Unbroken

I struggle to my feet, eyeing the marks on the walls, the words written in dried blood, scribbled in messy strokes, overlapping each other.

I am nothing but flesh n bone.

I m reborn.

I will fight to the death.

I m muscle n might.

Hell is home now.

Sweat streaks down my face, yet I’m cold to the bone. I’m so still, I barely breathe.

“Skye?” Fay prods. “Why are you so quiet?”

I turn slowly, eyes trailing along the dirt floor to the girls in the corner of the room, huddled together. The sight of them shatters my heart.

This is not…

This is not part of the plan, I remind myself.

I have been deceived.

“Skye,” Fay repeats, sounding scared now, her voice breaking. “Please talk.”

My eyes feel raw with unshed tears. I take a deep breath to say, “I can see.”

The girls grow still.

“Where are we?” Britney demands.

I swallow, my throat is so dry. I want to tell them we’re in hell, but I don’t want to frighten them. Instead, I walk to them, stopping at Fay whose face is buried in her dark curls. “I’m going to inspect the knots on your arm, Fay. I need you to hold still.”

“Okay,” she whispers.

Feeling unbalanced, I drop to my knees, peering closely at the intricate knots used to bind her. Crisscrossing from one arm to the next, looking so painful, her flesh has gone raw. I can’t find a beginning or an end. I’m going to have to randomly tug around the knots, see if there’s a loose spot—

I don’t know what I’m doing.

I don’t know how to take these binds off.

I suck in a few breaths, feeling panicked, trying my hardest not to make a sound. I don’t want them to hear me lose it. I don’t want them to know I have no fucking clue how to untie her. I don’t want them to know that there are chunks of dark hair around the room, like whoever was in here last tore their hair out from going mad. That between the cracks of each stone, I see nails hanging. That I can read more helpless words that make my stomach twist in that familiar way—

Fear is my enemy.

Fear immobilizes me.

It’s my greatest weakness because I shut off and I can’t turn back on.

I breathe in and out, shutting my eyes, not allowing that fear in. I can’t let it win. I need to loosen Fay’s ties.

One step at a time, Skye.

Come back to me, he whispers in my head.

I’ll take you to wild places, the other voice whispers into my soul.

My guys will never cease to comfort me.