to inject me with morphine. I continue struggling against her until I start to feel the effects of the drug.
That is the most painful moment of my life. My body is numb; the physical pain no longer there. The emotional turmoil is worse. Leaving me with my thoughts and memories, I realize that I’d rather feel the physical pain. That moment was the moment that I realized that I had no one left in the world. The only person that truly loved me was gone, ripped from my life and never coming back.
I was alone.
The images go away, but the headache doesn’t. I turn my head and see all the men still standing over me. I close my eyes, because the lights in the room are too bright. I prop myself up and empty the little contents of my stomach.
“So, are you ready to tell us now?” I’m not sure which one spoke to me, but I don’t care. They’re all crazy.
“No,” I grunt. My voice cracks at the end as I try to speak.
“Stubborn, insolent, little girl!” Someone kicks me in the stomach, sending me backwards and when my body hits the wall again, the air is knocked out of my lungs. Based on the intense pain, I think he broke a couple of ribs. I roll onto my back, trying to catch my breath again.
“We’ll be back.” I hear their footsteps leave the room and the door is bolted shut again. Warm tears start falling down my face as I let the grimness of my situation sink in. I may never get out of here. I wish that I would pass again. At least, I can’t feel the pain that way, but my body will have nothing to do with it. I lay on the concrete floor for hours, before my body finally gives in and I fall asleep.
I wake up and find myself still lying on the concrete floor in the cell. I try to sit up, but am too weak. I haven’t had anything to eat for days now. I’d wake up and find small bottles of water in my cell. They give me enough to keep me alive, but nothing more. I don’t even react when I hear the sound of the door opening for the third time.
The handsome man, who I assume is the infamous Dravin, sits on the ground beside me. “My patience with you is running out.” He reaches out and touches my swollen cheek. I flinch away from his touch, but he forcibly grabs my chin and jerks my head closer to him. Aggressively opening my mouth, he pours a vial of clear liquid down my throat, placing his hand over my mouth, coercing me to swallow.
“What I just gave you was a truth serum. Now, I’m going to ask you again. Who were you staying with?”
I turn toward him and give him the most menacing look I can muster. “Why do you want to know?”
“Why do you think I want to know?” I know what he will do if he ever finds out about them. He will use them against me in an attempt to make me do whatever the heck he wants to me to do. “Now, tell me where they are! Where are the mages that are helping you?” he yells.
The serum is starting to go into effect. I can feel the liquid moving throughout my body; the majority of it coating my vocal chords. My mouth is urging me to reveal everything, but my mind is screaming at me to remain silent. He asks the question many more times. Each time I don’t reply, he beats me, kicking me in the stomach, legs, and arms, while punching and slapping my face. My left eye is almost swollen shut. I can barely see him anymore.
Each hit pushes my body one step closer to telling everything. But I keep picturing Claire laughing, Colton and David smiling, and Tom giving me a hug. I can’t do anything that would put them in harm’s way. Thinking about them makes me stronger.
Dravin is getting frustrated. He hits the ground beside my head. I jerk my body away from him out of fright. My whole body aches from the torture, but I don’t want him to know how much pain I am in. I’m not going to give him that satisfaction.
“Thomas, go get the new recruit.” Thomas walks out of the room and down the hall. Dravin slaps me across the face one