Captive: Hopeless

Chapter 2 - The light

At first, thoughts of escape consumed every waking moment and all her energy, but that ceased when she realized the truth of her situation: there was no escape from this place. Okay, that was not accurate; there was one—death.

Being an immortal among her own kind, only one decided when to grant the final release. Although her mistress relieved humans, servants, and lesser creatures from this mortal coil with impunity, toys were valuable. Creating one was an arduous and challenging task that took decades, cost a fortune, and failed nine out of ten times.

Something moved, and she froze in place, holding her breath, slowing the beat of her heart, and listening through the silence. Her body compensated for the darkness that not even her night vision could penetrate by making her hearing more sensitive. She sighed, relieved.

It wasn't them.

Every time the door opened and the light from the hall spilled into the night, adrenaline fired through her veins, and terror spiked through her system.

She used to cry, scream and beg when their shadows breached the light, and they would punish her for getting her face all red and puffy—as if they didn't enjoy the sight of fear. They lived to instill dread, fed off it, and needed it.

***

After the night in the alley, she woke in a completely white room with a hundred other girls dressed in green hospital gowns, seated on the ground, exactly one and a half meters apart, chained by their wrists.

The cavernous space stretched as far as she could see, and the lights reflected off the whiteness, irritating the eyes. The others were as scared as she was, and although some cried, others were past crying, staring mutely with tear-stained faces at nothing.

She moaned, her head hurt, and nausea dammed up in her throat, but her senses righted themselves as she took it all in. Where were they? What was going on? The others noticed her stirring, shushing her, and their panic made her frown.

Something collided with the side of her face, snapping her head sideways, and her consciousness shuddered.

Did someone just sucker-punch her?

She sluggishly turned her head and gawked numbly at the stern-faced woman staring down at her. Her face throbbed, tears filled her eyes, and her mouth wobbled as she struggled not to sob. Spanked once for throwing a tantrum at age five, this rocked the foundations of her world.

"Shut up. Don't move, speak, or ask questions. That," the woman pointed at the stinging red mark on her fast-swelling cheek, "is the standard response to any question or comment. Do you need another answer?" The woman demanded in clipped tones, something hungry and cold in icy gray eyes filled with an unholy pleasure.

Daniella mutely swallowed, terrified of the woman.

The statuesque blond amazon could have been beautiful if her face were less set and icy. She straightened, stalking off, and those she passed cringed—most already had bruised faces. She left through a door in the farthest wall.

Adrenaline still stung Daniella's veins, but she noticed the cameras as she nursed her cheek. What was this place? What were they doing here? What... Only time would provide answers.

***

Nothing more happened until the lights shut off, and it was time to sleep. The bruise cooled, becoming stiff and painful. Her body hurt, the floor was hard, and there was no comfortable way to relax with her hands tied.

Hunger and thirst became a gnawing ache, and she needed to pee. How could she sleep like this?

***

The lights came on again, and Daniella jerked awake. Her body felt like the muscles had seized, and her hands were as numb as her side. The side of her face was stiff and sore, the floor's chill had seeped into her bones, and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.

She swallowed with difficulty but remembered the Amazon from the day before and righted herself quickly, scanning the room with apprehension pulsing through her chest. Blood flow returned to her body, sending pins and needles through her side, and she groaned as quietly as possible.

The woman was not there, but twenty pairs of handcuffs were unoccupied. A neat square that had not been empty the night before.

Had she slept deeply enough for them to take twenty women out of this room, and she didn't know? The others were as confused as she was.

The pungent odor of urine, feces, sweat and a deeper animal smell turned her stomach, and she scrunched up her nose. Her bladder would soon burst, but she did not want to sit in her urine or have it on her clothes.

***

A small whirring sound caught Daniella's attention as a grate opened beside her on the floor, as it did beside every girl. Some quickly squatted and peed.

Daniella stared at them for a second, and although she needed to relieve herself and would probably not have another chance, she could not bring herself to do her business in public. Another click released a deluge of ice-cold water from above, taking her breath away.

She sputtered and struggled but quickly recovered her wits and, glancing around, noticed that some held their faces up and drank the water before discarding their clothes and washing their bodies.

Drinking the water, she emptied her bladder and furtively cleaned her privates just before the downpour ceased as abruptly as it started.

A whirring noise startled her, and wind came at them with some force. It turned her wet clothes and hair icy, and she shivered. There was no way to hide from the bitter cold, but the floor quickly dried, and so did their clothes.

The grates slid shut, and they finished fussing with themselves, their clothes, and their tangled, dirty, wet, cold hair, not glancing at each other or daring to speak.

***

Daniella's mind wandered over the present, the past, and anxieties as her gaze caught on the empty square of handcuffs—a rock settling in her stomach.

This was a waiting room, storage until their time came, and those who disappeared did not return.

So what's your guess? Where is she, and what's going on? Just remember, no questions. There is only one standard answer for questions... *Evil grin.* Newest Version ©2014-2023 All rights reserved. If you find this on any other platform but Wattpad under @CSDreamer, please report it. No part of this book may be copied or reposted without the author's permission.