CH#5
**Writers thoughts** Thank you all so very much for the attention this novel has been getting. I know I do not type and create as often as I should but I'm trying my best to manage what I can. I've got multiple jobs and plenty of animals to take care of all while just getting out of my teen years this past weekend :) . Your support would help me to bring more focus to this part of my life that I absolutely enjoy! Thanks and have an interesting adventure reading the next chapter!**
Aldreera awoke with a start. Her eyes flew open, hoping that the pain her body felt was just from overwork and not the hellish nightmare from the time before. Breathing in deeply she could feel her muscles and joints crunch and pop. But, to her disdain she couldn't move and the realization finally set in that what happened was something very real. She knew not how much time had passed between falling asleep and waking up. No natural light shone in or really… any light at all. The entire room was soaked in darkness, dripping with the sound of caged prisoners and their sorrowful moaning. Rats crawled across the floor close to where her feet lay, looking for any scraps from previous meals. The only shade of brightness she could make out was from somewhere far down the hall. A flicker of a hand torch she thought.
Turning away from the door and looking into the darkness behind her she couldn't make out much but shadows and ashen wall. Her fingers moved off of the cot and touched the floor. It sent lightning through her fingers. Everything seemed to be exaggerated. Every movement or blink of the eye was captured by the pain receptors in her brain. But… the floor was a good pain. One that might be able to heal her a little at a time. Aldreera placed her entire hand on the floor soothing the fire coming from her palm. At last, she thought. Some type of peace. She inhaled and exhaled more slowly this time allowing herself to calm her body and mind. She may not have gotten herself into this mess but now she needs to find herself a way out. For now the only thing she could do was allow herself the time to heal and reflect about what happened with her godmother. She would never forgive her as she gritted her teeth, snarling at the fact she allowed herself to be reduced to this. Why? She questioned. Why me? What did I do in my last life to have such a cruel story? Is this where I monologue about my life? Aldreera thought, making her eyebrows tighten in sorrow as she let a tear fall from eye. It didn't even have time to touch and caress her warm, soft cheek as it fell straight to the bed cot. My last dying wishes and the amount of time I wasted on things that shouldn't have mattered… Do I have any regrets?
"Well, do you?" A voice from the back side of the room came. Deep and manly as if an angel of death descended upon the earth. It's voice moved from one wall to the other but, as if not there at all.
Aldreera searched the room for anyone but couldn't find where the voice emanated from."Who is that?" Aldreera choked out through a hoarse and worn esophagus.
"I am whoever you want me to be, darling." The voice jumped as if floating through the air. Coming from one side of the room and now right beside her.
"Are you here to kill me?"
"If that is what you so desire, little girl. I can do that for you." His voice floated back to the corner again where a pair of red eyes appeared.
"To help?" Aldreera choked out again in haste.
"That too." Leaving a subtle pause and jumping to the locked door. "If you so desire." The door unlocked… clink… and swung open on creaky hinges. Aldreera, wide-eyed and amazed, suddenly became very aware of what the object just did. He gave her no chance to deny, and now footsteps were coming to the door in a rush.
"Close the door." She gasped. Right as the hinges creaked shut, a guard walked through the corridor, passing her cell leaving the sound of heavy footsteps trailing down the hall.
"Now, what would you like, dearey. Make haste, there might be other things with more importance to me than the likes of you." He seemed to scold her.
"What do you want from me?" Aldreera continued to monitor the room looking for any sign of life hiding within the corners of the cell.
"The age old question." The creature paused then continued in a rather arrogant manner, "What any being like me would want. I want your life, deary. I give you freedom and safety and you give me what I so desire. Sound like a deal, my dear?"
She contemplated what she was thinking and knew that this man or rather… thing wasn't coming without a price.
"What do you need my life for? I'm useless as I am now; being in this state." She looked at the ceiling and then back to the rear wall in hopes of catching a glimpse of what was haunting her cell. Her heart started to beat with an eerie loudness that reverberated in her ears which made the blood coursing through her body grow evermore hot and stuffy.
"Awe. Little girl, you smell so ripe with all that blood flowing through your little veins and arteries." His voice came from smiling lips, Aldreera was no dunce. She could hear him inhale and exhale more loudly and exaggerated this time. "I think I might take back my offer and just have you now. There are millions of people with the ability to give me what I want. You are no special little egg."
Aldreera gulped. "I'll… I'll do it. You can take whatever you need. Just help me get out of here. I'll do anything."
"Now, that's a good girl." His voice moved behind her making the hair stand up on the backside of her neck. "What I need from you now is some of that delicious nectar flowing through those veins. Aldreera felt a cold hand on her shoulder, lifeless and pale in nature. Just a small glimpse and she could imagine it came from a deceased prisoner. The hand gripped down harder and pulled her closer to the wall but, before she could scream the room went pitch black and… her mind followed. It felt like serenity. Like peace had finally slipped its way into her bloodstream and called her internally. The hand that was placed on her shoulder became full of warmth and livelihood. Like it had just sprang from the ashes of death. Is this really what dying felt like, she thought? I hope so.
Aldreera woke up again. This time lying on the other side of the cold floor opposite of the cot with all the bruises and cuts still embedded in her soft, pale skin. Looking around in bewilderment she took in her surroundings. There was somehow a new pain. One that came from the top of her shoulder right below the nape of the neck Aldreera removed her tattered blouse from her shoulder and glanced at the recent holes puncturing deep down into her skin. They were but a few inches apart and about the diameter of a 1 karat diamond jewel but, the burning sensation coming from each puncture made her toes her. She tore off a small piece of her dress and wrapped it around her hand. Biting her lip, Aldreera pushed down on the puncture marks. Groaning, she pulled her hand away and released the pressure, not being able to bear it any longer.
The guards arrived not long after she made it back to the cot. They checked to make sure she was still breathing and gave her a second ration of food which she scarfed down in moments. Aldreera didn't hear back from her Godmother for what seemed like the next couple of days along with that weird creature who said it would 'help and protect' her like it promised it would. Aldreera was left to listen to the sounds of the dead or dying prisoners all throughout the dungeon. Every night she could hear their sickness and pain. She knew that they were in much greater pain than she was. She heard it in their cries for help every morning as the guards slipped them their rations for the day under the large heavy metal and wooden doors. The only thing she knew is that when a door opened the prisoner was leaving because they were free or… because they were dead. And most times it was the latter. The bodies were drug past her door and thrown into the cell adjacent to hers until there were enough to make a meaningful trip.
By this time, weeks had passed. No sign from the stranger or her Godmother, not even a message or hearsay from the guards. Her Godmother must've forgotten her completely and, in some ways that was a good thing but, now she really had no way of exiting this hell of a hole unless by the means of death. She had tried everything once her strength came back. Her first method of escape was to find a loose piece of brick in the wall of floor but, to no avail was there even a loose pebble. The walls must've been repointed every year in hopes of keeping that means of escape from happening. Her second attempt was to find anything within the room to pick the lock; a spare piece of wire, an old utensil or maybe even a hairpin but, nothing of the sort was found. The only thing she had left to do was heal and then die slowly. The food she was given was barely enough to sustain an infant child let alone a growing girl the age of 17.
She could feel her sanity slipping as she began to see things in the corners of her cell. Shadows crept up behind her and then vanished moments before she could get a glimpse of them. Aldreera found herself talking to the rats and naming them after the dogs her parents had. One she named Fluffy who visited her quite often. It always glanced for a while when coming into her cell, almost to check up on her. Then, it would go right back thieving for food. What a strange mouse, she thought. She found herself wanting to grab ahold of Fluffy and bring it towards her bosom for some comfort. Aldreera refrained from the thought. She knew rats could be mean. The rats in the laundry area were and she wanted no part of them even then. Aldreera had given the thought of suffocation a thought when the guards would bring in a small pale of water. She would have to inhale the water instead of drink it but didn't give the thought any light. She was too scared of death and dying.
Aldreera believed that an entire month had passed and yet nothing was heard from anyone. The guards moved too and fro as did the mice and rats. Each one having their own rhythm of travel. When the guards came, the rats would hide but, as soon as the guards disappeared the rats wasted no time and continued thieving for food. If you weren't quick enough to get to your rations the rats would grab it off the tray and run underneath the small opening below the door so that they could eat their thievered meals in peace. That was the extent she could come to. Was to sit in her cell everyday and stare at the graying molding walls of her death box.