𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓟𝓼𝔂𝓬𝓱𝓸

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓢𝓲𝔁

𝓐𝓵𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓽𝓸 𝓟𝓞𝓥

When I first came to, everything was hazy. 

I slowly blinked awake, groaning. My brain felt unusually slow. What happened? Why can't I move? Who was that boy in the dress? I thought slowly. 

Then everything came back to me. The smoke bomb. The gunshots. The dart. The boy...

All drowsiness vanished, and my head shot upright. I tried to jump up, but rough ropes held me back. I glanced down, seeing that I was tied securely to a metal chair. I strained against the bonds, but they held tight, cutting into my skin. I tried to yell for help, but a strip of tape across my mouth muffled the sound. 

Well, this is just great. Bound and gagged. I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. I was in a large, dark room. I could see that there were pillars lining the edges of the room. A single skylight was directly above me, casting me in a small circle of light. Not much to look at, I thought.

I heard a small snort off to my right. "Enjoy the view?" 

I whipped my head around. In the corner, hiding in the shadows, was the man that had kidnapped me. He wasn't wearing the dress anymore- instead, the was wearing a crisp white button-up shirt and some black pants. His eyes glowed eerily as he stared at me, a creepy grin playing on his lips. I shuddered, causing him to smile wider. 

He stepped out of the shadows and walked towards me in a slow, deliberate manner- Like a tiger stalking its prey, I thought. He walked in slow circles around my chair, and I forced myself to look forward. He gently traced a finger across my chin, causing me to shiver. "It's not much to look at," he whispered in my ear, causing me to flinch. 

That's what I thought.

He stopped circling me and stood in front of me, bending over to look me in the eye. "Lmf, imp dif if ammn-" I tried to say, but the tape muffled my voice. I growled in irritation. The young man laughed, then took my chin and forced my face up to his. I studied his face. His eyes were enchanting- somehow, even though he was in human form, they still retained their siren appearance. 

He noticed me staring at him and grinned, his fangs- he has fangs as a human too?- glistening in the light. He squeezed my cheeks painfully, his nails digging into my skin. "You know, you're kinda cute, Scorfano," he said, ignoring the fact that his nails were cutting into my skin, drawing blood. 

I let out a whimper despite myself, pulling my head away and looking at the boy with tears in my eyes. He smiles at me. "Aw!" he said, gently wiping at the blood on my face. "Did that hurt?" I stare at him. What is he doing? First he's cutting me, now he's cleaning the blood? I thought, greatly confused. 

The boy studies my face, his grin fading. I couldn't decipher the emotions in his eyes. But he glanced over his shoulder, looking around the dark room, then reached forward and carefully peeled the tape off of my mouth.

"Wha-" I start to say, but he presses a finger to my lips. "Shh. You have to be quiet. I'm not supposed to do this. But personally, I want to hear what you have to say," he said. I nod, and he removes his finger. I let out a breath and glare at him. 

"Look, if this is about that shirt that I wrinkled a few days ago, I can-" I whisper, but he cuts me off with a sharp chuckle. "You think this is about the shirt? I have at least ten exactly like it in my closet," he said. He shook his head and stared at me maliciously. "No, this is about something much more important than an expensive shirt," he said.

"Then why did you take me?" I asked. He looks at me curiously, then looks back over his shoulder again. Satisfied that no one was coming, he leaned forward to whisper in my ear, his breath hot on my face. "This is about your adopted father. About your inheritance. Your family is quite rich, you know. Besides, I've never forgiven the fishing industry for what happened all those years ago." I shiver at his voice- dripping with venom and hatred.