Within the Demon's Grip: Part One

Bonus chapter: Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Natalia awakened with a start, her hand going to her face. She threaded fingers through her hair, grimacing as they snagged on tangles. Slowly, she finger-combed the tangles out. She didn't know why she did this. And at this moment, of all times, but it felt good not to think. Whatever it was. Inevitably, it would surface. She just wanted to prolong that moment before.

Of course that didn't last.

A band of pain cut around her forehead, making her gasp. Her head felt fragile, like it could shatter. She saw an image of a snow-globe in her mind, and that's exactly what her head felt like. A hollow glass shell.

Her hand slid down her face, cradling it gingerly. There was pain behind her eyes, throbbing in her sockets.

This must be what a hangover feels like ... but I didn't drink anything.

She opened her eyes.

What the hell?

Her surroundings were disorienting. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Where the hell was she, and what the hell had happened back there? Thoughts began to take shape in her mind slowly, confusingly. She couldn't avoid them much longer, and, admittedly, she didn't really want to. She marched forward, ready to dig through the rubble.

Not that she could remember much. Except.

"Eli," she sneered through her teeth. The asshole had shot her with his fucking gun! Now anger coursed through her, and with it came a small sense of relief. Good. She remembered something, and good, she obviously survived or she wouldn't be waking up here, pissed off, but what the hell else happened? Did Nosfroth come? Did they take care of him?

Are Robin and Sandra alright?

That. That right there was the most important thing.

"I have to get out of here and find them," Natalia decided, attempting to stand, but her body exploded in agony the instant she moved, making her freeze with a sharp intake of breath. "Shit," she panted, bracing herself as she looked down at her body.

She was covered in blood, her clothes ruined, holes in some places, shredded in others.

"Fucking Nosfroth," Natalia breathed, a feeling of jittery fear starting in the pit of her stomach and working its way up. "But ... why was I left--" She studied her surroundings. Her brow furrowed. "What is this? Some ... sort of greenhouse?"

That's exactly what it looked like with its high domed ceiling and clear glass walls (The bottom two feet, or so, was made of gray stone, built in planters protruding just below the glass). And, of course, its myriad of plant-life, growing with wild abandon like they hadn't been tended to in a long, long time, not that she knew much about plants or growing them or anything.

That didn't matter.

Hell, nothing mattered except getting out of here and back to her friends. If they even still lived. She hoped she wasn't too late, or hadn't disappointed Gayle to the point of her taking it out on Robin and Sandra.

And where the hell were they, anyway? Why had they left her here, of all places?

"Maybe they took me for dead," Natalia reasoned.

Maybe they hoped I'd die.

She shook her head, sighing. This was not the time to sit and think. She needed to get to her car and go. The sky was just starting to brighten, shadows loosening their hold on the trees outside. She couldn't be sure of when they'd arrived, but she must have been unconscious for hours.