8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Victoria
I laid on the cold ground, my eyes unfocusing as I had cried as soon as the four men left. My emotions that I had managed to push back, broke as soon as they were gone and I kept myself as quiet as possible. I didn’t want any of them knowing I’d broke down. I won’t allow it to happen again.
I could hear the other girls scream and yell more than once during the evening…if it was evening. It's hard to tell when you're in a box with no sunlight or light besides fluorescents. Blinking my eyes once again, I let the last of my tears fall down my cheeks. I'm exhausted, both mentally and physically. I have no idea how long I have before the testing they mentioned starts.
Closing my eyes, I will myself to try and sleep. I know I’m going to need it. From how they spoke of the tests and how many have failed…they aren’t going to be easy. I'm going to survive this and hopefully find a way out. I'll take it day by day, but I need to know my surroundings and what these people are capable of.
I’m not sure when I fell asleep or how long I’ve been asleep, but a loud bang on my door wakes me up. Snapping awake and bolting up right, I keep my eyes on the door.
“Rise and shine girls! The day is wasting away!” I hear yelled as another bang rings out this time from a different door. I let out a small groan as I rub the sleep out of my eyes. I feel more tired than I did when I fell asleep. Running a hand through my hair, trying to get it tamed a bit is a hopeless endeavor. It's still a mess and I can feel the knots already forming as they catch my fingers.
I move so my back is against the wall again, this way my eyes can be on the door when it opens. I could already feel the dread in me as I try to keep myself calm. I'm already emotionally overwhelmed with everything going on and I know I’ve somewhat been dissociating…but it’s definitely better than freaking out. I don’t think that would go over well.
I'm ripped out of my inner thoughts by the sound of the door opening, my eyes snapping to the one who opens it. There in the doorway stands Elijah, a smirk of a smile on his lips as he gazes down at me.
“Morning Darling. Time to get up, we have a long day ahead of us.” I narrow my eyes at him, but slowly stand up, my body's stiff from the cold hard ground I'd slept on. My muscles are screaming at me as I resist the urge to try and crack my back. I will deal with the mild twinge of pain if it means not showing weakness to him.
“Us?” Did that mean we’re going to be spending all day with them? I remember him talking about a series of tests. Does that mean they're going to be with us when we take them, instead of just observing?
He gives a small chuckle as he pushes off the doorway and motions for me to exit the room before him. I shiver as I pass him, he's close enough that I can feel his body heat as I brush past him to stand in the hallway. The other girls from before are standing near their doors, a male standing near each of them. Some of them are crying as they hug themselves, some of them have glares on their faces as they look around with narrow eyes.
“Well, I guess I should have said you, sorry darling.” His eyes twinkle as he gives me another small smirk of a smile before moving to stand at the end of the hall. His steps are long and assured, it's easy to tell he holds a lot of power in this...whatever this is. He's practically oozing confidence and power as he gazes down the hall at us, a friendly smile on his lips. If I didn’t know any better, I’d describe him as attractive and charismatic, but being kidnapped and held in a cell by him and his family shatters any and all illusions.
“Good morning ladies, I hope you all slept well.” Elijah pauses, but we knew better than to try and answer him. He smiles, his eyes showing mirth at this, I wonder how many others in the past had actually answered him and what the consequences had been. Obviously, they had to have been drastic if they're still kidnapping women for this sick and twisted game of theirs.
“As you all recall you’re here for a reason and in order for you to be worthy of that reason you’re going to have to pass a couple of tests. Today begins those tests. So, as they say, may the odds be ever in your favor.” He cracks a grin at his own joke, ignoring the dark looks tossed his way by everyone else in the hall.
Speech over he nods at the other males in the hallway and instantly they pull out black bags and shoved them over the heads of the females they're standing by. I jerk as someone grabs my arms from behind, I hadn’t even noticed anyone approaching me from behind. I had been too focused on the speech, as had all the other girls.
Gritting my teeth and jerking my head back, it slams into a broad shoulder making the man who’s holding me grunt and shift his weight as he harshly grabs both of my wrists and pins them behind my back. His other hand is trying to slip the black bag over my head.
I glare at Elijah as he watches it all unfold, the screaming and crying of the other woman echoing in the hallway. I hold his gaze as the bag is roughly pulled down over my face. Task done, the male behind me begins to tie my wrists together, the rough rope digging into my wrists as he makes sure the knot won’t slip.
Closing my eyes behind the black hood, willing my breathing to calm down, there's no use in screaming and crying. It'll just make it harder to breathe now that I have this damn hood over my head.
“You’re a feisty little one aren’t you princess?” I shiver as I feel the hot breath of the man behind me through the hood. He chuckles at me, making me huff in anger, but I hold my tongue as some of the other girls keep screaming and crying.
“Stop! Please! What are you doing?!”
“Let me go you fucking psychos!”
“Help! Please! Someone, anyone!”
My head begins to pound at all of the screaming and crying. “Enough!”
Elijah's voice rings out, loud and full of power. It was like a roar, it cut through the screaming and crying, almost instantly everyone shut up. It’s clear to everyone that if they didn’t obey his order there would be very dire consequences.
The uneasy silence is only broken by a few of the girls giving small hiccups as they try to calm down and stop crying. A few of them sound as though they’re close to hyperventilating. I’m really hoping they won’t faint given the fact that we have thick black hoods over our heads.
“Ah, sorry for yelling ladies, but I was starting to get a headache. Now, since we’ve all calmed down, I'm going to explain today's test for you all. We’re going to take you to the woods nearby and you’ll have to not only survive on your own but you’ll also have to avoid some of the traps we’ve set up.”
I feel a glimmer of hope spark to life in my chest. If they set us loose in the woods, then there’s a chance we will be able to escape. Then again, he did say they set up traps, plus I doubt they would be stupid enough to let us roam around without some kind of contingency plan. Why risk us getting away and getting help after all the effort to capture us? As if reading my thoughts Elijah spoke up again.
“Now, some of you might think you can get away and find help. Let me assure you, you have no chance of escaping. We own not only the woods you’re going to be left in but every mile between us and the next hundred acres. If, and this is a big if, you manage to get even close to the edge of our property, rest assure we can and will track you down and make you regret even trying to get away.” The threat in his voice is crystal clear and it makes a few of the girls give small cries of defeat. It only makes me grit my teeth and push me to not only survive, but to rub it in their faces flares to life to replace the small spark of hope they've just snuffed out.
I keep still as I try to come up with a plan. I know I can’t have anything concrete till I can see again and have my hands back. Taking a deep breath, I count trying to relax as I let the person behind me lead me away. I can hear the girls around me being taken further away. That means they’re separating us. That’ll make things easier for me. It may sound cold, but I don’t want to interact with the other girls. I don't want to worry about connecting with them and then they end up in the way of my survival.
It’s cold but I knew the survival rates from my talk with Eilijha and his brothers. There’s a chance none of these girls…myself included will survive. I'm determined and I’m going to survive. Even if I have to do things I wouldn’t normally do…I would survive. I didn’t get through my childhood just to be taken out before I even reach twenty-five.
I will survive by any means necessary.