RE:WRITE

57.0 Candela_Chapter 16: Captured

I woke up in a prison cell. I could tell by the chains around my ankles, the drab stone walls, and the rusty, iron bars on the window. The window was a good sign; it meant I wasn't somewhere underground. If I could break free, I could probably escape.

But I couldn't lift my arms. Even attempting to do so made my head spin. I grunted and tried to use void-step to escape but to my dismay, I found that I couldn't summon an ounce of magic. I called up my Status and felt my headache increase.

My life bar was in the red, and my mana bar was empty. Several notes indicated that I was drugged and intoxicated. Whoever put me here, knew exactly how to keep me from escaping. The drugs were inhibiting my ability to think, depriving me of my biggest advantage.

Ironically, that all but told me who my captor was. I didn't have to think particularly hard to come up with his name. Only one person had ever come close to outwitting me in this world, and only he could keep me incapacitated like this.

I fought my headache and grogginess to try to make sense of the situation. I was imprisoned, most likely by him, which meant that something must have happened. I wouldn't have walked up to him of my own free will.

Think Runir, what's the last thing you remember?

Stabs of pain shot through my skull and I had to give up for fear that I would lose the last of my HP. Death by headache wasn't the way I wanted to go. I caught my breath and decided to survey my surroundings.

A couple of buckets, one full of grimy water and the other reeking of human refuse, lay in one corner of the cell. The door was old; made of rotting wood and bars of rusty iron. This was an old prison; far older than the ones I had seen in my time in the Dark Kingdom. The rest of the room was empty. Dirty, but empty.

The drugs would probably keep me from recovering. Sure enough, my HP didn't increase for hours. Then again, I couldn't tell the time. The window let in light, but I could have sworn that it had been too bright for too long. What if I was still underground but he wanted me to think I was on a tower? But why would he do that?

Maybe he was messing with my head? Softening me up so I would be more pliable when he finally came to me to get what he wanted.

What did he want, anyway? Why didn't he just finish me off? That would have been quicker, cleaner, and far less troublesome than locking me up in a prison cell. More importantly, I knew he wouldn't allow for the smallest chance of failure, and as long as I was alive, I could try to escape.

I don't know how long I was stuck there. I tried counting my heartbeats, hoping that could give me some measure of time, but it was no use. I hoped the drugs would work their way out of my system but whenever I went to sleep, I'd wake up feeling groggier than ever.

After another long period of time, I lay against the wall and began dozing off.

And then I pounced.

Someone shrieked, but I ignored it and knocked the syringe out of their hand. I kicked the guard into the wall, grabbed his set of keys, and tried to unlock myself.

However, the keys didn't fit.

Cursing, I threw them out of the window and tried to search the guard's unconscious body for more tools. I found a small dagger but I wouldn't be able to cut through the chains with it.

If Lily were here, she could probably pick the lock with this, I thought.

I'd figured out that they were replacing the buckets whenever I fell asleep, so I'd feigned sleeping to break the cycle and it worked. My mind was clearing now that I hadn't had my regular dose of drugs. However, I didn't have the time to sit down and think. There must be more guards, and they'd be here to check on me soon. I needed to break the chains around my legs.