I woke up with an entire body ache. Every muscle, every tendon, was on fire. My eyes shot open, but it was like they were still closed. Darkness greeted me. I sat up –slowly-- and put my hands on the ground. It felt like concrete, smooth and cold. My memory came flying back at me. The park, the fight, getting the crap beat out of me, my friends screaming as I passed out...
My friends. I got on my hands and knees and crawled on the ground. I ran into a wall, and followed it. I was in a tiny, square room, apparently, because I found the door. Locked, of course. I kept moving around the walls, finding nothing and no one. My friends were somewhere else; I was alone.
I sat huddled on the wall opposite to the locked door. After a while, the floor that once felt so good against my burning skin was starting to get rather cold and hard. Before long, shivers were crawling up and down my spine.
My butt fell asleep. I started counting seconds. One...two...three. When was I ever going to get out of here? Or was this their plan? To leave me in a cold room and let me starve?
The minutes wore on. My neck was stiff, and I dozed in and out, losing track of the seconds I was tirelessly counting.
After what felt like hours, I began to hear voices outside my door. They were muffled and sharp, like they didn't want to be overheard. I heard a key turn in a lock, then I saw light as the door slowly opened.
The light momentarily blinded me, but I staggered up.
Two men dressed in all black stood outside the doorway. They were huge, ski masked, and very official looking. The bigger of the two stepped in.
“Come with us.” he grunted.
“And if I don't?” I challenged.
He merely sighed and picked me up, threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and turned to walk out the door.
I kicked, punch, bit, struggled, and yelled the entire time they briskly walked down a hall made of stone. It didn't phase either of them when I yelled so loud I thought my voice box would burst. It definitely didn't make the guy carrying me even flinch when I punched or kicked him. It was like he was made of the same materials the walls were.
Finally they slowed as they came to a door. Or, I'm guessing it was a door, I really couldn't see anything. I heard several clicks as locks were unlocked and we passed through a small wooden door. I stopped struggling. Surely the end was close. I was going to die.
Then he stumbled.
I didn't think. I didn't have time to.
His mistake saved my life.
I struck hard at his temple and he wasn't expecting it. Mistake number one, don't let your prisoner catch you off guard.
I jumped off his back and kicked him in the lungs. Mistake number two, don't let your escapee out muscle you.
I smashed my foot down into his mouth. Mistake number three, don't threaten Alexis Grace.
While he was recovering the other guy turned around and finally realized that I was close to escaping. Before he could move my hand snaked out and wrapped around this throat, pushing him into the stone wall.
“Keys. Now.” I commanded. He made no effort to move so I slammed his head a couple of times. He grunted, and still, nothing but a blank stare. I groaned.
“I don't have time for this.” I released him from my choke hold and swung my leg around, clipping his temple. He fell to the floor, out cold. I grabbed the keys from his pocket and ran to the door that we had just came through. With a second thought, I raced back and took first the small knife from his belt, then the sword and scabbard from his back. I stabbed him in the throat, and I stabbed the other guard in the stomach. I ran off without looking back.
My pulse was racing. Surely, surely, it wouldn't be so easy to escape. There had to be back up, guards posted at stations, something. I ran back the way I came, remembering more than one tunnel from the room they had me in. I raced past the first door we came through, back onto the dirt floor, and finally I came to a place with options.
There were about 4 passageways snaking off from the circular room. I closed my eyes and centered myself. I had always been good about guessing things like this, and I prayed that I still had my charm.
In my mind, the hall to the right glowed a bright yellow, and the one to my left was a crimson red. I opened my eyes and sprinted down the one to the right. My footsteps were dulled by the dirt underneath, and I scoffed. Maybe this wasn't the high security prison I was promised to rot in after all. Where are the guards? Where are my friends?
I continued running until I found a small, wooden door. I found the right key, unlocked it, and stepped inside. All it did was link me to another stone walled passage.
I could hear Rachel cussing a mile away. I pressed myself harder against the stone and slunk forward. The torches on the wall cast a faint shadow, and that worried me. I took a deep breath and blew out first one on my left, then another to my right. I could see behind me, but ahead of me was a mystery, and I couldn't help but smile at the insanity of it all. I put my hand on the stone wall and followed the sound of Rachel's insults.
“You call this a prison? Damn, living at home was worse than this shit. Oh, you want me to shut up, do you? Kiss my ass, you cowards. Then, maybe, I might, shut the fuck up.” Her voice was becoming louder, which meant I had to be getting closer. The next set of torches were coming up, illuminating my path. I had to restrain myself from laughing. Rachel was not known as a fan of profanity, and yet, here she was, swearing more than she had in her entire life.
Just as I was starting to wonder if there were any turns in this prison, I can upon my first corner. I stood at the edge of it, positive that Rachel's door would be the next door I came to. Her voice was loud, and unbearable, and she had to be right around the corner. I took three deep breaths and, pressed tightly against the wall, I spun around the corner, ready to kill. There were two guards and two doors. The first door had iron bars on the front, and all I saw were two hands holding on for dear life and Rachel's big blue eyes peering fiercely out it. The second door required a key to get through. This would be easy, I thought. I have the keys, there's only two guards, and I have weapons.
The bigger of the two jumped at me, sending well muscled leg at my head. I ducked just in time and leaped, landing on his shoulders and stabbing him quickly with the knife I stole.
Everything went wrong.
The knife melted into water and the guard pulled me off by my arm and threw me to the floor. The wind was knocked out of me, and as I struggled to get up, he planted his foot right on my chest, and arrow notched in the bow I didn't see, pointed right at my heart.
“My, my. It took you less time that He expected, Alexis Grace. We were warned that we would have an hour after you arrived to prepare. It has only been about twenty minutes.” His deep voice rumbled coolly out of his bare chest. His eyes, an infinite blue, glinted and shone in the torchlight. He smirked, as if he knew I was checking him out.
“Get that arrow away from my heart, fool. If you kill me, He'll kill you too. I know he wants me alive.” I wheezed. His foot was still of my chest, and I couldn't breathe worth shit.
He removed his foot from my body and bent down to get in my face. His eyes narrowed, but his smile was still there, like he was taunting me. I could feel my temper rising.
“You're in no position to threaten me, runaway.” He grabbed my mouth and turned my head from side to side. I closed my eyes and tried to direct my anger into my mouth, so I wouldn't punch this guy.
He must have felt my teeth grinding, because he chuckled to himself.
“You're an angry little one, aren't you?”
“Oh, no, I'm fine. My friends, on the other hand, probably aren't. So get the fuck off of me and let me go find them, alright?” I basically snarled.
He stopped turning my head from side to side and put one hand around my throat and the other on the ground next to my face. He started applying pressure, and I could feel my windpipe screaming in protest. My hands flew to my throat and my nails dug into his skin. The more I fought, the more he pushed, and the more my face started changing colors. The entire time this was happening, he was smiling. Sick bastard.
I stopped moving and closed my eyes, hoping that it would stop. When it didn't and almost thirty seconds had elapsed, I started to get light headed. Almost a minute down...My lungs were on fire, and I was ready to kill for a breath of air...
He finally let go, with a cruel smile on his face. I gasped for air greedily.
“That's how easy I can kill you.” He said, while I rubbed my throat.
“What's your name?” I croaked.
“Nippon. Why?”
“Because, Nippon, you aren't very clever, are you?” I smile and stabbed him in the ankle with his own arrow. His eyes popped wide, unblinking, unbelieving. I rolled over and took out the other guard with the stolen dagger. I fumbled with the keys I had and finally found the one that fit Rachel's door. I hadn't noticed, but the entire time I was fighting with Nippon, she had kept quiet. I got the door open and rushed inside, ready to hug my best friend, but what I found, was an empty room, with a smiley face painted on the floor. I bent down to look at it in wonder, and the floor dropped into a slide.
O course, I lost my footing. How can I be a ninja when I'm fighting for my life, but trip over my own feet at something as stupid as a smiley face?
My screams echoed all around me as I slid down. It was pitch black, and I landed on a dusty mattress.
All I heard was a voice saying, “You're early.” Then I felt something hit me over the top of the head, and I was out. Again.
