Chapter 3 #2
I didn’t respond to him. What was the point of talking to him? I just needed to watch him, attack if he came too close, and figure out how to get the fuck out of here.
Hopefully he’d leave and not reattach the chain to that pillar. Why wasn’t he coming closer, though? Why was he just standing there talking about…baths? Why had he backed away and told me he wouldn’t touch me?
Was that part of his trick?
I glanced at the door behind him—the one that had been open earlier. He’d shut it after that creature attacked me.
What was that thing?
It was an animal of some kind. Was it Corrupted?
“You know what, I’ll just get it all ready.
It’s fine, I can distill some more water later.
” He started to turn toward the door, then stopped.
“You can stay here or come with me, it’s up to you, but you should probably rest as much as possible.
” He pointed to my chest. “That was a really nasty wound. I’m surprised you survived, honestly.
” There was a pause, and his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled at me. “But I’m glad you did. Really glad.”
There was a softness in his gaze that deeply unsettled me.
As if I’d believe any of that. Why hadn’t he just left me down there? He must have something even worse in store for me if he saved me from that pit.
Now I was wishing I’d just died there.
“You gonna stay here or do you wanna come with me?”
I wasn’t going to play into whatever game this was. I didn’t move a muscle, just stared at him, hoping he’d go away without chaining me up again so I could figure out how to escape.
He scratched his head and said, “Alright, just stay here, I’ll come get you when it’s ready. I’ll bring you something to eat, too.”
He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
I listened for any kind of lock sliding into place but only heard his heavy steps as he walked away. He said something, maybe speaking to that animal, but it was too muffled.
I let out a harsh, explosive breath, then slumped to the floor. It had taken the last of my energy to stay upright and alert.
Everything hurt. Everything was on fire. My lungs, my chest, my ankle, my skin, my head. Even my eyes felt like they were burning.
I squeezed them shut, willing myself to get up and find a way out of here. Maybe there was a tool of some kind in here that I could use to pick open the lock of my muzzle and collar.
My eyes flew open when I heard a noise, and I sat up. A sharp pain in my shoulder flared down my arm, but I tried to ignore it, using the couch to get to my feet.
My left ankle was really messed up. I wasn’t sure if it was broken or sprained or what, but it hurt to put any kind of weight on it. That was fine, I still had one good foot.
I swayed when I got to my feet, blinking hard through the sudden clouding of my vision.
I needed to get my shit together.
I could fall apart as soon as I was out of here—but right now I needed to concentrate.
I shook my head, trying to get rid of the dizziness, then regretted moving it so quickly when it started throbbing. I dug my fingernails into my palms and looked around the room. There had to be something in here I could use.
My eyes landed on a large wooden structure that looked similar to something Hunter and Hayes had. If it was the same thing, then those were drawers, and there could be something useful in those drawers.
I put all my weight on my right foot, then started hopping toward it. My leg gave out on the second hop, and I fell to the floor with a frustrated cry.
Fine. I would just crawl.
I dragged myself along the floor until I made it to the wooden structure, then leaned back against it to catch my breath. The room was spinning, and my face felt like it was on fire. My eyes fluttered shut. I rolled them open, then slapped my cheek.
He could come back at any moment, and I was taking too long. I needed to snap out of it.
I reached toward the closest drawer next to my shoulder and tugged it open.
I really wasn’t sure what I was looking at.
There were a bunch of little glass balls that had weird colorful things attached to the bottom and equally strange things inside them.
I picked one up and brought it closer. There was a little tiny house inside with little tiny trees surrounding it. When I tilted it, white things abruptly drifted up from the bottom and there was a loud tinkling sound that came from inside. It surprised me so much that I dropped it.
The glass shattered between my legs, spraying me in some kind of liquid, and those white things went everywhere.
Were these some kind of…bombs? Was this liquid a chemical that would kill me if it touched me? If I inhaled it?
I looked around for something to wipe it off, and the shirt on the couch caught my eye.
Before I could even move, the door swung open and the giant walked back into the room.
“Okay, I put Luna in the bedroom for now and—” His brows rose as he searched for me, and when those dark eyes landed on mine, I picked up one of the glass shards and held it up. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was all I had.
“What happened? How’d you—” His eyes dropped to the broken contraption between my legs. Sadness flickered across his face. “Damn. That was my favorite one.”
My hand shook as I wielded the glass shard, dazed and too tired to move, too tired to do anything but sit there and hope he didn’t come closer.
The expression on his face was so confusing. He looked sad, not angry, and his posture was non-threatening.
But that was probably a trick. It was all a trick.
I didn’t know why he was waiting for me to let down my guard when he could just overpower me at any moment. He was obviously much bigger and stronger than me, and if he decided to do that, I didn’t stand a chance. I’d fight, though. Right to the end.
He sighed and raked a hand through his hair—hair that was cut short very neatly and looked feather-soft, not coarse and stringy like Hunter and Hayes’s hair.
“That’s alright, I’m sure you didn’t mean to.
” He finally seemed to notice the piece of glass in my hand, but the next words out of his mouth were not what I was expecting.
“Damn it, did you hurt yourself again? You really shouldn’t touch broken glass. ”
My heart slammed against my rib cage as he walked toward me.
Should I just end it before he could get his hands on me?
I’d had my freedom. I would die before I let anyone keep me locked up again.
I breathed in deeply as a cloud of calm settled over me.
I moved the sharp point of the glass to the underside of my forearm and pressed down.
“What are you—hey! No!”
For such a large man, he was fast. He was on me in seconds, gripping my wrist as he pried my fingers open, letting the glass fall from my hand. He lifted me off the floor, cradling me in one arm, then held my wrists together as I snarled and snapped at him.
Every moment of struggle was accompanied by overwhelming agony; I was only making my injuries worse, I knew that somewhere in my logical mind, but there was nothing rational about this all-consuming need to get out, get away.
My soul couldn’t take another day behind bars. Not even another minute.
When something touched the wound on my shoulder, I jerked with a sharp gasp, completely immobilized by the pain. I felt a rip, like someone had reached into the hole and pulled it apart.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck. It’s okay. Everything’s okay, I promise.”
His words were distant and muffled, the heat of his body against mine like the heart of a bonfire.
To know that kind of warmth before I died…it was more than I ever could’ve asked for.