The Untold Truth

Chapter 2

The name tugged at my memories, but it was almost as if I was trying to remember a dream. I almost had the memory but every time I was close to getting it, it would slip away again. He saw the confusion on my face and took a few steps closer to me. I knew this man, and yet I didn't. Who was Bradan? How do I know him? Was he a safe man to be around or was his soft voice a trick?

Bradan said slowly, "Aleksandria, I need you to stay calm. I'll explain everything after a few tests okay?"

I shook my head and finally found my voice, "No. I dont know who you are."

I mentally winced at how weak and gravelly my voice was.

He gave me a hurt and confused look, "You don't remember me?"

Doubt clouded my mind as I mumbled, "Maybe I do...I don't know."

I shook my head slowly, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, I was more hesitant to give him an answer. I know him. I know that I do, it's just the question of how I know him.

He said, "I saved you...from the fire and from that gang while you were out running. It's me. Shadow."

That name brought the realization to my mind like a slap to my face. It all came back to me. The fire, the gang, being kidnapped, and being saved...almost being saved. The memories flooded my head and made tears automatically spill over. The kidnapping. Dorian.

All the pain that Dorian had caused me resurfaced and it was almost as if I was feeling the entirety of the pain he had caused me all at the same crushing moment. The abuse, both physically and mentally theatened to steal what little sanity I had left. Shadow saw what bringing up my memories had done to me, and he immediately ran to my side. He grabbed my hand and gently pulled my face toward his.

He said forcefully, "Aleksandria it's okay. He's not going to hurt you anymore. No one is ever going to hurt you like that ever again. It's over. You're not being hurt anymore. Please Aleksandria. Come back. Don't focus on those memories. Come back to the present. Come back to me. Please. Come back to me."

His words started to blur into noise that made no sense. All the memories of being tied in the chair made my wrists physically feel where the rope dug into my skin. All of the slaps and emotional abuse that Dorian had caused my mind to suffer made my entire head throb with pain.

There was another pain that was greater than all of the others located in my side, but I didn't remember getting hurt in my side. Black was starting to flood my vision and I knew that I wasn't going to stay conscious. Apparently, Shadow could see that too. He grabbed both of my shoulders and gently shook me to help me focus, but I knew his efforts wouldn't work.

I was just going to let the feeling of nothing overcome me. The pain started to fade away and I gladly accepted the feeling of nothing. Shadow's please faded away as darkess flooded my vision. I couldn't feel the pressure that Shadow was putting on my shoulders anymore. I couldn't feel anything. I let myself fall into the darkness and I lost consciousness once again.

-

When I woke up, I was back in the room I was in when I was kidnapped. The chair was just as dirty as before and the pain was just as unbearable. The door opened and the squeak that filled the room pierced my ears and made me cry out in pain. I heard footsteps as a person walked through the door and every step he took made my head pound.

It was almost as if every sound was amplified. It made my ears scream for relief, but none came. I looked up and saw Dorian looking down at me.

I said quietly, almost to myself, "You're not real. You're not real. Shadow came for me. He said you are dead. You're not really here."

When he spoke, it echoed around the room, "You never escaped Aleksandria. Seeing Shadow again was a lie. It was always a lie. He never cared about you. He never will. He lied. I am very much alive, but you have a different fate. You're going to die here Aleksandria. You're... going...to...die..."

All of the piercing sounds suddenly stopped. I couldn't hear anything anymore. The nightmare faded to black and I felt my eyes opening. I was back in the same bed as before and Shadow was standing over me, concern etched onto his face.

He said repeatedly, "Aleksandria, it was just a dream. It was just a dream. Calm down. You're safe now. He can't hurt you. You're safe."

I shook my head over and over again, just trying to rid the memories from my mind. It was almost as if my whole mind was on replay, showing me every single detail of when I had been kidnapped by that monster of a man. The images flowed through my mind at an unbearably slow pace; making it so every detail was displayed in slow motion. Shadow gripped my chin and brought my eyes inches from his.

He said sternly, "You listen to me Aleksandria. Dorian is dead. He's never going to bother you again. Nothing is ever going to hurt you again. I promise you that."

His electric blue eyes brought my focus away from the pain. Dorian was, according to Shadow, dead. He is never going to bother me again. I took a deep breath and let it out, and repeated the process over and over again until the display of grotesque images finally came to a halt.

I looked up at Shadow and he sat down at the edge of the bed. My breathing was still shaky, just having almost hyperventilated.

He asked me, "What would make you feel better?"

If there was one thing I remembered about Shadow, it was that he loved to joke around, but doubt made me question if he still did that. How much had Shadow changed while I was out? How long was I out for?

I said weakly, "Make a joke, any joke."

He said with a ghost of a smile on his lips, "So... you were dead."