Chapter 36: Determination

Chapter 36: Determination
Vander

That night, after I’d fallen asleep, I dreamt of Calina. It had been a while since I’d seen her face and so I wondered if this dream had been a manifestation of my missing her. She looked as beautiful as always, but I could see her exhaustion in her dark eyes. I just wanted to get her back home and take care of her. I felt so guilty for putting her through all of this when she didn’t deserve it in the first place. Our meeting place had remained the same, in the middle of some sort of dense, dark mist and so I moved closer to her to see her a little better in the dimness of this place.

“Seawater…” she said as soon as I neared her.

“Seawater?” I repeated, slightly confused. People generally greeted with a ‘hello’ and not a body of water.

She nodded, saying, “I can get a whiff of it now and then. I think I’m someplace near the sea. We’re also underground in a bunker someplace. That’s all I’ve got so far.”

If this dream had any truth to it, then it was extremely useful information that Calina was giving to me. Not only did it narrow the search area, but it would also allow us to keep an eye out for a hatch leading to a bunker.

Her eyes searched mine as I nodded. There was an almost desperate look in them, and that made me frightened.

“Are you doing okay? I mean of course you’re not… but I—”

“I will get out of here. Even if you don’t find me first… I’ll get our of here.” It sounded as though she were trying to convince herself more than me. And in that moment, I couldn’t help but pull her body close to mine and wrap my arms around her. She never stiffened or pulled away. She almost immediately wrapped her arms around me too, as if she’d been thinking of doing the same thing.

“I’m so sorry Calina… it’s all my fault,” I whispered against the top of her head. She never said anything. But when she looked up at me, I could see the tears in her eyes. Even in my dreams Calina was miserable.

Then, she asked me something I hadn’t quite expected. “Kiss me?”

I gazed down at her for a moment, wondering if I’d heard wrong. She then cast her eyes down in embarrassment. “Forget it.”

I gently placed my hand underneath her chin and lifted it up, letting her look into my eyes. They were so beautiful and so realistic that it made me feel as though I were actually standing right in front of the real Calina. I leaned in slowly and then touched her lips with mine. It began with a soft little brush of skin against skin. And then she wrapped her hands around my neck and pulled me closer. Our lips were pressed together passionately and my grip on her tightened. Heat had begun to radiate between the both of us, filling the air with sexual tension. I wanted even more than this. But when I opened my eyes again, she was gone.

It was then that my hope transcended into something different. Determination.



Calina

It was the first time in a while that I’d awoken from a pleasant dream. I was almost sad when I was greeted by the stuffy room and the sight of Erin sleeping in the corner. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair in disappointment. Aside from my new roommate and captors Vander had been the only other person I could communicate with, albeit in a dream. I don’t know why I kissed him in that dream. Perhaps I was caught up in the heat of all of those intense emotions. Or perhaps it was something different entirely. He reminded me of what waited outside of this bunker. Freedom. I missed everything— my family, my friends and surprisingly, Vander and his home. It was the only sense of comfort I could find after everything. Just that room and that bed in his home. I wanted to be there.

In the last few days, I’d started picking up more information. Nova and Lana were affiliated with a pack, and whichever pack it was, it was near the ocean as I could start to smell the scent of the ocean each time they opened that hatch. They had a strict schedule as well. 8 a.m. for breakfast, 1 p.m. for lunch, 6 p.m. for dinner and promptly after that, my least favourite thing. The interrogations had stopped after they had realised that I had no more information for them. The torturing, however, did not. They kept on experimenting on me, seeing just how far my healing abilities went. Admittedly, they were phenomenal. They could almost fully sever my arm and have it grow back. And although I was impressed by my body, I grew tired of the constant pain that they inflicted on me. My mind especially, grew tired of it. I wanted to leave.

I’d started to regain my strength day by day— eating all of my meals and working out when I had the chance to. Nova and Lana were tactical about how they operated. Lana would enter the cell and leave Nova, who held the keys, outside and far from reach. When they walked with us, they made sure that they kept a distance, not allowing us any chance to grab the keys. I’d need to overpower Lana and grab the keys from Nova. But for this plan to work, I’d need Erin’s help. And so, each day we’d get to work trying to break the chains which kept our movement so restricted. So far there had been no success. We were too weak and the chains too strong. But I felt a little more hopeful today. Perhaps that dream of Vander was my mind’s way of making me more determined.