Mastim's Curse

Chapter 27

 The hood over my head prevents me for knowing for sure, but from what I can tell, they are taking me back the way we came, back toward my room. I'm tired, hurt, and awash with mixed emotions. This has been one of the most unusual days of my abnormal life, and it's not over yet. The very concept that Aleale may be waiting for me inside is so out of this world wild that it makes my heart beat hard in my chest and drives out the horror of the day that might otherwise make me want to curl up in a corner and get stoned.

My hands and feet have swollen up even more now from the frostbite, so I'm slow as the guards lead me barefooted back to my room. One of the men escorting me is pissed because of the mess being made by the trail of blood and dirt behind me as my wounds continue to bleed. Apparently they've been told to clean up after me. They keep a neat prison here.

They unlock my door and push me inside before taking off the hood. I can't believe it. There she is, laying spread eagle on the bed. Her hands and feet are tied to the bed posts and hot pink duct tape covers her mouth. My heart is pounding.

He drops my shoes next to me. "If you take your shoes off again, we're going to nail them to your feet."

I cock my head at him. "That's kind of barbaric, don't you think?"

"He's not kidding," another one says with a stone face as they walk back out the door and close it. I waste no time putting my hands through the slot so they can take off the handcuffs.

Once my hands are free, I'm next to her in a flash, as she lay struggling against her bindings on the white bed. Good for her. She's wearing only a red, see-through halter top and shear panties that match her red hair. The fresh bruises on her skin show she must have put up a fight. Her face is wild with a mixture of hurt and hate.

"Don't worry. I'm going to free you right now."

First, I work to unlock the straps binding her wrists. When her hand becomes free, she immediate strips the tape off her mouth and sobs almost hysterically with a mixture of obscene cussing and threats directed at the jerks that did this. Once the last of the restraints is undone, she jumps out of bed and runs to the door where she starts pounding on it and screaming to be let out. It's unnerving to see her like this, but who could blame her for being a little hysterical.

As she continues to scream and pound on the door, I give her space to let her work out her frustrations. Besides, I got a few cuts and bites to doctor up. After a bit of rummaging, I've got some basic medical supplies and am able to start to take care of myself. Aleale is starting to lose steam now, although I doubt the lawsuit she's yelling about is going to motivate these guys into letting her go.

By the time I've got most of my cuts cleaned and bandaged, Aleale's stopped yelling. She's now sitting with her back to the door and her knees pull up against her chest crying quietly.

She notices my look and says, "Blasted. Didn't mean to bawl like a cow. You got anything to cover up these cock-rat rags with so I don't have to show my goods to the whole fucking world?"

Right, she needs something to wear. Why didn't I think of that? "Sure. There're clothes in the dresser. I'll get some for you. They're all my size so they're going to be a little baggy on you." She's a size 4, I'm guessing.

"Baggy's in style. Don't you know?" Aleale says sarcastically.

Standing up causes one of the muscles in my right leg to cramp and a groan escapes me. A picture of a Jaidee scowling comes to mind. She's always warning me about how dehydration will give you cramps. 'Always hydrate an hour before working out' is her rule. In my defense, if I'd known it was so hot here, I'd have had more to drink before the competition.