Spider (Black Hearts MC #6)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

SPIDER

Screams echo around me as they bounce off the walls. There isn’t a place here where you don’t hear it. You would think that after being here for so long, you would get used to it, but it doesn’t get any easier.

Sitting on my bed, I flick an old coin through my fingers back and forth, over and over. It’s my distraction, or at least I try to make it that. My bed isn’t anything fancy. They are all the same; basic military style with a mattress so thin I can feel every spring cutting into my body.

A girl in the corner opposite me whimpers, taking my attention. I look over to see her curled up on her bed, hugging her dirty bear to her chest. Glancing to look at the door, I feel panicked that if she keeps making those sounds, they will take her down into the crypt. I place my coin in my pocket and walk over to her.

“Shh. They can’t hear you, or they will come for you,” I whisper as I glance over my shoulder, looking at the door. Looking back at her, I see her bright red tear-stained eyes staring at me. She sniffs. “You need to be smart, and you need to do exactly what they say. Do not be seen, do not be heard. Never ever show them weakness,” I warn her. “Okay?” I whisper. All the while, my eyes are constantly flickering to the door. She nods. “What’s your name?” I ask.

“Amora,” she whispers.

“How old are you?” I ask.

“16,” she answers.

She doesn’t look 16. She looks so young and fragile. “That’s good. You will be out of here soon. Just do as I say and you’ll survive,” I whisper.

The sound of heavy footsteps echo from the hall. I place my finger over my lips, telling her not to make a sound as I run back to my bed. Laying down, I make sure not to move a muscle. Hearing them get closer and closer, along with a dragging sound, I peek through my eyelashes, watching as they chuck the boy’s lifeless body on the bed next to me. Even in the dark night I can see the blood stains on his gown.

“Mouthy little shit won’t be so quick to fucking speak back in future,” one of the guard spits. The other one laughs. I hear them turn and watch as they make their way to leave, but they stop at the foot of Amora’s bed. “She new?” he asks.

“I haven’t seen her before,” the other answers.

“Fresh meat,” he says with a tone of excitement. My stomach recoils, remembering what they do to the ‘newcomers’ . “After my hard work teaching that little shit a lesson, I think I deserve a reward,” the guard adds.

I clench my fists tight as he grabs Amora’s ankle, dragging her off the bed. She cries out, a scream escaping her, her nails clawing at the floor as they drag her. It’s then that I do something I don’t normally do; I break my own survival rules. I jump out of bed, screaming as I run at them. I punch, kick and attack them with everything my malnourished 14 year old body can throw at them. He drops Amora’s ankle, and she quickly scurries under her bed to hide. I smile, but my smile doesn’t last long as a large fist connects with my face. I fall to the floor, and that is where they take it in turns kicking and stomping on me with their heavy booted feet. I lay there, staring at Amora under the bed, watching as tears stream from her eyes.

“Take him to the crypt. The little fucker can stay there for a while,” one of the guards growls.

I’m grabbed by my ankles and dragged down the stairs to the place we call the crypt. They strip me naked and after they chain me to the wall, they turn and leave, slamming the door closed behind them, engulfing the room in complete darkness. My head hangs as I feel the blood pour from my face.

“Fuck man, they gave you a kick in. What did you do to deserve that?” a voice next to me asks.

“They were going to rape the new girl,” I rasp. “I jumped up and hit them to try and stop them.”

“Shit, wish I had seen that. Although you know they will still get to her. No girl is safe in this place. Hell, even we aren’t safe,” he states. “Nice to have some company though,” he adds after a moment.

“How long have you been here?” I ask, not recognising the voice.

“In the crypt, I think it’s been 2 weeks. In this home, around 4 years,” he answers. “You?”

“2 years. It’s my second time in here. I learnt quickly not to be seen, until today.” I sigh. “What’s your branding?” I ask. Each of us have a brand that’s seared into our skin when we enter the house. I have an X branding me, which means I’m a fighter for their entertainment.

He sighs. “V.” A solider of the guards.

I go quiet and don’t talk further. I’ve seen some of the soldiers. They do what they can to survive, even if that meant turning on some of the most vulnerable in here.

“I know what you are thinking, but I ain’t like them. Why do you think I am in here? I won’t hurt those that don’t deserve it. I take the beating instead. I’m not scared of these motherfuckers anymore. If I don’t die before then, I’m out of here in 18 months, and then I will burn this hell to the ground,” he says.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Nash. Yours?” he questions.

“Luca,” I answer.

“Shit, I know you! I’ve heard the guards talk about you and your fights. Fuck man, you are lethal.” He laughs.

I don’t respond. I ain’t exactly proud of what I’ve done. I’ve fought boys my age, sometimes older, but all are like me, just fighting to survive. I count myself lucky that I know how to fight.

“Hey, don’t be ashamed of what you’ve had to do to survive this place,” Nash adds.

Wanting to change the subject, I dive in. “What are you in for?” I ask.

“Stabbed my stepdad. He was a drugged up cunt, and I lost my shit. Stabbed him in the gut with a carving knife. He made a full recovery unfortunately,” he says without regret in his voice. “You?”

“Same.” I cough out a laugh. “Stepdad was kicking my mom on the floor. She was pregnant. I grabbed his axe by the back door and jumped off the couch, slamming the axe in his arm,” I state, withholding some of truth. There are things that haunt me, things I am not ready to face.

“Damn. Did he survive?” he asks.

“Yeah, but he lost the use of his arm.” I laugh.

“Fucking badass.” He laughs.

The fact that both of us right now are stripped completely naked while chained up, hanging from the wall, is laughable. I’m beaten black and fucking blue, and him, well I didn’t see him when we came in, and now we are in complete darkness, and yet this is the most fun I’ve had since I was brought in here.

I think we were left hanging in there for two days with no food and water. I thought we were going to die there. We talked often, keeping each other going, although with the lack of food and water we were slowly getting weak.

The bolt on the door jolts us awake, and as the door opens and light streams in, it burns our eyes. I squint to see who is there, and as footsteps enter, I feel hands uncuffing the chain. I crumble to the floor, my muscles too weak to hold myself up. I blink as I try to adjust my eyes. Nash next to me groans as he too falls to the floor. I crawl over to him, and as I place my hand on his back, he lifts his head and we both exchange a look. A bond has been made. We have become brothers bonded in darkness.

“This is very touching,” a girl’s voice breaks the moment.

Looking up, we see Amora stood there covered in blood, a blade in her hand, boys stood on either side of her. “What the fuck?” Nash rasps.

She clicks her fingers and the boys hand us some water. We glug it back so much that we choke on it, desperate for the hydration. “Sorry about what happened the other day, but I had to do it to make sure the plan worked,” she states coldly. She looks different. Not at all like the fragile girl I encountered.

“What plan Amora?” Nash asks.

“You know her?” I ask him as the boys chuck us some blankets and bread.

Nash takes a bite of bread and groans. “Yeah, she came in the same time as me. Thought you had died,” he says as he chews on a mouthful of bread.

She smiles. “No, I was the guard’s toy. The thing that they shared around. I had special quarters away from others, so I could be used whenever they wanted.” She says it so coldly.

I frown, chewing on some bread. “The guards said fresh meat,” I point out.

She smiles. “I had escaped my quarters. The room was dimly lit, so they wouldn’t have known it was me.” I give Nash a side glance, which he quickly returns. I don’t have a good feeling about this. “We are free to run this place as our own, and we will kill anyone that tries to stop us,” she beams.

We thought we were already living in hell, but at least in hell there were rules. We knew how to survive, but what was to come was beyond hell. It became even more dangerous, and all ran by a psychotic little girl hell bent on power and revenge.