Days of Decay

Chapter Twenty Nine

 Asha woke with a start, not being able to move properly and hardly able to breathe. She had a gag in her mouth, her hands were tied behind her back, and she was laid on a bed where her ankles were handcuffed to the metal bedposts. A cry burst from under the cloth in her mouth and her eyes immediately filled with tears. She screamed until her throat was raw, thrashing around on the bed. She wasn't wearing her coat anymore. She'd been stripped down to her jeans and vest top. Her necklace was gone, so was her ring.

NOT NOW, NOT FUCKING NOW!

The room she was in was dark, but not dark enough to mask what was in it. It was quite a large bedroom, but even the sense of space was lost on Asha whose whole world became the bed.

Trapped.

The windows in the room had been boarded up from the inside but there were cracks which let through the quiet light of dusk. The most troubling detail about the bedroom was that she was alone.

"No!" She screeched, her voice echoing around her.

Her head pounded and with every tear that rolled down her cheek, a headache began to blossom into something so painful, it knocked Asha for six. She lay there breathing as best she could through the gag and stared at the ceiling. There were glow-in-the-dark star stickers dotted around it, luminous, not comforting in the slightest. Her eyebrows drew together and she let out another, cry, defeated this time.

At that moment, the door handle clicked and a soft light shone in. Asha quickly looked to the side of her where the door was and she saw a dark figure holding a candle. His smile glowed above its flickering light, he looked like he was emerging from the depths of the underworld.

Asha stayed still, staring at him. He whistled towards the door and three men came in holding more candles, bringing her prison into full light. They left quickly after Jude gave them the order to go, shutting the door behind them.

"I hope the room is okay for you. I have to say, it's one of the more premium ones. Memory foam mattress," he grinned, placing his candle on the bedside table and sitting himself comfortably on the bed next to her.

Asha's swollen eyes remained transfixed on the man inches away from her. Relentless tears streamed down her face, diffusing any air of toughness from her. Her breathing was quick yet stifled. He frowned slightly before gently lifting her head and untying the gag from her mouth, freeing her of its constraint.

"That's better," he said so calmly, like he was a kind person helping someone in need.

Asha took in deeper breaths, giving her body the oxygen it craved.

"Eesh, I know it's a bummer," he grinned coldly, holding his hands up in defence. "But, we all have an agenda, we all have to survive. We all have to sacrifice something once in a while."

"Why?" Asha croaked, her face scrunched up in dismay. "You could have come with us! You could have been saved!"

"Where would the fun be in that? Honestly, you need to use your head. Think!" He spat the last word, a darkness to his stare.

"Where are my friends?" She demanded, panic raising her voice an octave.

"Perfectly fine, for now. You'll see them for dinner. In fact, I think I can hear Harry coming now to prepare you for it," Jude slimed, holding his hand to his ear, his eyebrows raised in anticipation.

"Prepare me?" Asha questioned shakily, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Yes, dinner is a whole affair. But I wanted to be here when you woke up," Jude grinned sickeningly, pairing it with a wink that made the dark-haired girl shudder.