My brain is slush as I make an attempt to yank myself out of unconsciousness. My head is throbbing and there's a sharp, burning pain in my left arm. My eyesight is blurry, and for a minute all sorts of colors mush together into a twisted rainbow.
I am laying down on a hardwood floor. An extremely high ceiling stretches up above me, making me nauseous and dizzy. I flail my arms in an attempt to sit up. The last thing I remember is someone gagging me. Surely that person wouldn't leave me alive just to put me in some random warehouse. They have to be nearby.
It takes me a moment, and I have to strain my ears to hear it, but, there's a voice coming from maybe thirty feet away. I can't see the speaker, but based on the sound, they are in the same room, but out of my stretch of vision. Based on common sense, I'd say that the owner of that voice is my captor.
I manage to push myself up against a wall. It takes almost all of my effort, and I regret it afterward. The voice is still talking, so the speaker must think that I'm still not awake. Good. I take a minute to catch my breath before making a startling realization. The locket. It's gone.
Whoever this person is, they know their stuff. Somehow they must have followed me, seen the locket and my encounter with the old woman, and moved quickly and quietly enough that I didn't notice them. But they must have been inexperienced enough to leave me under no supervision.
Whatever. I don't have time for contemplation. I look around at my surroundings. I'm in what I would call a small shop. Tables are everywhere, crowding the small space. Whoever kidnapped me must have pushed some of these tables out of the way to make room for my unconscious body. On the tables are hundreds of glass items. There is a thick layer of dust covering each item.
I see a door about ten feet away. My heart swells with a rush of hope. My captor really is ignorant, putting me so close to the exit. If I'm quiet enough, maybe I can escape I put weight on my legs, and gradually lift myself up from my spot against the wall. Thank goodness my legs still work. I have yet to find out what happened to my arm.
I inch over to the doorway, holding my breath and counting the distance until I'm away from this freaky place. Eight feet. Five feet. Three feet. A crowded table stretches out to the right of me, holding some of the weirdest glass oddities and things I've ever seen. What kind of store is this? Sudden pain shoots through my arm and I let out a strangled groan before reeling over.
I lean on the table for balance, but slip and a vase falls off and shatters. I squeeze my eyes shut. If my captor didn't hear my groan, they'll have heard. On cue, the voice speaking stops abruptly and I suck in a breath. I hear quick footsteps before my captor appears.
A boy stands in front of me. Well, not so much stands as leans. He holds a dusty but deadly looking knife in his left hand and he looks... nonchalant. He's relaxed, as if he knows that even though I'm three feet from the exit, I won't try to run. He's right. I won't get far if I try that and where would I go? Maybe he's smarter than I thought.
"Ah, the princess awakens," the boy says to me, flipping his knife around in his hands.
I study him, trying to piece together what is so shocking about this boy.
His light brown hair is untamed and all over the place, stretching down to his ears. If it didn't look so much like Jax's messy blonde curls, I wouldn't feel the urge to take that knife and slice it shorter. He's tall and lean, yet has enough muscle to show that he must work out in some way or another. He's handsome in a "cool guy" kind of way, with perfect teeth, and a half-smirk on his face as he looks at me. He can't be much older than me. Maybe eighteen or nineteen at the most. He's not wearing anything fancy, just a pair of jeans with dark spots on the knees, like they'd been dipped in oil, and a dirt-stained t-shirt. He wears a tool belt that looks two sizes too big for him, routinely slipping his thumbs under the leather. A habit?
"Who are you?" I ask, surprised at the hoarseness of my voice.
"Your worst nightmare." He says.
He probably expects some sort of frightened reaction from me. Instead, I glare at him. Well, I try anyway. Eventually he simply shrugs, as if amused by my reaction.
"Fine, suit yourself." He says.
"Where am I?" I try, though I highly doubt I'll get an answer from him. For all I know, I could be in Africa.
"You are in a building. Based on all of the items in here, you could say it's a store. Also, based on the extremely breakable vase you just demolished, you could say that we are in some sort of glasswork store. And lastly, there is a handsome man who happens to be here. Based on that knowledge, you could guess that this store gets lots of customers."
I can't help but raise an eyebrow.
"Really? Where's all the customers? Not to mention, where's the handsome man? I'm not impressed with my service." I say sarcastically, cradling my arm tenderly. I know better. For one, I shouldn't be arguing with my captor. And second, I shouldn't make any sudden movements for fear of being impaled in the brain with that knife of his. Unfortunately, my brain doesn't realize this until the words are out of my mouth.
He looks hurt at my comment. I tentatively back up, not wanting to be anywhere near this guy. That's when I notice something that takes my breath away. His eyes. They're the same vivid blue that I saw before blacking out. I don't know why this surprises me, because I should have pieced together by now that he's behind my abduction.
"I'm only going to ask you one more time." I say. "Who are you, and what do you want with me?"
He frowns, and I tense, waiting for the blow. I really need to shut my big mouth.
"Apparently, I'm not as famous as I thought I'd be. The name's Alix. Alix Black. Surely you've heard of me. If not, well... I've got to work on that."
My mouth drops open. The Alix Black? Infamous thief Alix Black? I've heard stories mentioning the name on the news and small talk about the things he's done around the town. I've never heard about stealing a person, though. Alix must see something in my expression and his frown changes into that ever-present smirk.
"You do know me." He says. I don't respond. He continues.
"As for what I want with you, well... that can be debatable." Oh. My God. Ew. If he so much as lays a hand on me, he's a goner. He must see the anger in my expression because he laughs. It's a deep sound and, though I'd never admit it, kind of adorable.
"Alright, alright, Fireball, don't explode on me," he says. "All I really want is some answers and then you can be on your merry little way."
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What kind of questions does Alix have in store? Find out in Chapter 10, which should come out tomorrow. Comment thoughts down below!
~trebleclef18
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Subject #013 | ✓
Teen Fiction"I'm only going to ask you one more time." I say firmly. "Who are you and what do you want with me?" He frowns, and I tense, waiting for a blow, but none comes. I really need to shut my big mouth. "Apparently, I'm not nearly as famous as I thou...
