Flame

Chapter 14 - Coming out of the Shadows

Chapter 14

Coming Out of the Shadows

I opened my eyes and saw nothing. A rough fabric rubbed against my face and skull, it resembled the texture of a potato sack. I tried to get up, but my hands and feet had been bound tightly together by a strong rope that chafed my wrists and ankles. I attempted to scream, but my mouth was muffled by a thin strip of cloth. My quiet cries caught someone's attention, and I heard the clomping of footsteps nearing me. Soon I felt the prick of a syringe needle on my neck, and I could no longer feel the ground beneath me.

The next time I awoke I had been moved. A bag no longer covered my head, and my limbs had been freed from their restrictions. I bolted upright and was surprised to find myself in a bed, which resided in a spacious and immaculate hotel room. My head swam and a dull ache pounded against my temples. I tried to exit my fluffy resting place but almost collapsed from the effort. I attempted to pound my fist against the headboard in frustration of being so weak all of the time, the action did not heighten my spirits. Eventually, I drifted into an uneasy state of unconsciousness.

The third time that I woke up, I found a tray of food placed beside my bed, some pills, water, and oatmeal were displayed neatly in a row. I regrettably forced myself to consume all of it, until sleep took me again and I finally rested peacefully.

I don't remember much of what happened after that, I seemed to recall dark figures bursting in. Fire raged everywhere but I was not aware of its origin, the figures clawed and scraped at my flesh, holding me with grips of stone. Eventually I gave up thrashing for safety and let the mysterious strangers carry me away.

My clearest memory of that few minutes was the hatred boiling within me, how every second I felt closer to bubbling over with rage and fury as violent as even the stormiest of seas.

How dare they kidnap me. I have rights! I thought.

I had no idea where the sudden burst of emotion had come from, but it made my determination to survive thrive, so I rationed it. Saving the portions of adrenaline for when I would need them in combat, or if some punks tried to kidnap me again. I smirked to myself, they wouldn't know what hit them.

I sat fuming in a dark room, muffled voices passed through the cloth bag covering my head and tickled my subconscious temptingly. Suddenly, the bag was jerked off of me, the now familiar gag around my mouth untied, and the binds on my hands and feet cut free - the person cutting my ropes was not careful enough to avoid drawing my blood and I flinched every time I felt the cool metal connect with my bare skin. I blinked a few times and waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark room. Mold patches dotted every wall and a lone, rotting table sat solemnly in one of the corners of the chamber. My only way of escape was through a rusty door on the opposite end of the room, with about five very muscular men blocking the way.

"What do you want from me?" I screamed, this triggered the speech of my captors among one another in a language that was foreign to me. One walked up to me and prodded at my face. "Hey!" I yelled and tried to bite him.

He jumped back and started shouting commands at his companions, they all began to file through the doorway, my vision of the world beyond my prison was obscured by a thick, metal door which bolted shut seconds later. Soon I was left with just the original invader of my privacy.

As I looked at him, he began to change. His hair lightened and his jaw squared, eventually, the man had completely transformed into Max. I stared at him slack-jawed, "M-Max?" I stammered disbelievingly.

"No time." He said, grabbing my hand and pulling me alongside him.

"Where are we going?" I asked as he dragged me out into a dark, slimy corridor. I followed Max through many twists and turns, until we reached a small pool of water that sat at the opening of a pipe which led God-knows-where. I took a step back, "Oh there is no way I'm going in there."