SCRATCHED

Chapter 23

2020, Somewhere In The Dark

The throbbing pain, coupled with the gentle push of a door somewhere in the dark, woke him up. The room smelled like blood, dust and manly sweat. Footsteps sounded closer, and the horrible smells were buried by a honey-lime scent as they wafted by.

His eyes burned when the blinds were opened, the sunlight piercing in. He blinked a few times, then looked up to the person who had walked into the room-a woman.

Behind her, the sound of men erupted into the evening air. She looked at him, her eyes empty. Clad in a sleeveless top and jeans, the light sinking into the Afro atop her head, Jay, even after being beaten and bruised, couldn't help but notice that she was dangerously beautiful.

Her eyes were a sharp-brown venom. Her flawless skin seemed to be glimmering in the evening light, flawed only at her neck, where the tattoo sat graciously.

Something about her confident stance, vacant stare and deadly silence frightened Jay. He sat up, wincing.

"Your injuries would need some time," she said, walking closer. "Sadly, you don't have it."

He wanted to ask what she meant, but she had come too close, and his words retreated. She took one of his hands gently. Shuddering at her touch, he drew it back.

She smiled. "Tianna."

He was still afraid. Her name didn't change that. But regardless, he heard himself speak.

"Jay."

"Great, now that it's confirmed we're both humans, you should know that I don't eat people."

He chuckled, but even that felt painful. His eyes traveled to the window, his nose still being pricked by blood. "I wouldn't be so sure."

There was a tightness in his stomach. He looked down, finding an elastic bandage wrapped around his abdomen. He saw it in Tianna's hand when she reached for his hand again. This time he didn't pull back.

She was sitting beside him now, and all he could see was the large tattoo on the side of her neck as she tied the bandage round his hand.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

She didn't look up. "It's your hand, not mine."

"A tattoo, does it hurt?"

She took his left hand, silent till she was done wrapping it, then she looked him in the eyes, smiling. "It won't kill you."

She got up and walked to the door, then stopped and turned around, her smile gone, nothing but that vacant stare.

"It stings," she whispered. "Like a scratch."

She disappeared into the dark, and two heavy men walked to him, grabbed him roughly by the arms and shoved him toward the door. Jay fought, but their grip was hard as iron, and fighting only made the aches worse.

Into the shadows they stepped. He could still hear her faint footsteps far ahead.

"Where are they taking me?" he shouted, after the men had acted dumb to his questions.