Flames left behind

12{Prisoner?}

      I awoke to the smell of burning flesh. Like someone had just held their hand in a fire for way too long, or on the top of the stove for hours. I tried sitting myself upright, but a sharp pain went through my arm. Ah yes, the arm that I fell on. I decided to just start small and lift my head. I was in some sort of cage, about the size of a small bathroom, with bones littering the floor and blood scattered along the bars. 

  Tap, tap, tap. 

  It sounded like a cane clicking against the ground, the kind you see in those old fashioned black and white movies, when the older middle-aged man is stalking his victim.

  I looked to my right. Something was walking towards me. Was I about to die? I was for sure about to die. So, I did what anyone in this situation would do. I played dead. 

  I landed hard on my head, but I brushed off the pain. I forced myself to slow down my breathing, to make it seem as if I wasn't breathing at all and I let my limbs go limp. It was more important that I was thought dead, to give me more time to think of how to escape. How would I escape? Maybe I'd knock out the guy once he stopped in front of the cage bars.

"I hope you realize; I know you're not dead. I can hear you talking to yourself."

  Oops.

"I also hope you realize the cage is unlocked. Your free to walk around."

  My arms spasmed as I used it to sit up on my knees and push the latch. It swung open with a squeal.

Oh.

I rose up to my feet and looked at the man. 

"You're still talking to yourself."

I ignored him, obliviously. But I silently thanked him for telling me, whether or not he deserved it.

"You're welcome. And whether or not I deserve it is yet to be determined, young miss."

  I sighed. So much sighing. Sighing and nodding my head is all I'm good for. That, and being a pretty face for others to dazzle at. 

   Taking a few deep breaths of the flesh filed air, I spoke.

 "Why kidnap me in such an unkindly manner, and then claim me to not be a prisoner here? I most likely would have gone willing you know, life at the Institute wasn't all that great."

  I pushed out the thoughts of all the people I could've been friends with, and along with that I pushed away the image of Tessa and Ronin. 

He frowned. His voice was creaky, like that of an old man.

 "Well how was I supposed to know that. Miss, just be grateful-"

      "That you kidnapped me, one of your bastard faeries dropped me on my arm, which now hurts like a bitch thank you for asking, and I woke up to blood and bones. Look, I'm not going to sit here and argue with an old man that would probably fall over in the slightest breeze. Now, let me go home so I can resolve this stupid mating stuff, and then you can come show up at my door and take me back here. Wherever the hell here is. Got it? Get it."

    He looked baffled. I'm fairly certain I said all of that out loud, didn't I?

"Look miss, I was under orders. Do you know what happens to people that don't listen to orders? And yes, you said it all out loud."

I yawned. And then burped, choking on the air.

  He watched me for a good, fat minute, as I sat there heaving and trying to catch my breath. Thinking back, it was pretty funny at the moment.