After dinner, we moved to the couch to watch a movie. Mitchell picked a comedy I had mentioned interest in a few months ago. I faked my enthusiasm when he presented it, wanting nothing more than sleep. I struggled to pay attention during the drudging hour and a half until the movie finally ended and we headed off to bed.
Once Mitchell was sound asleep beside me, I closed my eyes with a grin. Even though it had only been a day since the incident with my psychotic brother, I knew I wouldn’t have any problems falling asleep. The anticipation of seeing Orion was almost unbearable. After what seemed like an eternity tossing around in bed, the darkness finally faded to a dim light…
I was alone inside an ill-lit room. Faded voices argued nearby. There was a flickering light down the hall. I moved toward the voices, holding my breath to keep quiet. I drew closer down the hall.
“Tell me where and I’ll leave her be,” an unfamiliar voice negotiated. His deep sinister tone made my stomach turn.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
My stomach sank as I recognized Orion’s voice. It was his normal tone, smooth and calm - an unusual disposition given the tone of the conversation.
“I know who you are, Orion. Don’t play coy with me,” he growled.
I reached the end of the hallway and peeked through the crack in the doorway. Orion was bound to a chair, facing my direction. The owner of the previous voice lingered around him. His back was toward me, partially blocking my view of Orion as he trod back and forth. His stiff dark cloak held a hood that hid most of his face.
Orion’s eyes drifted over to someone who was hovering nearby in the corner staring intensely at Orion with untamed eyes. “Draco, I know his hold is deep but you’re stronger than him. You don’t have to do this,” Orion softly spoke.
Fresh panic flooded through me as I heard his name. The man in the cloak nodded his head and Draco swarmed in. In his hand was an intricate silver rod, about a foot in length. The stem was engraved with delicate vines that weaved together across the rod and joined at the end. Draco extended his arm and placed the rod on Orion’s chest. He shifted in front of him, now completely blocking my view. A loud snap echoed off the barren walls and the room filled with bellows of pain from Orion. Trying to catch a glimpse around Draco, I dropped to my knees and saw Orion’s legs twitching underneath him.
“No!” I cried out, realizing that was a bad idea.
I must have startled Draco because the rod clanked to the ground as Orion’s legs fell limp. Draco and the dark figure whipped around.
I covered my mouth and darted out of the entrance and down the hall. I slid through the first open door I saw. The dark room reeked with a stale bitterness that reminded me of the formaldehyde-soaked frog from my high school science class. I winced and covered my nose, stumbling my way across the room.
“Get her!” the deep voice growled from down the hall.
Draco’s footsteps were fierce as he approached the doorway. I hid behind the closest object I could find, a broken table. I tried to hold my breath but my heart was racing too fast and needed more oxygen. I opened my mouth and took shallow breaths, trying to remain still. He scoured the room, using the rod to smash everything in sight. I jumped each time something shattered on the ground. My heart was beating so hard I wondered if he could hear it.
He crossed the room and paused three feet in front of me. I stared up directly at him with my eyes frozen wide, hidden in the shadows. Panic-stricken, my entire body began to shake. I held my breath and waited.
Draco’s stare drifted right over mine and continued past. He hissed in frustration and exited through a door on the other side of the room.
Nausea rolled through my stomach and my legs nearly gave out. Luckily the rush of fear was still flowing strong enough to keep me going. I immediately bolted back through the first door and back down the hall, pausing outside the entrance where Orion was held.
I squinted through the crack. He was still bound to the chair. His eyes were closed, but he shifted his head several times, fighting to regain consciousness. He groaned and dragged his feet back and forth against the floor. I didn’t see anyone else around. I made my move and glided quietly across the room, constantly scanning my surroundings. I reached Orion and slid behind him, frantically wrestling with the ropes around his hands. Orion’s inebriated state vanished when he felt my touch.
“Alexis,” he gasped and turned his head. The color was returning to his face but his unfocused eyes were bloodshot. “You’ve got to get out of here, now!”
I ignored his warning and continued to work at the knot, which was starting to loosen. Before I could finish, Draco was next to me. He snatched a fistful of my hair and yanked me backwards. I reached both of my hands to my head, clawing at his. He grabbed each of my wrists and pulled my arms down behind my back. My arms felt like they were torn from their sockets. I let out a cry.
“Let her go!” Orion bellowed in rage. Droplets of blood scattered the ground as he struggled to free the ropes from his raw wrists.
I looked over my shoulder at Draco. Our eyes meet for the first time and I saw a hint of compassion behind that brutal mask he paraded around so freely. Even though my wrists were throbbing from his tight grip and my mind was flooding with fear, I felt a tinge of hope.
He changed his grip and held both of my wrists tightly with one of his hands, his free hand dangling effortlessly. I tried to struggle free but the disobedience made him pull hard downwards and I dropped to my knees with a thud. I was shocked by his effortless strength.
“Draco, you don’t have to do this! You don’t have to obey him…” Orion implored, still wrestling with the ropes.
“Silence!” he ordered as he placed a cloth bag over my head.
Draco pulled me to my feet again and dragged me backward by my wrists. I yelled and attempted to wrestle free, but we were moving too fast and I couldn’t get a grip with my feet. My shoulders twisted in pain the more I struggled, but I wasn’t about to give up so easily.
“Let her go!” demanded Orion.
Draco pushed me up against something hard and grabbed the back of my head.
“Bet you’ll tell us now,” Draco snickered.
With a violent shove, icy water engulfed my face. The shock of the cold caused me to exhale what little air remained in my lungs. I struggled to pull my head out of the water, but it didn’t budge. My lungs burned. I flailed my torso but it barely budged. The muscles in my neck burned in protest. I leaned my weight onto my stomach and kicked my legs in defense, but I only hit air.
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!
But it was to no avail.
If I died, would I wake up in my bed or would my body disappear?
Suddenly, he released my head and I pulled it from the water, the cloth sack left floating. I gasped for air, but only managed to suck in a small breath before his hands tightened around the back of my head again as he forced it back under the water. My head submerged before my body was done begging for air, filling my lungs with a sharp pain as the water leaked inside. Sharp pains stabbed through my lungs as they convulsed in attempts to force the water out, which only led to more water and more pain.
My head throbbed with a near exploding pressure. Every muscle in my body trembled with exhaustion as I tried to escape, but just as with the previous attempt, it was no use. The panic intensified with every additional second I remained under. When I felt as if the pain couldn’t get any worse, the fear began to fade and I instantly flashed back to a nightmare lingering in the back of my mind many months ago…
Just then, Draco’s fingers entwined in my hair and he yanked me back up with a force that nearly snapped my neck. I sucked in mouthfuls of air while my lungs choked out the water. I fell to my knees, gasping in horror. My stomach twisting in a knot as vomit spilled across the wet concrete floor. I took another breath and choked on the puke. Through ringing ears I could hear Draco’s high-pitched laughter along with the shrill of Orion’s voice beggi
ng him to stop.
I finally stopped choking and resorted to sucked in shallow quick breaths of air to not overwhelm my lungs, but attempting to get enough oxygen in before the next session. Through blurry eyes, I stared down at the vomit smeared inches in front of my face. I heard a short commotion then Orion’s voice fell silent, followed by a thud.
Oh no!
“Orion!” I screamed and tried to look up.
Suddenly, something hard and cold slammed against my head. Darkness swirled my mind…
I woke up with a dull ache emanating from my skull. I touched the sore spot on the back of my head and felt warm, sticky blood in my otherwise dry hair. Wincing, I pulled back my hand from the stinging pain and pried open my eyes. I was encompassed in darkness. I blinked several times to make sure they were really open.
Standing up slowly, I reached my aching arms out in front of me, but felt nothing around. I turned in different directions feeling for something, uneasy about taking a step. The only sounds came from my heart thumping and my heavy breathing. Holding my breath, I stood motionless and focused on listening attentively. Somewhere in the distance, I heard a faint rustling noise. I unfocused my eyes to concentrate on the sound and my vision began to adjust to the darkness.
A wall made of massive stone stood several feet in front of me. I turned around and the same image appeared to my right and behind me. I continued to spin in circles until the realization that I was completely trapped sunk in.
Oh my God, where am I?
The suffocating enclosure wasn’t more than six feet wide. A jolt of panic hit my chest and sent my heart accelerating faster. My head began to spin and the walls moved closer and closer in their attempt to strangle me. The air felt unusually hot; beads of sweat formed at my brow. I began to pant. Nausea rolled up through me and I fought to keep it down.
"Help!" I screamed.
Nothing.
"Somebody help me!" I pleaded.
Nothing again.
"Keep it together, keep it together, keep it together..." I tried to calm myself down before I hyperventilated. No good would come from passing out again.
Wiping the perspiration from my brow, I scanned upward and caught a glimpse of light shining through an iron grate roughly fifty feet above. Knowing there was access to the outside world made the panic demote to a roaring fear. I stepped closer to the wall, running my shaking fingers down its side. Its texture was smooth with deep ridges and grooves. I tried to grab a hold but couldn’t grip it enough to climb even a few inches.
A thought occurred to me that there might be another way out. I remembered back to the day outside of the cave when Orion and I were under attack by Draco. I held tightly to Orion and pictured the forest of our first encounter, and then we instantly appeared there. I was suddenly filled with hope. I thought of a place I wanted to be right now, the beach outside of Orion’s house. I closed my eyes and focused on that image…
I could practically smell the salty air and feel the cool damp breeze brushing against my face. I could hear the soothing sounds of the waves gently caressed against the shore. I even heard a seagull’s cry for prey overhead. I concentrated on the beach and pictured Orion sitting on the sand, caressing my hand. The vision was doing a great job of calming me down.
Go, go, go!
I opened my eyes in excitement to… a dark hole.
Grrr! Why didn’t it work?
Suddenly, the rustling sound appeared again from above, but this time it was amplified. I stared with my head snapped upwards, but only saw the faint beams of light far above. I was torn between relief that I wasn’t alone and fear of who might be out there. Dealing with whatever was out there sounded better than staying stuck in this coffin.
“Hello?” I called out.
An ear-piercing scrape echoed down the hole. I flinched and pinned my body against the wall. The grate slowly moved aside; small pieces of debris sprinkled down. I peered at the opening nervously, waiting for an inclination of what lay ahead. A silhouette appeared above, blocking out the sunlight. I held my breath.
"Alexis?"
A flood of relief washed over as I heard Orion's voice from above. "Orion! I'm down here! Oh, thank God!" I shrieked.
"I'm throwing something down, watch out!" he hollered.
Before he finished the sentence, a thick vine whipped through the air and coiled on the ground at my feet. I wasn't sure how I would climb it. I recalled struggling at the rope in high school gym class, and that even had knots.
"Grab a hold, tightly!" he yelled.
Obeying, I gripped the vine with both of my hands. Shifting the weight of my body to my arms, I curled up my knees and wrapped my legs around the vine.
"Okay!" I cried with a strained voice.
Before I could second-guess whether I was strong enough to hold on, I felt yanking, and the air whizzed quickly past. The next moment, I was squeezing my eyes shut from the blinding sun. I felt another soft pull as Orion’s arms wrapped around me. I felt instantly safe in his arms for just a second, before he pulled away.
“We have to go,” he said hastily, as he grabbed my hand and took off into the forest. We ran for several miles without looking back. I ran and ran, until the weight of the recent events came crashing down in my mind. I felt like I couldn’t breath and I started to stumble. Orion slowed just as my legs gave way. I fell to my knees. He kneeled down beside me and I buried my head into his chest and cried. He kissed the top of my head.
“I’m so sorry. I thought I lost you,” he whispered and held me tight.
“I thought I lost you,” I bleated. “What happened?”
“I was gathering wood from the forest, when I heard something behind me. Before I could see who it was, I was out cold. When I awoke, I was tied up and facing Erebus. That’s close to when you arrived,” he explained.
“Erebus? Like in the fairy tale?” I tried to say it lightheartedly, but my voice quivered as I thought about last night’s dream.
“It’s not a fairy tale, Alexis,” he said quietly, probably wishing it were.
“What did they want? Why did they take you?” I asked.
“I… I don’t know…”
“There has to be a reason this is happening…” I stammered.
Orion didn’t answer. He stared back with a blank face. I couldn’t tell if he honestly didn’t know or if he was hiding something.
“How did I get in that hole?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. When you were… on the ground,” he shuddered as he looked away, “I broke free from the binds and went after Draco… but something stopped me just before I reached him. The next think I knew, I woke up in an old well, about thirty feet from yours. I tried to scale the wall, but Draco was watching guard. I didn’t have to wait long though, as something caught his attention in the forest and he sprinted off. Once I was out, I heard your cries for help.”
“You scaled the wall?” I was impressed. I couldn’t get two inches on that wall. “Thank you for saving me,” I cried.
“Thank you for coming for me,” he whispered and pulled me closer.
My body molded into his lap. The millions of questions dancing in my head suddenly ceased. My only awareness was of Orion’s presence. I draped my arms loosely around his shoulders and rested my head against him. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed and I knew I should let go, but I didn’t loosen my arms and he didn’t loosen his. As I lay curled in his lap with his arms around me, all the emotions I had buried deep inside my heart came flooding out.
I love you!
I love you with my entire soul!
I had never felt such overwhelming love as this before. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I embraced my revelation. I tried steadying my breath so he wasn’t aware of my reaction. I turned my cheek against his shoulder, letting the tears soak into his shirt and breathed through my mouth so I wouldn’t sniffle. We stayed that way for an eternity. At least it seemed that way to me. Then, his hands loosened and glided from my back down to
my waist. I took this move as a sign that it was time to let go. I slid my knees to the ground and straightened my body, allowing my arms fall to my side. He kept his hands planted on my waist. My eyes were focused on the ground and I pulled back, still abashed by the flood of emotions.
His hold tightened as I shifted, keeping me in place. Confused, I glanced back up; his face was now close to mine. Our eyes locked and a burning desire jolted through my body like lightening. I tried to turn away, to fight the urge, but his eyes was too intoxicating and they sucked me back in. His beautiful face held a tender expression, which sent my heart racing. Still locked on my eyes, he grazed my cheek with his hand, leaned just an inch closer, and paused. I was oozing with so much lust he probably could smell it on me. I was froze with my mouth partially hung open… unsure if I should shy away or pounce on him. Did he want to kiss me as badly as I wanted to kiss him? Did he want to taste me as much as I wanted to taste him? Maybe I was reading too much into it and he was just trying to comfort me? But every part of my body was screaming for him. How could he not feel the same?
I broke free from his gaze and my eyes met his mouth. The soft curve of his bottom lip consumed my mind with a carnal desire that shattered any remaining ounce of self-control. In that moment, I lost all restraint and pushed my lips against his. His lips were as soft as I imagined and I glided my tongue against them. He grabbed the back of my head and pushed into me, kissing me back without hesitation. My entire body vibrated with excitement. A strange current of energy flowed between our bodies. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me close as we kissed. I pressed my breasts tight against his chest in return. The taste of his mouth made me dizzy. I was so caught up in the moment, I was practically panting to catch a breath.
I weaved my hands into the hair at the nape of his neck. This seemed to please him as he sucked in a quick breath and let out a soft moan. That sound made my body burn with a fervid hunger that was screaming for more of him. I tried to shake the craving free and pulled his wet lips off of mine. I put both hands against his chest and pushed away, my eyes still squeezed shut. My head was yelling at me to stop. This was wrong. I was completely committed to Mitchell. But I couldn’t make my lips speak the words. My face was twisted in conflict between my desires and the loyalty to my boyfriend. But how could it be wrong if I felt this much love for Orion? Why did I enter this world if it wasn’t meant to be?
Sleep Keeper Page 11