It had been about three weeks since my encounter with Kako. I dreamed of his cruel smile and awoke each night shivering and alone. I felt feverish and bit my nails down to nubs with worry. It had been so long, too long, since the drawing had commenced. If Kako had gotten his way I would be strapped up on a lab table right now. So why was I still here?
I hadn't gotten any more visitors since that night. No men in guilt masks had raided my cell. So I was surprised when I heard the lock on my cell door click. I turned, eyeing it suspiciously. Kai's eyes peered through the crack in the door once more.
My brows scrunched together as the man stepped foreword. The door opened wider, and instantaneously I could tell it wasn't the same soldier as before. This man didn't have the same build. His jacket had no officer patch and he wasn't as tall.
He darted towards me and before I had time to move, had both chains I his hands. Soon, his meaty forearm was clamped around my neck and my hands were squished behind my back. He pushed me foreword, shoving me out the door.
I writhed in his grasp, desperate for air. He just tightened his hold. "Where are you taking me?" I tried to ask, but it came out as more of a choked sob. He laughed, and prodded my knees, making me stumble as he pushed me along. We twisted and turned, going down staircases, and soon I was lost in the labyrinth of tunnels.
An awful idea slithered into my brain. The lab. I struggled to gulp around the man's arm pressing into my throat, trying to push the thought away. But the slime kept sliding back in. I closed my eyes, begging it not to be true.
My breath hitched I'm my chest when we arrived at an elevator. The door slid into the wall, and he shoved me into the elevator. I slammed into the opposite wall and fell to the floor. The door began to close and I pitched myself at the opening. My heart hammered against my ribcage, making my breath come in short gasps. The door closed on the the grinning man and I pounded on the door. Fear took over.
The floor rattled as I slowly sank downwards. The small animatronic screen above the door ticked as the number decreased.
I begged any god above me to let be go. I could not go back to the lab. I. Could. Not. But God didn't want to listen.
As the elevator came to a stop, halting on floor one, panic set in. I banged on the door, pounding my fists in to the metal. But it was not this door that opened. The door behind me began to slide back into the wall and I slammed my fists harder. Tears began to form as my ears rang. My stomach dropped. No one was coming. The only way out was the door behind me. Slowly, I turned from my spot on the floor and climbed to my knees. I squinted at the bright, white, bioluminescent light outside the door. I blocked it with my hand and stood. But all too quickly the light seemed to dim. Everything seemed to dim. It all went black as I crashed onto the pavement below me.
I had fainted.
YOU ARE READING
Hiding in the Shadows
Adventure"Just breathe. My mind calmed and I rubbed my thumb over the small scar on my wrist. It was getting better, less visible. But I was still self conscious of the marks my manacles left behind. They reminded me of who I needed to be. Someone strong and...
