Little Lightning

Chapter 36

Kirtash leaned back against the wall, panting slightly. He glared at the iron bars that trapped him. Despite all the railing he had done against the bars, they hadn't budged, the only proof he had tried to break them lying in the bruises that covered his arms and legs. Grunting in frustration, he kicked the bars and immediately regretted it, his foot smarting. He sank down, his back against the stone wall behind him. He hung his head, his long silver hair having long come out of its bun. He didn't have the energy to tie it back anymore.

His thoughts raced, loud and demanding. He was stuck here. Nothing but darkness, skeletons, and cobwebs surrounding him. He had been stuck here for who knows how long, while Lyrical was off somewhere. Part of him clung to the hope that she was still in that room, comfortable and scared maybe, but still ok. Still safe. 

The rest of him knew that wasn't what had happened. If he had to hazard a guess, the Tribus had probably used him as leverage to get Lyrical to do something. To do what, he had no idea. But he knew it couldn't be good.

He let out a small shout of frustration and hit the ground beside him.

What good was he if he couldn't protect Lyrical?

He was there to protect her, to help her. How was he supposed to do that stuck down here?

The answer? He couldn't.

He snapped out of his thoughts at the jingle of keys and sound of footsteps. Raising his head, he didn't bother move from his spot against the wall. It was probably just food.

Just food... He scoffed quietly. His stomach definitely didn't think it was 'just food'. He didn't know how long it had been since he had eaten, but he did know that it was long enough that his stomach had started eating itself in hunger.

He didn't move as a guard walked over to his cell, glaring at him with his blue eyes. He knew he must look unnerving, with bright silver hair and pale blue eyes, but the guard didn't even flinch. 

Kirtash did move, however, when the guard took the key and unlocked the door. The door open with a scream of protest, the hinges squealing. This was definitely a trick. There was no way they would let him out.

"Well?" The guard said gruffly. "Get out. Tribus' orders." Lifting an eyebrow, Kirtash stood and lifted his chin slightly as he walked out. He could feel his legs shaking with the effort of moving so much.

The guard turned and gestured for Kirtash to follow him, which Kirtash did so with some reluctance. This was at least a better situation then being in that cell.

Opening his mouth to ask where they were going, he quickly shut it again when he remembered he had been in that cell for who knows how long and that they were the ones who had locked him up.

The guard led him down several halls and turned many times, probably more times than strictly necessary. A precaution, Kirtash assumed, in case he tried to escape.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour of turning corners with purpose to find another long hallway on the other side, they stopped at a door. Kirtash could feel his heart speed up, though for what reason, he didn't know. Whatever was behind this door was the reason the Tribus had let him out.

The guard pushed the door open and led him into the room.

The first thing he saw was that it was empty. Of furniture, that is. The walls were bright white, the floor a shiny black and the ceiling a mirror of the floor. But, more important, were the two figures in the center of the large room. One was a taller guy, and the other a slight figure that if it weren't for the bruises, he would have recognized right away.

Before he knew it, his feet were moving. She was alive. She was here, right in front of him. His feet moved faster, until he was right in front of her. He stopped short, suddenly unsure of what to say or do. 

"You're alive." He said quietly, out of breath due to his poor condition. His hands hovered over her arms, wanting to make sure she was actually here, in front of him and not some trick or hologram or something.

"And so are you." She smiled slightly, and it was only then that he realized how skinny she was. Her cheeks and eyes were sunken in, and her arms and legs were stick skinny. Most of her skin was mottles with bruises and cuts, not a single clear space save for her face and neck.

"What the heck happened? Are you ok?" He asked, swallowing the urge to hurt whoever who had done this.

"They just did some tests, I'm ok." She told him, eyes on his face.

"'Just tests' don't leave your skin full of bruises." He growled, turning to face the man that she had been with. "What did you do to her?!"

"We took some tests, just like your girlfriend there said." He scoffed at Kirtash, his nose wrinkled as if he had stepped in something foul. Kirtash snorted, not buying it for one second. The man looked down at a slim silver tablet he held in his arms, the neon blue screen casting a ghoulish glow over his face. "Now, if you'll excuse me, the Tribus has just sent me new orders to bring Lyrical to the lab." He moved to pull Lyrical towards him, but Kirtash was too fast. He pushed Lyrical behind him, slipping into his fighting stance.

"She's not going anywhere with you." He snarled. "Especially if its to do some more 'tests'."

"Is that so." The man looked down his nose at Kirtash, then smiled. "I don't think you have much say in it, morticana." He sneered. Kirtash flinched slightly, then realized his mistake and glared up at the man. He opened his mouth to retort.

That was when the wall exploded.