A Rose To The Flames

Chapter 10

I wake up in a dark room and start to struggle. I'm tied to a table. I can't move anything. My stomach, my wrists, my feet, and my head are strapped down.

As I struggle my wound rubs against a strap. I wince, but don't surrender.

"Glad to see you're awake." A voice sounds. I try to look around. A fluorescent light is turned on and I blink before a man with a bandana over his mouth comes into my vision.

"What are you going to do with me." I spit at him.

"Ooh. Watch your attitude." He says and then I feel a knife cut a small line on my arm. I cry out.

"What are you going to do with me?" I ask again.

"Well, I'm glad you asked. I saw you enter that building, and I was like: what a great person to slowly torture! So that's exactly what we're going to do sweetie." He says and rubs my chin.

I struggle. "Don't touch me." I shout.

"Oh I'll touch you all I want." A knife slices all the way across my stomach, but not deep enough to injure me. Thankfully, it avoided my previous wound. Just enough to hurt.

"You're insane." I shout, defiance filling my face. I clench my teeth and narrow my eyes.

"Why thank you." He replies, yanking my head to the side by grabbing my hair.

He grabs a syringe and squirts a little bit into my mouth. I gag at the taste.

"Perfect." He mumbles to himself. He takes off his bandana. I see his whole face has a giant scar on it.

I widen my eyes. "Is that what you're going to do to me?" I ask, in fear.

He looks at me. "Oh, I'm going to do more than that. And I'm going to make it hurt."

He holds my arm still and injects the syringe into my veins. I try to struggle, but I can't. I feel the liquid enter my veins like hot metal.

I grit my teeth. "That's just going to make you feel more pain. Now, for the fun part."

He grabs another syringe and pushes whatever's in it into my other elbow. I scream in agony, arching my back. I feel it circulate through my arms, into my chest. Flowing through my whole body. It feels like someone just poured molten lava into my body.

He then takes a sharp knife, and makes deep cuts all over my body, but not deep enough to kill me.

I scream the entire time, every cut feeling like I just got impaled all the way through my body. Like I just got sliced in half.

He then takes metal discs with wires attached to them and places two on my temples. Two on my stomach. Two on my palms. I try to shake them off but they won't come off.

He flicks a switch and I scream like I have never before. After what seems like an eternity, he turns it off.

"That was only one volt. Let's try 100." He says and cackles.

He turns the machine back on and I feel the electricity crackle through my body. I feel the moment it leaves my body to the metal table but is immediately replaced with even more electricity.

I scream my throat raw and feel some blood come out of my throat and I somehow cough it out, but still keep screaming.

Somehow, I hear a knock at the door through my screaming. I cough more blood out of my throat.

I feel my body start to seize but it can't because I am strapped tightly to the table. My wounds all over rib against the straps restraining me. I scream even louder.

The electricity is suddenly stopped.

I cough out more blood and mumble softly. "What's next? Just kill me already."

I look up at the fluorescent light and see a head block the light. A familiar voice sounds, filled with worry.

"Oh no, Rose. What did they do to you?"

"Rowan?" I ask, loopy from everything that the guy put me through.

"It's okay, Rose. Just be quiet. I'm going to get you out of here."

"Ju-just kill me." I try to say.

Rowan starts to quickly rip off all the metal plates and unstraps me from the table. He helps me sit up and I see what the guy did to me.

"Not going to happen." He says. I inhale sharply. All my limbs and stomach have deep cuts with gushing blood coming out of them. My white shirt, completely stained with blood.

"I thought you didn't like me anymore." I say as Rowan picks me up and cradles me in his arms. I try to lift my arms but I'm too weak.

"We'll talk about it later. We need to get you to an infirmary." He says.

"Wha- Who was that?" I ask.

My head drops, so I see the dead body of my torturer. I stare at him, the image engrained in my mind. The large scar stretch across his face. The maniacal grin. The dagger impaled right between his eyes.

He shifts his arm, so that my head is supported. I look up at him.

His eyes are heavily clouded with worry. His hair is disheveled and his shirt is wrinkled.

"Later." He says walking me outside and I am shortly blinded by the brightness of the sun.

"Do you know where the closest infirmary is?" He asks.

"Where are we?" I ask.

"'Bout half a mile away from the bandit camp." He says.

"Are you still mad at me?" I ask.

"Later. Where's the closest infirmary." He barks.

"Well, technically the bandit camp, but if I'm seen there again, I'm dead. The closest is in the castle."

"Really?" He asks.

"Yes, sorry. I can make it on foot. Just let me down." I say.

"You sure?" He asks.

"Yeah, I ran here without stopping."

He gently sets me down and the moment he lets go of me, I start to fall. He catches me and picks me back up.

"On second thought." I joke and laugh but stop because I started coughing up blood. Some went onto Rowan's shirt.

He starts to jog back to the kingdom.

"Sorry about that. Seems like I ruin a lot of your shirts." I tease.

Rowan remains silent. My eyes start to droop and I shiver.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, but why aren't you talking to me. Do you hate me now?" I ask. A tear streaks out of the corner of my eye.

"No, I don't know what's going on with me. Don't cry. We will talk about everything when you're better." He explains, out of breath from carrying me and jogging.

My eyes become heavy and I can't open them. My arms and legs slump and everything goes black.

🥀 A/N 🥀
Poor Rose. Don't worry, I'll make everything better. At least for a little while. If you enjoyed this, don't forget to vote and comment. Stay beautiful!