A Lonely Road

Too Much Time To Think

Her hair was tangled and her eyes were closed, her face bruised and swollen, and he could see blood on the floor but it didn't look like hers. He wanted to call her name, but he couldn't, he didn't know who could be listening, if there were Hunters nearby that would hear him, and so he settled for tapping the glass, and Kaelie stirred.

Kaelie was so tired. She fought to keep her eyes open, but they were drooping and her fingers were numb, and she was so cold that her body had started to shiver uncontrollably. Mr. Rose had come in again a few hours ago. She told Kaelie again, Kaelie did what she wanted or Jace died. Michael. Lilith, Sarah, and Ben. She'd given her a wolfish grin when she told Kaelie that Ms. Daemonero was due to work today and Kaelie knew that Ms. Rose had known all along who helped her get out.

When Kaelie refused, again, she nodded at the two Hunters she'd brought with her, and they took turns using Kaelie as a punching bag. She was sure her nose had to be broken, a shoulder dislocated, and one of her fingers hung oddly, evidence of the one time she'd decided to hit them back. The men had laughed at her and bent the pinky back until it touched the other side of her hand, and Kaelie stopped trying after that.

They left Theo's body.

After a while, Kaelie had worked up enough nerve to crawl over to it, and she sat next to it trying to ease the card out of his pants pocket without the camera picking it up. She didn't know what she would do with it from inside this room, but if she somehow got out, it would be the only way for her to get out of the lab. Eventually, she drug herself back to the other side of the room, and she wrapped her arms gingerly around her knees, trying to hold as much warmth into her skin as she could.

Kaelie's head fell forward onto her chest as she swam in and out of consciousness, and at first, the tapping noise seemed like part of a dream. She opened her eyes slowly, the images of Jace and her, and all her friends stuck back in this room, Jace behind the glass, Michael being dragged out, they faded away. The tapping came again, and she raised her head slowly, she thought Ms. Rose was back to try manipulating her again, or maybe it was another one of her Hunter groupies to give her another round of "persuasion."

Gray eyes met her through the glass, wide and wild, pupils almost taking over the iris and Kaelie's heart swelled and sank all at the same time. "Jace," she whispered, and she blinked rapidly, wondering if maybe she had a concussion after all, or maybe she really was losing it this time. He didn't disappear, and she rose from her position on the floor painfully, wrapping her dislocated arm around her ribs to keep it from jostling, and pain rolled through her head from her nose as she stood.

"Jace," she said again, and his eyes didn't leave hers as she stopped in front of the door. She knew that the outside of this room looked like it was part of the wall, and she slid the card she'd taken from Theo's body under the door. When she stood to look out the window again, Jace was staring back at her, his grey eyes confused now, dark hair falling in his face and she almost smiled.

"Press it against the door," she mouthed and his brows knit together. She said it again, trying to mime it by pressing her hand to the glass. He watched her through the glass, and she finally saw his eyes light up, much like they had that night in Paris. He nodded, and it was then that Kaelie noticed the shadow that had snuck up on him, and she screamed his name too late as his head was thrown forward from the blow. He went limp immediately, out cold, and she could see that one of his stitches must have torn, blood seeped into his dark hair.

The door slid open and Jace was dumped inside unceremoniously, the dark haired Hunter that hit him said nothing, and the door closed again, dumping Kaelie back into sterile silence. She pulled Jace to her, and she pulled his head into her lap and she sat there, staring down into his closed eyes, praying Michael got to them before Ms. Rose came back.