Fears

Chapter 27 |Lakota|

| Chapter 27 |

| Lakota |

None of us knew long long we stayed in that room.

The darkness filled our vision for so long it became all we knew.

The three of us sat in a huddle, trying to drive out the cold seeping into our bones from the icy cement floor.

I sat curled at Darrens side, my head tucked in his neck, breathing in the musty smell of him.

I tried to ignore the throbbing of my cheek, the sound of the knifejaw slapping me still reverberating in my head.

But if I was hurting, I couldn't imagine how Darren must be feeling.

I folded my hand his, hunger gnawing at my stomach like a wild beast.

I began to think of Ruby, Riley, and Levi. Where were they? Had they told someone that we had been kidnapped? Were they looking for us now?

My heart ached. Half of me wanted them to come save us, but the other half wanted them to stay away.

Darren groaned, shifting beside me. "How long do you think we've been down here?" He asked.

"I don't know," I said, gripping his hand tighter, trying to make out the outline of his face in the darkness."It's been hours."

"I'm so hungry!" Kathleen whimpered.

"I know," I said, shivering against the cold.

"They could have at least left us some water," said Darren, his voice tight with anger.

"Maybe they did," I said through my chattering teeth. I pulled myself away from Darren, the cold replacing his warmth, groping through the darkness.

My hands touched nothing except the ice cold, cement floor.

"Have you found anything?" Kathleen said hopefully through chattering teeth.

"No," I sighed, searching through the darkness. Abruptly my hands touched the wall, the plaster cool under my hands.

Darren hissed, "Damn, this hurts." The pain in his voice pulled at my heart. I ran my fingers over the wall, trailing them down the plaster. Suddenly, the wall fell away and my fingers met the rough edge of torn plaster. I inhaled sharply, feeling farther around the hole.

"Guys, " I said, my voice shaking with shock. "I found something,"

"What?" Darren asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," I said. "It's a hole in the wall."

"What do you mean a hole in the wall?" Darren asked. "Is it big?"

"No," I said, feeling along the edge. "It's very small." Excitement ran through my veins. "But I think it's big enough for me to get through."

"Let me see," said Darren. I heard a grunt of pain and felt him near me.

"I don't know, Lakota," Darren said in the darkness. "It's really small. I don't think you should try going through."

But my mind was made up. "I'm going through," I said firmly, adrenaline kicking up my heartrate. "This might be our one chance for escape."

"We should have Kathleen go," Darren argued."She's smaller."

"I don't want to!" Kathleen exclaimed, fear shaking her voice. "I . . . I'm too scared."

"It's fine, Kathleen," I said, taking a deep breath. "I'm going to do this."

I put my hand through the darkness, fitting my head inside the hole. The scent of mildew overwhelmed me.