The Story of Midnight

Chapter 22

"I'll leave the door cracked because cracked is better than broken."

― Jarod Kintz, This Book Has No Title

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I woke up gasping for breath, my heart beating so wildly in my chest that it hurt.

"Good, looks like the...'mixture' worked." That voice, I'm starting to get sick of that voice.

"What did you-"

My eyes widened slightly when I noticed that my feet weren't on the ground. As I tried to move my arms, the rattle of chains reached my ears. I'm starting to hate that sound too.

"Where am I?"

I heard laughter then footsteps in between my ragged breathing.

"You're exactly where I want you to be."

The footfalls came closer to me; the sound was like a crunching noise, meaning I could be in some sort of basement hidden in the prison that only the Commander knows about, but I digress.

The clatter of iron echoed throughout the room as I tried to move so I could know how far the chains can go.

The noise ignited something in me, something I was tired of feeling. It continued to grow rapidly until it suddenly burst.

"Goddammit, I'm not a fucking animal!" I yelled as I shook the chains in frustration.

"But you are hiding one, so you tell me."

"I may be hiding one but that doesn't make me one."

"Really, demon-girl? What part of having a dragon spirit don't you get? That creature is a part of you as much as you're a part of him."

I stayed silent knowing this conversation was going to get us nowhere.

"You should've seen the boy that you share your cell with," he whispered sinisterly in my ear, hearing his voice near me didn't faze me," he fought so hard to keep you from being taken."

I was quickly overwhelmed by a wild rage.

"His efforts were useless. I still got my reward." His laughter echoed around me; only fueling my anger further.

"Bastard, what did you do to him?!" The rumble of chains reverberated as I tried to lunge at him but to no avail. "He doesn't need to get involved in this; it's between you and me!"

"See? Wild animals deserve to be caged. You're just like the others." He laughed. "The boy plays a big part in this. He helps me get to you easily. Looks like I found another weakness." He stated in an eerily calm but wicked voice.

I was about to let out a string of curses at him but stopped when I heard Zephyr's voice.

Silver, calm yourself, you are only falling for the trap he is setting out for you. Remember, Cloud is a strong person and he knows his way around a blade. Put your worries to rest, Silver, do not let the Commander see you this way, it only makes him provoke you further.

I contemplated about what the dragon said and decided to abide by them.

It took a while, but I finally let my tense muscles relax and let reasonable thinking take over instead of acting on impulse.

"Hmm, looks like the mixture wore off." He muttered.

My ears literally perked up at that.

"What mixture? What did you do to me?"

A few heartbeats of silence passed.

"You're my guinea pig for an experiment."

My eyes narrowed.