Zemblanity (Book One of the Juliette Series)

The candle flickered several times, before it finally distinguished itself, and catch the room into darkness.

Shane had given me three very simple rules; Stay here, don't make a sound, and don't do anything stupid. They were simple to follow, yet for some unknown reason, my mind was racing – thoughts of escape buzzing through my mind. It was tempting, but with no light, I had no way of knowing where I was going.

From what I had seen, the room was large and the walls were made of stone. There was water somewhere, as I couldn't hear it. The calming sound of a small waterfall. An idea came to my mind. If water was coming in, it had to be going out. Would I be able to follow it without any light?

I shook my head, already knowing the answer. I would never be able to get out of here, moving was only making things worse. This was a torture chamber, and if I was walking around blindly, I could have seriously hurt myself.

At that thought, I curled up into an even smaller ball, and closed my eyes. This wasn't the first time I had been in a dangerous situation, and I wanted to believe that just like last time, I would get out. Of course, last time Nate saved me. As far as I could tell, Nate wasn't here.

Maybe he would show up with Matthew. I thought optimistically, then frowned when I remembered that Shane was planning on killing Matthew. I was bait, so maybe the bait got out alive? That was almost too optimistic, even for me.

My parents had always told me to stay where I was, and wait for help. Of course, I hardly think they were talking about a situation like this. You know, when you're locked underground?

Frustrated, I opened my eyes.

“Shane!” I yelled, though I didn't know if he could hear me, “This isn't funny! Let me out!”

Silence followed, for what seemed like an eternity, until the sound of a door opening reached my ears. So he had heard me! Did that mean he was going to let me out? Or was he going to--

My thoughts were cut short as I was yanked to my feet and dragged from the room. I stumbled blindly after Shane, hoping he didn't dragged me into a wall. It wasn't until we left the basement, that I found Shane wasn't the one dragging me. No, it was Kat.

My guard shot up like a red flag. She hated me, you didn't have to be a genius to know that. Her vice like grip on my arm was another clear indication.

“Kat...” I stuttered, as I sped up, so I wasn't being dragged behind her, “I didn't--”

“Shane loves me,” she said with a bitter laugh, “You polluted his mind. He loves me!”

“He does love you,” I said, trying to dig my feet into the ground. We were in the hallway now, and she was heading for the front door. What was she going to do to me?

That's when she stopped walking, and turned to face me. There was a sinister look in her eyes, and she smiled at me. “I'm going to make you hurt, the way I hurt.”

With those words, she raised her hand and dealt me a blow to the back of my head. After that, I don't remember what happened.

***

A voice. I could hear a voice. I didn't know who it belonged to, but I knew they were talking to me.

“I'll show them,” the voice said, “I'll show them all.”

Fearing that I was in danger, I forced my eyes open only to see nothing. I was blindfolded. But I didn't have to see to know what was happening, because that's when everything came rushing back to me. Shane, the chamber, Kat....

“Don't do this,” I said instantly, knowing that the voice belonged to Kat, and that she had something planned. Her earlier words still echoed around in my head.

“I'm going to make you hurt, the way I hurt.”

If I wasn't worried before, I was now. I had no idea where I was, but by the a cold wind was whipping through my hair, and causing me to shiver, I knew I was outside.

“Please, you can have Shane, just don't do this.” My pleas fell on death ears, and Kat grabbed my arm. She pulled me after her as we walked on a flat surface, which was cold and hard beneath my bare feet. Almost like concrete.

I was suddenly forced to a stop, and I felt Kat's breath on my neck not a second later. Her hands held my arms firm, so I was forced to stay still. Swallowing uneasily, I squeezed my eyes shut, even though I wore a blindfold. Maybe this was all just a dream. No, a nightmare.