But butterflies were fragile things with short lives and pretty wings. I’d survived unthinkable torture at the hands of him and the others. And he should have known better, because my heart could never be stopped by a single pin, no matter how sharp.
My lips twisted into a cruel smile as I dropped down beside him, reaching into his pocket. His arm flailed, but he was half dead, unable to stop me from taking his keys. I hesitated for a long moment, crawling close enough so I was all he could see as I stared into his eyes.
I wanted to speak my name so it was the last thing he could hear, but even if I had known what it was, my voice was buried so deep that I couldn’t find a way to dig it out anymore. So my face would have to do.
One down, four to go, I mouthed instead and his widening eyes told me he’d understood.
I turned and ran, adrenaline flooding my veins which had nothing to do with pain for once as I raced up the wooden stairs. Freezing air hit my cheeks as I climbed higher and higher, reaching a hatch above my head. My fingers brushed a lock and I chose a key at random in the bunch, pushing it into the lock.
Click.
My heart soared. Luck was with me. Freedom had finally drawn my lot.
I’m not a butterfly, I’m a dragon with wings of iron and a heart of fire.
I shoved the heavy doors open with a grunt of effort and the blinding light above made me wince. The world was white, a bleached landscape that stretched in every direction. Snowflakes kissed my cheeks and my breath fogged before me as I climbed out of my underground prison and threw the doors shut behind me.
Fly. Fly away. Fly fast and hard and never stop.
With my eyes half closed, I took off into the endless expanse, aiming for a line of trees ahead of me as my pupils tried to adjust. My bare feet were frozen already, cold enough to ache.
I ran until my lungs burned and ice drove deeper and deeper into my blood. My crimson hair was sticky and lank, clinging to my cheeks and fluttering across my eyes. The smell of blood still hung in it from the cut on my temple Farley had given me last night.
I ran until the sun began to sink and heavier snow began to fall, wiping away my tracks.
I said their names with every footfall, over and over in my head. Jax, Farley, Quentin, Orville, Duke.
Farley: Jax’s brother. He was just as big as Jax, but was built of muscle instead of fat. He trained his body so that when his ring-clad knuckles cracked against my slender frame, it left a welt for days. When Farley was in a foul mood, my flesh would face his wrath.
Quentin: the tall guy with the unruly blonde hair. He didn’t care for beating me, but he found other ways to hurt me instead. Electricity, water boarding, sounds that screeched like knives against my eardrums for hours whilst I was held upside down by ropes. He spoke almost as little as me, but when he did, he whispered directly in my ear and sent a shiver of terror down my spine with his twisted fantasies of how he was going to hurt me next.
Orville: the one who tried to break the rules. He was skeletal with greying hair that he never seemed to wash. He wanted to touch me, bury himself in me and take away my final drops of dignity. Nothing lived behind his eyes except a demon pulling the strings. He always smelled like sweat and his voice was a purr that clawed under my skin. His hands had roamed more than once as he walked the line of what his boss deemed acceptable. He’d frightened me the most once until I realised that him staying his hand meant I was too important to defile. Though I had no idea why.
Duke: the one who set the rules, who held the other four in check. He had a horseshoe moustache and was always puffing on a cigarette. But despite his rules, he was the real one to fear. He liked me afraid. Liked to scrape a knife across the wall as he approached then run it down my skin. He liked me bleeding and had been the only one who’d had