Page 10 of Catatonic


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I rolled my eyes. “Debs, we couldn’t give a shit as long as you aren’t using fire or any other living being.”

“You’ll give a shit soon.” Her grin was manic.

“Keep your secrets, psycho. We’ll be out of here before you can do anything to us,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

Manifest the freedom. That's what the positive thought brigade would suggest, right?

She finally got fed up with my chat and blasted me as she had done to Clawdia. The impact blew me farther away from the bars, enough for me to bash my head on the jagged edges of the cave wall.

“Fuck you, bitch. That fucking hurt.” I heard Clawdia suck in a pained gasp and realized she felt my pain too.

“You okay?”I asked.

“You’re going to get us into a lot of trouble, aren’t you?”

“Sorry.”

“I’ve had enough of you and your smart answers,” Debs ranted, her eyes glittering with anger. She turned to pick up the cup and the sad plate of food that had been laid just outside of the cage bars—close enough that we could reach it. With an evil grin, she placed the plate far enough away that we couldn’t reach it, but it was still in sight. “Consider this your punishment. I hear fasting is good for your skin.”

And with that, she kicked the lantern, which smashed against the bars and shocked Zaide back to life. He roared. Clawdia, who’d been lying on the floor playing dead, snapped her head up to see him attack the bars. He was like a beast. He was wild. The blue shield between the bars didn’t succeed in pushing him back.

Debs, who I hoped had shit herself in fear, looked totally nonplussed. She smirked and left us to deal with the rabid titan, in the dark, with no food.

“Zaide?” Clawdia approached him cautiously.

He roared again, and the bars shook. He didn’t seem to have heard her.

I rubbed my head where it hit the rocks. “Yo, golden giant. Calm the fuck down, please. I have a splitting headache.”

“Charlie!” Clawdia whispered.

“Clawdia.”

She rolled her eyes at me and then turned back to Zaide. “Zaide, it’s me.” She moved closer toward him, but he still paid her no mind. I wondered if he could hear her soft cooing over the racket he was making.

“It’s okay. Just calm down. It’s okay.” She touched him, just his arm, and his head whipped toward her. He drew his arm back, and she flinched. Full body flinched away from him. Like he was going to hurt her, hit her. I felt her flash of fear and then the guilt as she watched Zaide look at her, horrified.

“Little Cat, I would never,” he murmured gently, his voice gruff, and lowered his arm and his entire body to her level on the floor.

She brushed her hand over his arm. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. It was just a reflex.”

There was an awkward pause. I filled it. “You okay, Zaide? Damage anything in your temper tantrum?”

“They are planning to kill us,” he growled.

CHAPTER3

ZAIDE

My mind was as cold and dark as the cave the witches threw us in. Although with one important difference. The cave was empty of all things but us, yet my mind was full of haunting memories.

I tried to block out Clawdia's shallow breathing and Charlie's groans. They reminded me of similar sounds made by males dying in cages beside me after fights they didn't want to participate in.

Time had become incomprehensible. When my eyes were open, I saw the cave, Charlie, and Clawdia, but it became impossible to make myself interact with them. Almost as though I was floating outside of myself, I could see them talk but couldn’t understand the words.

Sleep should have been my salvation, yet in my dreams, I was unable to stop the barrage of images from my past. I found myself in the place I was trying not to be reminded of. In my former cage. Cold sweat dripped down my back as I buried my head in my hands.

This is a dream. This is not real.

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