Cursed by the Fountain of Youth

Chapter 16

Fae's eyes fluttered open, though it seemed they were still closed. She'd never been in such complete darkness. It was extremely disconcerting—as if being chained to the wall of a dank dungeon wasn't bad enough.

The shaking of her body caused the iron chains to cut into wrists. Her lips were dry and cracked, and her stomach clenched in hunger...thirst? It was hard to tell which.

She had no way of knowing how long she'd been here. Lafayette told her she'd go into hibernation in about a week. She had until then to figure out how to get out of this place.

"Hello?" she shouted—not truly because she thought someone would hear her, but because she couldn't bear another moment of silence. "Please, help me." Her voice rasped like dry sand over her parched throat. She tried to swallow, but there was no moisture. Too bad she couldn't drink the water she sat in. The chain was too short. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.

"Please," she pleaded.

Dangling in silence, jagged stones pressed into her back. Her foot throbbed. Her mind moved in and out of consciousness with no clear boundaries between asleep and awake. She remained this way for hours...days? She had no idea.

"Hello?"

Fae's eyes flew open. Was that a voice?

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she responded.

Silence.

Her breathing calmed down, as did her heart. She must have imagined it. No one could possibly—

"Hello?"

That was a voice! It sounded like a woman. "Hello! I'm here. Please help me!" Fae tried to shout, but her voice came out dry and raspy.

From out of the darkness, a pattern began to emerge—slashes of horizontal and vertical black stripes. As the image became clearer, she could make out blocks, stacked one on top of another—extending from the floor and arching over her head. Was she imagining this? The image was very hard to see in the oppressing darkness, but what little she could make out was familiar. This was her surroundings. Why was she only now seeing it?

The light increased, and she could make out more detail. There had to be a light source somewhere. Was it seeping through cracks in the wall? Perhaps she hadn't been here for days. Maybe it'd only been one night. Could this be sunrise? It seemed impossible. The cell had appeared impenetrable. But then, maybe it wasn't. She had heard a voice.

She opened her mouth to call for help one more time, but only a croak came out. Her throat was just too dry.

"Please don't leave me here!"

Fae jumped when she heard the voice crying out, echoing in her thoughts and chilling her. Dolores? No. That was insane. There was no such thing as ghosts. But then...a short time ago she hadn't believed in the Fountain of Youth, either. And then Agent Thomas... he definitely wasn't human.

"I don't want to die."

The ghostly voice wailed, causing panic to rise in Fae. Was this what she had to look forward to? Dying in here and becoming a ghost herself?

The light continued to increase—taking on a blue tint. At any moment now, Fae expected to see the apparition of the woman. She squeezed her eyes shut, afraid of what she might see.

"No one is coming."

This time it was a man's voice. That had to be Dolores's lover...what was his name?