It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when I woke up again. It was quiet, and it wasn't necessarily from lack of noise, because I could hear E mumbling. It was more a feeling. Because before, you could feel someone watching over you. Now it felt more quiet, like the person watching us just gave up.
I gulped as I sat up. "E?" I asked. "Raven?" E called back. Why did he sound so far away? "E!" I yelled out, my voice echoing off the walls. "Where are you?" I heard E sniffle but didn't get a response. I stood up, taking a shaky step forward.
I heard him sniffle again as I began to get agitated. "E!" I screamed out, stomping my leg, my chains bouncing around on my ankle. I had became so skinny that I felt as though if I really tried, I could slip the chains off with ease. "Raven..." E called out, despair threading through his voice. "Raven, where did they take you?"
I froze. I had reached the maximum length that the chain could reach, and the metal scraped harshly against my skin as I struggled to move forward still. "E! What are you talking about! I'm here!" I yelled as I felt my insides churn. Where was he?
I heard E cry softly as I reached my hands out, touching nothing. "E!" I yelled out. "E! I'm here!" There was silence. I didn't hear anything anymore. I tripped over the chain and fell down, scraping my chin against the floor. I heard E gasp out before panting heavily. "Raven," He said desperately as I picked my head up from the ground. "Raven, I know you can hear me. They're channeling my voice to you, but we're separated."
Wait... who's they? I craned my neck as I listened to E. "They came in and took you while you were asleep." E breathed out before starting again. "Listen Raven. Your brother, he's alive. Your friends, they're alive." E paused again, breathing heavily. Was he hurt?
"E." He didn't respond. I waited a minute, getting more and more nervous as each minute passed. "E!" I tried again, but... nothing. I screamed out in frustration. He gave me information, not advice. It's not like I could just fly away...
I sniffed as a small tear fell out of my eye. I wiped it away, irritated, and reached a hand over my shoulder, brushing over the cuts on my back. A painful reminder of what had happened to me, and the fear of the same thing happening to Bear. I hissed as my hand touched a tender part of the cut and brought my hand back over my shoulder, defeat coursing through my body.
I stood for a minute until my weak and underused legs got tired. I sat down, hard, and touched the chain around my ankle gently. It was grimy and rusty, but it still somehow held strong. I then remembered when E and I were in the same place. I hadn't used magic, but there was... a spark. And that small spark represented a hope.
I breathed in through my nostrils before exhaling out of my mouth and shut my eyes, even though when they were open I still couldn't see a thing. "Please work," I whispered, reaching my hand down to touch the chain on my ankle. I moved my foot slightly closer and waved my hand slowly over the chain.
A click. Followed by the sound of metal hitting the ground with a soft thunk.
My breath haltered as I opened my eyes and pulled up my ankle, touching it. No chain. I smiled, and the unfamiliar motion made my face hurt, but I was one step closer to getting out. "It worked," I mumbled, touching the raw skin on my ankle.
I sat on the floor for a minute before pushing myself up and taking a step forward.
Then another.
And another step.
And another, and this time there was nothing holding me to a wall, nothing keeping me back. Every step was one step closer to freedom, and one step farther from a rusty chain.
After about ten steps, I stopped and brought my hand up, closing it in a fist before snapping my hand out quickly. A small orb of blue light flew out, hovering in front of me. I squinted, not used to the sudden appearance of light.
Long time no see, said a small voice in the back of my head. I smiled. "Too long," I mumbled quietly as the orb floated away. I followed, still worrying about E.
I froze, quietly mulling over E's words.
That's when I realized. He didn't give me advice on how to get out because he knew what we were both thinking. The only way to get out was magic. And the only reason the magic hadn't worked last time must have been because I was uncertain about my friends, my brother.
E told me the information to give me determination, to implant hope in my mind so I could be free. I felt tears trickle down my face, and this time I didn't wipe them away. I let them fall off my face and onto my chest and my bare feet.
E had given me something that had already been mine, but I wasn't able to reach it. He gave me back magic. I sniffed, wiping a tear off my face.
"I'll get you out..." I whispered. There was silence for a couple minutes before the orb stopped abruptly. The small light it emitted was bright enough to show me what was on the wall.
A door.
Freedom. Or maybe not. Maybe more doors, traps, weapons, people trying to kill me. But at this exact moment, the only person I could trust was myself, and my mind was telling me to go for it. The loss I've endured could be nothing compared to what's behind this door, or it could be everything I had lost. But I knew that whatever was behind this door, it was infinitely better than being chained to a wall in a dark room by myself.
I sighed, closing my eyes before opening them again and throwing open the door.