Chapter 16
Seda
“It’s time to wake up…” said the familiar voice from her dreams.
Seda jolted awake to darkness, where distant screams and gurgling noises echoed around her.
Her breath caught, and she felt a shiver run through her body.
Where was she? A slow drip splashed onto her arm as the heavy smell of copper and iron filled the air.
Her wrists felt heavy as she slowly stood on unsteady legs, reaching out her trembling hands to explore her surroundings, the sound of rattling chains clinking with her movements.
As the distant screaming grew louder, she backed away as far as she could, her head smashing into the wall behind her, and she slipped on something slick.
She curled her body into a tight ball, the only way she could think to shield herself.
Footsteps echoed as an orange glow lit up the area.
Seda peeked out from under her arm and saw that she was trapped, chained in a dungeon deep within a long, dark hall lined with cells.
A small, metal bed stained with old, dark blood sat beside her, with a bucket placed near the bars.
The walls consisted of large stones stacked haphazardly.
Panic began to seize her throat, and her breathing became labored.
She quickly looked to the right and saw the source of the dripping next to her.
The lifeless body of a naked woman hung from the ceiling with a rope wrapped around her arms. Her body dripped blood from a thick cut across her abdomen.
Seda screamed and scrambled back, hitting the wall again.
She looked down, seeing that her hands and clothing were covered with the woman’s blood.
She cried out, frantically trying to wipe her hands on her shirt, wincing when it only smeared more onto her.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to breathe.
She couldn’t believe what was happening. Where was she? How did she end up here?
“Looks like my albino-freak has finally woken up,” a voice drawled from the other side of the bars as the torch grew brighter with their approach.
Alexi stood on the other side, his wrist tightly wrapped in cloth.
He held a set of keys, jingling them in the air, and Seda saw his arms covered in deep scratches from the birds.
He wickedly smiled at Seda. “Didn’t think I would ever get to see you again. But here we are. So much for those good grades, huh? Welcome to the Camp.” He laughed manically and jiggled the keys harder.
Seda choked back a sob.
This isn’t happening.
“I cannot wait to spend more time with you. But…” He paused and looked at the hanging form of the woman beside her.
“I have more pressing matters to attend to right now. You see, thanks to your boyfriend back there, I’ve finally been promoted.
He was so distracted by that lowlife Michael that he didn’t see me escape with you.
I captured you for him. And now I get the pleasure of being one of your guards. ”
He jingled the keys in front of the bars again.
Then, ever so slowly, he picked a key and watched Seda as he pressed it into the lock.
The door creaked as it opened, and he slowly approached her.
She pressed her body as far as it could go against the rocks behind her.
He bent down to breathe in her hair. “Mmm, just like I remember. You smell so fucking good.” He licked up her cheek, leaving clammy wetness behind, and ran his fingers over the soiled fabric covering her breasts.
Seda cried out and pressed her bloody fist to her mouth. Her arms shook violently, and her lips trembled. Her deepest fears were resurfacing. The metallic taste of blood from her soaked hand covered her lips, and she couldn’t stop a strained sob from escaping.
“I’ll be back with some food and to give you some…
fun. I’m really looking forward to this.
Maybe I can help you get out of this place.
You know, babies and all that,” Alexi said with a roll of his eyes and stood up, adjusting the bulge in his pants as he looked at her.
He gave her a wink and walked over to the hanging woman, pulling out a small knife.
He cut the woman down, and her lifeless body fell to the hard ground with a loud thud.
He dragged the body out of the cell, locking the doors behind him and leaving a streak of fresh blood behind as he walked.
The sound of the woman’s body dragged down the hall took away the only source of light she had.
Shrouded in darkness, Seda was left behind, her body tightly curled into itself. She clutched her blood-stained hands to her face and sobbed.
The faint sound of crunching bone echoed through the cell.
She wasn’t sure how much time had gone by. She thought she heard a mouse scurrying and listened for it. She began counting quietly as she lay on the hard, sticky floor.
“Five thousand, five hundred, and sixty-three”
“Five thousand, five hundred, and sixty-four”
“Psst…” a whispered voice echoed through the darkness. Seda’s head jerked up, and she looked around the dark room. “Are you awake?”
“W-Wh?” Seda hesitantly replied with a raspy voice, forgetting the number she had left off while counting.
“I’ve been here for…” The voice paused for a few seconds. “Shit, I don’t know how long I’ve been here. I don’t remember. I tried counting at first, too.”
“You sound…” She thought she recognized the voice, as if it belonged to someone she had spoken to before.
It couldn’t be.
“Esper? Is that you?” She jumped onto her knees and quickly shuffled to the bars. Esper. Her old coworker, who was taken to the Camp for misbehavior during a Wyrd over six months ago.
“Seda?” She heard Esper move toward the bars lining her cell, her chains dragging along the floor. “How are you here?”
“Esper, are you okay?” She firmly held the bars. “There has been unrest in Joro. Our food supply is limited, and the Jotnar have been attacking us more frequently. They held another Wyrd, within six months, due to misbehavior around the city. I was selected.”
“It’s been six months…” Esper paused and then continued, “You must be careful here, Seda. They took…” Esper cried out with a choked sob. “They took Diantha from me. I heard her screams.” She struggled to say the last word.
“No… Esper.” Hot tears burned behind her eyes. “How is this even the Camp? I thought we were supposed to be rehabilitated. Where are the doctors? How have you survived this?”
Silence encircled them for a long time. The scurrying mouse squeaked somewhere up the hall.
Seda thought Esper had fallen asleep when a small voice replied so softly she almost didn’t hear it, “Because I’m pregnant.”