Shades of Grey

Aurora's Plight

Aurora’s parents had left to visit relatives, planning to be gone for a few weeks. They had qualms about leaving her to herself for the time, but Liam was traveling with his family, and as Aurora reminded them, she was seventeen. Practically an adult. She had nowhere else to go. Not to mention that she flat-out refused to visit her Aunt Bertha, who gave Aurora’s mother a run for her money when it came to criticisms.

As they bid her goodbye and set off, Aurora was looking forward to a parent-free month to herself. She was planning on finishing her school work in peace and now that she was able to use magic outside of school, to teach herself a few things as well.

She had barely finished eating dinner the second night when she heard a loud crashing sound, realizing a moment too late that the front door had been blasted open. She grabbed her wand and ran up the stairs, racing the footsteps behind her. Out of panic, she ran into the upstairs bathroom, locking the door behind her.

“I know you’re here, poppet. It won’t do you any good to hide.” A man’s voice rang out and Aurora turned to the bathroom window, trying in vain to push it open. It had always been stuck shut because of the way the paint had dried over it.

The footsteps grew louder outside the bathroom and the doorknob began to rattle, a telltale sign that he had found her and he had her cornered. Her brain refused to cooperate with her and she froze in fear, not sure what to do.

“Reducto!” She said finally, pointing her wand at the window just as he unlocked the door with his wand. The glass and frame of the window shattered, the pieces sliding down the roof onto the ground below. She crawled out as quickly as she could, ignoring the pieces of glass that cut her hands, and held onto the side of the house. She lowered her body and slid down the roof, dropping onto the ground. Her ankle twisted in pain and she ran as best as she could. A faint pop of air pressure told her he was behind her. She turned on her good foot to disapparate but before she could, everything went black.

She awoke sometime later, lying on a hard mattress. The first thought that came to her mind was that she was cold. Immediately, she jumped up and checked herself over. Her clothes were in tact, but there were streaks of blood on her pants, which she assumed came from her hands. The room was dark, the walls some sort of cinder block. There was a hole in the ground in one of the corners of the room that smelled awfully, and Aurora had one guess as to what it was. The thought brought tears to her eyes.

Her ankle was still throbbing painfully, but she tried to ignore it as she hobbled over to the bedroom door. It was locked, she should have known it would be, but that didn’t stop her from panicking again.

“LET ME OUT OF HERE! HELP ME! ANYONE?” She screamed, pounding her fists against the dark wood, throwing her body against the door.

“Don’t waste your energy.” A voice said, and for the first time, Aurora noticed a girl sitting in the corner of the room, her back against the wall. Her hair was matted and tangled in places, as though she hadn’t seen a brush in days.

“Where am I?” Aurora demanded, turning away from the door.

“Nowhere good.” The girl said gravely. Standing, the girl was a few inches shorter than Aurora and she walked over, extending a hand.

“Felicia Sullivan.”

“Aurora Finch.” She shook Felicia’s hand, slightly shocked at how cordial and collected she seemed. How long had she been here, then, that shaking hands seemed appropriate?

“I’m not sure how long I’ve been here. It can’t have been more than a couple days.” Felicia confirmed, as if hearing Aurora’s thoughts for herself. Aurora searched her person to find that her wand was missing. If only she had her wand, she could disapparate from this place.

“What does he want from us?” Aurora asked, her voice shaking. Before Felicia could answer her, the door swung open, revealing the man that had taken her here.

“Good morning, ladies.” He said casually, as though discussing the weather. His voice was raucous and sounded as though he’d been chewing on rocks. He was tall with a muscular build, and yet, he had the general appearance of being unkempt. There were no windows in the room, as the darkness made it hard to see him clearly.

“What do you want from me?” Aurora demanded from him now, wishing her ankle would stop paining her. If it hadn’t been so weak, she’d have rushed at him, trying to make a break for it.

“You’ll speak when I tell you to.” He growled, flicking his wand and throwing her backwards onto the floor.

“Get up.” He yelled now, and Felicia ran to help her up.

“It’s time to eat.” He said now, as if he were generous. With another flick of his wand, Felicia’s hands were bound by thick rope. He grabbed Aurora on his own.

“She knows well enough not to disobey me. You haven’t gotten the picture yet.”

“If you think I’m going to submit to you…” Aurora started to argue but he waved his wand, silencing her.

“Quiet!” He barked, dragging her out of the room and up a set of stairs. It appeared that the room she had been in was in the basement of the house. The shutters and curtains on all of the windows in the dining room and kitchen were closed, the light from the ceiling lamps giving a dark, cave-like feeling. He pushed her down into a chair at the table. Felicia sat next to her, her bonds disappearing.

“You move and you’ll be sorry.” He warned, disappearing into the kitchen.

“At least he feeds us.” Felicia sighed, but Aurora wasn’t having it. All she knew was that he had left her alone for a moment and she could move freely, despite the aching she felt all over. She pushed back her chair and ran through the room, searching for the front door. Felicia tried to stop her but she broke free.

“Crucio!” His voice rang out and then it began, knocking her to the floor. She felt the pain explode inside of her. It began behind her eyes and radiated quickly throughout her torso, her limbs. The pain wasn’t dull, no, it was sharp and throttled her body. She was going to die, it was the end. She wanted death- anything was better than this. Her adrenaline was rushing through her body and she could feel herself writhing around on the floor, screaming for mercy. And then as quickly as it had begun, it ended.

She couldn’t breathe, and if she had been so foolish to think that she had ached before, it was nothing compared to now. She felt arms pull her up and drag her back to the table, throwing her into the chair. Her lungs were gasping for air and she heaved but nothing escaped from her lips.

“It’s time for dinner. You will eat.” He said firmly, but she felt she could not comply. She felt as though she had just died and been resurrected again. Everything hurt, oh Merlin, it hurt.