Jack looked around for some place to hide, but he could barely see his hand in front of his face in the dark closet. He felt around the walls but only touched clothes. There was no exit in here, no small nook in which to hide.
What was Sharon thinking? Why had she sent him here, trapped in a room with only one exit? Surely she knew this would be the first place her husband would look.
He backed as far away from the door as possible, ducking beneath some of the clothes hanging on a rack. His hiding spot wouldn't hold up under scrutiny, but it was better than nothing. Absently he rubbed his nose, which felt strangely numb and a little wet.
Outside he could hear Rick enter the room.
"Welcome home, dear, " said Sharon, as she kissed him. "I missed you!"
"Why was the door locked?" asked Rick flatly.
"Well, that's a nice 'how do you do'! Nice to know you missed me, too. I don't know, dear. Just a habit, I guess. How was your trip? You are back early, " said Sharon, quickly changing the subject.
"Got rained out, " said Rick. Jack could hear him moving around the room. He sounded pretty big, and in his head Jack saw a beefy macho soldier, like Rambo or that guy from the Predator movie.
Jack's heart was racing a mile a minute. And he felt so hot in the closet, but he dare not open the door. It didn't help that the clothes felt so itchy. It felt like they were sticking to his skin and he couldn't scratch his body the right way. The room seemed to be spinning and it looked like everything in the room was getting bigger.
Oh, God. Please don't let me pass out, he thought.
Jack sat down on the floor, hunching beneath some dirty clothes piled on the floor. His back was starting to hurt, and it seemed like he could only get comfortable sitting on his hanches. Outside Sharon and Rick continued to talk, but Jack couldn't concentrate on what they were saying. His whole body was tingling, and his jaw started to ache.
He closed his eyes and winced as his head was wracked with an intense headache. It felt like his head was stretching and contracting at the same time. He tried to lift his hands to his face, but his arms were stiff and unyielding. He couldn't even wiggle his fingers.
Am I having a stroke or something? thought Jack
Suddenly Jack was blinded by a bright light. Even though his eyes were closed, he could tell that Rick had opened the door. Slowly opening his eyes, he noticed that everything around him seemed a little off - it all looked hazy and only in shades of blue or yellow. He shook his head, but his vision didn't seem to get any better.
But he didn't need prefect vision to see one thing - Rick staring directly at him as he lay half buried under some clothes on the floor.