Madeline

Madeline: Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen 

Light. 

At last, Madeline could see the sunlight, hitting her skin softly. She brushed the dust covering her clothes. Her head was spinning furiously, and her jaws ached ached as she tried to move it. Strands of her hair filled the floor, which was made out of solid, gray, stone. Her vision was blurry, and she saw some black spots dancing around. 

Rubbing her eyes, Madeline stood up. Her vision was clear again, yet her legs were throbbing with pain and her jaws still ached. She tried to see the source of light, but then there was no sunshine at all.  Just three torches, illuminating the room. 

The room was shaped like a cube, and it was decorated like a prison. One of the walls was covered with prison bars, like the ones you'd see in those jailbreak movies. The others, were covered with solid metals. The ceiling was made out of the same, gray stones. There was a small bunk bed. The foundation of the bed was made out of steel, and the mattress were untidy. Sleeping on the floor seemed to be a better idea than sleeping on the bed. There's a clean sink in the far corner, and there's a toilet next to it, which was oddly clean. 

Madeline felt something was wrong. She turned around and saw the room was empty. Finally, the thought hit her like boulders. Jack and Daniel were missing. 

She scrambled around in panic, her hands punching the solid metal, creating a loud, 'Bang! Bang! Bang!'. At the end, Madeline didn't do any damage whatsoever on the metal. She tried casting spells and magics and stuffs, but the room was somehow preventing her from doing magics, as if it were magic-proof. Her knives, bows and arrows were missing. She tried grabbing the bars and ripping it apart, but as soon as she touched the bars, it produced heat and burned Madeline's hands. "Ouch!" 

Madeline's hands trembled as the pain began to spread. Fear flowed through her body. Negative thoughts started to crawl into her. What if she died here, alone, and hopeless? What will happen to Jack and Daniel? Will they make it out alive with the rest of the prisoners? Or will they fail? She shooed the thoughts away. She exhaled and inhaled, trying to calm her way out as she concentrated on what to do next. 

"Okay, since the metals won't budge, and the bars would melt my hands, maybe I should try digging the floor." Several minutes later, her digging became pointless. "Or maybe I shouldn't." 

She sighed, as she walked towards the bars. She stared at the room outside of her prison through the gaps in the bars. 

Torches lit the place as they glowed brightly blue. The room was empty except for the sound of the fire, flickering wildly. No Trieste, no Ivan, no guards, no magicians, or sorceresses. Not a single one of them. Maybe they knew enough that no one could escape  There were several other prisons, but they were all empty. Except for one. 

Right in front of her chamber, another person was being held captive in another room. His hands were being cuffed with sturdy, and magical handcuffs that covered all of his hands. The handcuffs glowed whenever he tried to yank his way out. His eyes were blue and determined. His expression showed anger and frustration. His hair was messy and he looked just like...

"Jack?" 

He turned his attention from the handcuffs, into her. His eyes glowed with a hint of hope. But then, he sighed, "No, I'm Aaron. Nice to meet you. It's been a long time since I've had social interactions with people." 

Madeline felt sorry for the man. "Oh, I'm Madeline." She examined his hands. "What's up with the handcuffs there?" 

He narrowed his eyebrows and started to inspect his hands. He showed the cuffs to Madeline, "You mean these? Oh, I have the ability to grow knives from my fingernails. So, my nails are made out of steel. But, my toes aren't."