body when I realized that I had almost triggered it.
    I haven’t seen Stonehart since he brought me here. I haven’t had any communications from him, either. No notes. No messages.
    Rose has been absent as well.
    I don’t know how long Stonehart intends to keep me on the bed. My only solace is that the blinds are not closed. I haven’t been left in the dark. During the day, sunshine floods my room. At night, stars twinkle against the dark sea outside.
    But not today. A storm is raging out there. Heavy clouds hide the sun. Rain pounds against the enormous windows.
    I’ve never seen the ocean this angry. Massive waves crash into the cliffs below me. Though I can’t see the shoreline, sometimes I imagine I can feel the vibrations they send through the house.
    Each day, I’ve woken to a small, wheeled tray of food by my bed. It’s always accompanied by a clean chamber pot. Provisions are not as bad as they were before I signed the contract.
    But, that’s not to say they don’t leave me wanting.
    It might be just my imagination, but every day, the food cart seems to appear just a little farther from me. Today, I had to hook it with my foot to roll it closer. I almost knocked it farther away by accident.
    I know now there are cameras all around the sunroom. I can’t see them. But I know they’re there all the same, hidden in the crevices of the ceiling.
    It’s not the cameras that are the worst. It’s not being confined to this bed that is the worst. It’s the not knowing.
    I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here.
    That frightens me. Three days isn’t that bad, but what happens when three become seven? What happens when a week turns into a month? What happens when a month turns into… more?
    There’s also the sense of injustice. It’s a ridiculous sentiment to hold. I would be an idiot to expect justice from Stonehart. But the feeling of injustice is there, nonetheless.
    I didn’t break his rules. I shouldn’t be trapped here.
    The promise of continuous freedoms granted by the Tokens of Good Behavior is the only thing sustaining me right now. Stonehart said that TGBs cannot be taken away. I’ve saved up enough to be allowed into the rest of the house.
    Of course, I had to go and screw things up my first day.
    I still don’t know what possessed me to think it was a good idea to go sneaking around his bedroom. Worse than that, I hated the guilt that I felt when Stonehart discovered me there. I felt like I had done something wrong. My