I draped my long, dark hair over my shoulder and braided it, the nearly black locks a thick rope that hung to my waist.
I wanted to stay longer, but I knew the attendant who was watching the bathing chamber would come in soon, and I didn’t want him watching me get dressed. Which he would. They always did.
What I wouldn’t give to just get away from all this, to say screw the rules and the procedures and all the hard work. What I wouldn’t give to just be taken away to where nothing else mattered and all I had to worry about was myself.
But as with most hopes and wishes, they only ended up being dreams.
4
Emma
I wasn’t sure what woke me, but I found myself blinking my eyes open and staring at the darkened cavern ceiling of my alcove. I could see the flickering candlelight of the wall sconces out in the main tunnel, the light peeking through the edges of my privacy screen, the shadows making an array of shapes that crisscrossed along the uneven ceiling and walls.
I turned onto my side, assuming I’d just heard someone in passing, and closed my eyes, trying to go back to sleep, when there was a flash of light and the sound of my privacy screen being pulled to the side.
My eyes flew open, and I was about to sit up when a large body was suddenly crouched right in front of me, a big palm covering my mouth. Instinctively I cried out, but the sound was muffled because of the hand. Panic seized my chest, and as my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I saw who was in front of me.
Leland.
His face was set hard, and his expression appeared more severe with the darkness swallowing my little room.
“Get up,” he said in a cold, hushed whisper.
Before I could do what he said, he gripped my upper arm and hauled me up. “What—”
He slapped a hand over my mouth again, his lips by my ear. “I said get up, not talk.” He yanked me forward and pulled the privacy screen to the side, peering out to make sure no one was around, and then looked at me once more. “If you make any sound, I’ll make us match with a chipped front tooth, got it?” He grinned, showing me his teeth, a visual to go along with his threat.
He didn’t give me a chance to respond—not that I had one—before he pulled me out and started walking briskly down the tunnel. His hand was like a vise on my arm, the pain sharp enough I knew there would be bruises.
I wanted to drag my feet, to slap at him, shout for help, but the reality was Leland would most definitely deliver on his promise, and people weren’t too keen on getting involved in the Pit if someone needed help. It was a society of cowards who kept their heads down and their focus only on themselves.
I should know; I felt like I was one of them.
Before I knew what his plans were—as if I didn’t have a disgusting guess—Leland was taking me down a tunnel that I knew would lead to the older parts of the Pit, where the rooms had been converted to storage… and where there wouldn’t be any guards patrolling.
I shook my head and started saying the only word I could over and over again. “No. Nonono.”
He made a frustrated noise, and his grip on me went painfully tighter. “I said shut the fuck up, Emma.”
I kicked out and leaned my body back, trying to get out of his hold.
“Fucking bitch,” he grated. “I’m tired of these games. We’re going to get this done and over with.” He sneered. “I may even let you enjoy it.”
“No. No. No. Let me go, Leland.” I was clawing at his hand, survival taking root in me so fiery I tasted the bitter flavor coating my tongue.
I spit in his face, shocked I'd done the act, afraid I’d made things terribly worse. His expression darkened, and I watched as his arm pulled back, his hit imminent.
I could have cowered, braced myself, flinched for what was to come. I did none of those things though. My hand shot out, my nails curled forward as I aimed them at his face and raked them down the side of one of his cheeks, skin tearing away, blood welling up. He grunted and let out a vile curse before letting go of me to cup his face.
I didn’t wait. I tore out of there, running fast and hard, my voice lodged in my throat so I couldn’t even scream. I heard him curse again, and then the sound of his heavy footfalls followed in my wake as he charged after me.
“Emma,” he hissed. “You’re only making this harder on yourself.”