Untamed

Chapter 26

(ELAINE)

Disguised as guards we easily slipped inside Roderick's castle. Keeping our face shields up made it possible to remain undetected. I walked down to the dungeon from memory with Peter close behind me. Rounding the corner we ran into a large guard.

"Oh thank goodness!" He barked jumping up. "It's about time." Then he practically ran away. "Don't be late next time!" he yelled back to us as he awkwardly raced up the stairs.

"Well that was easy." I commented as I started picking the lock with a hairpin.

"Almost too easy." Peter said.

I threw back my face shield in order to see the lock that I was picking. Within a few seconds there was a satisfying click and the bolt slid free. We slipped inside the dark room and my memories came flooding back.

"Are you alright?" Peter asked and I realized that I was standing completely still with my eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm fine. Let's go." I replied walking forward in the dark.

"Ben!" Peter called in a loud whisper.

"Peter?" was the reply but it wasn't Ben who spoke. Peter lifted his face shield. Men's faces were illuminated as they stepped forward into the light. "It is you!" the man cried. They rushed forward and wrapped their arms around us.

"You've come for us!" I recognized many of the faces but none of them were the one that I wanted to see.

"Where's Ben?" I asked. One grim face looked over to the corner and I noticed a figure laying on the ground. I felt the panic course through me. "Is he...?"

"Be careful miss." The man said as he walked towards the open door with a look of excitement.

I stepped forward unsure of what I would find. His back was turned to me and he was laying on his side facing the wall. His thick dark hair looked dusty like he had spent many nights lying on the stone floor of this dungeon. I felt my stomach clench at the idea. I knew what Roderick had done to me when I was here for a few days. I could only imagine what had happened to Ben in the few months that he had been here. I was afraid of what I would find.

"Ben?" I whispered as I approached him. I noticed his breathing as his shoulders moved slightly. He was awake but he remained facing the wall. I turned and looked behind me to see Peter had his eyes on me. When he noticed my concerned expression he walked forward to stand next to me. He placed his hand on my shoulder for a moment then walked past me. It was as if he knew that I was rooted to the spot. I wanted nothing more than to reach forward and touch Ben but I couldn't.

"Ben." Peter whispered as he crouched down next to his friend. Again he repeated his name and put his hand on his shoulder. Ben jerked at the touch and looked back over his shoulder at his friend. I was shocked when I saw his face. He had a full beard but that wasn't the shocking part. His cheeks were gaunt and his eyes looked empty. I felt as though someone had punched me in the stomach as I looked at him. Roderick had done this.

"Peter?" Ben whispered in a crackling voice. It sounded like he hadn't spoken for days. Slowly he sat up and looked at his best friend in wonder. "It is you." He said then he wrapped his arms around his friend. I sat there on my toes eagerly watching them embrace. Then Ben's eyes met mine and everything changed.

His eyes immediately went dark and he glared at me. He shoved Peter away and jumped to his feet while glaring at me.

"You!" He hissed as he lunged towards me. I was too shocked to move as his arms extended out reaching for my throat. I was yanked backwards before he reached me and I slammed painfully into the ground. One of the men jumped in front of me to take the full force of Ben's fury. I scrambled backwards on my hands and feet as Ben lunged.