Nolan
Hours have passed since the last time people came in threatening me with their stupid taser wands.
No matter how hard I fight them, they always find a way to gain the upper hand. It feels like I'm being toyed with, like some experiment—a test rat.
A sharp stab twists in my gut, bringing back memories of another time when I was powerless. I feel like that scared little kid again, hiding from Landon and his followers in the hallways, praying they wouldn't see me.
But I'm not hiding from them; No, I'm positioned dead smack in the middle of the room, my legs and hands chained to the floor. A punishment, I assume, for taking out most of the guards that attacked me earlier. They thought they could break me with their sheer numbers. I proved them wrong—at least until they overwhelmed me.
Sharp and sudden, I wince as phantom pains shock up my side; electricity eating at my flesh. I can already tell I'm starting to bruise, half from the pain and the other because I bruise as easily as an apple. I can't explain the other aches and pains wondering about my body, as if I've been thrown hard to the ground.
Minutes feel like hours and hours feel like days. I can't get a good read on the time, and with no windows, it's practically impossible.
The familiar whine of the metal door fills the room, and I ignore the sickening lurch in my stomach. I push myself up to stand until the chains stress and resist me from going further.
I position the chains attached to me in such a way I could use them as a weapon if need be. They think chaining me down will stop me from fighting back. But they are wrong and I eagerly want to show them just how wrong they are.
Sweat clings to my skin, the heat of my earlier struggle turning cold, sending chills down my spine. For a moment, I think it's just the breeze from the open door. But then I notice the room is darker—unnaturally so.
A new sound fills the space, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. It's a soft rattling, like nails scraping against glass. The sound is coming from everywhere, echoing off the walls. My pulse quickens. I try to steady my breathing, but my instincts are screaming at me that something is very, very wrong.
And then I see them.
Not one, but five—no, six of them, phasing through the walls. Their movement is unnatural, jerky, like shadows stitched together in the wrong places. They circle around me, their abnormally long fingers twitching, reaching out from all angles.
Everything Adira said about these creatures is right.
Their abnormally long fingers reach for me from all angles and I stress and pull against the chains.
"Don't stress too much, Nolan. They won't hurt you... unless I give the order."
The voice is calm, almost casual, but it sends a jolt of fear through me. My eyes dart around the room, finally landing on him—Cieran. He stands a few feet away, the flickering light casting deep shadows across his face.
I've only met him once, and even then, I wasn't fully in control of my body. But I remember the way Coral talked about him, the way her cheeks would turn the brightest shade of red at the mere mention of his name. But the man standing before me now is nothing like the one she described. There's a darkness in his eyes, a cruelty that wasn't there before.
As he steps closer, I notice a bandage wrapped tightly around his left eye, the white fabric stained with blood. It's soaked through, just enough that it catches the light. I should be focused on him, but I can't help but flinch when one of the figures hisses and drifts closer, its long fingers brushing dangerously close to my side.
Cieran's laugh fills the room, and heat flares inside of me. This chain between my hands would wrap around his throat so easily.
"You like my eye do you?" he questions, stepping by one of the Figures, and despite how much I'm sure he tries to hide it, I see him shutter under its presence.
These scare him as much as they do me.
"I have your stupid girlfriend to thank for that," he spits angrily.
Girlfriend? The word echoes relentlessly in my mind, pushing me to the brink of desperation. My girlfriend? I don't have... Adira... Adira.
The thought of her name sends a jolt through me, something warm and fierce sparking in my chest. She isn't my girlfriend, but a chill runs down my spine as I imagine the possibility that he's referring to her. She is the only one who fits the description. My heart pounds harder than her image fills my mind, a mix of worry and something I can't quite name tightening my throat.
Anger flares within me, hot and blinding, burning away all other thoughts. The figures around me blur as I leap forward despite the chains. The cuffs dug themselves into my skin.
"You touch one hair on her head—" I shout at him.
"What is with the two of you threatening me?" he sneers, but I barely hear him. My blood is roaring in my ears, my thoughts consumed by Adira—by the thought of losing her, of anything happening to her.
The figure closest to me is even closer now. His long fingers gripping ahold of my shoulder, breaking the skin, I shout out in pain. It's exactly the same feeling as before when I lost all control over my body. Suddenly a female scream rings out in my head before shocks are delivered to my neck.
The two attacks in such a short period have me collapsing to the ground.
The figure's long fingers are still digging deep into my flesh. It's harsh hissing overpowering the screams.
Images flash in front of my eyes, but they go by so fast I can't make out a single one until Landon is swinging a bat down upon me.
My father,
my mother.
Agony. Crippling and suffocating. It wasn't so long ago that I was trapped in the deepest depth of my own mind. Even if I couldn't control my body, I remember what I said... even if I wanted to forget.
"He's not strong enough,"
"Why do you think I chose him? .... My original target was Coral, but He's the weakest out of all of you. You think you know him? You don't." He's mine now,"
"He's weak, just like your mother."
My heart aches even more. The things that came out of my mouth. I said that to her, but that isn't the worst of it.
No
"She enjoyed it, but here's a secret: Nolan didn't."
My heart leaps at the memory and my eyes sting. She couldn't believe that. She couldn't.
The figure's claws retract from my shoulder, and the pain is even worse. I collapse to the cold concrete, the chains pulling back the other way.
"Damn, that looked awfully painful." Cieran remarks, his voice smug. I can't see him through the haze of pain, but I can hear the smirk in his words. I want to wipe it off his face.
"You're in no position to make demands," he continues, stepping closer. "You're just a pawn, Nolan. A means to an end."
"I won't..." I gasp, struggling to push the words out. "You won't use me against her."
Cieran chuckles, the sound is low and cruel "You already have. Nolan, don't you see that?"
His words cut through me like a knife.
"You and Coral are right where I need you to be. With or without you conscious, we will get what we want out of her."
YOU ARE READING
The Nook
FantastikWith each passing day, graduation draws nearer for Adira Reid, who is currently in her final year of high school. Constantly trying to balance her time and responsibilities, she feels like she's walking on a tightrope. With a busy routine filled wit...
