Captive: Hopeless

Chapter 68 - Disconnected

Kay stared at the door leading to the dungeons from the wine cellar, and her palms turned sweaty.

Why did she want to do this to herself? The others were still asleep after being awake for most of the night. No. There was no need for this. She pivoted on her heel, but as much as she wanted to run away, she couldn't leave, either.

"Shit."

Slowly turning back, she forced herself to take the last two steps, swipe her hand past the scanner, and as the metal door clicked open, her courage almost deserted her. Her legs were shaky, her insides hollow, nausea dammed in her throat, and goosebumps erupted on her skin, but taking her courage in hand, she opened the door and stared at the well-lit stairs leading down to hell.

It wasn't hell anymore. The mistress of the dark had been replaced, and this was nothing more than a trip down memory lane. She swallowed dryly and, squaring her shoulders, took the first step and then another.

Halfway down the stairs, the door automatically swung shut, and it took all her strength not to run up those stairs and hammer on it like a trapped animal.

She had not taken her phone, and no one would know she was down here if something went wrong.

"Shut up!" she bit out.

All she had to do was allow her emotions to leak through to the werewolves or Akira, and they would find her if they had to rip the castle apart.

"The scanner registered the door opening, and it would show in the operations center," she said to herself, clinging to logic.

She turned around and stared at the suit of armor standing against the wall. Did she imagine it, or did a bit of reddish brown cling to the sharpened point attached to the middle of that shield?

"Well, Nero, I am back. Hope you are frying up well."

She was talking to herself because she was scared, and she used to do that a lot when Azera first cast her in the dungeon. Even as a child, she feared the dark, and even with night vision, those first few days in that cell nearly drove her from her mind.

"You are stalling," she said, taking a deep breath and going down two more sections of stairs until she reached the ancient iron door leading to the dungeons. Even this lock had been replaced with a mag-lock.

Akira was efficient.

She swiped her arm past the sensor again, and it clicked open, but she froze. Unable to move for so long, the lock shut itself again.

"Come on. It is just a hallway leading to a dark room."

She had not talked to herself like this in years. Again unlocking it, she firmly took the icy metal ring in her hand and pulled, expecting it to squeak as it always did, but it swung silently open.

The air on the other side was chillier than where she stood, and at least this was comfortingly familiar as she forced one foot in front of the other, passing two of those dark metal doors with the rivets before the door shut and cut off the light.

She froze again, but when the door locked, the lights turned on near her. Were they motion activated? Did she move?

"Almost there," she said and reached the fourth door on the right.

When did her heart start hammering in her chest like a fist? Sweat beaded on her forehead despite the chilly air, and yet, she almost automatically unlocked the door and pulled it open.

The darkness was familiar, like a presence, and the door clicked, but she stopped it from shutting, walking until she reached the middle. Her gaze nailed to the corner, but the manacles were no longer there, only a shallow divot in the wall.