Raze {Wolf Rebellion II}

Chapter 5~Endless Night~

Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.

-Unknown

Chapter 5~Endless Night~

What kind of test is this? I had to fight the urge to scream. This was ridiculous. I couldn't see or hear anything, how was I supposed to find a key in here? Let alone with an hour time limit?

I took a deep breath, not about to waste a second. I needed to use my time wisely. I had an hour, which meant roughly ten minutes per wall. That would leave enough time for me to search the floor, but what about the ceiling? Knowing Claret, she probably had the key taped in the dead center where I'd never be able to reach it.

I turned to the wall I was leaning against, raising a hand and pressing the side of my body against the cold tiles. I had no way of telling how much wall I was missing above my hand, but it was the best I could do.

I walked slowly, determined not to miss anything. Every time I hit the edge of a tile, I ran my fingers around it to make sure the key wasn't wedged in-between two tiles.

I didn't know how much time had passed when I finished the first wall, I could only guess. I quickly moved onto the second wall, realizing that even thirty seconds in here could mean the difference between finding the key and failing. I didn't want to be in here when my hour was up.

The second wall was empty as far as I could tell, but I could never be one-hundred percent sure. I only hoped that it was somewhere I'd be able to feel. If it wasn't, I was screwed.

It was disorienting, the only sound in the room being my own heartbeat and breathing. As my time ticked away, I became more frantic. My hands no longer searched so meticulously around the tiles, and I hurried to find the door. Finally, toward the middle of the fourth wall I hit a solid square of smooth tile. My hip hit the door handle and I gave it a half-hearted tug, already knowing it wouldn't be that easy. It refused to budge.

I felt like there was a bomb in the room with me as I finished searching the walls. What if they let a wolf in here? There was no way I'd be able to fight in here, it would be suicide. Or even better yet, what if there wasn't a key? That would be just like Claret to come up with a test that was impossible to pass. I ground my teeth together just thinking about it, wanting to rip her head off for doing this to me. I wanted to watch her bleed like she'd made Cas bleed.

Focus, Ruby. Time's running out.

I lowered myself to the ground, stretching my palms flat on the cold concrete. I moved slowly, sweeping my hands out in a wide arc around myself. C'mon! It's gotta be here somewhere.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. I estimated I had about fifteen minutes left, but that wasn't nearly enough. I needed more time. Think! What else-

Cool metal seared my skin and on instinct I jerked my hand back. I reached forward again, pressing my palm against the metal edge.

Wait a minute. What the hell?

I shifted my hand to the left, where I felt another distinct piece of metal. I quickly picked up both of them, feeling around the edges. There were two keys.

Oh shit.

I ground my teeth together, wanting to smack myself for not realizing it sooner. There was no way to tell how many keys were in this room, or which key was the right one.

With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I reached out again. More pieces of metal stuck to my sweaty palms.

The frustration and anger bubbled over and I screamed. The sound echoed off the walls, bouncing back at me. Damn Claret. Damn her to the deepest pits of hell. This was impossibly unfair. Why was she doing this? What was the point?