Alexei And Grace

30 | In the Dark

EVERYTHING WAS BLURRY AND DARK. First I noticed a pain in my head, just above my right ear. It prickled like hot needles stabbing, or thousands of tiny pins all hitting at once. I rolled my head to the left then right, noticing how stiff my neck was. In fact, how stiff and sore my whole body was: everywhere ached.

        I took me minutes to recognise why the wound on my head felt hot – I was bleeding. I could feel the warm liquid oozing down the side of my neck. I tried to bring my hands up to probe the injury but they wouldn't move. I opened my eyes. Where was I? The room span too fast for me to pull it into focus. And all the while the ringing in my ears continued, a morbid soundtrack to my silent despair.

        The last thing I remembered was falling down the stairs in the safe house. After that, my memories became jumbled, like a fractured hard-drive. I'd been running from Dmitry. Had Alex turned up in time to save me? Why else would I still be alive?

        I closed my eyes and focused on what I could feel, since I couldn't see well enough yet. I was on the ground – rough, concrete ground, it felt like – with my legs straight out in front of me and my back against a wall. My hands were behind my back, bound by a thick knot of rope, just like my feet. I couldn't move.

        The air in the room was cold, like a draught was getting in from somewhere. I shivered, spine pressed painfully against the wall. It was hard to open my eyes because my lids felt heavy and swollen, and my mind seemed to have been blanketed in cotton wool. Someone had probably drugged me. But who, and why?

        An answer came in the form of a burly man throwing open the metal door which finally permitted a flood of light into the tiny room. I blinked, eyes adjusting to the brightness as the man's heavy footsteps came closer.

         "Who are you?" I demanded weakly, squinting up at him. From my position on the floor, he seemed like a giant.

         A smirk tugged at the giant's face in response.

         "Where am I?" I continued to interrogate. I wanted to sound fierce and commanding but my voice came out hoarse. For some reason, it was hard to swallow as my throat felt like it had been lined with sand paper. Still, I persisted, "tell me what's going on!"

         "What's goin' on?" The giant asked rhetorically in a thick cockney accent, hands shifting to the back of his belt where a gun was tucked. He pulled it out and examined the weapon casually as he shrugged, "whats goin' on is that if you don't keep your mouth shut one of these bullets will make sure you do."

         I frowned, "I don't think so."

         "Oh, really?" He raised a disinterested brow. "And why's that?"

         "If you wanted me dead you'd have let Dmitry finish the job."

         "Interesting deduction." He clicked the safety of the gun off, making the sound reverberate around the room. "But a flawed one."

         I was terrified inside but I couldn't allow myself to show it. I just needed to waste time. Alex would be on his way, and once he got here I would be safe. Yes, I had to be brave. Keep the giant talking.

         "How is it flawed?" I demanded, keeping my eyes fixed on the gun. His fingers twitched against the metal like an agitated cat might twitch its tail.

         The man snorted arrogantly. It was only as he threw his head back in amusement that I realised just how young he was. He must only have been my age, perhaps a couple of years older. He wasn't wise or well-practiced like I'd thought. I could use that to my advantage.