Nightfall

I inched forward just a hair, blinking against the sleep still weighing on my eyes. It was a man, I thought, button down shirt, short hair. Taylor, he finally said, Taylor Dinescu. Dinescu, as in Dinescu Petroleum Corporation? It couldn't be the same family. I licked my lips, swallowing again. I really needed to find some water. Why am I not locked in my room, he asked me, coming out of the darkness and stepping into the faint moonlight streaming through the windows. He cocked his head, his hair disheveled, and the tail of his wrinkled oxford hanging out. We're not allowed around the women, he said, sounding just as confused as me. Are you with the doctor? Is he here? What the hell was he talking about? We're not allowed around the women. Did I hear that right? He sounded out of it like he was on drugs or had been locked in a cell for the past 15 years. Where am I, I demanded. He took a step in my direction and I took one backward, scrambling to get my shoes on as I hopped on one foot. He closed his eyes, inhaling as he inched closer. Jesus, he panted, it's been a while since I smelled that. Smelled what? His eyes opened and I noticed they were a piercing blue, even more striking under his mahogany hair. Who are you? Where am I? I barked. I didn't recognize this guy. He slithered closer, almost animalistic in his movements, with a predatory look on his face now that made the hairs on my arms stand up. He looked suddenly alert. Fuck, I searched for some kind of weapon around me. The locations change, he said, and I backed up a step for every step toward me he took, but the name stays the same, Black Church. What is that, I asked, where are we? Am I still in San Francisco? He shrugged, I can't answer that. We could be in Siberia or ten miles from Disneyland, he replied. We're the last ones to know. All we know is that it's remote. We? Who else was here? Where were they? And where the hell was I, for that matter? What was Black Church? It sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't think right now. How could he not know where he was? What city or state or country even? My God, country, I was in America, right? I had to be, I felt sick. But water, I'd heard water when I woke, and I perked my ears hearing the dull, steady pounding of it around us. Were we near a waterfall? There's no one here with you, he asked, as if he couldn't believe that I was really standing here. You shouldn't be so close to us, they never let the females close to us. What females? The nurses, cleaners, staff, he said. They come once a month to resupply, but we're confined to our rooms until they leave. Did you get left behind? I bared my teeth, losing my patience. Enough with the questions. I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, and my heart was pounding so hard it hurt. They never let the females close to us. My God, why? I retreated toward the staircase, moving backward, so I didn't take my eyes off him, and started to descend as he advanced on me. I wanna use the phone, I told him, where is it? He just shook his head, and my heart sank. No computers either, he told me. I stumbled on the step, and had to grab the wall to steady myself. When I looked up, he was there, gazing down at me, his lips twitching with a grin, no, no. I slid down a few more steps. Don't worry, he offered, I just wanted a little sniff. He'll want the first taste. He? I looked down the stairs, seeing a canister of umbrellas, nice and pointy. That'll do, we don't get women here. He got closer and closer, ones we can touch anyway. I backed up farther. If I bolted for a weapon, would he be able to grab me? Would he grab me? No women, no communication with the world, he went on. No drugs, liquor, or smokes either. What is black church, I asked, a prison. I looked around, noticing the expensive marble floors, the fixtures and carpets, and the fancy gold accents and statues. Nice prison, I mumbled. Whatever it was now, it clearly used to be someone's home, a mansion or a castle or something. It's off the grid, he sighed. Where do you think CEOs and senators send their problem children when they need to get rid of them? Senators, I trailed off, something sparking in my memory.