by Lauren Chow
“Hey boys!” I called. The men looked up at me hanging off a branch. “Come and get me!” I taunted and started to swing off the branches.
I felt like a scrawny version of Tarzan. I went from tree to tree, trying to get further away as they chased me. I ignored the sting in my hands, knowing I’d cut them on the branches. I kept swinging, knowing they were following me. What now?
My mind drew to a blank. Now they were away from everyone else, what was I going to do?
A branch snapped and I fell over. I tried to land on my feet and once they connected to the ground, I heard a snap sound from my ankle.
I tried to hold back my scream at the burning sensation and ran. It hurt to put pressure on my foot, but I had no choice.
It was pitch-black, but I managed to hide behind the tree. I heard a person coming, so I immediately elbowed them in the face. Pain traveled through my forearm, but I ignored it. I saw that the person had dropped a flashlight and took it.
I kept running. I was tripping over roots and my right leg hurt, but I kept going. I hid behind a tree and tried to hold the tears in my eyes.
Taken off guard, I felt an arm grab me and a cloth was pressed to my face. I began to struggle but became dizzy once I breathed into the cloth.
Got her.
That was the last thing I heard after I closed my eyes.
17 - Torture
My first thought was that it was freezing.
I registered a hard surface that my poor back was suffering upon. Based on how tense my muscles were, I’d probably been here for hours. The stone floor, plus me falling on the mat during training, was not good for my back.
Groggily, I attempted to get up, trying to focus on my surroundings. I felt pain shoot through my right leg and remembered I’d twisted my ankle. It took me a bit, but I was soon able to get up. I looked around.
The problem was that I couldn’t. It was dark and barely any light was in the room.
I scrunched my nose and gagged at the strong smell. What the heck had died in here? I squinted and was able to see a stone wall smeared in dark red.
I gulped as I registered it as dry blood. Either Eric had decided to decorate or I was in deep trouble.
I was going to go with the latter.
I shivered and tried to rub my arms. I was only wearing a T-shirt and skinny jeans with my Converse. Not really the right outfit for this place.
I tensed when I heard a quiet strangled moan. I didn’t know someone was in here. I searched for their thoughts to read them.
Hurt... so much pain... warned.
I felt my wrist and realized I didn’t have my bracelet. It made me vulnerable, and I hoped I could save energy to hold off unwanted thoughts. I felt my head throb and tried to get rid of the voices. Then I finally remembered the voice that sounded awfully close.
I decided now would be a great time to panic, but I held it in. Mustering my courage, I shakily called out, “Hello?”
I heard another groan and cautiously stepped closer to the voice, putting weight on my left foot.
I felt a crunch underneath my shoes and heard a yelp. I stepped back and saw a silhouette move to the corner of the small room.
“I’m so sorry!” I squealed. The figure laughed sadly.
“It’s alright. My hand was already broken,” a feminine voice said sadly. She sounded terrified, so I went for the soft approach. “What’s your name?” I asked softly. I quietly went towards her and sat a safe distance from her. I put my hands in my lap, not touching her.
She seemed to hesitate before answering.
“Tanya. Tanya Banch,” she said feebly.
I looked at her thoughtfully and wrapped my arms carefully around my legs in an attempt to stay warm. I was not really successful but I didn’t have any other option.
“Hello. My name is Clara Evans. I’m going to help you. Where are we though?” I asked her.
“We’re in one of their pris—. Wait you’re Clara Evans. Oh God—they captured you. I’m so sorry. I wish I could’ve warned you—”
“It’s okay, calm down. That was you screaming?” I asked softly.
I heard her sniffles.
“Y—yes. They used me as bait. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault—”
I scooted over and gave the girl a hug. She wrapped her arms around me tightly.
“It’s not your fault. It’s not like you did it on purpose, alright? Now, how do we get out of here?” I asked.
I felt Tanya shake her head.
“That’s the thing, you can’t,” Tanya whispered.
Suddenly, a door creaked open. I covered my eyes since the light burned them. Eventually, I adjusted and focused on the figures in front of me. It was the scar dude!
I turned and looked at Tanya and tried not to wince at the sight of her. She looked like she was in really bad shape. Her light blonde hair looked greasy and laid flat on her face. Her tall figure was skinny and covered in bruises and blood. Her green eyes were filled with fear and pain. I winced. She needed medical attention, but I couldn’t give it to her. She also looked malnourished and dehydrated. She wasn’t going to last long if she stayed here any longer.
I focused back on scar dude. What was his name again? Derek? Rex? What was it?
“It’s Dexter, you foolish girl. You’re going to pay for that.” Dexter had anger written all over his face.
Dang it, I said that out loud. I tried to get a fix of what Dexter was thinking, but I couldn’t hear anything. I tried again, only coming up with a blank. How? Why couldn’t I read him?
Dexter masked his anger with a blank expression. It made him more dangerous.
“So, this is the Chosen. I was expecting someone who wasn’t so... small and pathetic,” he sneered.
“Well, join the club buddy,” I mumbled under my breath.
He laughed and gave me a chilling smirk.
I tried to hold in the fear that was settling in me. I couldn’t let them know they were getting to me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t good at hiding my emotions.
Dexter laughed.
“Look what we have here, the Chosen is afraid? Vlad told me to just get rid of you... but where is the fun in that? I don’t think he’ll mind if I play with you a little bit,” he said.
I didn’t even hide my horror now. Without registering it, a hard slap came in contact with my cheek. I cried out and landed hard on the floor. Tears stung my eyes from the pain. I felt him kneel me and I tensed.
“Now, let’s have some fun.”
***
Dexter left and I could barely move.
Kick after kick, I felt bones start to break. Immense pain came from my ribs and stomach. I heard Tanya shuffle and lay next to me.
“I’m sorry. I tried to pull him off, b—but he shoved me.”
“It’s alright,” I croaked. “You tried. That’s all that matters. I’m sleepy...”
“Wait! You still need to stay awake so I can clean you up a little.” Tanya panicked. I fought to stay awake as I heard the shredding of clothing.
“Where are you from?” I croaked out as she weakly wiped my face with the dirty cloth. I tried to keep my eyes trained on her, hoping our conversation would be enough of a distraction.
“I lived in Brooklyn my whole life,” Tanya whispered as she kept concentrating. “I used to live with my roommate, Stephanie. I never really liked her much, what with the alcohol abuse and partying, but I didn’t have much of an option.”
“Why?” I whispered and winced when the cloth got stuck on a cut. She apologized quickly before she kept going.
“Let’s just say my family and I never got along. They believe in this… cause,” Tanya said with disgust. “I refused to be anything like them. So I moved out. I haven’t seen them in three years, and I don’t care how they are now.”
My eyes fluttered for a second as I saw this girl in a new light.
“I’m sorry that you’re stuck here. You d
on’t deserve—”
“It was my stupidity that got me here,” Tanya said, cutting me off. “They have been setting traps for years to capture the resistance and I fell for it. None of it was your fault, Clara.”
She pulled the cloth away and laid next to me.
“That’s all I can do for now. Go ahead and rest. We are going to need our energy,” Tanya whispered.
Without further ado, I succumbed to a pain-filled sleep.
***
JAY WOODS
“Where the hell could she be!?” Adam yelled as he kicked the coffee table in anger.
The house was in chaos. Clara has been missing for four days. We’d been looking in the woods for any signs, but there was no evidence of any struggle.
So, panicking was an understatement by this point.
“We will find her, Adam,” Maggie reassured him for the hundredth time. “She’ll be—”
“She’ll be what, Maggie?” Drake retorted. “Fine? She’s the Chosen who was captured by Dexter. I doubt she’s in perfect condition.”
“Everyone calm down,” Eric ordered. “We need a sign.”
“Eric, we’ve been looking for days. There’s no trace of her,” Luke said.
“I have other people looking into it. We will find her.”
I got up and walked out of the room. I didn’t need to hear this crap right now.
Could Drake be right? Clara might be hurt? Well, come on, you didn’t need to be a genius to figure that out. My heart clenched at the thought. What if they tortured her? Killed her? I felt myself begin to shake, and I went straight to my room.
I grabbed the first thing I could see and threw it across the room. I heard a crash, but I ignored it. No one else could hear, since this house was so huge. I used my forearms to rest on the wall before hitting it with my fist.
Clara is okay. She has to be. I don’t know what I would do if...
I tried to calm myself down. Getting angry wouldn’t bring her back. I ran my hand through my hair. Gah, what was that girl doing to me?
I looked at the high ceiling and prayed that Clara would come back to me—us. I mean all of us. Everyone missed her. Without her, the house was thick with tension; you could almost cut through it. The guys had gotten very protective of Clara. She was so small and fragile, you couldn’t help but want to hug her. I banged my head on the wall.
I needed a long shower to clear my thoughts. A very long and hot shower.
I took a shower before I went back out to search for Clara.
We had to find her. I knew we were starting to give up, but I couldn’t.
I wouldn’t.
Clara needed us and I wasn’t going to let her down.
***
CLARA EVANS
“Ah!” I screamed as a guy held me up tightly and another punched me in the stomach.
Apparently, Dexter thought bringing a few of his friends would bring more entertainment. The little roach!
They’d been torturing me for what seemed like days. I hadn’t gotten a drop of water or a crumb. I was dizzy and weak from all their beatings. Their thoughts weren’t so great either. I used a lot of my energy to block them out. I didn’t need to be more mentally traumatized.
I heard a scream and knew that Tanya was feeling the same thing. I struggled but got hit in the face for moving.
“Give up now?” whispered a guy named Mark.
I shook my head. I couldn’t go down. I needed hope my friends would find me. Tanya needed me. I couldn’t go down without a fight. I shook my head even faster as I squirmed in their hold.
Mark growled before tossing me against the wall. I felt my head hit the wall hard, causing me to momentarily black out. I slumped to the floor in pain. I weakly pressed my hand to my head, feeling it get soaked in warm blood.
“Hmm... maybe you girls can give us a little bit of fun. I call the so-called Chosen, Harold,” Mark said with a smirk. I tried to focus on him, but there were too many of them.
Which one was the real Mark?
“No way. I’m not going to get any enjoyment from that piece of shit. I’ll wait until you’re done,” Harold protested.
I closed my eyes and accepted this defeat. I would be losing my flower to someone as bad as Bryce. I felt a tear fall from my cheek. I tried to turn to a bruised Tanya.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to myself as Mark came closer to me. He started to pull off my ripped jeans as I closed my eyes. I waited for the inevitable to happen. I heard it was painful at first, making me want to cry even more.
I thought one day I could give it to someone I fell in love with, someone who I trusted wholeheartedly.
I felt Mark give sloppy kisses to my neck and I tried not to cringe. I heard a shuffle until I felt him use his fingers to start to pull my underwear down.
“I can’t wait to turn you into a piece of trash, but you already were, weren’t you?” Mark whispered in my ear. “I guess I can finally get rid of you after this.”
As I felt a tug, I heard a large crash and felt debris fall on me. It didn’t hurt, but I saw some light shine through my closed lids. I heard shouts and grunts until everything was silent. I heard quiet footsteps walk towards me.
“Shit.”
I felt my pants getting pulled up, and then someone lifted me up. I didn’t have the energy to struggle, so I lay there limply.
“Tony, get the other girl! The guards are going to come towards us!” I felt him position me and begin to run.
I felt the cool fresh air hit my body and I let out a quiet sigh. I hadn’t breathed in fresh air in days. It did hurt though when the person ran. My body was screaming in pain, but I didn’t argue. This person was getting me out of my horrifying situation.
My mind and body demanded sleep, and sleep is what they got.
***
I woke up lying down. I struggled underneath something and cried out when my bones protested. I felt a hand grab my shoulders firmly, but I kept struggling.
“Don’t touch me!” I croaked out. The shoulders kept holding me down and I kept squirming.
“Clara! Calm down! It’s me!”
I froze. I knew that voice.
I opened my eyes hesitantly and they widened at my savior.
“Jared?”
18 - Rock Bottom
Jared gave me some water, saying they would get me food later when we found better shelter. I found out that Jared had put me inside a tent with different supplies. It was decent, but I didn’t see Tanya. I panicked when I couldn’t see her until Jared reassured me she was fine and tucked away in a different tent.
He put me back in the sleeping bag, despite my body’s protests.
I whacked him in the arm, hissing when my arm moved and made contact.
“Ow!” I yelped as a tear escaped.
Jared looked at me with concern and a bit of amusement.
“What was that for?” Jared mumbled. “I save your life and my thanks was a hit to the arm? That’s new,” he muttered.
I felt guilty. He stopped something that would have destroyed me. If he hadn’t...
“Thank you,” I whispered. I couldn’t hold back my tears and I started to cry. Jared pulled me to his lap as I sobbed into his shirt. It hurt my ribs every time I shook, but I couldn’t care less. The anger, anxiety, fear, sadness, and relief were finally coming out. Jared rubbed my back and whispered soothing things that calmed me down. My sobs ended with a few hiccups and I pulled away, scrunching my nose at his shirt. I’d completely soaked it in tears.
“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up. We need to get you back before they find us,” Jared whispered.
He started to clean the cuts all over my face with a cloth, rinsing it multiple times due to the blood. He turned off the flashlight that was lighting the tent and wrapped something around my sides. He slowly helped me to my feet and I cried out when pain reached my legs.
“Hopefully you’ll get more medical
attention when we get there,” Jared muttered, and I felt myself get dizzy again and clutched at his arm. He picked me up, seeing as I wasn’t stable enough to stand. He brought us out of the tent and entered the dark night. The moon was our only light.
“Tony? Come on,” Jared hissed at another tent.
“I’m coming. I’m coming,” a deep voice grunted. I didn’t see this Tony guy because the all too familiar vortex appeared in front of us.
“I can sense them coming. They found us. I’m sorry for the rough ride, Clara,” Jared apologized before turning his head. “See you on the other side!”
And with that he jumped in.
***
It was official. I hated traveling this way.
Since I blacked out last time, I hadn’t had the pleasure of experiencing this.
Everything was bright blue as we flew around in no general direction. It was like flying in a blue tunnel. It was something you would see in a movie. As cool as it looked, it wasn’t smooth sailing. There were bumps and sharp turns that did not help my broken body at all. I held in my screams and hisses. I didn’t want to freak Jared out or startle him while he took us to whatever destination.
After what felt like hours, I saw light at the end of the tunnel, and we went straight towards it. I was released from Jared’s arms and landed with a thump on the ground, causing me to cry out in agony. The light behind us dimmed, and I felt someone pick me up.
“Sorry Clara. We’re in the woods. I’m not specifically sure where we are supposed to go. Eric never gave an address,” Jared whispered.
“Try knocking on the old house in front of you, genius.”
Jared turned us around to find a huge buff man holding the frail figure that I immediately recognized as Tanya.
“Tanya,” I said. The pain was getting the best of me and I felt bile rise. I swallowed it down. I didn’t want to cover Jared in my vomit.
Tanya turned and grimaced.
“I’m here. If you boys don’t mind, open the dang door,” she said.