How the Flower Bloomed

Chapter 4: The Cell

My head hurt, and my limbs were thumping from the pain. I knew that I still possessed all my body parts but I just couldn't feel any of them. I could hear the oxygen squeezing itself into my trachea, followed by my noisy exhaling. My back felt the rusted steel jail bed beneath it.

I finally opened my eyes after what felt like an eternity because my eyelids were too heavy to respond on time. After having tried to move my arms, I felt the thick heavy metal encircling them. What is this smell? It smelled even more lethal than NO2 did; I was breathing in tiny pieces of rusted metal. They crashed into my nostrils and it was a mistake to think that they would stop hurting me when they reached my lungs. I raised my head a little bit and saw how foggy the cell that I was sitting in was; what had they blown up in here? Who were they anyways and what did they want?

I got off the back-breaking bed and took long strides to reach the cell's bars with the least sound possible, but my handcuffs weren't helping.

"Hello! Anybody there?!" I shouted hoping there would be a guard next to my cell.

I similarly shouted five more times but no response could be heard. In fact, nothing could be heard; I was in a bubble of vacuum. My harsh breathing sounded like a malicious helicopter laden with explosives rather than a dying woman's breath.

Nobody was answering me! An unhealthy rage built up in me and without thinking, my anger got the best of me and I started pounding the cell's bars with my handcuffs. I could feel my heart shake because of how strong the echo of the metal was, but it still didn't stop me.

In a few moments the sound of the echo was transformed into deleterious pain that felt like a concussion in my brain, and I collapsed to the ground. I kept connecting, but successively disconnecting to life and the people who were whispering around me. I could hear the various voices that permeated my ears every time I became conscious for a few minutes.

After a specific conversation I opened my eyes to find myself sitting comfortably in a chair, but my body still hurt, everywhere. Although I had this unwelcome energy in my body like I just took steroids, the pain was still my dominant.

"What if she doesn't accept it?" a tired, antiquated voice said giving me his back so that I couldn't see his face and he couldn't see whether I awoke or not.

"Then we kill her." Came the shocking reply that oozed excessive confidence and caused my eyes to widen until my muscles hurt and I forced them to relax.

"Hello! Sleeping beauty just woke up eh?" Said the man who's confident voice intimidated me. He looked like he was in his thirties, and everything about him looked ordinary except the fact that he was wearing the same shirt that my dad daily used to wear.

"Who are you? What is the reason that would make you heartlessly throw me in a solitary cell?" I said calmly and raised my eyebrows at him as if I was a principal giving him detention.

Anyway, the only reason I wasn't throwing a tantrum is because I didn't have the energy to and not because of my over-the-top businesslike negotiating skills.

"Oh my dear Mrs. Salt, I have so many information in my pockets about your father and I will tell you if you behave," he purred.

I forgot all my pain and misery at the word 'behave'. Nobody asks me to behave! I may be yet the strongest teenager in my whole school for keeping up an excellent academic record without any legal guardians to offer me the perfect life on a silver platter, besides Harry ofcourse. Oh my god Harry! How did he slip out of my mind?

I stood up and arrogantly pointed my index finger in his face.

"First of all, no one asks me to behave. Second, where is Harry? I peacefully came in here to ask about him and the next thing I know, I'm being projected into a cell and left completely discombobulated!" I slapped him hard across the face and caused his head to turn ninety degrees. Although I immediately regretted that, I did not even flinch in front of him because of my hardened ego that protects me.

Umm okay... Why are they clapping? I expected a powerful physical response to be inflicted on me and not an act of extolment!

"I was starting to doubt that you were a salt," said the old man,"but now, we can talk."

"A new lifestyle awaits you. You will continue your father's legacy, him being one of our top secret agents, I don't suppose we will ever find someone more qualified to replace him than his own daughter."

"A secret ag-ag-agent? Like Jason Statham for example?" I burst out laughing, imagining my dad with a Jason Statham gun.

"He was a lot better than Jason," the mid-thirties man said apologetically and gestured for me to follow him into a huge empty metallic room that looked more like a long hallway that never ends.

"Do you remember anything from the martial arts lessons that your father registers you in every summer?" He asked carefully waiting for my answer.

"Umm..." I said although I did remember every single word that my master taught me.

"Okay then perfect," he looked down and suddenly a small thin podium rised from the ground level with a control panel aligning multi-colored buttons on it. He looked at it carefully and pressed the huge red button in the middle.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked but he kept walking away until he reached the door and left the room.

"Okay... What now? Is this an advanced cell or what?" The ground started shaking and I could hear something releasing a deep growl but I couldn't detect its position.

On the wall, a box was uncovered to show a black cylinder inside it. As I stepped closer I could make out the shape of a gun. I lifted it and it was surprisingly light in weight.

The growl grew louder and two eyes appeared in front of me. Instead of screaming, my reflex action was to mercilessly shoot that creature.

Many more of this irregularly shaped training doll appeared and I annihilated them all. They usually used a human figure, what was the shape they were using here? The attackers looked like the terminator with their fiery red eyes but I easily terminated them all with my invincible gun. They attacked from everywhere, some even started dropping from the ceiling by metallic chains.

I walked out of the room fifteen minutes later feeling utterly exhausted until I met the two gentlemen again. I was met by more clapping and jubilant faces in addition to the two men and they led me into a conference room.

" I am very impressed, Salt. I didn't even remind you of any skill and you seemed to have remembered and mastered them all in the training hall," said the mid-thirties man.

I was indeed proud of myself but the worry for Harry came for a visit when I remembered they didn't answer me when I asked them about him the first time.

"Where is Harry?" I said slowly pronouncing every letter in a threatening tone.

"Okay Salt, enough is enough! I ignored your question the first time but it is starting to infuriate me, do you really want to know?" he asked in an ominous tone.

"Yes," I replied not sure if I wanted to know anymore.

"He was captured by Diana!" he said almost screaming at himself and holding his head in his hands. I feared his reaction but I still had to inquire.

"Diana as in..." Hoping that would make the words spill out of him. After that he gave me a dark sarcastic reply that made me guilty for not knowing it way before.

"Diana, his wife!"