Unattainable Fruit

Chapter 46: Torture & Secrets

Cody's POV

For the second time I gasp awake, throwing up pure stomach bile, groaning as the convulsions irritate my bruises.

My breath is wheezing, and I try to keep them shallow, softening the sharp pain in my chest if only a little bit.

By the way the sun has changed I can tell I've been here for a few hours. Maybe three. Maybe more. Pure exhaustion fills every part of my bone, though the pain keeps me awake.

Richard came back two times after leaving me gasping for breath the first time, each blow feeling more and more personal. I shift, trying to ease the feeling of my surely broken ribs when my ears pick up on someone, multiple someone's, though one doesn't seem to be coming on their own accord, coming towards the tent.

My body tenses, adrenaline pumping my veins as I wait, Jessie's growing frustration in the back of my mind.

'I hate that fucking bitch. We need to get out of these chains, Cody. I can't switch with you or protect you if I'm locked up like this.' He tells me, his voice desperate, almost pleading. I've never heard Jessie sound so scared before and it shakes me for a moment but I do my best to shake it off.

'I hate her too, and we'll find a way out of here. You don't have to protect me, we fight for each other.' I tell him firmly, just as the flap to the tent is thrown open.

I watch, trying to keep my face smooth, as Makayla barges into the large space, dragging behind someone else behind her by the hair. She throws the wolf onto the floor, the girl's knees slamming against the stiffly packed dirt, but it's not until she forced herself to sit up that I realize who she is.

"Jessica?" My voice is hoarse, severely dehydrated after throwing up so many times and no water. Her eyes flicker towards me, and I sigh with relief when I see that they're still brown, grateful they're not the Shadow possessed black pits that Richard had. But she doesn't answer, instead looking down, her shoulders hunched. I notice the bruises on face and arms, along with the eerily similar rune that's been drawn on the center of her chest like some sort of sick branding trophy.

"Oh she won't answer. Not unless she wants me to continue working on my masterpiece while I wait for her to finally tell me what she knows. Such a stubborn girl." She mocks, and I see Jessica flinch.

She and I were never friends and never shared classes or spoke before I met James. And while she wasn't the nicest, I could tell it was fueled by pain and heartbreak that she hadn't bargained for. The last thing she deserves is this.

And all it does is start to piss me off, my fear slowly burning into smoldering flames.

"You see, I grew up in Vilin and as a kid." Makayla starts, playing with an engraved knife in her hand, pacing the small space in front of me. "I always thought Hybrids were this shining beautiful example of how at peace and loving our species are to each other. I thought all those fairytales about us all being one under Celeste were true. Until I was old enough that my horns started to show, and I started school. It was like I was a monster. A nobody. Some plague. Until my family was forced out into Ameden where they're the only place to have their own schools because we're not welcome anywhere else. So when I heard that Satan was gathering an army to take this land and all the Divine Children with it, I was more than happy to offer my services. You snobby spoiled entitled bastards don't deserve what you have. Finally this will be a home for Nightlies and Dark Hybrids. I hated that name when I first heard it, but now I think it has a certain ring to it. So it doesn't matter if you tell me now, or later, or if I kill you and find it myself, the only thing on your horizon is death. Now I don't care, but I would think you would want to get to spend a few more days with your family and lover before the world comes burning down. Or not. It's fun for me either way."