Oops! I Caught a Genie!

Chapter 20

Nora's POV

I woke to a throbbing in my head. I opened my eyes and saw nothing but black. I was laying on a makeshift cot. The small room seemed to rock and there was a heavy salty musky smell assaulting my nose. I tried to run my hand over my head to feel for goose bumps, but when I raised my arm, a loud clank filled the room and my arm wouldn't go any farther up. Metal shackles were clamped around my wrists, restricting my movement. Likewise with my feet, they were fastened by what I assumed were iron shackles with about three foot chains attached to a wall.

I hope I don’t miss school tomorrow, wait no, Priorities Nora. I hope i’m alive tomorrow!

Now, if I were a djinn killer who had just killed an elder djinn and kidnapped a teenage girl from two younger djinn, where would I hide her? A house? No. houses don't shake. Truck? No, not that kind of shaking. A ship! Some sort of boat. Explains shaking and the fact that this room smells like fish.

“Fritz?” I croaked, my voice cracking from having not being used in a long time.

How long had I been here? Where were my friends? Did… that man kill them?

“Liana?” Was she here? I hadn't seen the man take her though.

“Your friends are not here. Be silent.” A gruff voice said from the other side of the door. I bit back a whimper and sank as deeply into the hard cot as I could.

Sleep did not come easily.

 

Three sharp raps on the iron door jostled me from my light sleep. Followed by a key turning in a lock. I sucked in my stomach and tried to make myself as small as possible. I knew that they knew I was in here, but trying to hide made me feel better.

"Nora Speevil." A voice said from the doorway. Silhouetted against the lighted hallway he made a figure that looked like one of the alien abductions in a cheesy sci-fi movie. Stepping forward, he undid the chains binding me to the wall, leaving my hands and feet chained together.

"You will accompany me to the Master's chambers."

If I hadn't been bound by wrought iron chains in a dark cell I would have started singing Hotel California, but this was not a lovely place and now that he led me into the light, he was not a lovely face either. His features were hard, stone grey eyes and jutting cheekbones that looked like they could cut granite. I prefered softer features, like... Dang it! I was lost in random corridors with a strange man! Not to mention the chains that weighed down my feet and made my shoulders ache! Now was not the time to be thinking such thoughts.

I set about memorizing the way back to the cell, like I had seen the heros do in action movies. The ones where the hero lives happily ever after with a harem of busty blonde chicks, not that I wanted that, I just wanted to get out alive! Oh tell me, fate, was that too much to ask? I wanted my mother. I wanted Fritz, and Liana. Even Mangoo!

Realizing I was distracted again, I focused my eyes on the large heavy wooden door we had stopped in front of. The stone man rapped lightly on the wood.

"I have brought the daughter of Aaron Speevil." He announced, I thought he looked like a puppy trying to get a reward from it's master. A uncute puppy who didn't mind chaining teenage girls.

The heavy doors swung inward, revealing a large mahogany desk. Sitting behind the desk was a short, fat, old man wearing a bleached white business suit. Grey streaks striped his bark brown hair and his broomhandle moustache had its fair share of salt.

“Welcome daughter of Aaron, we have long wished to meet you.”

"Who are you and why are you talking about my father?" I said, none too kindly. I liked to think I wasn't one to use a harsh tone, but this proves me wrong.

"You come from a line that has been in the top notch djinn research facilities for many generations. Your father was brilliant at his work, he even managed to capture a healthy Irfrit! Sadly, it got lost. Right before we had time to dissect it's magic. Such a shame, Aaron left too much unfinished."

I suppressed a shudder, could he be talking about Fritz?

"But now we have his daughter, who has at least half of his binder genes. After we initiate you, you will be put through training to continue your father's work."

"No. I have school and friends to go home to. I will not work for you." I said stiffly.

"Your friends are dead." The man informed me bluntly. I felt a pain in my chest. No, they couldn't be. Could they? Could he by lying? Villains always lie, right? They always lie, they only tell the truth when the truth will hurt more. The pain eased when I thought about the binding. I hoped that if Fritz died, I would know. The gut feeling that they were still alive gave me the courage to look the man in the eye.

"If you have killed any one of them, I will destroy you." Somehow...

"Hah! What can you do? You're not even trained! Take her back to her cell until she gains common sense."

The man who brought me to the room dragged me back through the metallic, military looking hallways. He said nothing to me, and I returned the favor.

He threw me in and closed the metal door with a screech and a clank.  Someone was going to get tetanus off of that and it was probably going to be me. The lights shut off with a snap. I closed my eyes and counted to ten, a trick my mother had taught me when I was younger and kids liked to pick on me. She told me that if I was still mad after ten, I could sock them in the face. Unfortunately, locked in a dark metal cell, there is no one to hit.

Burying my face in the scratchy blanket or pillow, it was really too dark to tell, I exhaled forcefully and brought my hand down on the hard cot with a muffled thump.

I fell asleep picturing my friends before everything seemed to hit the fan.

 

As always, tell me what you think! I'm sorry if her emotions/reations arent natural... I mean... Well, I havent been in that situation :3 And I hope you havent either...