Draven Hawke

BOOK II CHAPTER TWO

The last thing Autumn remembered was curling up in a ball at the entryway to Draven's loft. She had cried herself to sleep. Now, she was disoriented and groggy. The room was too dark to see anything, her eyes had not adjusted yet.

She stood up and tried walking towards what she thought was the the kitchen, but halfway there, she was jerked to a stop. She felt the tug on her ankle and heard the clink of the metal. Panic. She pulled harder, but there was no breaking the thick, metal chain.

Trying again to see her surroundings, she scanned the dark room. She could only make out a stained white mattress with blue pinstripes. In the other corner was a bucket. The floors were made of concrete. The next thing she noticed was the stench. It smelled of rotted flesh, urine, and feces. She gagged, covered her mouth, and retreated to the corner she had woken up in.

What had happened? She had no idea where she was or how she got there. I'm not going to cry, she kept telling herself, I'm not going to cry. She tried keeping her head clear. She had to find out where she was and how she could get out. She tried to calm herself, taking in deep breaths and letting them out slowly.

Her calming process was interrupted by a door sliding open. It scraped against the floor, forcing Autumn to cover her ears. Coming through the door, with a smile on her tight lips, was the woman who had asked Autumn if she needed help earlier that day. Or was it still the same day? She did not know.

The woman walked towards Autumn. Her long, blonde hair hung in loose curls down her shoulders and back. She looked harmless enough, kind even. Her green-blue eyes glinted with a sort of mischief. Was the woman going to help her? After all she had offered her assistance before.

Then Autumn remembered the chill that had run down her spine when the woman was near her. She also recalled the woman's obvious interest, asking where Draven had been taken. Autumn had known there was something off about the woman then, even the way she had hesitated, wanting to take Autumn home.

As the woman walked closer, Autumn scooted as far as she could against the cold wall, and pulled her knees to her chest.

"What am I doing here? Where am I?" Autumn tried to sound demanding, but her voice shook.

"I'm trying to help you, of course." She threw her head back, releasing a cackle that chilled Autumn to the bone.

"Help me?" Autumn stuttered. "By tying me to a wall?" This woman was insane. Autumn could see that now. She was not dealing with a full deck. "Thank you for the help," Autumn tried to sound sincere, "but I would like to go home now, please?"

The woman laughed again. "I helped you, now you help me."

"Help you how? I'll do anything you want. Just let me go, please?" She could not keep the desperation from her tone. Somehow she knew that if she did not get out of there soon, she would be leaving in a body bag.

"You see, I do not need you to do anything. You're going to bring me what I need whether you want to or not." The woman tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, and for the first time, Autumn noticed the dried blood that was covering her white, holey shirt. Was it her blood, or did it belong to someone else?

Looking down, Autumn could see that her her own clothes were still caked with Draven's blood. The memory of losing him, flooded her mind. She lost the fight, she could not hold the tears in. They leaked from the corners of her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

"What will I bring you?" Autumn was finally able to ask.

"Shh, don't cry, little one." The woman came closer, and she wiped the tears from Autumn's face for her.