Back from the Dead

Chapter 18- Fire Chamber, Icy Veins

Chapter 18

My fists were raw and my eyes drew droopy as a result from the end of my adrenaline rush. I didn't have the need to look for a fight, one found me. Apparently a walking alone in back streets made you an easy target. Oh, how they were mistaken.

Being too impatient to wait for the elevator, I ran up the bright stairway of the hotel until I reached the floor my room was on. As I stepped out onto the floor, I felt someone's presence behind me. I quickly ducked while pivoting on my heel with my other leg straight out effectively bringing the person's feet out from under them. As they fell, I stood up. I was about to bring my foot back up to kick when I realized who it was.

"Blake? What are you doing up at 4 in the morning?" I asked him

He stood up, "I could ask you the same question."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Answer the damn question." I remember my bloody and bruised knuckles and attempted to hide them behind my back.

Blake threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Geez. I was just going for a late night stroll."

I nodded but said nothing. Silence filled the air and awkwardness grew. I shifted my weight back and forth on my feet and scratched behind my ear. Should I say good night? Should I just leave? I still haven't forgotten about him telling me that he loves me.

Deciding I should just leave, I turned on my heel and began to walk away. While I was still in hearing distance, Blake called out to me, "Why do you do it?"

I turned to him. Blake's eyes were wide with horror yet still held curiosity. It was as if he had just asked something that he hadn't meant to say out loud yet was still yearning for the answer.

"Do what?" I asked him.

In three strides, he closed the distance I had made between us and took hold of my hand. Instinctively, I tried to pull my hand back, away from his touch, but he held on tight.

"Why do you fight?" His question chilled me.

I looked down at my red knuckles, "Because I can."

"No, you can't! Those guys you took on were twice the size of you! Not to mention that there were eight of them!" Blake suddenly started to yell.

My mouth opened and closed and my brain scrambled for an answer.

"You- you followed me." I stuttered my brilliant response.

Like a deer caught in headlights, Blake froze, realizing he had just said something he wasn't supposed to say.

"I- no. Yes. But only to make sure you were safe!" He stuttered back.

A surge of anger flowed through me. "I don't need your protection Blake! I never will!" I snapped at him while yanking my hand from his grip.

"I still had to try." He responded sadly.

Suddenly, I had the feeling that we were no longer talking about tonight. It was the feeling that Blake knew something that I didn't. I don't think that this was the first time Blake has followed me.

And that feeling scared me.

I turned around, walked back into the stairway and down the stair, and left the hotel. I took the rest of the night to just walk around and let the night air clear my head. It didn't work.

After a couple of hours of pointless walking, I stopped and sat down on a bench nearby.

I shuddered as I lay, curled up in a little ball, on the damp, moldy cell floor. My breathing racked through me sending more shudders down my spine. It had been three weeks, more or less, since I had woken up in the hell hole. It was hard to keep track of time with no clocks or windows. I gulped as I thought about what was happening here. It was torture. Every time it happened, you inched closer to death. Like you were a ticking time bomb whose timer went out a while ago. It was like living on borrowed time. And it's borrowed time that I would love to return.