The liquid burned my tongue and the insides of my cheeks. The hot substance traveled down my throat, making my insides blaze with fire. The feeling was shocking, and when I thought I could not take it any longer, a soothingcoolness settled the flames and I relaxed.
“Better now?” the girl asked.
I turned my head, noticing the unfamiliar layout of the room around me. Slowly my conscience returned me to the present, but I could not be completely sure I was not imagining things.
“How is she?” a new voice came from very close by.
I moved my head to see who was talking. It was a tall man with skin the color of the richest coffee. His shoulders and neck were so broad that it made his figure appear almost misshapen. I had never seen any man that looked like that. Somehow his presence did not alarm me, on the contrary his low, deep voice made me feel calm and protected.
“Really weak. We have to keep giving her water and maybe find some food for her.” The girl straightened up.
“Here.” The mountain of a man produced a wrapped bundle from his inner pocket.
“I love you.” The girl’s eyes sparkled as the parcel exchanged hands.
“I don’t get it. It’s just a girl,” another male voice came from the furthest wall.
I turned my head and saw a young man with ashy blond hair that practically stood up straight. He was smaller than the other males. His eyes shifted from me to the girl with long braids.
“What’s your point?” she asked.
“Don’t you think that we found the wrong person?” he continued.
The girl glanced at the dark haired man who was looking out the window.
“We are exactly where they sent us,” the leader responded.
“I don’t get it. Did they explain it in the note?” the short guy asked.
“They said nothing about the prisoner. That was Erin.” The man by the window tried the steel bars and swore.
Just then, my eyelids grew heavy and I heard nothing else.
It was pitch black outside when I woke up, my eyes darted from the bed to the wall and my heart plummeted. I thought that everything I had seen, and the people who came for me, was just a trick of my imagination, a cruel dream. But, a moment later I saw the figure of a man sitting by the entrance door, his long legs were stretched out and his head was touching the steel surface. It was not a dream. Blood rushed to my face, and for a moment, it felt like I had too much air in my lungs. I was not alone. Someone was here with me. I sat up and saw the blond girl lying on my bed, close to the wall. She had her sword on her chest, and even as she slept she clenched the sheath in her hands. My eyes shifted to the other wall and I saw an extremely large silhouette sprawled on the floor. I moved and the bed creaked.Suddenly, a hand landed on my shoulder.
“I wouldn’t make a noise,” the blond girl whispered.
I turned, trying to see her face in the dark.
“What?” I replied.
“Crawlers are very sensitive to sound. Sleeping is the best thing you can do. If you can,” she added.
I pressed the blanket closer to my chest, lying back down.
“So . . . what’s your name?” the blond whispered.
“Alina,” I breathed.
“Alina? My name’s Frid, the giant man is Solomon, the grumpy one is Tynan, and the tiny one is Victor.”
“There’s nothing tiny about me.”
“Anyway,” Frid did not react and continued, “What did you do?”
“What do you mean? I didn’t do anything.”
“Come on, you can tell us,” Frid said.
