Holding the carabiner behind her neck, he guided her towards the hotel. With her thighs bound together she couldn't walk fast but he was patient and didn't rush her. Upon entering in the lobby Sabine found herself in hell. Hanging from the ceiling there was a giant banner saying “SABINE FERRIER FAN CONVENTION”. Everywhere there were pictures of her, most showing revealing outfits, and next to each picture a sheet of paper explaining the place of the concert or event, and the year. All around there were people, of ages ranging between fifty and ten, wearing pieces of merchandise, showing her face or the covers of her disks. Many young girls were dressed like her, fortunately wearing underwear. A few men too, which felt more comical that anything else. Tens of people walking around talking with each other.

-Please, don't this to me. I don't want to talk with these people.

-Why not?- He seemed truly confused.

-I talk with them everyday in social media. I do interviews every week. Please let me have a few days only for myself. Everybody has holidays. I need holidays.

-But they love you.

-They don't love me, they love a lie. They don't know the real me.

-Why did you lie to them?

-I did what I was ordered, first by my parents, then by my manager, stylists, lawyers, and so on. I pretended to be what they wanted to see. It's a public persona not the real one.

-And how is the real one. You don't deserve their love?

-I don't... I don't fucking now! I sing and dance. I'm not...- She saw a kid kissing a real sized picture of her and then starting to cry because her mother didn't let her kiss the picture again.- I'm nothing special.

-You are for them.

The nameless kidnapper guided her by the neck to another area, an auditorium with a stage and about fifty seats. Some people climbed onto the stage where they descrived their experiences with Sabine. One talked about the first disk he bought. Another about her first concert. Another one about a short conversation where Sabine supposedly praised her boots, and because of it she hadn't used them again to keep them safe.

-I don't remember her boots.

-Do you want to go up there and tell them that you are a liar?

-Good question.- She pondered it for a moment.- I don't know if I should. Or if it would matter. People believe what they want.

The kidnapper got distracted for a moment and released her neck. She reacted quickly and tried to walk towards the nearest group to ask for help, not easy with her thighs linked together. She barely had time to say a word when the kidnapper grabbed her by the neck again and pulled roughly. She complained but the group ignored her completely. Angry, he led her to an empty corner.

-What was that? You cannot do that. You must stay close to me! Don't force me to hurt you again.- He admonished her.

-You have kidnapped me. Of course I will try to escape!

-Kidnap...?- Again he got distracted by the testimony of a young man, who assured that he had slept with Sabine.- That's not true.

-No, it's not.

-How do you know?

-I know a lot about you.

-Ok course you do...- Sabine claimed sarcastically, her crazy fan theory seemed to be true.- He's not my type. I'm used to it though. Lots of people claim to have slept with me, or seduced me, or kissed me. In fact I've heard of a prostitution business that makes the girls dress like me. Maybe he has slept with one of those.

-Maybe. What's your type?

-My type... You know that superhero movie, with the blue suit, and the red cape. Laser eyes, flight, super strength... That actor is my type.- She lied. She had had very disappointing experiences with men. They always expected Sabine the slut or Sabine the empty headed party girl. The first ones demanded sex right away and got angry when she said no. The second ones only wanted fun and beauty and they didn't care about anything she had to say. They didn't like the real Sabine, or didn't care. She barely had time for them anyways. Fame had ruined her romantic life. She had no type anymore.

-Like that one?- He pointed at a young man that looked like the actor Sabine had described. He seemed to be flirting shamelessly with a girl dressed in her most iconic attire, black fishnet with pink vinyl.- Let's see if you chose well.

They spent the next half hour subtetly following the couple, during which he said sevreal things that were either wrong or outright false, all the time pretending to be an expert on Sabine's life. Then the man managed to convince the girl to go to his bedroom. They went upstairs with Sabine and her crazy watch dog on tow. Their affair didn't last long. A few minutes after entering in his bedroom the girl stormed out crying and with the side of her top ripped open. She ran past Sabine and didn't look behind. The man called her whore and left in the opposite direction, slamming the door in anger.

-Yeah, I have bad tastes. I'm aware.

-You chose him based solely on his looks. Not surprising that you got it wrong.

-With all these fans in the hotel I surely could find someone willing to fuck me.- She didn't use to talk like that, but the absurdity of the situation combined with the vibrator still buzzing in her pussy had her mind drifting in unknown directions. For the first time she looked at her companion, not as a crazy kidnapper, but merely as a man. He was reasonably handsome. His jeans and his flannel jacket didn't give any hint about his muscles, but he seemed to be in his proper weight. His most rare feature was that he had no rare features, he was average in every sense of the word.- What about you, are you willing?- At that point she was half sure that he would demand some kind of sexual act sooner or later. Maybe by playing along she would be able to control the situation, and don't end up dead in a ditch.

-Me?- He seemed truly scandalized by the question.- No... Me...? That's not what... I don't understand the question.- Either he was the best actor in the world or she had misinterpreted badly his intentions.

-I haven't had a penis inside me in years. If that's where this is going, please don't hurt me.

-Would you...? Let me do that?

-Like I have a choice...- She mumbled so low that he didn't hear her.- In a bed, please. Treat me well. Say something nice about me like in a normal date.

-Something nice?- He gently pushed her against the wall, right there in the corridor. Then he embaced her, softly caressing her shoulders and going down to her back and then her buttocks.- I only have good things to say about you. I always have.- He grabbed her hands and guided them towards his crotch. She spected to find an erection. It wasn't the first time that a man had guided her hand in that direction. Or a woman. She knew what the expect. And yet she found something else. She found nothing. His crotch was smooth, no genitals.- But I'm afraid I will disappoint you on that front.

-Oh...- That changed everything. Perhaps he was just a broken man, victim of torture that kidnapped girls to feel something. Perhaps stabbing women with a knife was as close as he could be to having sex. Or perhaps he just needed a friend. Hoping for the second option, she kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder.- Would you tell me who did that to you?

-I am what I've always been. Thanks for your concern.- Again she didn't whatever he was talking about.

-Thank you for your present. There are some assholes here, but most of these people truly appreciate me and my music. I wish I could be more than I am.

-More? Such arrogance is so human. How many people do you think that would be able to accomplish what you did? Your effort, your dedication, your energy, your time. You have done this. A lie, you say. And yet you did it. Your disks, your concerts, your incredible dance moves.

-If you knew how many hours I have to practice.

-Exactly. Where is the lie? You did it for real. Those people in the lobby, you made them happy. You've made thousand of people happy. Who else can say that? I can't. I coudln't even make you happy, after breaking so many rules.- Rules. Kidnapping a person counted as breaking rules, for sure.

Suddenly somebody yelled in a bedroom. On the floor above somebody started to cry loudly. From the stairwell, they could hear people yelling and arguing, differently to the laughter and chatter merely a moment ago. Something was happening. Something bad.

-Why are they yelling?

-Time is up. It has been made public. I apologize. I couldn't give you more.

-What...?- So that was it. Her crazy kidnapper fan was going to kill her. He loved her too much and she had to die, or something crazy like that.- What do you mean? Am I going to die?

He didn't respond and instead, grabbing her by the neck, led her downstairs. She tried to resist, but there wasn't much she could do. With her legs bound and in the middle of a staircase, walking was already hard enough. Winning a fight impossible.

In the lobby area the general mood was horrible. The kids were crying. Many adults too. Some of them were having an anxiety attack. Two groups were fightting accusing each other of lying. The hotel staff turned on a screen that showed the news.

Sabine froze. She saw herself in the screen. Laying down on the floor, in a random street, in the middle of a puddle of blood. Numerous fragments of glass and metal punctured her skin all around. In the background she could see her car nearly parted in two halves and another car stuck in the middle forming a mess of distorted metal.

As the journalist explained, when the other car crashed against hers, she was thrown out the window breaking a lot of her bones, dying in an instant. Fragments of glass and metal had made a mess with her corpse. The fragments even had torn her clothes appart, revealing some of the stars she had tattooed on her shoulder, helping identify her corpse, as her face was a mess of blood and broken bones. That had happen four hours ago.

-I am very sorry, Sabine. We cannot stay here any longer.

-I... What...? Who are you? What's going on?

-A guide. And a friend.- He made her turn around. The door that led to the stairwell which they had crossed barely a few minutes ago was now completely covered in a pure white light.

-A guide? To where? Am I going to meet some gods?- She joked, rejecting the absurdity of the situation.

-I only see one goddess here.- They entered in the light, leaving a broken world behind.