Weightless. It felt like I was floating on a current of air. I could hear voices in the distance and for a moment I thought I heard my Mum's soft voice, lulling me into consciousness. My eyes slowly opened and I stared at the dingy ceiling above me.

This wasn't my flat. The events from yesterday began to sink in and my heart started to beat wildly against my chest. Was it possible for my heart to escape? Probably not. I took several deep breaths in, then out.

I was in a small flat with two terrorists. They had set off a bomb that had probably killed a load of people and now I was their hostage. The sound from earlier cut through my thoughts and I angled my head to get a look. It was the tv. The weather was on. I shifted into a sitting position.

My eyes left the tv and scanned the room. There were piles of books everywhere and a kitchen across the way, which looked really gross. On the opposite side of the room were two doors. My captor's were nowhere in sight. An opportunity had presented itself.

I stood and stepped round all the debris, making my way to the front door. My hand gripped the handle and I tugged it, trying to pry it open. I barely heard the sound of the door opening on the opposite side of the room.

"It's locked." A voice came from behind me.

I whirled round to see CC standing there. He looked confused by my behaviour. I let go of the handle as though it was red hot. He shrugged and sat on the couch, grabbing the remote and turning the tv up.

I shuffled over and perched on the couch, trying to stay as far away as possible. He glanced at me and smiled.

"I won't hurt you." He said, reassuringly.

"You abducted me." I spat out.

"You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." He replied to my accusation.

The news was starting and I turned to watch the broadcast. They would most likely report on the explosion yesterday. The woman shuffled her papers and started reading.

"Good morning, our top story today is the explosion that shook central London yesterday at around 4:15pm."

The scene cut to the front of the mall and a man was there, standing amongst the dust from the mall.

"Hello, Sian. I'm standing outside here and as you can see, the damage is quite vast. The police believe the explosives were made using thiamine, which is highly explosive and can be set off with the right amount of heat."

The camera cut back to the woman and she nodded, thanking the man.

"In relation to this incident, a video was posted to various social media sites from an entity known as Sphinx."

A grainy video started playing and two familiar figures appeared on screen, both wearing the masks from yesterday.

"Good afternoon, Britain. We are Sphinx. In two days time, a symbol of greed will be filled with noise and chaos."

Their voices had been altered, but it was obvious it was Ashley and CC. The screen went back to normal and the newsreader looked a little disturbed.

"This video circulated and was ignored until it turned out to correlate directly to the explosions. More on this story as it develops."

I felt my stomach knot and bile started to rise in my throat. I pushed it down as far as it would go. My heart was still thudding wildly against my chest though.

The second door opened and Ashley walked out. He paused behind the couch, leaning onto the head rest.

"Were we on the news?" He asked.

"Yeah, we were." CC grinned.

They seemed pretty proud of the accomplishment. I just stared in a confused, scared stupor. Ashley sensed my gaze and turned his cold eyes on me.

"You'll need some clothes." He murmured, stepping away from the couch.

"Want me to stay here and work on the next one?" CC asked, looking over the head rest.

"Yeah," Ashley slipped on his boots. "Rini, get up. You're coming with me."

No please or thank you. I narrowed my eyes at him, but one very cold look from him forced me to stand. I scampered over, eager to not make him angry. He unlocked the door and I followed him onto the landing.

We left the block of flats and started walking towards the nearest underground terminal. He walked quickly and I hurried to keep up. A thought struck me. I could run and he wouldn't catch me if I was quick enough.

"You won't do it," He said, suddenly. "Run, I mean."

I parted my lips, not even daring myself to challenge him. He grinned, coyly at my sudden nervous silence.

"I'd catch you and break your neck." He shrugged as though it was nothing.

We continued walking till we got onto the platform and caught the train into Oxford Street. It was my turn to lead the way then. We got on another train and all the while I realised I was leading a terrorist to my small block of flats.

I opened the front door and we mounted the stairs. Hopefully, we could make it to my flat without being seen by my neightbours. All hope was dashed when I saw Mrs Appleby coming out her front door and locking it.

She turned to start walking and smiled when she saw me. Panic rose up inside me and I felt my head starting to spin. She walked over, pushing her walking frame as she did.

"Good morning, Cutie." She beamed.

"Hello, Mrs Appleby." I murmured.

"And who is this?" She asked, nudging me. She clearly thought Ashley was my boyfriend. I nearly burst into tears at the thought.

"This is Ashley. He's my, um-" I really couldn't think of anything to say.

The words psychopath. Captor. Abductor. They all kept springing to the fore front of my mind. I was really trying to push them down.

"Her boyfriend." Ashley cut in, wrapping an arm round my shoulder.

I nodded, mutely. Mrs Appleby looked positively thrilled for me. It broke my heart to lie to her and pretend that this psychopath was someone important to me.

"Anyway, it's been lovely talking to you, but Rini and I must be going." Ashley smiled, guiding me away.

I heard her say goodbye and we stopped at my door. I unlocked it and we entered. My flat was just as I'd left it. I went into my bedroom and Ashley followed, analysing the pictures on my walls.

I grabbed a duffel bag and started cramming clothes into it. He'd been so charming to Mrs Appleby and I realised with numb horror that he could act like that if need be. It was terrifying. I paused in my movements and he noticed, stepping over to sit on my bed.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Like he actually cared.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe I'm upset because I got abducted." I snapped, suddenly remembering who I was talking to.

"I asked you if you wanted to die, did I not?" He said, making me look at him.

"Yeah, you did." I whispered, wiping my eyes.

"You said you did not. You abandoned your own moral and ethical code, just so you could live. It's funny the things people do when they are inches from death." He smirked when my mouth parted in horror.

"No, I didn't. I hate what you did." I suddenly felt furiously angry. How dare he turn this on me.

His cold brown eyes analysed my tear streaked face and he didn't say anything. There had to be something still human in him. Something that felt these acts were abhorrent.

"You could have kept those ethics if you'd died and you wouldn't be a hostage," He said, nonchalantly. "Believe me, this situation doesn't work for me either."

I glared at him. He'd rather I'd have chosen to die yesterday. I finished packing clothes and stood, walking over to a photo frame. It was a picture of Mum. She was smiling brightly. I picked up the frame, staring into it.

Mum would be so disappointed in me. I turned to walk over to my bag and colided with Ashley. His eyes were trained on the photo.

"Who's that?" He asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"My Mum." I snapped.

He seemed to sense my change in temperament and grinned, deviously. He looked so handsome, but I had to remember exactly what he was.

"She'd be so disappointed that you're hanging around terrorists." He grinned, stepping back, leaving me stunned.

I walked over to the bag, putting the photo inside and zipping the bag up. I wanted to cry again, but I didn't want my evil captor seeing me cry. Although, I doubted he'd care that much.

We left the flat together, him holding my hand. I really longed for Mum right now. She'd have hugged me and cheered me up.

Notes