THE PROTÉGÉ

2

Advica POV

Being a Human sucks in general. Being Human in this kind of situation is the worst. First, I can't see in the dark, but they can. And they take advantage of that, shoving me toward walls, low ceilings, and big rocks on the ground. I, on the other hand, talked back, mocked them, and made sure to anger them as much as I could. I tried to get rid of my hand's bidings after being pushed, again, against a stone wall, and I get punched in the face out of nowhere.

"I said stop trying, you stupid...OOF" Second, my strength is way below their level. I was trying to knock him off of me, but apparently, my leg barely nudged his chest. Earning me another punch in the face. Third, I don't heal as fast as them. But they don't seem to care. I've been collecting bruises and cuts from the moment they took me. And that's bout a half-day ago.

"You know what? I've had it. No food for you until we get back with the next merchandise! Let's see how stubborn you'll be after starving for a couple of days." He spat, knocking my head against the cold wall, making me almost lose my consciousness. He took advantage of my momentary dizziness and pulled my hands up, replacing my rope restrains with metallic ones.

"Do your worst, Idiots!!" I taunted him. His response was a mean kick to my ankles, making me grunt. I heard him kick something else before he closed what I suppose was a metallic door. He mumbled something to his partner before they both walked around for a bit, and then finally away.

I took a deep breath, feeling somehow relieved that they were gone. But that was a big mistake. As soon as the foul smell filled my lungs, I started puking. Then I fell into a vicious circle. Trying to catch my breath, inhaling more of the nasty smell, then vomiting again. So this is how I die! From lack of breathable air!

"Breath with your mouth", a soft but tired voice spoke to me. No matter how soft it was, it startled me into a fit of coughing and vomiting. The voice repeated the same advice a couple of times before I could comprehend the instruction. And when I did as told, it did help a bit.

"Hi," I finally managed to squeak after a couple of minutes of dry heaving. "Human?"

"No....we're not" a heavy silence fell, making the darkness thicker.

"Vampires?" I asked, looking around. If they were, I should see their glowing red eyes in the dark, but I didn't. It could be that they weren't vampires or simply that I was looking straight at a wall.

"Not all of us," A male voice almost spat out. He sounded as tired as the girl, but still had the energy to deny the accusation. Only a werewolf would feel insulted to be lumped up with a vampire. For a Human like myself, this kind of sensitivity sounded ridiculous. They're both the same to me.

"So vampires, werewolves, and a Human," I paused, taking small breaths through my mouth. The pounding in my head was making it hard to focus. "Sounds like the start of a lame joke."

"Humans." Another female voice added. "There's another one in your cell, but not for long." I frowned, trying to see anything in the dark. But I didn't see anything as expected.

"What do you mean?" I leaned my head back on the cold wall.

"She's...dying." The first voice said with the same softness. "Did they hit you too?".

"Yeah!",

"How bad? I don't smell much blood from your way." Another guy asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"You sound disappointed about it, vampire." The werewolf from earlier spat at him but got no answer.

"Nothing big, just a busted lip and small cuts on my wrists. What happened to her?" I answered, trying to dissipate the tension. There is no point fighting when we are obviously all prisoners in here.