AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fuck them both. If anyone is staying to watch Malia, it’s me. I’m the biggest. The strongest. I care the most.
“Now why would I let a little thing like permission stop me?” The prof grins, and in the spotlights illuminating the station, he looks demonic. Deviant. I fully approve. The smile falls from his lips as quickly as it appeared and he’s serious once more. Or maybe he was always being serious. “If they have Malia in a supe cell that means they’re suspicious of her, beyond the murders that is. Those cells are spelled to have adverse effects on their inhabitants and so I suspect Malia is in for a rough night. I want to remain close by to keep an eye on – or at the very least an ear out for – the situation.”
“Will she be okay?” I ask, frowning. I don’t like what he’s saying at all. What adverse effects? What does he mean, a rough night? Will she be in pain?
I fucking hope not. I’ll kill anyone who hurts her, that’s not the issue; I don’t want her to suffer. Fuck knows she’s been through enough. More than enough to last this lifetime and several others. The thought of her being in pain, the sort of pain where I can’t dish out revenge on the causer, kills me.
“That’s what I’m sticking around to find out.”
“That’s reassuring,” I retort dryly. “You should consider a career reading kids bedtime stories.”
They all choose to ignore me. The prof hands some keys to Reef and passes over his credit card – I note that he doesn’t trustmewith that, wanker – and we say our goodbyes.
I watch, torn between following orders and following the prof, as he turns and walks back into the station. Through the glass doors we see him talk to the grumpy officer on the desk who vehemently shakes his head, and then the prof takes a seat in one of the uncomfortable waiting chairs and pulls out his phone.
“Come on,” Reef says gently. “We have our orders.”
“And the prof’s credit card,” I huff. “Room service is on him. I need to eat or I’m going to kill someone.”
“It’s going to be a long night.” Cove sighs.
My brothers have the same worry, fear and devastation etched on their faces. That’s exactly how I feel.A long night indeed.
I’m fine until the lights go out. Then the trembling starts. I sit on the bed as long as I possibly can, but when my muscles start to ache from the shaking, I give in and curl up on my side, facing the door.
Always facing the door.
If my childhood taught me anything, it’s that you never turn your back on it. Maybe my parents were just preparing me for this moment. Teaching me through practice how to survive a place like this.
At least I’m alone. No one can get through that door without me being aware of their presence. And even if there’s nothing in here to defend myself with, at least I’ll see them coming and can try to fight.
It’s not normally in my nature to fight. It was beaten out of me early on. But I’m starting to realise some things are worth fighting for. Getting out of here and finally getting more answers, for one.
And them.
I shut that thought down, fast, shivering. It’s so cold in here. Which is not something which would normally affect me, but I guess I’ve been through a lot today. Summer would sayit’s been a day.
Fuck. Summer.
Fuck Summer.
Is she really the reason why I’m locked up in here?Don’t think about that now Malia. Get some rest.
I try to keep calm, but the fear of the unknown is like a fog, obscuring my thoughts and making it difficult to concentrate. I can hear the occasional sound of voices emanating from outside my cell, but I can’t make out what they are saying. The only thing I know for certain is that I’m here, and that I am in danger.
Thoughts of Summer swirl round and round in my mind, despite me not wanting to think about it tonight. Did she really betray me? Why is she framing me? Or worse, does she really think I had something to do with those girls’ deaths and disappearances?
The thought of Summer suspecting me hurts more than the idea of her betraying or framing me.
The realisation makes my chest constrict and I’m in danger of having another panic attack, so I force my mind to clear until all I’m able to do is count how many bricks make up my cell.
Eventually I must drift off because I’m jerked awake by excruciating heat, like flames licking at my body, but when I open my eyes there’s nothing there. The temperature of the room seems normal – maybe even a little chilled – and the iron of the solid bed frame bolted to the floor cools my overheated skin when I grasp it in a panic. I’m not used to feeling extremes of temperature and I can’t help but wonder if I’m getting sick. Maybe it’s just the complete overwhelm of everything…maybe my body is screaming that I need a rest. A break.
I was dreaming, but I can’t recall the details. Was there a fire in my vision? I don’t know for sure. But it feels like a memory, rather than a nightmare or fever dream. Which is weird. I’d definitely remember if I’d ever experienced being in a fire before – even as a child. That’s the sort of trauma that imprints itself in core memories.
But fire’s not something I normally dream about either. Usually it’s the ocean. Even in my nightmares, the ocean calls to me. Some people dream about dying in water, drowning. Not me. My nightmares are always about being dragged from the water. Taken away from the one thing I truly love. The one place I’ve always belonged.
I close my eyes once more and try to steady my breathing, but it’s no use. I can feel something creeping around inside my head, like a spider web of invisible magic – it’s probing and prodding, searching for answers to questions I don’t know the answer to. Its presence is like a thousand invisible needles pressing into my mind, and I can sense that it is looking for something in me, something that I cannot seem to give it.
