Hunger hits me first, pain running through my abdomen, making me unable to stand. I curl my arms around my middle, trying to squeeze the pain out. Groaning, I clutch at the mattress and wait for the feeling of numbness to hit me.
Rolling over, I look across the room at Lilah. She looks almost as bad as I do. It has been who know how many days and we’re both starving. Covered in her dress, torn and ragged in parts, and my hoodie, her ribs and hips can be easily seen. Three nights ago she gave up the bed so I wouldn’t hurt myself when I got fits from hunger.
This time it’s small, only the pain that makes me immobile. The worst one has to have been the first. I couldn’t control my body as my limbs thrashed and shook about, my eyes unfocused. I screamed and no one had come for a while.
“She doesn’t get fed until you feed,” Puck says. The door was open and fresh air wafted into the room. Smells of forest and pastures hit my nose. Memories of Red flash through my head, her voice already fuzzy in my mind.
“”Feed her, and I’ll drink,” I promise. Grabbing the side of the bed, I stand myself up and turn my head in his direction, “anyone but her.” I can barely hold myself up, but I won't give in. Not to him.
“Nah ah, that wasn’t part of the agreement,” Puck states. Walking towards me, he runs his fingers through my hair, matted by sweat and tears. Pulling my jaw upwards, he brings my lips up to his. The kiss was rough and I can hear Lilah’s gasp from across the room. Too weak to push him away, I let him take what he wants.
Disgust runs through my body. As soon as he pulls back from me, I bend over the edge of the bed and retch. Gasping and heaving, I have nothing left as I collapse on the floor. Hands shaking, I try to push myself up. Running over, Lilah grips my arms and tugs upward.
“No,” I snarl, “If you get too close I’ll do something stupid. Go away!” I shove her and she hits into the wall five feet away. I smelled blood before I heard the crack of her skull against plaster. A stinging pressure came to my throat and I try to hold my breath.
Choking, I stumble towards the door and scratch at it. I’d do anything to get out of here. I her groaning as Lilah tries to get up and the splashing sound when she slips in her blood. Leaning against the door, I can’t help but cry. My humanity’s gone. I cry not for the loss of Lilah, but because I can barely resist the temptation of her blood.
“Stop!” I scream. Panting, I turn and lunge at Puck with nothing on my mind but the blood lust. Re clouded my vision, and I hiss as my canines clip my lower lip. The fairy’s eyes, large with shock, narrow as he snarls a challenge.
“You bitch,” he yells, “and I even took the time to find a pure one for you.” Running at me, he grabs my wrists. I dig my nails into his arms until I can feel bone under my fingertips. “Don’t think you’ll get past me with this, you’re weak,” he spits in my face. “You needed her to survive.”
He pushes me out of the way. Going over to Lilah, he grabs her and throws her on the bed. Her shrieks assure me she’s still alive, but I can’t help but clasp my hands to my ears. After making sure she won’t leave, Puck walks over and picks me up. Grabbing the door, he walks out and slams it shut. Climbing up stairs, we enter a corridor.
“Going all vampy drains your energy faster if you haven’t fed,” he murmurs in my ear. Head lolling back, I look out the windows of the small hallway we walk through. Stopping to enter in a code, Puck opens a door similar to the one to the room Lilah and I were locked in. I can barely stay awake, so I close my eyes and wait.
“I didn’t expect her to resist this much,” a strange voice interrupted, “she only just turned anyway. Most break at this point”
“Not her, we need her because she’s strong,” Puck tells the man. The low voice was unmistakably a man’s, one that sounded like a grandfather’s. I feel a cold smoothness under me as Puck lays me down. Curiosity gets to me and I crack open my eyes.
A bright light shines in my eyes, getting in the way of me seeing anything else. Trying to turn my head, a gentle hand rests on my cheek to stop me. A body shifts to the edge of my vision.
“Don’t worry,” the man says, “I won’t hurt you. You need to feed. Regular blood can sustain you for only so long and you need ‘purity’ in you or else you won’t survive until the end of the month.” After saying that metal is inserted into my mouth and I can no longer close my jaws. Too tired to struggle, I give in and clutch my blood-stained hands by my side. A hot liquid pours into my mouth, and I can do nothing but swallow or else I’ll choke.
“Good, child. Don’t worry, we had a strange boy come by before. He didn’t know it, but he had ‘purity’ in his veins. This’ll be a big event, a party you could say. The best thing is that there are others here looking for him, but they’ll just end up like you.” Whistling, he puts his hand on my arm and continues to check how thin I am. “Most pure ones aren’t the son of gods, but this one is special. This land was always told that the lone son of one of the three ruling gods would become our greatest gift. That time has come, and our greatest gift will turn you into our greatest weapon.”
Hearing this stirred despair into my heart. I’ve survived this far, but could any of the others. Red, come soon, my silent plea echoes in my head. I lean back and wait for the torture to begin.
YOU ARE READING
A Twisted Tale
FanfictionTwo girls: One fate. Red has never been accepted until Annabeth came along, and even then someone had to come along and screw it up. Can Red save Annabeth in time, or will she lose the only person who she's ever cared for?
