Lost in the Creek

Chapter Fourteen

Sutcliffe led me into a room I had never been in before. There were tables filled with knives and darts and all kinds of weapons. Sutcliffe had said this was the torture room, near the dungeons. I shuddered to think of what I would be forced to do to whoever was waiting for me.

Sutcliffe turned back to me. He grinned and pointed down the small pathway. "Just down there. Your victim is waiting for you."

I swallowed my nerves and nodded. I forced myself to start walking, even though everything in me screamed to run back. I wanted to run away. I didn't want to do this. But I had to save Leo. I had to.

Sutcliffe didn't follow me as I turned the handle to the door at the end of the path. I heard his footsteps fade until there was nothing but the sound of my rapidly beating heart and the person's, who was behind this door, ragged breaths.

I took a deep breath. I would need all the courage I could get. As I pushed open the door, my mind started coming up with possibilities of how I could avoid this. Maybe I could let the person escape, and paint some blood or something on the walls. Would Sutcliffe be fooled by that? Probably not. I chewed on the inside of my cheek and stepped inside. I would come up with something. I had to.

I got a good look of the room, or cell. It was like the classic dungeon-y room you would see in movies. Skeletons still hooked up to the wall with chains, dirt everywhere, some dried red stains on the floor and walls, rats scurrying around for food, and then the prisoner that was half-dead and chained to the wall as well.

Except, this wasn't the part where the prisoner makes their escape. This wasn't a movie. It was nothing like a movie. This was real life, and real life had to be cruel. Because the person sitting slumped against the wall was none other than Clara. The person I had to kill was the very person who had saved my life.

Clara lifted her head as the door clicked shut behind me. I tried to hide my horrified expression at how she looked. Her eyes were sunken into her face, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Cuts lined her jaw and hairline. A horrid waterfall of red fell down one side of her face. Her lips were busted and swollen. I was sure she was probably missing some teeth as well.

I covered my mouth with my hand. What had they done to her? Why had they done this to her? What did Clara do? I knew the king had put her in the dungeon for a reason, but what could she have done that resulted in this? And why did the king want me to kill her?

A flicker of surprise went through Clara's face. She adjusted her position, the chains clinking together, sounding so loud in this lethally quiet room.

"What are you doing here?" Clara asked me in a hoarse voice. I flinched. She sounded so defeated, so broken. What had happened while I was asleep?

I looked away from her. I couldn't look at her, not like that and not with the knowledge that I'd have to kill her. I swallowed, guilt clogging up my throat. "I. . ." I couldn't answer her question. "What happened?" I asked instead.

Clara narrowed her eyes. I knew she'd argue with me, but she obviously didn't have the strength to do that. She shifted again, leaning back against the wall. "We got ambushed. I decided to lead a patrol to see if there was any possible way that we could get the MRC back, and the king's guard found us. They knocked Leo out immediately and dragged him somewhere. I'm not sure where, but all I know is that he had been kidnapped by the king, like me." She coughed and some blood splattered on the stone ground. I grimaced. "I don't know where everyone else is. They were all fighting when I got taken away. For all I know, they could be dead."

My eyes widened at that. Clara seemed to notice my concern expression because she spoke again. "I'm not saying they are. I just don't know what happened to them. Hopefully, they're alright."

"Hopefully," I repeated. I fiddled with the box that Sutcliffe had given me when I agreed to the deal. I always kept it in my pocket or my bag. I had a feeling it was going to come in handy soon. I didn't know how soon, but I knew it would be very soon.

Clara watched the movement of my hand. I pulled my hand out of my pocket and tried to act nonchalant. Sutcliffe must be watching me through a hidden camera or something. He would know if I didn't do what I was supposed to do.

"You didn't answer my answer from before," she said suddenly. I jumped. "What are you doing here? Did the king get you, too?" Clara looked over me. I didn't have any cuts or bruises and there were signs that I had struggled. Suspicion filled her eyes. "Or are you here out of your own free will?" She met my eyes. "Be honest with me, Astra. Are you here to kill me?"

My heart leapt up into my throat. She hit the nail on the head. Was I that obvious? I looked away from Clara again, feeling more guilty than I ever have before. What was I thinking when I accepted Sutcliffe's and the king's deal?

"Answer me, Astra." Clara's voice was full of command, but I still heard the brokenness of it. The brokenness the king had caused. "Are you here to kill me?"

My hands shook. I closed them into fists and glared at the wall. I couldn't do this. I couldn't kill her. But I had to. For Jake and Leo.

"Yes," I said finally. I forced myself to look at her. "I am here to kill you." Clara's expression hardened. She looked. . . hurt. I had never seen her look hurt before. Scared? Yes. Angry? Of course. Tired? Most definitely. But hurt? Never. Not once.

I gritted my teeth. There was no turning back now. She knew what I was here to do, and I was so close. I just had to get it over with. For Jake and Leo.

"And I plan to follow through," I continued. I pulled out the sleeping darts Sutcliffe had given me. I didn't want to see her awake when I ended her life. "This is something I'm not chickening out of. Not like everything else."

Clara watched me carefully. She was tense; I saw it in the way she leaned back against the wall. Her chains clinked again. She watched my hands as I tore open the packaging of the darts. Then she looked up to meet my eyes. I saw fury in her eyes, but also sadness. And disappointment. I felt a fresh stab of guilt in my heart.

Clara shook her head. "I expected more from you, Astra. You could have been so much more. But you had to cower back to the king like some lost pet. I hope you're happy with what you're doing."

I knew Clara would try to destroy me with her words, like she always did with enemies, but I never expected it to hurt so bad. It was like a cold blade had been plunged into my stomach. I hated the feeling.

"I am happy with it," I said curtly. I couldn't let myself break, not when I was so close to seeing Leo again. And hopefully Jake soon. "But I'm sorry it had to come down to this. I did enjoy knowing you, Clara. I hope you had a good life and don't regret anything."

Her expression darkened. "The only thing I regret," she spat out, "was helping you when we met in that dungeon. I should have left you to rot."

That hurt. More than anything else that had been said to me. Clara had just said she regretted meeting me. I would rather get my hand cut off than hear that from someone I counted as a close friend.

Before I could change my mind, I plunged the dart into her neck. Within a few seconds, she slumped against the wall, knocked out. Then, I grabbed a poison covered knife that was on the ground, and buried it deep into Clara's chest. It was too late to back out now.

A/N: Hey peoples! So, this story is coming to an end, but that's not what I want to talk about. My best friend just joined Wattpad, yay! She's writing her own story which we may or may not have kind of intertwined with this one, but you'll see what I mean later. Anywho, her story is pretty good. She's posting it currently and I would definitely recommend reading it. It's called Legend of Valcron and her user is @MultiStar_Creator. Go check out her story! But that's enough of that so bye bye now.