Split- The Company She Keeps

Chapter 17- The Gold

Casey always believed human hearts had a limited amount of beats. It wasn't age that killed a person, they had just used up their heartbeats. That's why the people who lived those exciting, adventurous lives that everyone looked up to died so young. Adrenaline was a poison, speeding up the ticking clock inside ones chest. It was admittedly an odd thing for Casey to reflect on as her footsteps echoed down the corridor, breath rasping through her open mouth as she sprinted towards the door. Perhaps it was because her heart had not calmed it's erratic pace since she first saw her captor in that car. Constantly on red alert, rattling inside her ribcage for a duration the teen had not been able to measure. But there were those moments. The moments where he was against her and his mouth fell upon hers that it had seemed to stop beating completely. That countdown faltered inside of her until they had pulled apart and it sputtered back into it's state of overdrive.

As Casey passed two doors with bolt locks on the outside, a lump rose in her throat. The others. She should stop. She should open the doors and let them out. She had to help them. She had to risk her own escape and unlock each door to release those two girls who actually invited her somewhere, as if she was normal. However, as soon as the teen swayed towards turning back for them, a roar of fury bellowed out from her prison. Run. He's coming.

Casey pushed herself harder, faster, slamming against the door she found herself up against hard enough that the flimsy lock gave way on the first try. A rush of cold air filled her lungs immediately. It smelled of oil and dirt and dust and waste but it was air. Not the stagnant, heavy, humid atmosphere that weighed down deep in her lungs; keeping her drowsy and compliant. Despite the smell of it, this was air that circulated through whatever this area was. Another long corridor. But this one had pipes and wires hanging from the roof running beside the emergency lighting giving off harsh shadows on the grey, cracked walls. The Cement floor was hard on her feet like it was hitting back with every step but it did not slow her down. Eyes wide and constantly searching, hunting for an exit or at least a clue to one. It seemed to go on forever but the sound of a second pair of feet able to run faster than her own could be heard in the echo's of the round walls matched with the deep rumbling growl that could only belong to one creature. The one being who would never let her leave.

Dust kicked up from her feet, calves burning and flexing at the sharp turn that faltered her speed. The path had widened, one section fast approaching was filled with lockers of all things. Where was she being kept? The endless pipes seemed like the best direction away from the carnivorous creature matching her sprint two paces to one. 

Unable to help herself,  the teen's erratic mind flicked to their intimacy of all things. The man who possessed her; made of fire, rage and desperate restraint coming undone just as she did under one anothers touch. How his hands burnt everywhere they touched, how every fiber of her being screamed to run but it only pulled her closer. Dennis with his piercing eyes that melted into something deeper, something needier. Casey was sure she looked the same way, just maybe a little more fragile. How they both lost their way in each others presence; forgetting what was correct and logical, instead drowning under their silence that swallowed up her small cell, leaving them submerged in chaos and uncertainty and that desperate desperate need.

Slamming into the metal barred door only to be stopped dead brought Casey back to her terrifying reality. Stumbling back, whimpers escaped her lips as tears rolled down the teens cheeks. No. She had gotten so far. How could she still be locked away so far from her prison? Those feet hammering towards her mixed with low bassy growls had the teen break into a sob, pacing back into a small caged off area, pulling the door shut with a clang, sliding the bolt into place. Casey slid down the wall with palms pressed against her ears, blocking out those sounds of the inevitable. She cried loudly and openly, whole body shaking. There was no escape from this. From what was coming. Whether Dennis thought he could protect her or Hedwig thought he could play with her forever; nothing would stop the coming of this Beast. This primal animal that lived in the very fibers of her captor, dormant until any sign of threat. Like a dragon on his pile of gold, paying no attention and sleeping peacefully until a single piece goes missing. Then comes the rapture. The fire. The desolation of everything within it's path to get that gold back. But Casey was not just the gold, she was also the thief. A thief with nowhere to run.  Unbeknownst to Casey, the footsteps had reached her a few moments ago and her fate lay hidden in the shadows with it's eyes focused on her huddled figure curled up in the iron cage, watching her count down her heartbeats.

//Hey everyone, no I'm not dead. I'm sorry it has been so long, but this has been the hardest chapter I have written. I'm ready for ya'll to hate it and thats okay. I am trying to pace out what will be happening next but It will be up asap (Hopefully quicker than this one!) All the best! Please do the usual and let me know what you think in the comments, I do read every single one and thank you all so much for being so patient and for all you feedback! See you in the next one!//