Ch. 39

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE:

~Avery:

I vaguely registered the gun in his hand before I fell forward on my knees. A sharp pain stabbed me. I put a hand there, pulling away a dart. He shot me! What was even in that?

“Just got to make sure we keep you dosed. Can’t risk you getting your voice back can we?” the older O’Dell kid smiled, tucking the dart gun somewhere in his back pocket.

My head slunk forward.

“Now, before you go back to bed… I need you to take this,” he said with what seemed like super speed.

Was he speaking really fast or was everything moving slowly? Darkness threatened to take over my vision and my head swam. I saw a little bright green speck in his hand.

“No,” I blubbered out, hands splayed on the ground trying to hold my body up.

“Well you take it now, willingly, or I call your mutt’s Alpha and tell him exactly where to find him. Plus - I can always just shove it down your throat when you’re asleep. Which shouldn’t take more than.. Oh,” he looked at his watch, “three more minutes.”

“You c-can’t,” I stuttered out, swaying.

My elbows shook, everything in me fighting the buckling they were trying to do.

“Oh I can. And I think you know that,” he said, fuzzy somewhere above me.

His voice sounded fuzzy and way too loud. I winced.

Drake. He knows where he is. I can’t let him do that. I have to buy him time.

“How do I know- he d-doesn’t, h-he didn’t already…” I mumble, fighting to stay cognizant, to sound coherent.

“Oh I don’t think you understand how leverage works. See, I have you locked up. I have the phone. I have your magic locked up. I possess all the cards. You don’t have to trust me. It doesn’t matter,” he said with venom.

The world spun. I blinked rapidly trying to fight the darkness, my elbows locked in to keep my upper half up.

“I’m pulling out my phone,” he sing-songy said, stretching out every syllable. “And now I’m pulling up his contact. Hmmm.. R… Rafael. There he is! You know, I know wolves are wild animals, but this Rafael character is dark even for one of them.”

“O-okay,” I said weakly, holding back tears.

My hand shook as I reached up towards his blurry figure. He dropped the green thing in my palm and closed my hand over it.

I shivered from the gross, icky feeling that came from the contact my hand had just made with his.

I held it up to my mouth.

“Now I will check to see if you’ve listened. So don’t even think about pulling something. You need to know that bad things will happen if you can’t follow my instructions,” he threatened.

Between the situation I was in and my weakened state, I didn’t doubt him even if I could. So I tossed it in and swallowed before collapsing to the cold ground.

I don’t know if they shut the lights off or if I had closed my eyes. But the darkness took hold. Firm hold. And I couldn’t fight anymore.

My head pounded as I blinked. Darkness alone greeted me. And a stone cold, hard floor. The floor. That’s right.

I ignored my aching joints and blinding headache, to feel all around me only to confirm it - it wasn’t a nightmare. I was trapped. In a cell. The fuzzy memories of before came to mind as I continued to feel around, hoping for some sort of way out. Maybe he had slipped up when he came down?

But after a while, I came to the same sad conclusion as earlier: there was no way out. I slumped to the ground, hitting the concrete roughly with my knees, trying to get a hold of myself. I couldn’t lose focus. I couldn’t lose hope.

I’d survived so much. This couldn’t be the end. It wouldn’t be.

The door cracked open. I stiffened, expecting the blinding lights to come back on, but nothing happened. A few steps headed my way and I backed up, meaning to defend myself as best I could should something try to attack me through the bars.

“Oh, lass,” A man’s voice said, full of fake sympathy. “You’re not afraid of little ‘ole me are ya?”

Resolve filled me as I kept my face blank. It seemed like he could see me somehow. I wouldn’t give anything away. This guy seemed like maybe a second in charge person. Maybe I could manipulate that.

“What?” he chuckled. “For a being who uses her voice all the time - you suddenly have nothing to say?”

I kept my face the same, not moving anything outside of the blinks of my eyes.

“Well,” he said, something metal clanking against the bars. “Let’s see if we can’t make you talk…”

The groan of the hinges in front of me had me shooting to my feet. His dark words made me shiver inside but I held still as I could. I loosened a breath and honed in on what was happening. His body heat and breath got too close for comfort, but they gave me an idea of where he stood.

Before I could doubt myself I reached forward, grabbing his arms, and taking a guess I kicked high up hoping to hit his sensitive area.

I was wrong.

“Oh a feisty one!” he laughed, his foul breath far too close to my mouth.

He grabbed my arms and pinned them against me as he leaned forward.

I panicked and closed my eyes tightly before slamming my forehead into his face. I was a good half a foot lower than him and I aimed for his nose.

“F***ing hell!” he screamed, stepping backwards.

I hit him hard with my right fist, hurting the bejesus out of my fingers but I didn’t care. It was enough to get him off balance. I ran forward to where I guessed the open cell door was, my arms outstretched to feel it.

I ran right into the bars but swung my arms wildly until I found air. It really was open!

“Oi!” the man yelled from behind me. “Get back here!”

My heart thundered as I ran still in the inky black space. I was out of the cell, but was the door also unlocked? I rushed to where I thought I remembered the door being, but I couldn’t find a handle.

Footsteps thundered nearby, punctuated by the slamming of the cell door. He must have pulled or pushed on it.

Find it! Find it! Find it!, I screamed the words at myself.

My hand hit a large handle and I smiled in relief. But as I went to pull on it, my arm was yanked back.

“And where do you think you’re going?!” the man snarled at me, spittle flying into my eyes.

His hand snatched my wrist, and it burned as he flung me aside. He let go and I went barreling toward the air, finally hitting some wall.

“F**k!” I yelled out, my shoulder slamming into the wall at full force.

He stomped over to me, “Stay still!”

I waited two seconds before I ducked low and ran again to the outside, between him and the cell.

“Goddess!” he roared, rushing towards me.

I ran for the door again, my hands brushing roughly against the stone. My skin stung from the likely several cuts I’d gotten.

“You will-!” he started to scream at me before I smacked into his face with the door.

I turned once more, my eyes adjusting to the little light coming from the torches in the hallway. I reached deep into my rage and clawed at his face, scratching everything I could. I aimed for his eyes and he tried to reach for me but I was faster. I saw his splayed legs on the ground, his knees holding him up. So I adjusted my stance and kicked the h*ll out of his crotch.

He yelled loudly and I flew out the door, closing it behind me.

I panted heavily, facing a signless hallway. All worn brick and speckled with old timey torches. There were two other doors on the right and then a blind corner on the left. I had a second to make a decision. I chose right. The door I’d just shut opened and I could see his shadow as he barreled right for me.

I dug deep for my magic but didn’t find anything to pull up. It’s like a small amount was there but it was stuck.

Blood rushed in my ears and I opened the first door, running in before I had time to stop and think.

Another totally dark room.

“Wh-who’s there?” a soft voice said from a distance.

“Shh,” I responded.

The door burst open, slamming against me as I hid right behind it.

“WHERE IS SHE?!” he boomed.

“Wh-who?” the little voice squeaked from ahead.

I stuck my head out just a tad from behind the door. The light illuminated the space just enough for me to make out a room just like mine. A cell. A shriveled, slip of a girl with grime all over her face and tousled hair.

“Don’t lie to me lass!” he ran to her cell and reached a hand in.

She leaned slightly back, enough to be out of his reach. She did so carefully and slowly. Like she’d done this a hundred times and knew exactly how far back to lean to be out of reach.

I scrunched my brow at the sight. How many more people did they have down here? How many more rooms like this were there?

The man shook the bar angrily before turning around. I held in a gasp as he whirled to the door. But by the grace of something or someone up there, he didn’t see me. He walked deliberately from one side to the other before grabbing the door and running back into the hall.

I heard his yell again from somewhere out there and let out a soft breath.

What do I do now?

“He’s going to call the others. You have to get out of here,” the woman said ahead of me.

She sounded hollow.

“I don’t even know where ‘here’ is… Do you know how we can get out of here?” I asked her, taking a few steps toward her.

“I don’t either. I’m sorry. But if you’re going to get out you have to do it now. Jack has a huge ego so he’ll wait before calling for help and admitting he messed up. You only have right now,” she urged me.

I blinked tears I didn’t know were there.

“Who are you?” I asked after swallowing despair at the whirling thoughts I had about this woman.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re not listening!” she whispered harshly, sucking in a sob.

“Okay,” I breathed in. “Okay. I’m listening.”

I creeped up to the door and peered into the hall after very carefully opening the door.

I saw Jack slam the other door shut, but not before glimpsing red hair and a frail figure behind bars. I shut the door softly just as he turned and stomped away. His steps faded and I looked out once more to make sure it was clear.

“Go!” the woman behind me whispered.

I turned my head back to reply, “I’ll come back for you all. If I make it out. I will come back.”

Then I inched the door open, took a breath, and ran.