“You have to get here and be careful.”
“Ok, we’ll be there soon.”
Devon hung up, gripping the steering wheel tight as he waited impatiently. The wind howled around the vehicle, shaking it slightly. “What is going on?” Melissa asked quietly.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think Cassie is near?”
He remained silent as he pondered the words, afraid to acknowledge the fact that it may very well have been Cassie that had done this. He couldn’t think about it though, didn’t even want to acknowledge it. His Cassie never could have done this, but there was no way to know what had been done to her. He could not acknowledge the fact that his Cassie may no longer even exist.
“Yes,” he admitted.
Annabelle and Liam appeared at the edge of the parking lot, they moved rapidly across the snow and asphalt. Devon hit the unlock button, letting them into the backseat on a blast of cold air. “What’s going on?” Liam demanded as soon as he was settled.
Devon quickly filled him in on the condition of the hotel as he pulled out of the parking lot. His headlights spilled over the oddly silent woods, splashing across the snow. “Where did the people staying in the motel go though?” Annabelle asked quietly.
Devon was wondering the same thing as he made his way toward town. “I don’t know, but hopefully we find some answers soon.”
CHAPTER 19
Cassie hurried to the window; she knelt upon the bed as she eagerly peered into Julian’s room. He was already lying on his bed, his arm tossed over his eyes as he tried to block out the harsh light in his room. There were fresh burn marks viciously marring the pale skin of his arms, and his hair was singed at the edges. She didn’t know what they had done to him today, but it had been far more than a taser, and Dani.
She gaped at him in horror, noting more burn marks along his hard jaw line and cheeks. Her heart constricted, anguish filled her at the obvious signs of pain he had endured. And she didn’t even know how long ago the burns had been administered to him. These marks could be hours old, which meant he would have had hours of healing behind him already, and yet he was still marred and wounded.
Cassie swallowed heavily; fresh tears stung her eyes as she pressed her hands against the glass. She wanted to touch him, to soothe his hurt and suffering, to help ease the pain that radiated from his body. His clenched jaw twitched, a muscle jumped in his cheek. “I’m ok princess.”
She started at the sound of his hoarse, strained voice. “How did you know I was here?” she asked softly.
“I would know you anywhere.”
Cassie hastily wiped away the tears streaming down her face. She knew that he would hate them. He would especially hate the fact that they were for him. Her chest constricted with the strain it took to keep her sob silent. “What did they do?” she breathed, unable to keep the hitch from her voice.
He did not lower his arm to look at her, did not even turn toward her, but she knew that her tone had affected him. Cassie rested her forehead against the glass, wishing that he would talk to her, wishing that he would at least look at her. He seemed beaten, defeated, and she needed him to be strong, sure, positive that they would escape this alive.
Finally, ever so slowly, he turned toward her, but he did not lower his arm from his eyes. “I’m fine,” he mumbled.
“Well you don’t look fine,” she retorted, hating the burns marring his perfect skin and face. “What did they do?”
He had not been in his room when she had been returned to hers. And though they had actually taken it somewhat easy on her today, it appeared that they had not been so kind to Julian. In fact, it seemed that they had been twice as brutal on him. He sighed softly, lifting his arm a little to peer up at her. Cassie gasped in horror at the sight of his blood red, swollen, wounded eyes. He squinted up at her, his normally lively blue eyes blank. Cassie’s hand flew to her mouth as she realized that he could not see her. That he was blind.
“Julian,” she breathed unable to hold back her tears in the face of his obvious pain and torture.
“Don’t cry princess.”
“You can see me?” she gasped in relief.
He shook his head, dropping his arm back over his tortured eyes. “No,” he mumbled. “Not for a few more hours. I can smell your tears though. Don’t cry over me though, I’m not worth it.”
Cassie’s breath hitched even harder, pain bloomed through her chest. “Yes you are,” she whispered. “You really are Julian, and don’t you ever doubt that.”
He remained unmoving for a moment, and then his head turned slowly back to her. He didn’t lower his arm to look at her, but she knew that all of his attention was focused upon her. “I’m glad you think so.”
Cassie rested her head against the glass, unable to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. She knew that he hated them, but his torment was more than she could bear at the moment. “I know so,” she whispered. “What did they do to you?”
He stiffened for a moment and then relaxed visibly. “They just wanted to make sure that I hadn’t picked up Devon’s nifty trick for surviving the rays of the sun.”
Cassie gasped loudly, her gaze rapidly scanning his burned, marred body. It was more than apparent that he had not learned how to survive the sun’s rays as Devon had. It must have been exceptionally painful for him. She wondered how long they had tortured him before realizing that he was not like Devon, that Julian was incapable of moving about in the daytime. “I’m sorry.”
His jaw clenched tightly, his nostrils flared. “I don’t want your pity princess,” he grated out.
“I know that, and I’m not pitying you, I’m sorry that you had to go through that today. How long did they keep you outside?”
Julian shook his head slightly, shifting a little on the bed. “Didn’t go outside, they had one of those UV lamp things.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know,” he mumbled.
Cassie’s gaze raked over his long body. Though he wore scrubs, she knew his legs would be as burned as the rest of him. She didn’t know how the UV lights worked, but she imagined that he had been subjected to its rays for a long time. Sighing heavily, she dropped down on the bed, and rested her head against the glass.
“How was your day dear?”
Cassie couldn’t help but smile as she shook her head at him. Though he was in obvious pain, he still had not completely lost his sense of humor. “Just peachy,” she told him. “I think my veins are going to collapse.”
His mouth quirked in a small smile. “Hmm, I bet. Did they give you another shot?”
Cassie braced herself before looking down at her arms, frightened by what she might see. But there was no discoloration today, her arms remained pale, and needle puckered. “No.”
“Hmm,” he grunted again. “That’s good.”
She leaned up against the window, pressing her hand to the glass, missing the imaginary feel of his hand pressed to hers. Resting her cheek against the glass, she stared down at him, worried by the pain etched onto his face. Rioting emotions tore through her, they pounded through her chest and made it hard for her to breathe.
She hated his pain, longed to take it away from him. She hated this place, she wished that she could get the two of them out of here, but they had been here for so long, and neither of them could figure out a way to escape. Cassie glanced at the vents, knowing that was half the battle. If she could figure out some way to clog them up then maybe they would have a shot at escape, but she couldn’t reach them, and neither could Julian.
There had to be some way out of here, but she had yet to find a chink in their captor’s armor. “Cassie.” She turned slowly back to Julian, stifling a yawn. His arm was still draped over his eyes, but the burns on his arms looked slightly better. “We need to get the hell out of here.”
She was silent for a moment before nodding slowly. “I know. They’re going to kill us soon.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “And one thing I
will not survive is the loss of your life.”
Cassie bowed her head, trying hard not to cry at his words. She would only bring him pain, but he seemed set in his feelings for her, no matter how much she didn’t want them. Or at least she told herself she didn’t want them, repeatedly. She cared for Julian greatly; he had made his way into her heart, making her love him in a way that she had never thought possible. He was her friend, her rock, and she needed him. She loved Devon, she really did, but her feelings for Julian were new and strange and confusing.
And she did not have time to sort through them. Not in here anyway, not until they were free of this hell.
Cassie bit on her bottom lip nervously; her gaze darted toward the bigger mirror. She was always afraid that they were listening to them, laughing at them for their stupidity at thinking they could escape. But she needed to think of a way to get them both out of here, before there was no chance of escape anymore.
She turned back to Julian, wincing at the sight of his wounds. His pain was her pain; she felt it as acutely as she would have felt her own burns. She needed to get him out of here before they destroyed him. She would not survive his loss either. He owned a piece of her heart now, and he always would. She would be broken without him.
Confusion and fear tore through her. She didn’t want to hurt Julian, and she didn’t want Devon to be hurt. She loved them both too much to be the cause of their pain. Unfortunately, she feared that there was no longer anything she could do about it. One, or both of them, would be hurt. And she would be the cause.
Cassie shuddered; she wrapped her arms around her legs as she pulled them against her chest. She hugged them tightly to her, hating the situation that had caused her this confusion and misery. That had caused Julian this misery. Tears rolled down her face as her thoughts turned to Devon. She ached for him constantly; she missed him more than she would miss the loss of her own arm. And yet she was sitting here, confused, uncertain, and in turmoil because of her growing feelings for Julian. Biting on her bottom lip, she tried hard to keep her sobs down, tried hard to keep her tears from Julian, but she knew she had failed miserably when his palm suddenly pressed against the glass.
Cassie knew that she shouldn’t touch it. She knew she should start to sever the tie between them, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so, not now. Not when she was so alone, and frightened, and in need of his strength and love. And not when she knew that he needed this even more than she did. She was being selfish, and she hated herself for it, but she couldn’t stop herself from pressing her hand to his.
She buried her face in her knees; her tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she pressed her hand tighter to the glass. She needed to get them the hell out here before she destroyed all of their lives by crossing a line she had never thought she would. She knew where her heart belonged, knew who owned her soul, but things were so different in here. They were confusing, scary, and she had grown to love Julian in a different way than Devon.
Julian was going to be hurt if they ever made it out of here, and Devon would not understand her strange new feelings for a man that had been their worst enemy, before she had been thrown in here. No, Devon would not understand it at all, and he may never forgive her for it.
She didn’t know if she could forgive herself for it.
She curled up against the wall, keeping her hand tight to the glass. She allowed the drugs to pull her under, grateful for the escape from the world she so desperately needed. An escape from the hell she had been forced into and could not escape while awake.
***
Cassie started awake; she blinked rapidly against the drug induced sleep that tried to pull her back under. It took her a moment to figure out what had woken her, but when she did, confusion and fear took hold of her. An alarm was blaring somewhere, red lights flashed through the small window in her door. Her forehead furrowed as she tried to puzzle out what was going on, what all the commotion was about.
Shouts filled the air, feet slapped against the tiled floor. Cassie watched as two people raced by, their heads bowed as they sprinted past. Shoving herself up, she struggled against the drugged stupor clinging to her. She swayed slightly, the flashing lights doing nothing to help her disorientation and dizziness.
Moving slowly, she turned toward Julian’s room, but it was dark in there now and she couldn’t see him. More shouts rang out as a siren began to wail. Fear curdled through her as she rose slowly, stumbling slightly as she staggered toward the door. She fell into it. Standing on tiptoe she watched as another group raced by, heading in the opposite direction of the people she had seen earlier.
A pain filled scream rent the air. Cassie’s eyes widened, terror poured through her as that scream continued wretchedly on for a few more seconds before ending abruptly. She took a small step back from the door, a fierce shaking wracked through her as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. She didn’t know what was going on out there, but she did know that it was not good.
Stepping back to the door, she rested her hands upon it as more shouts rang out, reverberating loudly through the concrete hall. She turned back to Julian’s room, but it remained dark and empty. The siren grew even louder, becoming nearly unbearable. She took another step back as fresh screams rent the air. She placed her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the horrendous noise as she backed up a few more steps.
Panic filled her, confusion and horror swirled through her as another tortured scream rebounded through the halls. She bit down on her bottom lip, trying hard to stay calm. Maybe this was another form of torment that they had designed for her? Maybe they wanted to see if this would finally break her? Another scream echoed down the hall and she knew instantly that this was not some new form of torture, but very real. No one could scream like that, unless they were in very real, very agonizing pain.
She turned and fled over to Julian’s window, climbing onto the bed she began to pound against the glass. She needed Julian right now. Needed him to explain to her exactly what was going on. Needed him to wake up and help her figure out a way to get out of whatever disaster was occurring right outside their doors. She beat hard against the glass as she screamed his name, but he didn’t respond to her.
What if something had already happened to him?
True panic began to fill her as she turned swiftly back to the door. More people ran by, their feet squeaked on the floor, their footsteps echoed. She needed to get the hell out of here, and she needed to find Julian. She crept slowly back to the door, straining to see out the window again.
A face suddenly appeared before her. Cassie gasped, jumping back in surprise as it peered in at her. Its red eyes were filled with rage and insanity. Its face was twisted and disfigured, its lips pulled back from its teeth as it hissed at her. Long fangs cut into its lip causing blood to pour down its chin, but it seemed oblivious to that fact as it stared hungrily at her.
She recognized what it was instantly. She knew immediately that it was one of those things stuck in between, a monster with no soul and no rational thought. It was the same thing that lurked inside of her. Nausea and disgust twisted through her, and for the first time Cassie was truly grateful for the thick metal door that held her within this room.
It continued to watch her, drool slipping down its chin as it sniffed the air at the edges of the door. She remained unmoving, frozen in place without the strength to even pick up her feet and get away from it. It continued to sniff at her door, moving slowly over the window. Cassie’s breath froze in her lungs as the door handle rattled. She stiffened, waiting to see if it would get in. Waiting to see if it could break into the room she hadn’t been able to break out of.
The knob rattled harder, the thing began to jerk hard upon it. Excitement radiated from the creature, along with hunger and rage. Cassie braced herself for a fight, positive that this thing would get into her room. It was only a matter of time before it succeeded. The monstrosity ran on pure bloodlust and destruction, but she sure as hell was not
going down without a fight. Its head suddenly snapped around. Cassie’s mouth dropped as a bolt of electricity shot down the hall, slamming into the creature and knocking it back.
Dani appeared before the door, her gold streaked eyes wide with fear and worry as she met Cassie’s terrified gaze. Dani’s head bent; the flashing red lights brought out the blood red streaks in her hair. She fumbled with something for a moment before the handle turned and the door was flung open.
Cassie gaped at her in shock. “We need to go!” Dani yelled at her when she remained immobile. “Now Cassie! We have to go now!”
Cassie could only stare at her for a moment longer, puzzled and confused by everything that was happening. Then, her survival instincts kicked in. At the moment it didn’t matter what Dani had done before, if there was a chance for her to escape this hellhole, she was going to take it. She stepped into the hall, her eyes widening as she took in the complicated twists and turns that convoluted the place.
“This way!” Dani seized hold of her arm, pulling her to the left.
“Wait! Wait!” Cassie dug her feet in, trying to pull away from her. “I need to find Julian, where is his cell?”
Dani stared at her in surprise; her eyes darted wildly over Cassie’s shoulder. “Cassie we don’t have time! We must go!”
Cassie’s jaw clenched tightly as she defiantly met Dani’s horrified gaze. “I’m not leaving here without him!” she yelled over the roaring alarm. Dani shook her head for a moment. Cassie grabbed hold of her shirt, dragging her forward she thrust her face into Dani’s. “You helped put me in here!” she hissed. “You will help me get him out of here!”
Dani’s eyes widened, fear flashed through them. “He’s a monster,” she gasped.
Cassie’s teeth clenched, anger tore through her. “No more then you! Take me to him Dani, or I will kill you.”
Dani’s mouth parted on a small gasp as she searched Cassie’s face. Cassie stared fiercely back at her, meaning every word she had just said. This girl was the cause of her misery, and she had no problem returning Dani’s betrayal with death. Hatred burned in Cassie’s stomach, racing through her veins as her grip on Dani’s shirt tightened. She knew she was on the verge of losing all control, but she didn’t care.