“Is that where we’re going?” Frid moved the note closer to herself.
“Yes.” I rubbed my eyes.
“Terrific.” Victor placed his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his fist.
“That’s not all. The prison has two levels. A low-security section and a high-security section. The place you need is located below the ground. You can’t just get in from the roof. You will have to walk through a labyrinth of corridors. It’s a suicide mission.”
“What do we do?” Frid’s eyes found mine.
“We’ll fly-by and check it out,” I responded.
“He’s gone, man. There’s no way anyone is still alive. It’s been three days since the outbreak. Maybe more.” Erin shook his head as if thinking about something else. “You know, I bet they would take you all back if you asked.”
“What are you mumbling about?” Victor asked.
“I was not mumbling, and I was not talking to you. Hear me out, Ty. Things did not go smoothly when we all left, but I bet the clan would take you back if you repent,” Erin continued.
I focused on the food placed on a large ceramic plate. The bread was freshly baked, but the dough was lumpy and gray. I chewed, trying to come up with a plan that would help us survive the new mission. I would never admit it, but fear nested deep in my heart. I was not sure if I could protect all of them.
My eyes landed on the chair where the Lord of Hogtain sat last night, surrounded by his family. The table was empty, like a grim prediction of what was to come.
CHAPTER THREE
ALINA
Iran through the endless fields of wildflowers. Red, yellow, and orange flickers of golden sun landed on my skin and kissed my eyelids. Butterflies fluttered their lacy, white wings and the cruising bumblebees produced a low, pleasant hum while collecting precious nectar from a variety of colorful petals. The smell of fresh grass and the sweetness of the blossoms tickled my nose and settled deep in my chest. Everything looked so bright. The sky was so blue that it made my eyes hurt, but I still kept lifting my head, eyeing the silky white clouds and the sparkling, warm sun. My body was weightless, unrestricted. I was completely free. My heart swelled with wild, endless euphoria. I spun around, spreading my arms and laughed.
The sudden whisper of a feeling, one unanswered thought, and something shifted in the air. My eyes opened wide, and I turned, watching the fields. At first it was a fuzzy shape on the horizon, hardly anything interesting, but then it was moving. Closer and closer, and finally, the shape became an unsteady figure in the distance. Another moment and the strips of orange light landed on its abnormal eyes and decayed flesh. Its mouth was torn to the side, and the row of yellow, exposed teeth was smeared with fresh blood. I tripped and fell to the ground. My long skirt tangled in the wild thorns when I pushed myself back up. I screamed for help, but no sound emerged. My voice was hardly a whisper, only a quiet whimper escaped my lips. The monster darted toward me, extending its distorted, bony arms. I wanted to flee, but I could not move anymore. I cried, watching the monster getting closer. Its shadow fell on my face and I could not take my eyes off the empty, milky white eyes.
I covered my face, feeling the moist skin of my cheeks and the cold rough material of my pillowcase. My eyes opened at last, and the first thing I saw was the dark brick wall just inches away from me. Moldy gray residue settled in the crevices of the unfinished rock. Trickles of moisture covered every surface where the sun could not reach. I stilled, listening to the wind howling outside my prison cell.
Despite everything, I could not help the enormous relief that it was only a nightmare. But then I remembered where I was, and my eyes closed almost against my will. As I criedmyself to sleep last night, I prayed to all the gods not to wake up. I wanted all of it to be over. And I was tired, so incredibly tired of going through multiple scenarios of escape, and finding no way out. I had hoped that I could slip into the dark void without realizing it, but I lived to see another day. I was still imprisoned and my body was getting weaker every day. Since the day I was taken from my home, I refused to eat any food and my body was growing fatigued and drowsy. I could feel my ribs sticking out, my throat was dry, and a painful headache started to numb all my senses. I was cold, so cold that the numbness of my limbs was slowly driving me insane. That meant that I did not have long, it was just a matter of days. I had to be patient, I had to wait a little longer.
My prisoners never talked to me, I had not even seen their faces. Twice a day, a bowl of brown mash was pushed through the narrow opening between the floor and the door and a cup of water was given to me through the bars of the small window in the door. They brought me a bucket to relieve myself and almost immediately took it back. My attempts to reason with them got me nowhere.
Who were they? Why was I taken? What possible crime could justify taking my freedom? What did I do to deserve this?
I tried to think of any possible explanation, but every time I tried, I came up with nothing. It could be because I did something that did not seem like a crime at the time. I was starting to suspect that I truly committed a despicable act. Time after time, those thoughts returned, and I startedimagining myself having killed someone. Maybe that was the monster I saw in my dreams. I was beginning to wonder if it really was a monster, or if a real person had somehow got mixed up in that part of my still lingering nightmare. I shook my head.
I could not be certain any longer. I was not even sure if everything I saw, everything I was experiencing was not some distorted illusion that I was a part of. Pressing my hand to my forehead, I tried to stop the agonizing pounding in my head.
Two days ago something changed, if it really happened. Instead of sliding a bowl through the gap, someone tried to open the door. I heard screams and footsteps in the corridor, urgent, panicked voices made their way into the cell. Stupefied, I approached the barred window and saw the terrified face of a man on the other side. His eyes were light blue with thick, straw-colored eyelashes and they wrinkled at the corners, as if he used to smile a lot. Except, at that moment, he looked frightened beyond anything I have ever seen. He fumbled with the keys, trying to open the cell door. I watched him, stunned, my fingers clenched the steel bars.
“What’s happening?” my voice sounded rough, unused for so many days.
“They’re coming!” he shouted.
“Leave her!” someone yelled, running through the corridor.
“No! No, no, no . . . please . . .please . . . don’t. Open thedoor! Please, please . . .” I begged noticing the signs of hesitation in his eyes.
The man looked down for only a moment when something bumped into him with wild force. His screams were loud and piercing, unbearable. My eyes followed the shadowy shapes on the wall and my heart exploded with fear. A figure moved with incredible speed, thin arms wrapped around the guard in a matter of a moment, and the face of the monster plunged into his neck. Splashes of warm blood landed on the walls as I watched the monster tear off huge chunks of still living flesh while the guard screamed under him.
I whimpered, and everything went quiet. My heart stopped in my chest, the air I inhaled suddenly sounded impossibly loud, as if the whole world was aware of my presence. Holding my breath, I slowly took a step back from the door, not daring to take my eyes off the dark hallway. I exhaled and took another step back.
The space outside the window became even darker and two milky white eyes peered at me through the bars. Black, protruded veins surrounded its eyelids and blended lower into its cheeks. A silent scream died down in my throat. The eyes of the monster did not move, they appeared unfocused, but somehow it could still sense me. I knew it, just Iike I knew that I would be trapped within these walls until I took my last breath. Slowly, the monster sniffed the air, its head lifted, and I could see the lower part of its face. The upper lip was missing, exposing the top row of teeth and strips of fleshon the sides of its temples. Without realizing it, I took another step back and the beast growled, launching itself at the door. It scratched the surface with its nails and shrieked, pulling on the steel door with the full weight of its body. The frame shook under the numerous blows. My back touched the corner of my cell and I slid down to the floor, covering my ears.
“This isn’t happening. It’s not real, it’s not real,” I chanted again and again.
