Era of Greed [✔ COMPLETE] (Chrim Chronicles #1)

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Loreen

Leaning my chin on my knees and hugging my legs, I listened to my own breathing. Tapping my feet on the floor, I listened to the thumps of my heels. Here in the void I sought for any solution to disturb the silence. Though, the loneliness was the hardest. Every day I pretended there were others in here with me. They appeared in the darkness in a coat of glowing golden rays. On some days I pretended Penny was here. We'd have conversations about guys and celebrities and fashion. On other days I pretended Uncle Henry sat beside me. He'd tell me all about my dead parents. For the darkest days where my mind didn't feel like talking to either of them, the void had created creatures of its own. There was Potch the magical fish who could walk on dry land, green of color and tall of stature. I was quite fond of Potch, he'd always tell me amusing stories about his kingdom underneath the ocean. In his kingdom there were no executions or wars. It was a place where everyone was happy and harmless. Then there was Polly the pelican. Polly once told me she's the chubbiest pelican in town. Like my own, her arms and belly were more plump than those of her friends. The thing was, Polly didn't care. I admired that about her, it was why I liked having her around.

Today there was Pam, my least favorite. She was the talking tulip. The roots growing from the end of her thin stem were molded into feet and her petals were a deep shade of purple. On one of her petals stood big lookers underneath long lashes, along with black lips.

Pam the tulip was a real cunt. She'd always say things like, "I can't believe your stupidity. How could you let the Rats escape like that?" And then she'd laugh. A constant, piercing laugh.

With my hands pressed tight on my ears and slightly rocking my body, I tapped my feet harder on the floor and began to hum as loud as I could, but Pam's laughter still broke through. If my counting of forty-two nights was correct, I had been here for nearly two days. Only two. If Krol had decided to keep me here, two days weighed nothing to the years that lay ahead.

Hundreds of days more had passed when the door opened, at a certain point I'd lost count. I fell on my knees and crawled into the blinding light until the darkness was far behind me. Raising my arms, I began to laugh. Never had I been this grateful for anything as I was for my final escape from the darkness. A hand hauled me up by my shoulders. Before the iron door sealed the void, I threw one final glance inside. Potch the fish, Polly the pelican, and Pam the tulip, they all stood there, waving me goodbye as they bathed in golden glows.

It was only when the doors closed that my eyes sought the one who had freed me from the cells. The collar of his neat white shirt was tucked inside his grey sweater vest, and his brown hair was parted aside ever so precisely. Cyril's tight grip on my arm urged me forward. The look in his green eyes was determined and fierce.

He stopped when we arrived by the stairs which led up to the entrance inside Krol's office. When he faced me, there was pure fear in his eyes. This man who had patiently led me through the biggest struggle of my life, who had managed to suppress the bloodthirsty monster within me, being anxious terrified me. "Go," he said. "Go straight home."

"What about you?"

Glancing behind him, his mouth opened and closed, as if he were choking in his own words. "Penny is here somewhere, she came to rescue you. I have to find her."

"If Penny is here then I..."

"No," Cyril urged, and gently pushed me towards the stairs. "Go. I'll find her."

Though he had his imperfections, like his fear of telling the truth and his obsession with tidiness, and never being bored of wearing the same damn outfits, I knew Cyril was a man of his word. One promise of his was worth more than a thousand armies. "Do you promise you'll find Penny?"