Vengeance Upturned

Vengeance Upturned - Chapter 2

Henrietta sat up but the pounding in her head forced her to lie back down and delay opening her eyes. Ugh… I hate hangovers.

As she waited for her heartbeat to settle from the frightful dream and the throbbing behind her eyes to subside, Henrietta tried to remember what had happened the night before. She had just killed two bandits but wasn’t any closer to the master puppeteer behind them all. Therefore, she had celebrated the kills and at the same time drowned her sorrow in honey ale.

The memories now trickled into her mind bit by bit. At the inn, one of the patrons had come up to her, being quite forward, asking how much she would charge. Henrietta had been caught surprised, for not many approached her so openly. Her mixed heritage made her appearance unusual. Narrow slanted eyes, sharp chin and scars marring her bronze skin; one, visible only up close on her right cheek, and the other, more noticeable, slicing through the left corner of her upper lip. Once the shock wore off, and with Henrietta being inebriated and her temperamental self, she kneed the man’s groin. It didn’t take long after that for a brawl to ensue; everyone had just been waiting for an excuse.

I can only guess I’m locked up… again.

Henrietta hesitated for a moment and braced herself for the onslaught of pain before she hesitantly opened her eyes, grateful for the dimness surrounding her. The only source of light came from above as candescent rays poured in through a barred window. A daunting chill tingled down her back. Something’s wrong, but Henrietta couldn’t determine what.

She raised herself up on her elbows and beheld her surroundings. She lay on a hard cot covered with a dirty tweed blanket. At the foot of the bed loomed a heavy wooden door with a barred spherical opening at about head’s height. In the corner to its right hid a lonely bucket. A piss bucket, she scrunched her nose in disgust.

When Henrietta sat up, the pain in her head hammered to the beat of her heart. She pressed the heel of her palm against her temple in hope it would somehow ease the throbbing, but she knew better by now.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Henrietta listlessly swung her legs over the side of the bed. She kicked away the nuisance under her feet, and regretted it when the metal plate, along with a spoon, clanged against the floor, the noise resounding in her ears too loudly. Her vision blurred at the sudden movement. The room distorted and tilted to the side. Henrietta gripped the edge of the bed and waited a few moments for the dizziness to clear. Her limbs shook once she stood up. The room spun again and she stumbled to the side so she could hold onto the wall for balance. After she regained her equilibrium, Henrietta gingerly touched her cheek and winced at the bite of pain. Nothing new there as well.

There are no sounds…

The realization seeped through her alcohol-fogged mind as the absence of sound gave off a feeling of impending trouble. The uneasiness and the rush of blood through her veins, as her heart pumped faster, aided Henrietta in fighting off the chaos in her head. She listened for voices, the roll of the dice, snores, footsteps… Nothing. It’s probably too late, but then again… no chirping, no crickets… nothing.

She approached the window and stretched her hands up. Henrietta grabbed a hold of the steel bars, pulling herself up with ease so she could peek outside.

Trees stood still as if holding a breath in anticipation. The courtyard opened up to a road leading toward town center, and Henrietta spotted a few large lumps lying on the ground. She squinted, struggling to see through the nightly shadows. The cloudless sky and bright moonlight helped her discern the forms. It wasn’t her first time seeing a corpse lying on the floor in a motionless heap. She counted five, two of them distorted.