I quickly swiped the tears off my face as the door opened again. A woman stepped in, most likely the same woman as last time. She had the same bony shape, but now her hood had been drawn back. She had dark curly hair with even darker eyes. They looked like a black abyss. She had a plastic bottle now with the same same brownish drink as last time. She held it out to me. I took it, this time knowing what would happen. I tipped my head back slightly and drank. The same burning pain came back. I choked again, but the woman kept staring at me, clearly waiting. As soon as the choking stopped I drank another mouthful. I kept down the pain and forced myself to finish the drink. I didn't want to find out what would happen to me if I didn't. As soon as the last drop had been drained, I clutched at my stomach and cried out in pain. What was happening to me? Hot tears came rolling down my face. I didn't even notice the woman leaving. I rolled into a ball and lied in bed, crying silently.
******
"NO! I will not let you keep doing this to me! I will not drink that anymore!" I screamed as the same woman appeared at the foot of my bed with the bottle. It had been three days since I was taken here and I had to drink that same horrible thing every day. She seized my chin and brought me very close to her face.
"Shut up and drink. Don't make me force you." She said in the deadliest voice imaginable. A shudder passed through me. Do I really have a choice? But maybe if I rebel it will stop. I know this was probably the dumbest thing I could do right now, but I couldn't take it any more. I couldn't down that horrid drink any longer. I crossed my arms over my chest and gave the woman what I hoped was a scary glare. The glare ended up looking fearful instead of fearless.
"No." I said in the strongest voice I could muster. The woman narrowed her eyes.
"Excuse me?" She said slowly.
"No! I will not drink that!" I said again. Instead of looking absolutely enraged, a little smile played at the woman's mouth.
"Very well," she said, starting to walk out. Caught off guard, I could only stutter.
"But-wait-I-what? That's it?" I asked, not believing it.
"Of course. You said you don't want to drink it. So you don't have to. I'll get Aaron to do it for you," she responded. I froze. Oh no. The door shut behind her, leaving me panicking.
The door reopened for the second time this morning. A strong, bulky man entered the room. This was probably Aaron. He got close and opened the same bottle the woman from before had.
"Dahlia says you've been misbehaving," he said, his voice deep and booming. So the woman was named Dahlia. I scoot away from him, but where could I go? He grabbed hold of my shoulder and pulled me to him. His hand was faintly familiar. He was the one who brought me here. He took the cap off the bottle but before he could pour it into my mouth, I threw the hardest punch I could manage. Jason had taught me how to do that. He cried out in surprise and lunged toward me, but I just escaped his reach and scrambled off the bed. I started toward the door but he was already there, blocking my way. I kneed him in the stomach, making him double over. I took the door knob and yanked it open, the hard wood digging into Aaron's back. He stumbled to the side, giving me space to get out. I've never been out of my room, so I had no idea where to go. I turned left, praying it's the right side.
There were two sets of stairs: one leading upstairs and one leading downstairs. I took downstairs because that's most likely where the door is. I skidded along the marble floor and started running to a large door. I heard shouting voices and boots clicking. Oh no. They're not far behind. I opened the door and locked it behind me, hoping it'll buy me more time to escape. I turned right and went downstairs, going three steps at a time. I reached the bottom and ran as fast as I could, not tripping once thanks to my great footing. My long legs carried me through the house, locking every door behind me and jumping down every set of stairs. Not far away I heard Dahlia and another unfamiliar voice shouting. I found myself in front of three doors. I chose the middle one, locking it behind me. It was a huge room; almost the size of my entire house. Was it a ball room? I sprinted to the other door, grabbing the handle and pulling it open. It was locked. "NO!" I shouted, pulling the door as hard as I could. It wouldn't budge. I heard voices coming from the other side of the wall.
"Oh Alissa.....you've been a bad girl. Come out now and we won't hurt you." The unfamiliar voice said. I held my breath. I heard the doorknob rattle. A few loud bangs came after it, shaking the door until it finally gave out, falling to the floor. Aaron stood at the doorway, with Delilah and a shorter woman with red hair and brown eyes behind him. The redhead grinned, showing gleaming white teeth. Aaron seized me up and carried me back up to my room. His strong arms gripped me tight, despite my kicking and thrashing. He threw me into the bed and held me down as Dahlia and the redhead tied my legs and arms to the bed, giving me no room to move them. I whimpered.
"Now. You must drink this," dahlia said, holding up the bottle of brown liquid above my mouth. It got poured into my mouth and I swallowed, forcing the burning sensation down. As I was drinking it, the redhead left the room and returned with another bottle. I was forced to take both, and when the last sip had been taken, I started spasming and thrashing uncontrollably. The pain was too much to bear. I cried out loudly, squeezing my eyes shut. No human could possibly take this. Soon, darkness took over, leaving me motionless.
******
It had been 2 months since the day I tried to escape. Every day I would take around 5 bottles of that drink. Recently, though, the color had changed to a more bluish green and the smell had changed from burning garbage to strong chemicals. What did they put in these drinks? I was tied up all the time now. I could barely feel my hands and feet. The ties were a little less tight now, but I still could barely move. I saw black at my ankles instead of red from the ropes rubbing on my feet, but I suppose the black ropes were just rubbing off some of their color or something.
I woke up every day the same, with Dahlia or Aaron or Lena (the redhead) ready to give me the drink. But this morning was different. None of them were here, and I'd guess it was around noon. Was I getting a break from the drink? Have they stopped visiting me because they're done with their little experiments on me? Have they died? I waited nervously. I was so glad they didn't come today, but why? I bit my lip waiting to hear heels or boots clicking on the floor. Nothing. What's happening? Suddenly, I heard the sound of two pairs of feet getting louder and louder. I closed my eyes. They're here. The door opened and I expected to hear one of the three familiar voices. Instead I hear something totally different.
"Oh my god. Luke, look," a voice said.
"Do you think she's unconscious?" The other voice asked. My eyes flew open. I saw two boys, no older than 17, standing in the doorway. One had light brown hair and blue eyes so bright they looked much like sparkling diamonds. The same brightness as mine, actually. And the other had curly black hair and grey eyes that were also very bright. They could probably see the fear in my eyes because of what they said next.
"We're not here to hurt you. We're saving you," the grey-eyed boy said. The other one nodded. They walked to my bed and started undoing the ties binding my feet and hands to the bed. It felt so good to be free.
"Who are you?" I asked, half afraid.
"I'm Luke, and this is Will," the blue eyed said, glancing at the grey eyed boy. "And we're Lightbloods, just like you."