Chaos

by Taylor Longford

  "Who else do you like?"

  "Do you mean music? Bands?"

  "Yeah."

  "Uh, well, I guess I like Chuck Berry. And The Rolling Stones."

  "The Stones?"

  "Aye. And Led Zeppelin. And Johann Strauss."

  "Strauss?" I questioned him on a soft burst of laughter. I'd heard of Johann Strauss. He was like this crazy old musician who wrote a bunch of waltzes back in the nineteenth century. But I couldn't name anything he'd done. "Where does Strauss fit into that playlist?"

  "His music was revolutionary for its time," he said kinda defensively. "His father almost disowned him for the crazy new stuff he was doing."

  "Really? Sounds like you know a lot about history."

  "I know a few things," he admitted.

  "What about movies?" I asked just to keep the conversation going as we reached the shelf where we usually sat.

  "Movies?" he echoed, and took his place beside me. "I actually haven't seen that many films. What about you?"

  So I told him about some of my favorite movies and probably bored him to death. But he didn't complain and we talked long after the harpy had closed us in again to face another long stretch of darkness.

  Chapter Six

  Time passed. I had a hard time keeping track of it without any way to separate the days from the nights, but I know it passed. Slowly. And I remember exactly how many times we were fed but I'm pretty sure it wasn't every day. We shared what she gave us but I had the sneaking suspicion that Chaos made sure I got most of it. I couldn't help but feel grateful.

  I brushed my teeth whenever they felt like they needed cleaning, changed into a new top when I couldn't stand myself anymore and even washed occasionally, ripping up the T-shirt I'd been captured in and dipping it into one of the puddles that collected on the floor of the mine. I didn't mind getting naked in front of Chaos because you really can't see a thing when you're underground. I even used him to hang my clothes on, draping my things over his shoulders as I undressed. The water was freezing and I was always shivering by the time I was dressed again but Chaos was always there, waiting with a hug to warm me up.

  He did so much for me, like keeping me warm, making sure I got something to eat, the flavoring he put on the snowballs. Maybe it doesn't sound like a big deal, but in a situation like that where you have nothing, the things he did seemed huge. He became such an important part of my life that I began to think I'd fall apart if anything happened to him. That's what captivity will do to you.

  "Thanks," I told him one day. Or night. I couldn't tell. "I really appreciate all the things you do for me."

  "I know," he answered quietly.

  "I feel like I owe you," I said awkwardly.

  "You don't owe me anything."

  "But you do all these things for me and I don't do anything for you."

  "You talk to me," he pointed out. "I love listening to you."

  "You do?"

  "Of course I do," he said like he really meant it.

  So I fell asleep in his arms feeling a little better about myself. But I was cold as I drifted off; it seemed as if his body wasn't keeping me as warm as it used to. So I wasn't sure how long we'd sleep when we were both so chilled. But I woke up warm, with some sort of stiff material draped over me, from my shoulder to my knees. "What's this?" I asked, tugging at the sheet.

  "I found an old tarp," Chaos answered after a few seconds. He sounded groggy, as if I'd woken him.

  I sat up while he dragged the tarp off me in the darkness. "Found? You found a tarp lying ten feet away that wasn't there earlier?"

  "The harpy tossed it in our direction," he explained. "While you were asleep."

  Okay, something weird was going on. "That doesn't sound like Vilschka."

  "She doesn't want us to freeze to death," he said impatiently, sounding kinda defensive.

  "Yeah, but she does want us to suffer," I argued.

  "Let's not fight," he lashed back at me, sounding angry. "And let's not look a prize horse in the mouth."

  "Gift horse," I corrected him stubbornly.

  "What?"

  "The expression is, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth."

  "Alright," he muttered. "Let's not do that either."

  The door opened unexpectedly and threw a strong beam of light down the tunnel. Chaos was standing beside me but the tarp was nowhere to be seen. He reached a hand down for me and I used it to drag myself up to my feet. I opened my mouth to ask about the tarp but never got a chance.

  "Don't move," he said suddenly.

  I tilted my head and questioned him with a look.

  "I said don't move," he growled, his gaze fixed just below my right ear.

  So I froze, just to humor him, because I was afraid he'd lose his temper again, like he had over the singing incident. "What is it?" I whispered.

  His hand shot out and grazed my neck but I barely flinched. He pulled his fist back to his chest and opened his fingers. Inside was a rather largish spider. Dead, now of course. "It was hanging from your ear," he murmured.

  I checked out the shiny black body with the red splash on the abdomen and gasped. "That's a black widow!"

  He nodded grimly. "We don't have them in England but I've heard about them."

  "Thanks," I breathed gratefully, even more convinced to follow all of his commands as I lifted my gaze to his face. The light from the portal reflected in the fiery color of his eyes and I watched a little spellbound. He was so good looking.

  "Looks like mid-afternoon," he murmured as we paced toward the door to stretch our legs.

  I started making conversation just to fill the silence. He'd said that he liked to listen to me so I felt a little more confident about filling the gaps with chatter, especially since he never gave up many details about his life. "If you could go back in time, what era would you choose to live in?" I asked aimlessly.

  We reached the end of his chain, then turned and headed back again in the other direction. "Maybe the second world war," he suggested.

  "That doesn't sound like fun to me," I argued, acting kinda bold.

  "I would have joined the air force and become a fighter pilot."

  "Really? I didn't take you for the hero type," I teased even though I thought he'd probably make a perfectly good hero.

  He shook his head. "Nay, I'm not. I'd probably have buzzed the tower and gotten thrown out of the force before I could contribute much to the war effort."

  "Why do you say that?" I laughed, starting to enjoy myself.

  "I don't know. I guess my brothers would say I'm impulsive."

  Yeah, I could see that.

  "It seems like I'm never in the right place at the right time," he added.

  That might be true, but it seemed like he didn't have much confidence for a guy who was ridiculously good looking. And I couldn't help but wonder if uncertainty came from inside a person instead of forces acting outside. And that kind of thinking made me wonder if it was my fault I didn't fit in. So I quickly moved on. "A guy with your looks should have more confidence," I told him.

  "Do you think I'm good looking?" he asked with a lopsided smile.

  "Uh-huh," I answered, getting trapped in his luminescent gaze.

  "You haven't seen the rest of my family," he snickered, breaking the mood before it could even get started.

  "And what would you have done after you buzzed the tower and got thrown out of the air force?" I asked him, returning to our original conversation.

  He shrugged. "I'd have sat in the pub and ordered pickled eggs for lunch."

  "Pickled eggs," I murmured. "Why does that sound good?"

  "I don't know," he answered on a low rumble of laughter. "I suppose anything would sound good right now."

  "Actually, a big fat double cheeseburger would sound good right now. What about you?"

  "What about me?" he questioned.

  "What's your favorite meal?"

  He thought a moment. "Probably Havoc's venison stew."

&nbs
p; "Havoc?"

  "Another one of my cousins. He has a talent for cooking."

  We were back where we started by now and eased ourselves down to the ground. "When we get out of here, we'll have to get him to fix something for us."

  "Aye," he sighed without much enthusiasm and I was afraid he was giving up hope on his family ever finding us.

  Snugged up together to keep warm, we settled against the wall and watched Vilschka move around at the portal as we fell into talking about the usual things, like food and staying warm and the harpy.

  "She keeps threatening to kick the crap outta me but she hasn't done much so far," I mused as I kept my eye on the harpy.

  "She's waiting."

  "What do you think she's waiting for?"

  "She wants us to…get attached to each other."

  "You mean…"

  "Aye, she wants us to like each other."

  I didn't mention that I thought I'd already reached that point. But I was pretty sure he didn't feel the same way—not that way—because he'd never tried to kiss me or even get his hands on my chest. Well, except for the pretend groping incident which was only a ploy to trick Vilschka.

  And let's face it, any normal guy stuck in a mine with a girl with a chest like mine—and nothing else to do—was gonna make a move, even if only out of sheer boredom. So from what I knew about guys, that was a sure sign he was NOT interested.

  But I'd begun to feel a companionship between us that I'd never felt with anyone else. It was bigger than attraction. It was the feeling that I could say anything to him and he'd be interested, no matter how mundane an observation I might make. I didn't have any experience with friendship but I felt like maybe I'd finally made a friend…even if he was a captive audience and didn't have much choice about it.

  "Why's does she want us to like each other?" I asked.

  "Because she wants me to agree to stay with her in return for your freedom."

  "Well, you're not going to do that," I snorted.

  He didn't answer. So I wasn't sure what that meant.

  "But she won't wait forever and we need to get out of here before that happens," he said. "I don't think we can wait any longer for my family to find us."

  So that answered my question. "Right," I agreed, glad that he was talking about both of us escaping this time instead of just me. "So how are we gonna get out of here?"

  He took a deep breath. "We have a couple of different options."

  "We do?" I asked.

  "Aye," he answered, and a small smile lifted the corner of his mouth. "And I suppose we should discuss them this time."

  "That would be a good idea," I snickered.

  He leaned forward and rattled his chains. "I've been working on twisting one of these links open," he said, turning the chain so I could see it in the beam of light that spilled in through the portal. He fingered a thick circle of metal that locked two links together. I didn't know how he'd managed it, but it was pried open enough that a sharp tug would probably set him free. "We could make a run for it the next time Vilschka goes out."

  "How will we know she's really gone?" I asked. "She could be waiting for us just outside the door."

  "I'll know," he said confidently but without explaining himself.

  "But what if she comes back like she did last time?"

  "I'll know that too," he said.

  I wasn't sure I believed him but I didn't want to argue about that when there were plenty of other good things to argue about. "There's sure to be snow on the ground. We won't be able to travel very fast. And we won't get very far before the harpy comes back from hunting."

  "We could split up," he suggested. "The harpy will follow me. And while she's doing that, you could find a place to hide."

  "What makes you think she'll follow you?"

  "Because she wants me more than she wants you."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "You can take my word on it," he answered dryly.

  I didn't know what made him such an expert on harpies but I didn't want to get into a fight. "How will she track you?" I asked.

  "She'll follow my scent. She's good at tracking…guys like me. We could pick up your coat on the way out. It's still lying on the ground. Do you think you'd be warm enough?"

  "I don't know," I answered doubtfully. "It isn't very heavy. When I left, I wasn't planning an artic expedition. I was just going to the library. And by now it might be wet. If I'm cold, I might not last long." But I didn't like the idea of splitting up anyhow so I asked, "What's the next option?"

  "We stick together and move as quickly as possible to get to a place where there are lots people. Somewhere she won't dare attack us."

  "That would be Boulder," I told him. "But that's about ten miles away. I don't think we can move fast enough."

  "I could carry you."

  "I don't think that's gonna make us faster," I snorted. "Even if I have lost a lot of weight."

  "I do," he argued. "But you must agree to follow my instructions. Starting with, you keep your mouth shut and don't make a sound."

  I was offended and let him know it. "I'm perfectly capable of keeping quiet."

  "No matter what you see," he insisted, his tone sharp with command. "No matter what happens. You're going to see some things you don't understand."

  Honestly, the guy was such a control freak, sometimes. "I've already promised to follow your orders. Believe me, the black widow incident was a turning point for me."

  "You promise?"

  I touched two fingers to my brow. "Scout's honor."

  "So what do you think?" he asked after taking a deep breath.

  "I like the plan where we stick together," I answered. "But Vilschka's never gone long when she leaves to hunt."

  He nodded and straightened into a standing position. "Well, let's see if we can send her on an errand that might take longer."

  "Are you serious?" I squeaked, shooting up beside him.

  "I bet I have something she wants," he threw back over his shoulder as he started making his way toward the front of the mine.

  "That's not hard to believe," I snorted, focusing on the clean straight lines of his shoulders rather than his equally attractive backside.

  "Well, let's see if I can make it work for us," he snickered, and shot a grin back in my direction.

  In answer, I gave him a lame thumbs up. Privately, I chewed on my bottom lip, hoping he wouldn't go and do something impulsive before we got to the rest of the plan. But I was surprised—and impressed—at his submissive tone when he started talking to the harpy.

  "I need your help," he began, his head hanging and suggesting defeat. "I'm getting colder all the time. I'm losing too much body heat."

  "Get you more food," she answered gruffly.

  "I need more than that," he argued with a tremor in his voice, like he was shivering. "I need better clothing. More clothing. These breeches are too short and I have nothing to cover my chest."

  I couldn't see the harpy's expression but I watched her head tilt upward like she was considering his request. "What you give Vilschka in return?" she asked shrewdly.

  Chaos lifted his arms out to his sides. "I don't have much."

  The harpy cackled. "You know what Vilschka wants."

  "Not that," he said, his voice turning suddenly hard.

  Wincing, I held my breath, silently begging him to be cautious.

  "No deal," Vilschka threw back at him in her gravelly voice.

  "Fine!" he shouted and turned away from her. "I'll freeze to death!"

  "Wait," she cawed before he had taken three steps away from her.

  Still holding my breath, I watched as Chaos turned to face her again.

  "Vilschka get clothes for boy," she gave in grumpily. "But want your ring."

  Slowly, he shuffled back in her direction and pulled the ring off his finger. I watched as the glint of gold dropped into her waiting palm and felt a little sad. It was a nice ring with a stone that glowed warm, like amber. And I
guess I'd hoped that maybe one day I might get a chance to wear it, assuming that Chaos ever liked me enough to ask me to wear it. "Don't hurt anyone," he growled. "No blood on the clothes."

  Vilschka grumbled like he'd just ruined her party.

  "No blood!" he shouted, losing his temper all of a sudden while I flinched a little. His violence wasn't directed at me and I knew he'd never hurt me but still…he was just such a force sometimes.

  "Fine," she muttered. "Vilschka not hurt anyone. Get clothes for boy."

  "Something for the lass, too," he insisted, surprising me with his nerve. I mean, we had what we needed to move forward with our plan. Why push your luck?

  "Just back away," I muttered beneath my breath. "Just back away and get outta there."

  His eyes flicked in my direction like he'd heard me which I didn't think was possible. But if he had heard me, he ignored my very reasonable advice. "Something to keep the lass warm," he growled.

  "No promises," Vilschka answered, her mouth twisting in a mean grin.

  And finally he backed away, though a dissatisfied growl rumbled in his chest.

  I released my breath in a long whoosh. "What do you think?" I whispered when he was back beside me.

  He rolled his shoulders in a shrug like he hadn't just played the harpy version of Russian roulette. "We'll have to wait and see."

  But as the afternoon light faded at the mine portal, it was clear that Vilschka was making plans to leave. She came back and checked on us, fortunately not inspecting Chaos's chains too closely. Then as twilight fell, she spent some time arranging things at the door, probably making sure it was tightly closed. I hoped she wasn't adding anything extra that would stop Chaos from breaking out. But she was probably only doing it for me, thinking that Chaos was securely chained.

  A few minutes after the door closed behind the harpy, I figured it was time to stumble down the tunnel to the portal, but Chaos was in a hurry. He picked me up and strode swiftly through the inky darkness like he was using sonar to guide him. And you know that door that gave me so much trouble? Well, that wasn't an issue either. He put his shoulder against it and a few seconds later we were standing in the snow in front of the mine, breathing in the brisk winter air and feeling free for the first time in ages.