Excerpt from "Trouble"

Ben opened his eyes looked up. Stark white walls looked back at him.

He was in a room about five metres wide and four metres deep. All of the walls were painted white. He could see that the walls were made at masonry or brickwork of some sort. The walls were smooth and there was nothing hanging on them.

Only one door led into or out of the room. Ben could see that the door were solid metal and had no handle on the inside. He knew would be difficult to try to get out through that door.

Looking straight ahead he could see a window in the far wall. It was a big window yet he could not see what was on the other side. There appeared to be a mirror finish to the glazing so that perhaps someone could see into the room but he certainly could not see out.

Ben looked up the ceiling. The ceiling too was stark white. The light fittings had been recessed into the ceiling and Ben could see that all of the fittings were smooth and had no edges to them.

Even the smoke sensor was recessed. The ceiling looked as if it had been constructed to ensure that nobody could hang anything from that part of the room.

The floor too was stark. Unlike the ceiling and the walls, the floor was a grey colour and was smooth like the walls.

Ben looked down in front of himself at the table at which he was sitting. Solid metal, he thought. He examined the table. There were no joins, it was all one piece. Even the legs of the table seemed to have been set into the floor so that there was no opportunity of being able to move the table. There will four chairs at the table and he could see that these too were solid metal was no joining parts and that these too was set into the floor. I wonder if they have done this so that nobody can throw the chairs or the table, he thought.

Looking at himself, Ben could see that he was dressed in white overalls. No pockets and no belt. Very simple and plain. Functional and efficient. Looking down he could see that his feet were bare.

Why do I have handcuffs on my wrists he thought.

Giving himself a moment and then taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly and set out loud to himself "I think I'm in big trouble".