13. Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MICAI'S POV

I toss and turn in the bed, my thoughts fluttering back and forth before I drift off to sleep.

I wake up in a cold, damp cell. The cool cement wall behind me sends chills down my arms and back as I lean against it. No shred of warmth to be found anywhere in the tiny room I've been imprisoned in.

I was thrown in here a couple of weeks ago, or was it longer…it feels longer.

Time has blurred, each day seeming longer than the last. A decent night's sleep has eluded me, my body only able to manage a few minutes or an hour or two at a time.

My mind is constantly on alert, hoping for a way out of here while praying someone will come and take me from this hell. Each time I close my eyes, I pray that when I open them again, I'll be back home in my bed and that this will have all been some horrible, long nightmare.

I had thought—at first—that this was some sick joke, a prank that someone from my past had planned to make me miserable like in my academy years. But as time passed, I realised that wasn't the case. This wasn't some horrid form of bullying or harassment. This wasn't some sadist joke by bored, over-privileged teens. This was on a completely different level from what I had experienced before.

But then, who had taken me? Why had I been taken?

I wasn't someone worth kidnapping. I didn't have any magic or power of my own. I had no status, no money, or anything of value to anyone. So why me?

What did they want from me?

What could they possibly gain by imprisoning me here?

My thoughts flicker to the malicious side of things, and a cold shiver works its way down my body, with all the dark ‘what if's taking over.

I shake my head, trying to brush them away and focus on something else. Anything else.

A slight humming noise rings out from the wall to my right, a light melody playing out as I take a small breath and calm myself.

Someone was there and in the cell next to mine. The thought instantly settles me.

I wasn't alone here.

I creep over toward the wall, leaning my ear against it as I listen to the soft-growing melody. I refuse to give up hope. Someone would come. Someone would realise I'm missing soon.

I pull my knees up to my chest, my shaking hands wrapping around them as I flick my gaze between the floor and the cell door.

The ‘guards' here patrolled outside regularly. They wore dark navy uniforms with weapons attached to their clothes, but there was no insignia or symbol identifying them or the people they worked for.

They all seemed sinister, their gazes leery and voices full of sadistic glee as they moved outside the cell.

They put thick, heavy shackles on my wrists, the cold metal sitting tightly against my skin and making me feel weak and dizzy at times.

I could hear their heavy footfall outside each day, their raised or chuckling voices filled with malice as they opened the cell doors around me, pulling others from their rooms and barking orders or insults as they make their way down the corridor with them.

They would take them somewhere…but never mention where or why.

It would be hours or almost a day before they return, and the sound of someone being thrown back into their room is heard.

I hadn't been taken yet.

And each day, my mind would race with the thoughts of when they'll come for me and what they're taking me for. Or what they would do to me…

With every sound that comes from outside the cell, my body jumps and flinches, worrying if they were coming for me…to do whatever they planned.

My fingers brush across my neck, my throat feeling dry and scratchy, an ache I gained from shouting and screaming for help the first few days of arriving here.

No matter how loud I shouted, or for how long, nobody came to help.

The guards didn't seem to care much, either. But maybe that was a good thing.

The guards here…the way they looked at me…I didn't want them coming into my cell.

Footsteps from outside drag my thoughts back. I curl further into a tight ball as the cell door unlocks and a guard steps inside.

I keep my eyes closed tight, my body racked with tremors as I hear him scoff and throw something to the ground before leaving.

Only after I hear his footsteps fully fade into the distance do I peek out through my arms and toward what he's thrown on the ground.

I reach for the small mould-ridden bun and begin to take small nibbles from the areas with fewer green spots.

I quickly learned that you didn't get to choose your meal here. If they remembered to feed you or decided to let you eat, then you had to take it or would starve.

The first time they threw in the green-spotted bread, I turned away from it, unwillingly to eat the gone-off offering. But days later, more mould had grown on top of the hard bun, making me realise there wouldn't be anything else given until it was gone.

If I didn't eat, I'd starve. And I couldn't just give up and die.

Most days were the same. I curled myself into a ball, making myself as small and insignificant as I could, hoping they wouldn't take me. I would lean against the wall and get as far from the cell door and guards as I could, and I would listen to the sound of light humming from the cell to my right. The voice slightly soothed me and broke me from the fear for a while.

The guards come once a day, or whenever they felt like it, to throw my mouldy offering in or a dirty bowl of water my way.

I would hear them moving back and forth outside my cell throughout the day, chuckling and chatting gruffly to each other or moving some prisoner down the hallway as they hurl insults at them.

Each day was filled with more fear and anticipation of when my time would come, building up until I felt like I would crack. A scream living on the tip of my tongue, always waiting to be let free with the fear bubbling inside me.

Keys rattle at the door, pulling me from my thoughts as the guard's voice is eerily quieter than the days he would throw my food in.

Footsteps enter my room as I curl up into my usual protective sphere, my arms wrapping over my head as I peek through the gaps. And that's when I realise…there was more than one guard this time.

I keep my eyes closed tight, praying I am wrong. Praying they would go away.

‘This wasn't my day' , ‘ They weren't here for me'. I repeated the words over and over until I felt a large hand grab my shoulder before painfully yanking me upright.

The shackles cut further into my skin as they wrap their hands around my wrists, a pained whimper leaving my lips as I'm met with two dark sets of eyes.

The two large men, who look to be in their thirties, tower over me with sinister grins lacing their lips before pulling me out of the cell.

I try to fight back and pull myself from their grip, but hadn't much energy or strength left in me.

"Behave!" the guard barks, gripping my hand tighter. "Or you'll get no food or water for a week." His fingers dig further into my skin, a whimper leaving my lips as the pain twists my features.

The other guard leading us in front glances back, his eyes curving upward and pulling at a scar in his brow as he chuckles darkly.

"She could be a fun one."

The guard dragging me along shakes his head, his lip twisting upward.

"You won't want this one." He glances down at me, "She's to be stationed in Room B."

The guard in front freezes, his eyes flickering between me and the guard beside me before shaking his head.

"Pity." His tongue slithers out, licking his top lip, his gaze trailing down my body as a shiver works its way through me with the sinister look. "Fresh meat always tastes better after a bit of tenderising." He sighs before turning and continuing to walk.

What did they mean? What is Room B?

Why did his face change when it was mentioned?

My heart begins to pick up pace, a tremor working its way through me as the guards pull me along down a long grey corridor. There are no windows, only large metal doors every few metres, ones that seem to look just like mine.

Voices can be heard calling out from them as we move past them. We walk until we reach a cement stairway, where they yank me forward and drag me down. We head down, floor after floor, the lighting growing dimmer as a strange stench permeates the air with each step.

Finally, we reach the end of the last stair, where I'm pushed forward and toward a black metal door—the only door on this level.

I try to take a step back but am pushed forward again, this time with more force as I slam into the door with a hard thud. They chuckle as my face scrapes off of the chipped black paint on the metal door, a small cut forming on my cheek from the impact.

"Open the door and move inside." Orders the guard as he pulls out a blade and puts it against my back. "Now."

His eyes narrow as I shakily unlatch the door. It opens only an inch or two with my strength before I hear an annoyed sigh.

The other guard stands beside me and gives it a harder push, and the door creaks open before I'm shoved inside.

I hit the floor, cuts forming on my hands as I try to catch myself, the shackles clanging off the cement and echoing throughout the space.

The huge room is at least ten times the size of the small cell I was in. It's darker the further in you go, only a tiny stream of light falling from four old flickering bulbs above on the ceiling.

"W-where am I?" I ask, turning back toward the two guards still standing at the open door.

"Why the hell would I need to answer something like you?" The guard who pushed me spits, his expression darkening.

"Here." He throws the blade in his hand to the ground near me before reaching for the door, a smirk lacing his lips, "You'll need it."

He closes the door as I make a run toward it, my hands balling into tight fists as I bang on the metal door and plead for them to open up. But I just hear their laughter as their footsteps fade into the distance.

My eyes return to the room, taking in as much of this new hellish space as possible in the dim light.

The walls are painted a dark grey, turning into a muddy-dirt shade in its corners. Stain marks drip down the walls from the ceiling at almost every point, with strange dark dirt splattered across most of the walls and parts of the floor, but nothing else.

There was no furniture, no seats, no dirty bowls or mouldy food. Nothing.

Only the door I entered through and one other door I could slightly make out on the other side of the room.

There was nothing to say that anyone had stayed here or had been here before me.

An eerie feeling makes its way over me as I continue to look around, a chill running down my spine as goosebumps pepper my skin, as if I were being watched.

I hear a strange noise and spin around quickly, trying to see if someone is here or has entered. But there is nothing in the large, dimly lit space.

The strange noise echoes out again, this time louder.

I peer over at the other door, the sound slowly ringing from there as a low growl begins to echo out around the room.

My body begins to shake, fear taking me fully in its grasp as the large door across the room slowly opens. Large hairy limbs slowly appear from the dark doorway. A beast at least seven feet tall with dark, muddy-brown fur covering every inch of its body prowls from its shadows.

Large broken fangs curve from its lower jaw, coated in a strange black saliva that drips slowly from the creature's hairy chin. Its arms extend down past its knees and sit limply at each side. Cuts and scars trail down each arm and are covered in splatters that look eerily like bits of dried blood.

My eyes glance back toward the wall with their strange splattered dirt that now looks vaguely similar to the dried blood marring the beast's fur.

A cold shiver runs through me at the thought before I glance back toward the beast, unconsciously taking a step backward. The movement causes the beast to shift its attention. His eyes are completely white as they jump back and forth to the spaces around me.

A shaky breath leaves my lips, and the beast narrows its eyes in my direction. It suddenly widens its mouth, baring its large fangs before growling and then rushing toward me.

I jump back, hitting into the large metal door as the beast heads straight for me. It reaches me in seconds, lifting its large elongated arms before smashing them into the metal door just as I fall to the ground, dodging the attack.

The loud bang echoes around the room as I quickly shuffle to the side and away from the creature.

The beast continues to thrash against the door in a crazed-like fit, before letting out a loud guttural roar. It turns, skimming its cloudy eyes around the room as I still my movements. If I didn't move, it didn't seem to know where I was.

I try to calm my racing heart, taking slow and soft inhales so as not to give my location away to the beast. It growls in frustration before leaping forward toward the empty space in front of us, its limbs lashing out into the surrounding area as it roars again.

It continues to move through the room aimlessly, swinging its large limbs and smashing into the walls before moving on again, trying to find me.

After a couple of minutes of it moving around the room, it stands metres from me, it's limbs flailing toward my direction and almost reaching me.

It takes another step forward, and I fall backward, my hand catching on something sharp below me.

I pull the object toward me, quickly realising it's the blade the guard threw earlier. I clutch it in my shaking hands as the beast shifts closer, its cloudy eyes narrowed to the space by my feet.

It suddenly lashes out, its sharp claws catching my leg. The pain rips through me, a large gash forming from the hit as blood streams down my leg. A whimper breaks through my lips, and the beast instantly whips its head toward me.

It pounces forward, my body seizing up as fear thrums through me.

I close my eyes in fear, gripping the blade tightly and thrusting it outward just as the beast lands on top of me, praying it hits it and is enough to distract the beast so I can get away.

I feel the blade seep into its flesh, a pained roar leaving its lips before warm liquid drops onto my skin. A low gurgling sound flows into my ears but is soon followed by silence, the beast falling still and quiet before the heavy weight of its body blankets me. Its putrid breath seeps from its dripping mouth as it becomes heavier on top of me.

I push with all my might until the beast is thrown off and gaze down at the blade now sitting directly in the centre of its chest.

It was dead.

And I had survived.

A shaky breath falls from my lips, tears dripping down my cheeks.

I was unlucky enough to be taken to this hellish prison but somehow lucky enough to withstand that attack.

I wipe the tears from my cheeks and pull myself up. Maybe I was stronger than I thought I was.

Suddenly, I hear the sound of the metal door opening. I turn toward it, hoping the guards from earlier would take me back to my cell. Even in that small, bleak room with no way out, I felt safer than here.

I take a step toward the door, my brows instantly synching together.

It was still locked.

The noise gets louder as I slowly turn around toward the opposite side of the room…and see two glistening silver eyes gazing back at me from the other door.

A roar thunders throughout the room as I reach for the blade still in the other beast—

I'm woken up by a voice calling my name.

My heart is racing out of my chest, and sweat is pouring down my neck with the horrible memory.

Why the hell did I have to dream about The Facility? And about the first ‘beast test' I had too?

A tremor works its way into my hands, and my vision slightly blurs as I hear my name called.

"—ed…Micai?"

I twist around. A different type of fear pumping through my veins at the thought of an intruder in my own room. How had I missed that?

I fall from the bed, landing into a crouch and ready to attack as a familiar voice calls my name again before the figure sits up straight in my bed.

"Are you okay, Red?" Annex brushes a hand through his hair, his chest bare and trousers low as a worried look takes over his expression. "Did you have a nightmare?"

My racing heart starts to calm down, my shoulders dropping slightly with relief as I pull myself up straight. Any fear instantly disappearing with the sight of Annex's face.

He pulls the blanket down, beckoning me back into the small single bed.

"I'll scare away anything that makes you afraid, Red. Nothing will touch you as long as I'm here…" A mischievous grin stretches his lip as he raises his hand, "Unless it's these fingers."

A small smile laces my lips before I school it and raise a brow.

"And how did you manage to crawl into my bed?"

A dark chuckle leaves his lips. "Don't pretend like you're not happy I'm keeping you warm, Red. If not for the nightmare, you would have been wrapped around me like a baby monkey."

"How do you know you're not what I was dreaming about?"

A husky chuckle peels from his lips as he shakes his head, pulling his bottom lip in between his teeth.

"Trust me, Red. If I was what you were dreaming about, those screams…would only be from pure ecstasy. Not fear."

A softer look forms in his gaze as he reaches a hand out toward me, gently pulling me closer and down into the bed beside him. He pulls the blanket over us, wrapping his large frame around mine and turning me until we're facing each other, his arm beneath my head as its pillow.

"Nobody will ever hurt you while I'm alive, Red. And as you can see, even if I die, I‘ll return with a vengeance and bloody fury."

"Bloody fury?" I grin, leaning in closer.

"It's always gotta get bloody, Red. That's just my M.O." He gives me a small grin and a slight shrug before his hand reaches toward my face, his fingers stroking down my cheek. "Even your nightmares can fuck off." He strokes his finger down the crease between my brows. "Nobody gets to make you scared, even your dreams. You're only allowed to see the best of things from now on and with us."

A warm feeling works its way through me with his words, warming the cold parts of me overtaken by my dream.

"Go to sleep, Red, and I'll take care of your demons tonight..." Annex leans in, placing a soft kiss on my forehead, "And from now on." He murmurs, kissing my cheek and trailing down toward my lips, where he gently kisses me. It wasn't a passionate or all-consuming kiss like I'm used to from him, but one of comfort and care.

He pulls me in toward his chest, his head resting on mine as I listen to the soft thumps of his heart next to me.

My thoughts jump back and forth between my memory and the familiarity I feel…the crazed beasts…that strange black liquid dripping from their teeth…It all seemed too similar to the recent attack on the academy.

Could there be a connection between them both? Was The Facility somehow involved in the attack?

But why?

What would The Facility want with the academy, or harming its students?

More questions build, adding themselves to my ever-growing list.

Annex's hand slowly rubs up and down my back, creating a slow and soothing rhythm that quickly calms my darkening thoughts.

I close my eyes, and the soft beat of his heart lulls me into a restful sleep.