You Found Me

Chapter 16

I don’t know how long I’d been down here, strapped to the table, chained to the ceiling like a carcass or passed out as they moved me- all I knew was that it felt like an eternity. I didn’t know whether it was night or day, where I was or what they were going to do with me; all I knew is that sooner or later I would die and no one would ever find me.

I was sick of these four concrete walls, that blinding single bulb suspended from the ceiling, the leaky pipes above, the cobwebs, the cold metal table complete with restraints, and who could forget, that single steel door. It seemed to be mocking me from where I hung, covered in blood, cold, sore, tired, hungry and dying for a drink; it was the only way out, and I wanted to believe that Drew would come but I knew that I couldn’t put my hopes in him. I could be anywhere in the world, he could think I was already dead, that he was already dead?

My head rolled back and I blinked sluggishly as the door creaked open and Liam walked in. I heaved a sigh, and tried turning my head away; I couldn’t, I was too weak. I was to watch as Liam whistled an annoyingly chirpy tune while cleaning the blood off multiple instruments they’d sampled on me.

“Good news Riley.” He said turning to face me, a fake smile plastered onto his face- probably at the thought of more ‘research’, psychopathic vampire/ mad scientist that he was. I think he was just bullshitting himself; telling himself that he wasn’t just torturing a helpless teenage girl, that it was for ‘science’, ‘for furthering the vampire race’.  As far as I’m concerned, the entire race can go burn in hell- back to the place they crawled out of. “You get a break today.”

I wanted to spit at him, tell him to go back to hell but I knew that he’d just hit me and leave me hanging here like a piece of meat until he decided it was time to hurt me again.

He walked over to me and fiddled with the chains above my head and before I could register falling, I was flat on my back, cold creeping into my bones from the filthy floor. I knew that should’ve hurt but it didn’t; I was numb.

He picked me up and began walking towards the door. My heart surged in hope, and then sank at the realisation that on the other side of the door, anything could be lying in wait. My head lolled over Liam’s arm and I felt my stomach roll as he bounced up a flight of cement stairs to the door.

I don’t know what happened; I must have blacked out because the next thing I knew, I was lying on a much softer surface. Hope bubbled inside me and I opened my eyes to see a cracking cement wall. Had I been rescued? I tried sitting up but my body was too sore and I flopped back. As feeling slowly returned to my body, I felt cold steel wrapped around my ankle.

I squeezed my eyes shut as tears slid down the side of my battered face; I knew it was too good to be true. If anyone was going to get me out of this situation; it was me, and I would, or die trying.

I felt someone beside me and opened my eyes to see a blurry figure. They pressed something against my mouth and a cool liquid dripped down my chin. I gulped the water greedily, choking when it went down the wrong way. I felt a bit better by the time they pulled the canteen back and wiped my eyes to see a tall read head with bright crystal blue eyes, pale skin and high cheek bones.

I glared at her as she turned to reach for a platter filled with meat and fruit. My mouth watered at the sight and stomach rumbled; I hadn’t eaten since I’d gotten here.

She helped me sit up and rested the plate on my lap. I dug in, avoiding the meat as it didn’t seem to be cooked; I liked it rare but not dripping blood!

The girl sat down on a chair a few feet away, watching what I ate with eyes like an eagle. Suddenly my stomach rolled and I only had enough time to tilt my upper body off the floor before everything I ate came back up. I heard her gasp before she held my hair back, standing off to the side. Guess that’s what I get for eating too quickly after no food for so long.