No Mercy

Chapter 20

My eyes slam open with a force I didn't think possible. My head spins as I try to figure out where I am, the soreness in my arms and legs distracting me from my task. I attempt to draw my arms into myself only to find them strapped to the top two corners of a bed. I kick my legs to see they are tied down as well. A tight swelling in my chest strangles my breath as I start to fight even harder, desperate to escape.

Rylan's words the night before are the first things that pop into my mind. "You can't wake up like you did with me the first night. If you start spitting venom like that they are going to suspect something is up. You have to fully commit to the role of the scared little girl. From beginning to end."

It takes no effort for me to start crying, tears dripping down my face like a faucet as I try feebly to yank my arms free. Tortured cries fall out of my mouth as I gasp in breath after breath.

"Help!" I scream, my voice breaking midway through the word. "Someone please let me go! I don't belong here!"

My stomach rolls as I start to hyperventilate. I allow my eyes to dart all around the room, what looks like a panicked movement actually carefully calculated so that I can take in my surroundings. It's through this action that I am able to sense the person sitting just out of sight in the corner of the room. I start to jerk away from him, my thighs quivering as I try to force myself in the opposite direction.

"You should calm down," he advises, boredom clear in his voice.

My breaths come even faster as my head spins quicker. The room splits in two as my stomach contorts in weird shapes. I turn my head to the side as my stomach squeezes itself, bile forcing its way out of my mouth. 

I spit once, making sure there isn't anything left in my mouth for me to choke on. "Please I'll give you anything you want. Just let me go!"

"There is no need to beg." His voice lazily drifts through the air. "I have absolutely no intention of letting you go regardless of what you offer me." A single finger reaches out of creep along my restrained arm. "Although I'm sure your offer can be tempting."

"That man promised he wouldn't hurt me! He promised me!" My pleas sound even more desperate than I had aimed for, helping sell my terror. "You can't break a promise. You have to let me go!"

"That man isn't here," the faceless voice replies, "I am. And I have made no such deal."

I turn my head to throw up again, spitting vehemently to dispel all of the bile from my mouth. "I don't want to die here. I don't want to die here. Please Goddess don't let this be the place that I die." I whisper to myself repeatedly, a terrifying truth behind the words.

"I don't know why you're panicking so much. I haven't done anything to you. You are actually in very nice conditions considering."

I continue to let the tears fall as I take in my surroundings. I'm not in a holding cell like I've seen in the Barns back home. It's like I'm in a bedroom. Burgundy curtains block out the 3 windows in the room, obscuring my view of the outside. A single white door lets people in and out of the room, which is about the size of my room back in the Village. I try to crane my neck to get a view of the man, but I can only see his jittery foot crossed over his knee as the chair remains pressed into the corner.

His foot jerks suddenly before resuming its impatient tapping. "The sooner you stop crying the faster we can get this over with."

"G-get what ov-ver with?" I hiccup.

His foot jiggles even harder as he waits for me to force out my question. "My questions."

I nod hesitantly, expecting as much.