by A Lonergan
Herman grasped his throat and bent over, wheezing in pain. “You little–” He wheezed again but I didn’t stop to see if he was still doubled over. I gripped my bag close to my chest and made a run for it. I turned hard on my heel and ran for the cover of the motel. There had to be some type of security or a receptionist that could help me. I was sure if I locked the door it would slow them down.
My hopes were dashed when Herman’s wife stepped out in front of me and held a device out to my chest.
A damn Taser.
I tried to turn around but she was quicker than me. I took a deep breath and she shot me. The electricity that coursed through me was unbearable, indescribable. I collapsed to the ground and seized. I couldn’t stop and I wasn’t sure if it was because she was still shocking me or because my body was out of control.
“The man that sold me this thing said it would knock someone out. I guess he was wrong!” I could barely see the old woman standing above me, tears were blinding my vision, and I was almost certain I had peed myself. I could hardly breathe.
Herman’s voice was loud and angry. “Shock her again until it does.”
I braced myself for the pain. The current of electricity that pulsed through me was like the one I had experienced moments before, but it was also worse. For a minute, the pain was so strong that I couldn’t form a coherent thought. The cruel woman hit me again when she realized I was still conscious. Darkness was immediate.
When I could finally open my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that it didn’t matter if my eyes were open or closed. I was going to get the same view: blackness. The second thing I noticed was that I couldn’t move no matter howmuch I tried. My body hurt worse than it had after working out at Keenan’s cabin.
My jeans felt uncomfortable and slightly damp; the odor was unmistakable. I had peed myself. My arms were stretched above my head and I imagined they were chained together. Whatever was digging into my wrists was cold and hard, it had to be metal, and my ankles were in the same predicament. My back was pressing against something cold and wet. Every sound I made echoed in the room, so I tried to keep every move as little as possible.
I didn’t need to bring attention to myself.
Too late.
Footsteps sounded from somewhere outside the room. The door squeaked open and light flooded the room. I wondered how long I had been out. When my eyes finally adjusted to the assault, I blinked up to see who my visitor was and came face to face with Herman.
He had a briefcase at his side and was wearing skinny jeans and a form fitting polo. His body didn’t look like it belonged to a man in his sixties.
He let out a breath of air, pulled a chair across the cobblestone floor, and threw himself into it.
The room I was being held in was small and resembled a dungeon. There were so many questions buzzing around in my head, but I kept my lips closed. I didn’t know what I was up against just yet.
My nose started to itch; I wiggled it around to keep myself from sneezing. Herman was taking his sweet time reading in front of me and I needed to think of a plan. I needed as much time as he would give me and was sure that if I made a noise he would remember what he had come here to do.
I was wrong. Herman looked up from the paper he was reading and gave my body a once over.
“You’re very strong, very taut. I’m surprised you’ve put up with everything I’ve done to you. Your body is very resilient.” He cleared his throat and cocked his head while looking over me. With every word he spoke, I got more nervous and scared. The old pervert had done things to me without my knowledge. Anger was making me blind but the tears weren’t helping either.
“I’m very curious about something, though,” he continued. “The gold line on your stomach... I can’t cut it out. Have you tried?”
I ignored the question, hoping he would just leave me alone if I remained silent. I was scared to even know.
Had he tried to cut it out?
No such luck. My face met a backhand slap. It knocked my head against the stone wall behind me. My teeth knocked together in my mouth and I tasted blood. I flexed my jaw hoping he hadn’t broken anything.
“You will answer my questions.”
I nodded my head in response, my throat too dry to form words.
“How did you get that gold in your stomach?”
I swallowed slowly, trying to get moisture back into my mouth and around my tongue. “I’m... not sure.”
“Have you tried to cut it out?” I shook my head slowly.
He nodded his head as if it made sense all of a sudden. He let out a small laugh as if he had made a joke and scratched at the top of his forehead. I would have ignored it but he continued to scratch until he wasn’t just scratching, but was digging. Digging into the skin around his hairline. I must have looked horrified because he gave me another laugh and pulled at the skin there again.
It was flexible, almost like rubber. My eyes got bigger as he continued to pull and the skin on his forehead became a bubble.
“This damned thing is really starting to itch, I don’t know how Ana has been able to do it for so long.”
Ana? It had to be a coincidence.
He continued to tug until his whole face pulled free and in its place was a very handsome man. Where Herman had been with a thick, droopy nose, there was now a new face with a straight, strong nose and high cheekbones to match. His big brown eyes stared at me, amused.
They reminded me of Keenan.
“I see you just couldn’t wait.” A female’s voice sounded from the doorway. It was Herman’s wife. “Well, whatever, we might as well get this show on the road.”
The woman began to do the same thing to her face that Herman had, and underneath her mask was Ana.
Ana from the Valley.
I blinked a few times to make sure I was seeing straight. Yup, it was the same Ana that had hit on Crawley and made me jealous.
That witch. That stupid, stupid witch
“I was shocked to see you alone with Herman; I figured Crawley would be with you. You must have been too much for the poor soul.”
She shrugged her delicate shoulders and I had the urge to break them. I flexed my fingers above my head and knew that, when the time came, I would be able to slide them through the cuffs with a little blood helping me. I would take her out and I would enjoy it.
I didn’t reply to the petite girl. She didn’t deserve to know that Crawley had died. She didn’t deserve to know anything about him anymore.
“I’m sure you’re buzzing with questions, but they’ll have to wait. Jericho and I have some business we need to handle.” She held her pale hand out to the man I knew as Herman and then they left.
Chapter 25
To say my body hurt would be an understatement. My neck was aching and my shoulders had gone numb hours ago; I was beyond parched and my stomach had been growling for the last hour. I didn’t know how long I had been hanging on the wall but everything either hurt or was numb. As much as I appreciated the numbness, it also worried me.
I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth and considered things. The skin was cracked and peeling, and it hurt when I moved my mouth. I tried to flex my fingers but they had been the first to lose feeling.
My head nodded forward and my eyes were starting to close when the door on the other side of the room slammed open.
It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. I heard a click and was blinded even more. I squeezed my eyes closed and pressed my head against the wall.
“You’re probably thirsty.” The voice was timid and soft. I opened my eyes slowly, trying to adjust.
I nodded my head but felt dizzy and rested my head against the wall again.
“Ana will kill me if she knows I’m here.” The girl looked to be around twelve; her blonde hair was buzzed and her blue eyes were rimmed with red. “She wants you to starve to death.”
My stomach growled in response.
“We can’t let that happen; Apollo wants
to be the one to do it. I will not be punished for Ana’s desires.”
I licked my lips. “Who are you...?”
“I’m Chris.” She gave me a nod and grabbed something out of a backpack she had set on the ground.
As she got closer I could see that it was a water bottle. My breathing picked up at the thought of it and my mouth watered. She got closer and looked me in the eye. “Don’t do anything stupid. I’m your only ally.”
I opened my mouth. I didn’t care about escaping yet; I wanted to, but I was pretty sure I had been chained up for longer than 48 hours and I was extremely weak. If I managed to escape I wouldn’t make it far. She put the spout of the bottle near my mouth and poured the water. The cold liquid hit my lips and I almost let out a moan. There was no way to describe how badly I wanted to gulp down the whole bottle, every drop. The cool water sliding down my throat felt like heaven. I needed more. I stretched my head forward hoping she would get the idea.
“Don’t drink it too fast; it’ll make you sick.” Chris pulled the bottle back slightly. The water spilled down my chin and soaked the front of my sweater. My tongue snaked out of my mouth and tried to greedily lick up the drops that had missed my lips.
Hushed whispers and shuffling could be heard on the other side of the door and Chris took a step away from me. I eyed the water bottle and started to pant. I couldn’t remember the last time I had wanted something so badly. I pleaded at the small girl with my eyes, hoping that she would change her mind and come back to give me more.
No such luck. She flipped the lights off and disappeared in the small corner behind the door.
Ana was the first one to enter the room; she turned the lights back on and was soon followed by the man that had been dressed as Herman. He closed the large, metal door behind him.
“As you probably know from Ana’s big mouth, my name is Jericho.” He rolled his eyes.
“What is... this? Honestly...”
“We like to toy with our food.” Ana licked her lips at me.
“I thought the food you liked was di–” My words were cut off as she slapped me across the face. My lip stung, but I kept going. “No offense, but you are the daughter of Aphrodite, right?” The water Chris had given me helped me regain some of my strength and saltiness. I was going to enjoy this.
“Well, well, you aren’t as stupid as you look.”
“I bet you wouldn’t say that if I wasn’t tied up.” I gave her a menacing smile; I could taste blood in my mouth and figured my lip had split again from how dry they had gotten in the last few minutes. “What happened to you anyway? Weren’t you in a coma after what happened with Crawley?”
I needed more answers. I wasn’t going to die before I knew. I wasn’t going to let Crawley down, and I wasn’t going to die without a fight.
Ana let out a harsh laugh. “Let’s see! I let the assassin into the Valley and was supposed to distract Crawley long enough for the assassin to get to you. It didn’t happen the way it was supposed to, but at least Gemma was ready atsuch a short notice after Crawley beheaded Travis. Gemma got in the valley with no trouble at all.” Ana shook her head slowly, almost disappointed. “That twit still hasn’t checked in. I wonder if anyone has heard from her.” She raised an eyebrow at Jericho. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s because I killed her.” My words held no emotion and I was happy for it because the look Ana gave me was full of fear. Pure fear. I gave her a small smile. “If you think I’ll hesitate to kill you, you’re wrong. I will do what it takes to survive.”
Jericho gave me a bored look, like he didn’t believe a word I said, but Ana knew my words were true. She couldn’t look me in the eye.
“I wouldn’t listen to her.” Jericho picked at his fingernails and threw me a dirty look.
“There’s no way she’d be able to take out someone as powerful as Gemma.”
Powerful?
Gemma hadn’t seemed very powerful when I killed her. She seemed uneducated and egotistical. Maybe there was more to me than I realized. It had been so easy.
“I ripped her heart out. I’m sure someone will find her body next to a nice Audi. Her eyes turned pitch black afterwards.”
It was Jericho’s turn to look afraid. He grabbed Ana’s hand and pulled her from the room. They were in such a rush that they forgot to turn the lights off, but they slammed the door on the way out.
I sagged in relief. I didn’t know how much longer I could take being in the dark. It was going to drive me insane. I looked around the room, hoping to see Chris but she had disappeared. I didn’t know how, but there was something about her that was familiar. I was too tired to think on it for very long.
I was starting to worry. It had been a few more days without food or water. I got dizzy spells that were probably my body warning me that I wasn’t going to last much longer without fluids, and my hands and fingers were having trouble moving. I hadn’t heard any sound behind the door since Ana and Jericho had left in a hurry.
My time was coming, and I didn’t think they would leave me unattended for much longer. Thank goodness, my arms could still follow simple commands. I stretched my arm up and down and opened the blisters on my wrists. I felt fluid wash over my hands but no pain, which wasn’t a good sign. I wiggled and wiggled, and wiggled some more until I could feel my hands sliding on the cuffs.
I tried to look up at my hands to see how much blood there was, but my head was too heavy and my body was too weak. One of my hands slid free of the cuffs and the other followed quickly after. I started to fall forward with my ankles still chained to the wall. I tried to twist my body, but I ended up face first on the cobblestone. Pain shot through my face, and for a moment, I was relieved. I could finally feel something!
I flexed my fingers and they immediately started to feel fuzzy as blood rushed back into them. I was too afraid to look at my wrists. I knew they would be torn apart and I didn’t have anything to bandage them with. I reached down to help my ankles slide free. It wasn’t as easy as my wrists and it hurt a lot more. When I glanced down got distracted.
Gold.
My wrists were gold. How was this possible?
I couldn’t help but glance at the cuffs on the wall. Bright red blood was dripping from them. I was stunned for a minute, but then remembered that I didn’t have much time.
I yanked one foot through the cuffs and tried to keep myself from crying out. My breathing was becoming labored and I didn’t know how I had this much strength. I looked down at my feet and almost cried out. I had taken the skin off part of my foot. I the other was going to be just as painful.
I bunched up the top of my sweater and put it in my mouth. I bit down on the fabric as I yanked my other foot free. Tears spilled from my eyes but I was brave enough to look at the damage I had done. I pulled myself up off of the ground and tried to take a few steps. My body protested and I swayed all the way to the door.
I pressed my body against the door and prayed that I would be in the clear. I opened the heavy door as slowly as I could and peeked out.
The long hallway was empty. I managed to drag myself down the small corridor in no time. My feet hurt the entire way but I tried to ignore them. I couldn’t stop now.
I peeked around the corner at the end of the hall and saw another long hallway, maybe longer.
Where am I?
Every few feet was a cell door. I could hear hushed voices coming from each one. I didn’t know who or what they were holdingcaptive, but I knew the prisoners didn’t owe me anything.
I looked down the opposite direction and saw the same thing, but this time there was a staircase at the end. I didn’t have a choice. I needed to get out of here.
I passed the first cell and heard a hiss. “God ssscum.” Fear gripped my stomach but curiosity outweighed it. I paused and peered into the small room. Glowing white eyes met mine. “What, you’ve never ssseen a mermaid before?”
I stammered. “No, no, I haven’t.”
The
glowing eyes peered down at my bare feet. “How did you esscape?” The mermaid got closer to the bars of the cell and I could see her face.
She was breathtaking in an odd way. She had scales scattered about her face and her skin was pale. She had long purple hair hanging over each shoulder and covering her bare breasts.
“I’m not sure.” “Get me out of here.” “I don’t know how and I don’t have much
time.” “Do you really think you’re going to go up
those stairs and get out all on your own?” A deep voice asked from the next cell.
“I don’t know, but I have to try.”
“You’ll be outnumbered up there. They won’t hesitate to kill you!” Another voice rose from another cell. “You need our help!”
The mermaid cocked her head at me. “You’re the only one that can get us out. I can smell your god’sss blood flowing through your veinsss.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You are a demi; how can we trust you? Demisssss locked us down here.”
“I’m not as much of a demi as they are. They want me dead.”
“Then help ussss sso we can help you.”
I could hear people upstairs shuffling about and knew I knew what they said was true. I would be outnumbered.
“What do I do?” I asked. “Give me your wrissst.” I narrowed my eyes at her and looked at the other cells as I inched my hand closer to her. I was waiting for one of the other creatures to object but none of them did.
The mermaid gripped my hand tightly. Her hands were webbed and covered in scales. They were also cold.
I inhaled sharply as I was pulled into another memory.
“Mom! Mom! I think I caught one!” My mother and I were sitting on the grass next to a large body of water and we both had fishing poles in our hands.
The tip of my pole was bending forward, trying to break free from my hands. I yanked my pole and my mother helped me get control of it again.
“Looks like you’ve caught your first fish, Jessa!”
But when we pulled the line in, it wasn’t a fish on the other end. My mother grabbed me and backed away from the water’s edge.