A Savage Inconvenience

Chapter 1 - Catch

Part 1

When he woke, the first thought to cross his mind wasn't that he was incapable of moving, but rather that the burning pain had completely subsided and he was still alive. As his eyes began their timid initial movement to open, the bright light that flooded in caused him to wince and his body gave a slight jolt. It was with this sudden movement that he realized he was helplessly restrained and his head throbbed fiercely.

After several blinks, his eyes adjusted slowly to the intensity of the light and the blurry room around him came into focus. He hated the light; it still overwhelmed his heightened senses, even now after so many years. Forgetting for a moment that he was bound, he immediately moved to reach for his glasses ....

No, I can't move ... that's right.

The thoughts rolled across his mind as he came to terms with the severity of his current weakness. He was disgusted with himself for being in this state; he knew better, but again ... he was still alive. He closed his eyes, shielding them from the light as he played the memories of last night through his mind, but they were only flashes, fast snapshots of images.

Hmm ... last night? Was that even right? It was daylight now, but he knew he really wasn't sure how much time had passed since ... since what? Gods. What had happened again? His head swam and he sighed heavily, thanking the gods the pain that had ripped through his body was gone. This meant the silver rounds had been removed.

Opening his eyes again, the small room slowly bounced into sharp focus around him and he quickly realized what was restraining him so completely. In other circumstances, this would have proven to be quite humorous, but he didn't find it funny now. He found it embarrassing and inconvenient. He was affixed to each side of a small metal bed frame with ... Duct Tape. He blinked and looked around at himself again ... Duct Tape? Yes. Yes ... Bloody Duct Tape. A LOT of it. He quickly noted that enough was used to leave 3 empty spindles on the floor just a few feet from the bed.

Damnation!

Both of his arms were attached, solidly, from wrist to mid-humorous, and his legs, from knee all the way to ankle. He could also feel the tape secured tightly around his mouth. No, not just his head, it was wrapped around his entire head. He had no idea how many times, but looking at the three empty spindles again, he imagined quite a few.

What had happened?

The memories were starting to return but they were just barely trickling in.

Oh yes ... he thought to himself as one in particular flashed past his conscious mind. He remembered they had been ... they had been trying to hold him down. He recollected the pain, and then the need drove the hunger and his savage nature had completely overwhelmed him. He had attacked them. The blinding pain and need to survive had driven him back to his animal instincts, but that was the last thing he remembered.

Them? No, No. That wasn't right. There was only one and if he remembered correctly, it was a her. It was a tiny her. He couldn't remember anything of detail other than her tiny frame as she struggled to get his silver bullet riddled body down the stairs, and away from the impending strigoi assault. He had leaned heavily against her, letting her guide him completely as they navigated the internal maze of hallways of the industrial building.

At his optimal state, he would have been able to rip through the makeshift restraints, but he was now surprised at their confining strength as he tried to flex his muscles through them. He reconsidered that thought unsure if he should be more surprised at his state of weakness, rather than shocked at their strength, but he decided to shrug off this mental debate as it just made his head swim further. His inability to focus on the task at hand was due to the fatigue.