Wolfsbane

39. Free as a jailbird

My cheek stings from the back of his hand, the hand which has been thrust upon my face three times in the past 10 minutes. Every time I screamed, every time I yelled, ever time I even got close to the bars which confined me, the gloved hand would reach through the bars, crossing my face with a ringing slap. 

I stumbled backwards, tripping over my feet, my shoulder slammed into the concrete with a noticeable slam. I pulled my knees into my chest. 

I wanted to be as small as possible. If I was small, the couldn't hurt me. 

For the past three hours, I had been stuck inside this cage. I woke up in a disoriented haze, I had no idea what time I was, where I was, all I could see were the white walls of the building I was in. 

There were no windows, no doors, only white walls. 

I'd woken up alone and virtually naked. The only thing protecting my modesty was a pair of tattered boxer briefs which were almost falling off of my hips. I had kept my arms across my chest the entire time, not willing to compromise my dignity. 

I could see from the way the guard was looking at me that he was waiting for me to slip up. Every single time he stared at me his eyes raked over my body, I couldn't even begin to imagine what was running through his mind. What vulgar obscenities, what horrid images. He stood, poised, watching me. Waiting for my arms to move, uncovering more and more of my flesh, flesh which he would give anything to taste considering how much he was licking his lips. 

First came the restlessness. The need to get out. I sat against the furthest edge of the cage. My back pressed into the cold metal bars, shivers travelled up and down my spine.I could hear the blood rushing through my veins. 

Then came the anger. The unstoppable anger that rushed through my veins and heightened my senses. I could feel heat traveling through my veins. The need to hurt someone, the need to snap that lecherous guard in two. Thats what came next. 

After both of these things came the desperation. The screaming, and shouting. The attempts of slipping through the bars. That was when the slapping began. That was when the pain began. That was when the rakish guard put his filthy hands on me. 

I sucked in a breath. I could hear the guards footsteps. They were getting closer and closer. I shut my eyes, biting my lip hard. I could feel the wetness forming in my eyes. I wasn't going to cry. I wasn't going to let the guard have the satisfaction. 

I lifted my head off of the ground. The world was spinning, faster than I could comprehend what was happening. I pulled myself into an upright sitting position, gritting my teeth. It was just a slap, it was nothing like what Luca must have experienced. I had never even touched silver, but I had heard about how much it burned.  If any of it got into his blood stream he would be in trouble, even with his hasty healing. 

The sound of footsteps forced my head to whip around. It wasn't the guard. These were too many footsteps and they were far more nimble, then the guards clumsy gait. 

I spun around, only to see a pair of icy blue eyes staring down at me. 

I stood, running towards the bars. I pushed myself against the bars. Kicking them angrily. 

"Fuck you" I spat 

Max didn't respond. He simply laughed. His posse laughed alongside him. I didn't have the energy to look at them, to watch them as they ridiculed me. I only had the energy to take on Max.