Wanted by The Wanted | ✔️

|| TWENTY SIX ||

I watch the colour drain from my skin, bit by bit, as every morsel of my strength disappears, bit by bit. My fingers feel as brittle as glass and the cold blood trickling through my veins doesn't seem to reach my fingertips. My hand comes nowhere near to fisting in a tight ball, and hangs limply at my naked side as I curl up against the corner of the room, all the life in me burnt out.

I heave for breath, wisps of air leaving my mouth in white puffs as the temperature of the room only seems to drop further. I know F.U.S.E is doing this on purpose; leaving me in a compact room, barely clothed, and starving isn't the best way to treat an honourable guest. My eyes are half closed in exhaustion, but the icy air of the cell prevents me from finding sleep.

The unsettling unfamiliarity of the room is suffocating. After a minute of examining the room, I had quickly lost my yearning to escape and curled into a ball in the corner, helpless.

Oscar, you idiot. Come find me right now. The goosebumps along my arms seem to become a permanent part of my skin as I lift my gaze to one of the seventeen cameras that line the room.

"You're disgusting," I manage to mutter out past a dry throat, hoping someone is watching, as breathing starts to hurt, "You're sick for getting pleasure out of innocent others' pain."

Suddenly, the airtight seal of the door hisses and is broken. I watch as Jekyll steps a foot in and pretends to frown, "Wow, quite chilly in here. Just here to drop a quick message."

"Aren't you the boss? Why didn't you send a minion to talk to a prisoner like me?" I bite out, teeth chattering again as soon as I close my frozen jaw.

Jekyll laughs dryly, "That's cute. You think you're a prisoner."

"Well I'm literally freezing cold, half naked, and locked in a tiny cell with no privacy, so I think it's fair for me to assume I'm not royalty here," I'm quick to counter, not even intimidated by the unkind look that overtakes his facial features.

He leans in momentarily as I break away from his gaze, "I'd watch your mouth, smartass. By the way, word's out that your little lover boy has found out you're missing. He's not very happy."

My heart does a swift jump at the mention of Oscar, but I'm cautious not to let it show on my steely face, "So?" I snap, the tension between us colder than the cell itself.

"So, I suggest you behave your sorry ass so I don't kill you before he comes to save you," Jekyll fires back, the cell door slamming behind him as he leaves, angered by my apparent indifference.

Whatever. Me and Oscar aren't on the greatest terms right now: I'm sure he couldn't care less what happens to me. Jekyll's a liar and a conniving asshole.

Hunger gnaws at my insides as I clench my stomach in desperation. I didn't eat breakfast this morning and god knows how long its been since then. Surely they'll feed me soon? They wouldn't starve me... would they? A shiver ghosts through my body, chilling every cell. I raise a powerless hand to my lips, finding dry, cracked skin.

Numbness starts to shut down my system.

Come on, Avyn. Hang in there. My mind wanders off to A.C.R.E once again. My heart clenches at the painful memories as I close my eyes and lean my forehead against the cold wall. These past few months have been the most exciting of my life. I got away from the mundane routine of my everyday life - heck, I almost died. I formed friendships and relationships and... I sigh, hands itching to yank out my hair in frustration.

Love.

Godammit, Oscar. I imagine his perfect face and his alluring eyes and his touch. A sob crawls up my throat but I repress it, pain stabbing me in the chest, almost overpowering the hunger in my stomach. My fingertips have started to gain a blueish hue and I feel as if my bones are frozen in place. I can barely move and just as I think it's going to get better, it gets worse.