The Island

Untitled Part 28

Chapter 27

Zoie

I watched as Firefly slept in her cell, so similar to the one I was thrown into before I got the bedroom. The night before, she'd scratched the wood on my bed and called me Darling as I followed orders. She didn't question me leaving the chain on her neck, muting her powers. She wasn't wearing anything where she sat on the floor, so I brought my own clothes to give her, knowing all too well how drafty the cells can get.

The Shadows swarmed her, brushing her cheeks and arms as I dressed her.

Look, Firefly's in chains.

"Her name is Tillie" I whispered, looking at her face, at the gag on her lips.

Tillie. The name seems wrong, don't you think? There's no fire in it.

"It's the name she was given, sorry it doesn't fit your needs."

Undo the chains, set her free. She'll never be happy here. A bug trapped in a jar. You want her, you won't last night to repeat itself. You enjoy the taste of her. You want to do it, you want to watch her burn as you do those things to her. We know your thoughts, your dirty secrets.

"Shut up!" I whisper-yelled, standing, the shirt just resting over the chain on her neck

Undo the chains! Watch her burn at your mercy! Make her moan your name again!

"I said shut up!" I yelled, spinning and covering my ears.

A soft grunt sounded behind, followed by what sounded like muffled words

I gasped slightly and lowered my hands. Ruffling my wings the smallest bit, I turned slowly to face her.

Her eyes were molten metal, such a deep brown that I had only seen in fresh soil. Her hair looked like gold, and in the dull light coming from a single candle, it glowed, her horns shining.

Tillie shuffled forward, and I knelt down to take off the gag, my fingers tracing the line of her jaw as it clanged to the floor.

"Zoie," She breathed, her lips an inch from mine,

"Talk to me. What's wrong, why were you yelling?"

"I don't feel like talking" I whispered, drawing closer to her, our wings brushing, a mix of membrane and feathers.

She put a finger between our lips, denying the kiss I so desperately wanted,

"To bad," she said, pulling back and crossing her arms, and somehow the look in her eyes made me talk.

"Mark says I shouldn't talk to you." I said dropping my hands on my lap, "but something about you makes me feel better"

She pulled herself onto her knees, the chain on her neck pulling,

"Because we love each other." She whispered, looking up through her lashes at me.

"But I don't remember what happened before. I remember the battle, but before that, it's just a dark room, with a voice calling out to me."

"Do you remember when we weren't on the Island? Do you remember home?"

I shook my head, and her shoulders sunk as she hung her head,

"We were just two kids, waiting for the end of the year. You were the smartest person in school, straight A's. We were so ready to graduate, to move in together, to go to college" She looked at me, smiling as she said, "You didn't know, but I was going to give you a promise ring, and propose to you once we finished our diplomas. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Why? Why me?"

She smiled at me, pulling on my hand so it was resting over her heart. The dull thumping against my fingers almost peaceful.

"Do you feel that?" She asked, smiling more as I nodded, "My heart races when you smile, it beats for you, it breaks for you too."

"I don't want your heart to break."

A sad chuckle came from her lips as she pulled me closer, "Then finish what you started."

The shadows were stirring, emerging from the corners as they whispered

He's coming! Hide, blend with the darkness!

I slammed Tillie's gag back on and ran to the shadows, listening to her protest until the door creaked open, Mark walking in with a handful of guards.

He whispered something in her ear, too quiet for me to hear as he unhooked the chain from the wall. Tillie looked toward where I had disappeared, tears in her eyes as they dragged her out of the room. I heard muffled screaming moments later, coming from the hall.

Still, in the shadows, I went to her and nearly cried out at the sight.

Outside, standing on a platform, was a small girl, she had blood dripping down her back, and was barely covered by a torn dress. Tillie was screaming on the floor of a balcony, struggling against her restraints as a rope was tied around the girl's small neck, and the platform opening, making her fall, a sickening crack filling the air. The boys swarmed the small body, and I couldn't watch what they did next. Tillie was on the ground, shaking, staring at the platform. When Mark pulled her up, she clutched the chain.

And she screamed as she wrapped the thick metal around his throat, strangling him.

He started turning blue, then purple. He was about to faint when a guard knocked her out.

"Take her back to her cell." He said, rubbing where the chain had left a red mark, "and put the body in with her."

She'll never be able to forget this, that girl's memory will haunt her for life.