Oxygen

Chapter 17 - Trapped for Eternity

The light is pure, and the small window shines a harsh light on the corner of the room. I slowly open my eyes, remembering where I am. What happened?

The gas smell I detected had put us all into a deep sleep, and it appears I was the last to awaken. I sit up from my foetus position, feeling the cold of the concrete on my bare arms.

I supported myself with the wall, one arm gripping the bars as I looked around. Charlie and Georgia were sitting up in their cells, talking weakly to one another. I turned to the left and saw Jordan lying flat on his back, eyes open, thinking about something.

"Hey sunshine" Jordan greeted, staying on his back. I smiled and said out loud, "Hey sweetie". He sat up, shocked, and laughed lightly. "How are you feeling?" He asked, taking my hand from the bars.

"I have a headache, but I'm okay" I replied, halfheartedly. Jordan rubbed smooth circles over my palm, which sent tickles through my arm and down my spine.

Jordan said something and I gasped. "What do you mean there's someone here, where?" I move to the front of the small room, and crane my neck to look down the hall.

At the far end, just next to the exit door, a skinny, young looking boy sat on a rusty chair, reading a book. He saw me looking and gave me a glare. When he looked back down at his book, seeming to not identify me as a threat.

"Who's he?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I turn to Jordan. "George Summers, one of the guards they have, Natalie's cousin". I look back again, taking note of the man's brown eyes and short stubble.

George Summers, Natalie's cousin. The thought made me snicker just the slightest bit, and Jordan looked at me, confused. Or maybe he thought - knew, I was crazy. Who knows.

"What's so funny?" He asked, my quiet laugh infecting him. "Just the idea of her cousin being the guard, when Natalie is such a stuck up little -" I never finished my sentence, but I didn't need to. Jordan gave me a warning look as the guard opened the door, and another man came in.

He walked down the hall and stopped in front of me. He took one look at Jordan and I and smugly said, "Your awake again Fern?" I looked at him, recognizing him from the earlier encounter with the gas.

I take a minute to stand to my unstable feet, holding the bars. "What is wrong with you Alec? Why are you doing this?". He laughed, loudly at that, creating an echo through the hall.

"Well, why wouldn't I do this? You and Jordan Kingsley over here are far from a good match, and you need to know that". His voice suddenly turned stern. "I will do anything in my power to break this bond, even if I have to kill you to do it".

Before I could reply, he walked off, telling the young guard to keep a close eye on us.

We spent days in the cells. Not a minute went by when I wished I had broken us out of here while I was still strong enough. But before I had a chance Alec and his guard made sure to inject us with whatever magic potion they were using.

Jordan and I didn't know much about the bonding, not enough to know what they were using. It was hardly worth trying to ask Charlie, since our telepathy was a one way communication, and every time I shouted down the hall the guard gave me another shot. I sat back against the wall, defeated. Then my eyes glazed over.

The days here have become longer, and the nights shorter, much shorter. My eyes are droopy and sore, but I cannot force myself to fall asleep. I have never felt so vulnerable, even in my darkest times. When my family died, I felt lonely, but never vulnerable. All I can think of is her. The short, petite, delicate girl who was, and still is, my sister.

The way she used to twirl her hair around her finger, the small amount of makeup she applied always made her look so mature, and the way she spoke brought tears to my eyes, just at the thought of it.

Pain is something that cannot be measured. One person's pain can't be compared to another's, nor can one's experiences. 

My head feels heavy, as light tears pour from my eyes in delicate flows. Nothing else exists in this world, but my thoughts of my dead family. When I look around, I see my friends, people I can now call family, dying in a cell with me. I can see the weight dragging them down by the shoulders, and the thought fills me will anger.

Anger that I deserve.

It's all my fault.

The idea burdens me, and there is nothing I can do to turn it off. Turn it off. I chant it in my head over and over again, but the thought remains. Tears burn my skin now, like acid rain melting my hair, and I lose control of my emotions completely.

My lungs stagger for breaths I cannot catch. The earth spins around me but I don't move with it.

Then someone new steps into view. The darkness of the cells disappear, and is replaced with the orange colour of the pure sunset. A black figure steps into view, and when it reaches me, places both of their hands on my shoulders. The small figure is clear now as a female.

I stare into the woman's familiar eyes, the dark blue colour lighting my own eyes with hope.

"We will save you" the woman says, and by the sound of the voice, I finally know who I'm talking to.

Cathy takes a step back, and gives me a sympathetic smile. 

The beautiful sunset melts away like a candle, slowly then all at once. 

The disgusting smell of the jail cells comes back, and I gasp for breath. I'm sitting in a tight ball, rocking back and forth. I bring my hand up to wipe tears from my eyes, but my skin is bone dry. Jordan is stroking my arm. "Are you okay?" he asked, caring as always. "Yea, I have good news. Cathy knows we're trapped, she's coming to save us, they all are".

Jordan doesn't look convinced. "Are you sure that wasn't your mind playing tricks on you? Remember where we are Fern".

I take a moment to think about it, but I stick with my gut. "No, it was my mind playing tricks. Your dad can create illusions, right? And your mum can shift my mind, so that she can show me something. They were showing me this. They will save us".

After my explanation about my family, the sunset, and Cathy being there with me, Jordan reluctantly believed me.

He told Charlie and Georgia, and a small glint of excitement lit their faces. 

But as expected, Alec was going to come back sometime, he was never going to just leave us here. And at that moment, we were ambushed with the worst experience of my life.