Bloodlust | lrh

4. Yes, sir

For a fleeting moment, the light coming in through the window gives Soka the false hope that she's waking up at home. She isn't in the same dark and empty room she had been kept in for four days, but she definitely isn't snuggled under the blanket in her own bed. A shooting pain runs down her throat as she tries to swallow. She brings her fingers to her neck, gently grazing the skin for just a second before the pain is too much.

Soka's throat looks like someone strangled her to death, which is more or less what happened. The thoughts of Luke with his hand around her neck flood her mind as the familiar feeling of anxiety finally creeps back in. She is still a prisoner in a house where her safety is never a guarantee.

She winces as she pushes herself up on her elbows, her eyes darting around the room she has yet to see during her time here. It looks like a living room, more so resembling the pictures she's seen in her books than what living rooms look like today. She swings her legs over the side of the couch she had been sleeping on. With every new movement she feels a new type of pain, her feet hitting the floor being the next wave.

"Good morning, sunshine." A voice she doesn't recognize sounds through the otherwise uninhabited room. She didn't realize there was someone lurking in the corner, a boy sitting in a chair with a notebook and pen. Soka couldn't help but jump, the boy chuckling at the thought of him frightening her by saying something so nonthreatening. He wonders how much Luke has put her through already.

"Great, another one." Soka mumbles, hoping he doesn't hear it. He does, and his eyes go wide at the sight of the girl's neck when she gets on her feet.

"What'd you do to piss him off?" He nods his head in her direction, using his eyes to point to her bruised throat.

"Hit him with a tree branch." She keeps her head down, walking over to the doorway that leads out of the living room. She's almost shocked that she was allowed to sleep out in the open like this, but she assumes this guy is supposed to be watching her.

"He's been telling everyone it was a training accident." He says while closing his notebook, the thump of the pages meeting in the middle echoing in the heavily wooden room. "I'm Ashton." He stretches a friendly hand out, only pulling it back when he sees Soka is completely disinterested in pleasantries.

"I don't need a broken hand, thanks, though." She brushes him off rudely, not realizing that Ashton is the only decent human being Luke affiliates with.

"I'm not like they are. I just manage all the shit Luke wants smuggled in. I'm not going to hurt you." He tries to reassure the clearly battered girl, but she's not budging.

"What am I doing out here? Why am I not locked in that room?" She's grown paranoid, and rightfully so. The poor girl thinks this is another one of Luke's games, but this time she's wrong. He's gone for the day, and Ashton was the lucky one picked to keep an eye on her. Soka escaping is at the bottom of the priority list, even if she breaks out of the house she still can't leave the grounds.

"Luke threw you in that room again but I figured sleeping on something would be nice. He's gone for the rest of the day, you can shower if you want." Ashton takes a few cautious steps closer, now only a couple feet between them. He truly feels for Soka, as seeing her condition in person is completely different from hearing about it. Luke downplays everything, and that's exactly what happened when he told Ashton the girl was 'fine'.

"He's here isn't he? He wants me to say yes, is that it? He's going to come out with a gun and threaten to shoot me again." Soka's sanity is fragile, the last few days giving her so much to fear that she doesn't have the capacity to feel anything else. It's the first time Ashton has had such a close up interaction with one of Luke's play things, and it's truly horrifying for him. The girl standing in front of him has only been here for a handful of days, and Luke already has her delusional.