Abe Sapien and the Witch

Chapter 24

Chapter twenty-four

The medication forced her into a deep sleep and Abe left in a hurry, whispering something about needing a swim in the lake as he left Red and Liz to stare at each other in confusion.

"He said fiancée, right? Like, she is supposed to be marrying whatever creep did that to her?"

"Sounded like it..." Red said, placing a hand on Liz' knee. "That can't be right, I mean why would he want to marry someone he likes to hurt? And she seems traumatised after seeing him, not to mention he broke her hands...for fun. This stinks and I don't like it."

"Me neither, Red," she whispered, her hand covering his, "I don't like this one bit."

*****

She woke some hours later, feeling nauseous and hungry but with a much clearer sense of awareness. Her thoughts searched for Abe, and her chest hurt with the realisation that he was not here. He had been here earlier, she thought, hadn't he? Realisation dawned, and she sat up, machines peeping their furious tones as she managed to roll back the covers and clamber out of the bed, dislodging the drip and heart monitors in her wake.

Two nurses came running into the ward towards her. Krauss jostled his way in after with them hoping to block her exit, urging her with his arms aloft to calm down and get back into the bed. She shook her head, defiant as she clutched her aching hands close to her chest. "Please, you hav to rest!" Krauss urged, his gloved hands raising up high like a lion tamer calming an enraged feline.

Feeling panicked and closed in, her mouth automatically opened, and her voice screamed the word "Stop!" at them at full volume. A tidal wave of wind and energy was created along with it, knocking Krauss and the nurses flat on their backs. She stood there for a moment, fighting against an intense dizzy spell before her knees buckled and she tilted back, sure she heard Abes voice echoing her name as her consciousness drifted away into memory as she fell.

***

He took pleasure in breaking each finger, pinning her against the wall of the makeshift lab with his body weight as he clutched her wrists, snapping each digit with ease. She struggled and fought against him, her breath coming in jagged gasps as he broke her bones.

"Oh love, I forgot just how fun you are to play with. You thought it was a good idea to make an anti-magic potion, did you?" he had said, his voice a silken slither against her ear as he jerked his grip, snapping a little finger next as he eyed up the burns on her hand from earlier. He started to laugh then at her distress, his mouth a ludicrous grin on a usually charming face. "That was a bad idea, darling. Oh, but it's just not half as fun to play with you when I can't hear you scream..." he tutted, his voice making her squirm away from him as he whispered the words next to her ear.

"Let's fix that," he said, letting her drop to the floor with a rough smack, "you know I'm the only one with enough power to give you your voice back. Aside from your mother that is, and I've already told you about what I did to her..." He whispered the words to a spell under his breath, his dark hair curling around his face as a purplish haze surrounded him.

He clasped his hands together, his eyes gleaming an ominous golden shade for one moment as the incantation was completed. He reached down to grip her by the throat, squeezing her with cruel fingers.

One last word uttered then the purplish haze surrounded her, filling her nostrils and mouth while blinding her. His fingers were squeezing a death grip on her throat that restricted her breathing, forcing her mouth to gasp wider. He loosened his grip once the mist dissipated, fixing the lapel of his long coat while she coughed and dragged in deep lungful's of air.

"I'll let you thank me for that later," he smirked, kneeling to grab her wrists again before heaving her back up against the wall with a violent thump, her head connecting against the trucks metal interior with a dull thud. "Now, where were we?"