54|Hello Darling

54|Hello Darling
Flashback continues….

~Serena~

My heart galloped in my chest, its drumming echoed through my head, filling my thoughts with fear of the unknown and the dark.

Who took me? Who brought me here? Why am I in a cage that was meant for little puppies? What do they want with me?

I scrambled backwards until my back hit the other side of the cage. It wasn’t that much of a scramble, really, but as my heartbeat gained speed, my fear grew exponentially.

I had just escaped the cells beneath the Embercrest grounds, but being locked in this unknown place was much scarier. At least back in Embercrest, I knew where I was, and I knew the people I was up against. Here, I was lost and alone, and the seconds that ticked by were messing with my head.

“Pssst,” I heard a whisper behind me. 

I thought I was only hallucinating when the whisper echoed again. “Hey.”

I looked over my shoulder, and through the darkness that prevails in this place, I made out a small frame curled in the same position as I was. It was a girl; I assume, but it was too dark for me to see her features.

“Hello?” My throat was as rough as sand pouring down an hourglass. I swallowed what was left of the moisture in my mouth to dampen my parched throat.

“Hi,” the girl replied. She scrambled closer to me, her cage rattling as she moved. “I’m Kaya.”

“Se… Serena,” I whispered. “Do you know where we are?”

The vague image of her figure shook its head. “I don’t know. I’m scared, Serena.”

‘You and I both,’ I thought, but I know saying that wouldn’t ease her fears. So I sat taller in my cage and tried to get as much information from her as I could. It seemed that we were the only ones inside this place, locked in this dark confinement.

“Where are you from?”

“I’m from Silveridge,” she said.

I don’t know why that surprised me. Silveridge was Embercrest’s neighbor, and I fear they took us because of what we are.

“You’re… you’re a werewolf,” I whispered, gooseflesh coating my entire body.

“Yes?” Kaya’s tone was hesitant. “That’s why they took us,” she added.

“Us?”

“We aren’t the only ones here,” Kaya continued, her voice trembling as a recollection dawned on her. “There were Anya and Mae. They were her first, and they haven’t brought them back.”

“What… What do you mean? How long have you been here?” I pressed as I tasted Kaya's panic in the air.

“I don’t know. There’s no sense of time here,” she stated. 

“When did they take you?” I asked. “Do you remember the date?”

She mulled over my question, brooding. “I was in the Hollow Forest on June 13. It was my birthday, and my friends decided to have a party in the woods.”

Hollow Forest was in the center of Silveridge, Evermane, and Aronwood. It was strongly forbidden to go into the Hollow Forest, especially these days, but there were always young werewolves who took pleasure in breaking rules, like Kaya. Those precautions were set for this very reason. But I haven’t heard a report about werewolves being kidnapped. Who the hell are these people?

June 13 was the day of my wedding. Kaya had been here for over a week now.

“That’s a week ago,” I said. 

“One week,” Kaya echoed, then she fell into a fit of tears and sobbing. “My mom must be so worried about me. I told her I would only stay the night at Alice’s. I shouldn’t have lied to her.”

I wanted to comfort Kaya, but these cages prevented me from doing so. She was too far from my reach, and from my observation, we were about a meter high from the floor. The echoes of our voices also revealed that we were in a much bigger room.

“Kaya…” I called, my voice soft and remorseful. “I can’t say anything to ease your pain, but I have to ask, have these people done anything to you?”

Kaya wiped her tears and composed herself. “They came for me only once. They put me to sleep, and I was vaguely aware of what they did to me. They took my blood, and I think they also did some tests on me. My arms are in pain, and my head was pulsing when I woke up here again.”

I wanted to ask Kaya more questions, but the unhinging of the bolt on the door stopped me. The calm that I felt while listening to Kaya’s tears was quickly replaced by the drumming fear in my chest once again.

“They’re here,” Kay whimpered.

Light poured from one side of the room as the door opened. It was made of metal, and it creaked as the three people in white lab gowns with masks on their faces walked into the room.

Kaya’s whimper became louder. I turned to her cell, seeing her for the first time. She was so young, barely out of her teens. Her brown hair was a mess, and she was dressed in a hospital gown. She turned to me, tears pouring from her blue eyes as she shook her head.

“Serena… They’re here to take you,” she murmured. That’s when I noticed that the three men who walked into the room were already on my cell. “Don’t fight. It will hurt if you fight,” was Kaya’s reminder as my cage was being unlocked.

The trio of men in lab gowns moved as if they had been doing this for a long time, prepared if I would put up a fight. One of them opened the cage, the other two stood in front of me, one held the syringe and the other gripped a cloth that I assume was laced with Chloroform.

I took another glance at Kaya. She shook her head no, but the stubborn side of me took over. As soon as the cage was opened, I jumped at the guy holding the syringe. I used up the last of my strength and managed to grab the syringe. I stabbed it in his neck, but his friends were quick. One guy coiled a brawny arm around my waist and removed me from the guy. The syringe's content had already slipped through his system.

“Fucking bitch!” the third guy said, and he raised the cloth to my face, but I grabbed it and pressed it on the face of the guy holding me. It was only a split second, but it was enough to make him dizzy.

His hold on me loosened, and I used that as a chance to turn around and snapped his neck with an angry whine.

The third guy has had enough of my stubbornness, and he landed a strike on my head, successfully putting me in an unconscious state.

The next time I woke up, I was strapped to a bed and a guy was gazing down at me with an evil grin on his face. 

“Hello darling,” he bared his bleach white teeth at me. “I heard you killed one of my men. I can’t wait to make you pay for what you did,” he said, and that was the first time I stared at the face of Alister Kaine.

~End of Flashback~