Blood & Cinders- Choose your Own Adventure Story

Chapter 3

"Wake up!"

The harsh bark was accompanied by the terrible sound of clanking as something dragged across the iron bars. Isabelle jerked awake from her short sleep, sucking in a sharp breath. Beside her, Sarah scrambled to her feet, looking just as jarred and shaken. A small whimper escaped her lips as the poor girl stumbled back into the wall, knocking her head with a crack and stifling a yelp as she rubbed, feeling at the back of her head.

"No blood, please no blood," she heard Sarah mumble, combing through her hair.

"Are you alright?" Isabelle whispered, blinking the sleep and grit from her eyes.

The girl nodded, pulling away dry hands.

Isabelle peered out of the bars toward the sound and froze. Eyes widened in terror at the sight of the creature before them, and a cold sweat broke out over her skin, turning her hands clammy. Discreetly, she hid Rosie from view, sliding her hands behind her back.

The creature snarled, a low, ugly sound matching its equally hideous appearance. Its black flesh glistened in the darkness, scaled like snakes' skin, sending a chill down Isabelle's spine. A long thick tail dragged along the ground, rasping against the stone floor, as the beast paced back and forth down the row of cells, clanking the bars with the handle of its whip. The grating sound sharply hitting the back of her jaw. She clenched her teeth fighting the urge to scream.

"Everyone up! Time to start the show."

Shaking, the huddled masses rose to their feet as cell doors were being unlocked and opened by creatures in cloaks.

The black scaled creature stopped in front of her cell. It unlocked the door and swung it open. A set of sharp white teeth glowed, an evil glint in the darkness, as it snickered at her. "Get a move on."

The group of prisoners in her cell got up and shuffled out in a line. Isabelle followed suit, turning to give Sarah a reassuring smile. It was a forced smile, one that she knew wouldn't quite reach her eyes.

There was only one path to follow.

The sound of many bare feet against the rough hard ground and the soft clanging of chains sang a somber melody against the silence. Not a single person spoke as they were pushed and shoved out of the cell, herded down a dimly lit hall like chattel. The atmosphere filled with terror and grim faces. Isabelle absently petted Rosie to help soothe her nerves.

All the other doors had been shut, leaving only the long hallway in which the crowd shuffled down before finally fanning out into a large room at the end.

The room looked like a theater, almost like the ones that Isabelle's parents had taken her to as a child. She used to love watching plays where actors would enact biblical tales. Her fond memory made her wince when she realized that this theater was not one that brought joy, but one that inflicted horrors and hardship.

Rows of seats lined the auditorium in a semicircle, facing a raised dais.

"To the side. Move! Single file only!" The lizard-like creature cracked its whip.

Several startled gasps rose from the crowd at the sharp sound, and the sea of bodies hurriedly shuffled to the left of the room. Forming into a single straight row, they stood along the wall, the line stretching from the side of the stage all the way to the back of the room.

They stood there, shivering.

Waiting.

In the sudden silence, Isabelle imagined she could almost hear the sounds of hearts thundering like a herd of horses. Her own heart raced wild, her terror barely under control.