When I awaken, my head is thick with pain and a haze that was hard to think through. Two men were dragging me down a hallway that smelled of blood. I was back where they kept the vampires locked up. Everything was made of wood.
My mind was hazy, and my memories blurred. I couldn't remember what happened. I came looking for Fletcher and Noah. Then there was- My memories clear as I remember Troy taking me down as if it were child's play.
The man hanging onto my hurt arm opens one of the wooden doors and shoves me in, closing the door quickly behind me. I stumble and fall down, on hard wooden floors. My hurt arm hitting the floor hard. I yelp in pain, but manage to stand up, running for the door. It was already locked. "Let me out!" I scream, dizziness causing me to stumble. I hold onto the wooden bars that make a sort of window, to keep me from falling over as the world whips around. I stumble slightly, using the bars of the wooden door for support.
"They're not going to let you out." I whip around, reaching for my sword but only finding air, they had stripped me of my weapons. Of course. I stop when I see it's Fletcher. Beaten half to death, with a large gash across his face. But, it was still Fletcher.
"Oh my god!" I gasp running for him.
"Stop!" he shouts, pushing me back with one hand. I am shoved backwards, hitting the ground again. I yelp in pain as Fletcher mumbes, "Sorry."
I sit up and glare at him. "It's me, Quinn." I say, "What the hell was that?"
My eyes finally take him in. He was beat up terribly. Troy had taken no short cut when it came to putting Fletcher in his place. Looked like one of his arms might be broken as well. None of it was healing quickly.
"What the hell happened?" I ask, beginning to walk towards him. His eyes go crazed as he lunges for me. Despite putting up a fight, I am pinned to the floor, with him on top. His teeth are long, like they usually get right before feeding. My eyes widen as he leans in, right for my neck. I thrash under him, "Stop!" I gasp, yanking on my good arm and somehow managing to dislodge from under his weight. I try to get my arm between me and him, and I push him as hard as I could. Somehow it was just enough for our eyes to meet.
Everything stops as I see his silver eyes mad with hunger, tears welling up in them. Realization hits me. He had been beaten so badly he had lost all the blood he had gotten from before. He was starving again, and I had no idea how long I was out. Hours? Days?
I shift my weight, trying to think of a way to get myself out of this mess when he says, "Don't move." I freeze, but fear was sending jolts of adrenaline through my system. Every time he moved, even slightly, I would flinch, trying to protect myself. "Don't move." He says again, through his dangerously long teeth. He was clenching them so hard he was shaking. He was taking long, drawn out breaths trying to calm himself.
Despite everything, I close my eyes. I try to make as much fear as I could ease from my body. I relax slightly. When I open them, I see a tear roll down his cheek. Slowly, ever so slowly he lifts himself up from me. He walks back to his place in the corner, where he first was when I saw him in this wooden cage. He places his head in his hands, his nails digging into his scalp.
How long have I been out? My eyes flicker back to him, he was already almost gone into insanity, It's been at least a day. Maybe two? How bad could it be?
His breaths were coming in ragged gasps. Like he was on the edge of panic. He wouldn't look me in the eyes now, wouldn't even look up from the floor. His hands were shaking and I was too scared of what would happen if I called out his name.
I was scared. Unarmed. For the first time in my life, I was completely defenceless.
Minutes turned to hours. I wasn't sure how long I was down there with him, trying so hard not to suck me dry like the monster inside him wanted him to. He was rocking back and forth. Mumbling words to calm himself.
I shift my leg and his silver eyes find me. He begins to get up, but visibly fights the urge. He was shaking so bad, he almost couldn't keep his balance. Suddenly, he whips his arm up and shoves it into his mouth. He chomps on his wrist so hard, black blood wells up around it, then he chomps down even harder. I could hear the snap of his bones even from where I was sitting. He licks at it like a starving dog getting a plate with nothing left on it. A whimper of pure disappointment escapes his lips, his silver eyes still on me the whole time. More tears roll down his face.
Suddenly he stands. I stand with him, but he turns, slamming his fist into the solid wood walls. He yelps in pain, but punches it again. And again. And again. He keeps hitting it until his knuckles are raw and bloody, but he keeps going. His blood would never satisfy him. Even I knew that.
A voice comes from behind the door, "It's gone insane!" The voice barks, on the edge of laughter.
Then another one comes, this time sounding shocked, "Holly shit, it hasn't touched that girl yet! It hasn't fed in at least three days!"
"Is her blood no good?" The first one asks.
I walk as calmly as I could manage to the wooden bars. Fletcher pauses to watch me, his eyes glued to me. But, I try not to look at him in that state. It was only a matter of time before he loses it and goes after me. "It's because I'm his friend." I say through the bars to the two guards, "He doesn't want to betray the trust between us." I say it loud enough for him to hear also.
The men pause, "Everyone knows vampires don't give a shit about their prey. It must be because your blood is no good." The first guy says. But the second guy was hesitating.
"I can prove it. You can send in another human. He won't feed off them either. If he doesn't feed off them in an hour, will you give him a blood pack?" I saw that they had them earlier. It must be what they're used for.
"Two hours." The first one says. Like he wasn't betting on someone's life.
"Hour and a half." I bargen.
He hesitates, but nods with a toothy grin. "You got yourself a deal, girl."