Lost Heart √

Thirty One

Skylar's POV

Something was crawling on my shoe.

That's the first thing I thought of right as I gained consciousness, blinking groggily and trying to adjust my vision--which proved to be a failure because wherever I was, it was pitch dark in here. Too dark. And there was something moving near my ankle.

Naturally, I screamed. Which also happened to be a total fail since I was gagged.

"You can pull it down." Someone whispered near me and I fell silent almost instantly, eyes widening as I looked around. "Your hands aren't tied."

There was someone in here with me. I wasn't alone. I leaned forward and groaned, scrunching my eyes close when I realized the cloth around my mouth was somewhat embedded in the rough, concrete wall behind me, and it wasn't letting me move. But yes, my hands weren't tied, and they shook as I brought them to my mouth, hastily pulling down the gag until it rested near my neck.

"What--" I coughed, pressing my palms flat on the ground as I straightened up. Every movement felt like an effort too big. It felt like my lungs were filled with rocks and my arms were made of lead. Too fucking heavy. 

I felt a stare drilling into me from somewhere to my side and I winced as I shifted. "Who are you?" I asked.

There was no reply. I knew someone was there, though. The voice had sounded strangely timid. Weary. And I was pretty sure it had been a girl's voice.

I tried moving my right leg but something was tied around my ankle, something heavy. The fear slowly started settling in as I started remembering. Blake and Alexis and I. Where were they? Had they been captured as well or did they manage to escape?

"Fuck," I whispered as I patted my pockets. No gun, no knife. The person who must've thrown me in here--this room or whatever this place was--he must've taken them from me. Had it been Felix? I'd heard him, hadn't I? "I can't...I can't move my leg."

"It's just a chain." The girl whispered again, though this time it was maybe a little louder. She couldn't have been sitting more than a few feet away from me. Was she tied as well?

I shifted my leg again, reaching out my hand as far as the cloth around my neck let me, and when my fingers closed around a chain, a metal chain, I realized that she'd been right. Even if the cloth holding my head back hadn't been there, the heavy chain around my ankle wouldn't let me go too far.

There was a movement to my right and I froze. A soft shuffle and the girl spoke up again, "What is your name?"

"Skylar." I stared in the direction of her voice, furrowing my brows when I nearly made out her hunched form--arms wrapped around her knees and long hair draped over her shoulders. I couldn't quite make out her face, but the shade of her hair was light. Blonde? "I'm...I'm Skylar."

She hummed softly. "Rena."

I pressed my back against the wall, eyes widening in surprise. Oh.

"Rena?" My voice fell to a strained whisper. "You're...here." Caden, my brain screamed. Alex. And my heart ached. God, I wanted to be out of here.

The girl--Rena--let out a soft exhale. Her voice carried an edge to it this time when she stated, "You sound like you know me."