I Knew Her As August

twenty-eight: hide & seek

There was a television in the corner of the room that glitched every thirty-three seconds. Nicki knew because she had counted it to the exact number. She didn't mind it though, the jagged audio kept her from listening to what it was trying to tell her.

There was a picture of Copenhagen across the screen with the word 'missing' in big letters. After another glitch, Bronwen's picture followed. The news anchor was asking if anyone had any information to come forward, there was even a reward. Another glitch and Nicki stopped listening, returning to counting the seconds tick by.

When she had awoken, she was in a bedroom she didn't recognize. It smelled of dust like no one had been in there for quite a while. The bedsheets were fresh though and smelled like cotton, so she stayed put. It was hard to go anywhere with a needle in your arm, anyway.

There was a soft tap on the door before it opened slowly. Gus came into the room and sat on the end of Nicki's bed. His clothes were clean and his hands too; any trace of blood was now gone.

"Where am I?" Nicki asked him, her voice was coarse like she had been screaming for days.

"My house. This was my mom's bedroom." Gus looked around the room with a sadness that still stung at him but didn't crack the surface.

Nicki tried to sit up, but Gus quickly stopped her.

"Careful. You don't want to unplug the IV," he urged, adjusting the tape on her arm so it was secure. The needle was attached to a tube that connected to a stand holding two bags of liquid. One was clear and the other a dark red. Nicki quickly turned away, her stomach dropping.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Gus snatched a bucket from under the bed just quick enough for Nicki to vomit into it.

"Sorry," she muttered, collapsing back on the pillow. Her entire body felt torn apart.

"Don't be. You've been through a lot," Gus stated, his tone was trying to stay positive.

"What happened?" Nicki asked. She was scared to bring back the memory but there was no avoiding it. Her arms were completely wrapped in bandages that kept her skin from view. Nicki was grateful she couldn't see the damage she'd endured, but that meant she didn't know just how bad it was either.

"After I took you back to the castle, I drove past the train station and recognized Wyatt's car in the parking lot. I waited until they came down from the tunnel and saw them put you in the car. I followed them to their new nightclub, but I couldn't find a way in. I didn't even see how they got in. They just vanished," Gus explained rapidly like he was trying to get it over with.

"That's where they took me?" Nicki tried to imagine the metallic room being somewhere in the club but couldn't picture it. The room she had been cut open in felt like it wasn't even on the same planet.

"I was freaking out just waiting for someone to come out, I had it in my head to just barge in with guns blazing. But finally, I saw Jex come out. I got up in his face, but he insisted he knew where you were and told me he would bring you to me. I didn't trust him at first, but he said I was the only thing that might have stopped them from destroying you..." Gus trailed off with guilt all over his face.

"It's true. Their plan didn't work because I wasn't pure," Nicki exclaimed, trying to raise him up.

"I don't think I can take credit for that." Gus rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. His eye sockets were a dark purple, the veins visible through his skin.

"You did save me, though. You brought me here." Nicki really meant it.

"I never should have let you near the Omens in the first place. You were doomed the second you met my family." Gus put his head in his hands and stared at the floor.