S a l e t é I V

XL - Creux - Onze

"But why...? How is this helping anyone...?"

Claudette didn't reply this time, possibly because she no longer could, the haze she'd clouded herself in too thick to wade through as she instead chose to back away, unable to look at Cassia any longer.

"Wait...! Where are y-you...?"

Cassie gave up on trying to get through to her so soon after she'd made that retreat, all of the focus that she could muster returning to her bonds as she attempted to free herself again, the wire only punishing her wrists further. 

She rocked herself back and forth, testing the beam she'd been tied to in case it was as weak as its apparent age had suggested, having no luck there either. A splinter dug into her left arm, her already present wince worsening until she stopped.

There had to be a way out, there had to be something she'd missed, there had to be. If only she'd been a little stronger, if only Claudette would listen, or give in to the dismay that was clawing at her...

What was she doing? Always with the ifs, even now...? Was she really that stupid?

She had another look around, desperately searching for anything that could have stood a chance at helping her in some way, the minimal lighting barely enough to assist with her search. 

The table that was hosting the old, scattered tools and pieces of discarded kit was too far away, to the extent that she couldn't even touch its closest leg with her foot when she did her best to stretch. There was nothing around her that she could have kicked towards it either, her hopes of causing something to fall or break dashed yet again.

The lamp was perched close to the edge... If she could get it to topple and smash, the darkness would have surely made her assailant regret her choice of a cell...

Continued efforts to rock the beam did nothing and disturbed little else, her only reward more strain and scratches from the rough wood.

What else? What else was around her?

Don't panic. Whatever you do, don't panic.

The crates to her right that she'd been introduced to in such a boorish manner looked as if they'd once contained numerous bottles, their designs pairing with the setting to make her think that they were in some kind of bar, or rather, the husk of one. She could reach a few with her right foot, the distance slightly too far for her to be able to impact them in any meaningful way, her attempts to dislodge the ones at the bottom hindered far too much by the weight of those atop them.

Her knife... Her knife! 

There was no way that she could reach it, not with her hands bound. She tried to dislodge it by moving up and down, and by shaking the leg that it was strapped to, having no luck with such an endeavour. 

Come on. Come on, think. 

She tried to turn in a bid to see what was behind her, the way in which she'd been pinned down preventing her from doing so even decently well, each tug against those wires - those damned wires - punishing her.

Keep trying, try anything, everything.

"Claudette...? Claudette?"

The girl who had been tasked with keeping an eye on her had sat down near the edge of stairs leading up to the now sealed cellar doors, the hammer she'd been given laying at her feet as she brought her knees up, hiding her face against them as she sank into her shame.

"Claudette? Talk to me...? Please...?"

Claudette shifted only slightly, hugging her knees closer as if doing so would make her unable to hear Cassia's voice, the sound of it bringing her more stress than she could otherwise bear.