chapter 38

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"What's wrong?" I turn over on the horrid cot, grimacing when pain radiates down my shoulder and back from the lack of comfort. How I am managing to sleep is beyond me. It smells like urine and vomit in here, with a hint of dust and hay, and I can hardly remain still from hearing all the spiders crawling around me with my new hyper-sensitive hearing. "Riley- hey, wake up." I squeeze my eyes tighter together in hopes the hushed whispers from the next stall will fade away and leave me to my dreams once more, but I'd be one lucky duck if that happens. "Riley!"

"Could you shut up?" I hiss, tugging what little covers I have up to my chin. Despite the oven-like heat outside, at night it gets pretty chilly in here. Or maybe I'm just not used to being dead.

"Something's wrong with Riley!" With a sigh, I drag myself up into a sitting position and look at my neighboring wall as if I could see Natalie through the wooden planks. "He's- he's- I don't know! But I know something's wrong." Her voice is laden with worry and panic, something I wouldn't expect from her considering it's about Riley. What's with them lately?

I rub the sleep from my paled face and stretch out my knees before trudging over to the wall and pulling myself up to look through the bars at the top. Riley is flinching and mumbling incomprehensible things to himself. His hair is matted into a rat's nest and sweat beads are slipping down his temples from his soaked hairline. "Nightmare, maybe?" I ingeniously suggest.

Natalie glares at me, and then bends down next to him to move his blonde tendrils from his eyes. "Riley, please wake up." I scrunch my eyebrows at the odd display of affection, but push it to the back of my mind. Now is not the time for romance drama. "I think it's a premonition."

"A premonition?" The hair on my neck tingles at the word and goosebumps trickle down my skin soon after.

She nods quietly to herself, while continuing to lightly stroke her fingers through his hair and gaze worriedly down at his boyish features. I swear there is something going on between them...but I thought Nat was back with Chad. This whole "supernatural" world is driving me insane with the gods, mates, blood lust, premonitions, vampires...I mean what next? Are unicorns real, too? Are talking animals?

"Natalie?" Upon hearing her name, she smiles, but quickly jumps to her feet and backs away from his side before he realizes what she was doing. Strange.

"You alright?" She asks. My face twists into confusion at her calm, distant voice...and her cold shoulder towards him. It is a very strange situation.

"We can't fight this war!" Riley breathes out. "We can't! She'll- She'll" His breath deceives him into thinking he has enough to speak, leaving him breathless and panting only seconds later. Sweat rolls down his face once more, soaking his clothes and the sheets beneath him. "They'll-"

"They'll what? Who is she, and what will happen to her?" Natalie looks up at me pained, and then down at a babbling Riley. He is back to speaking incomprehensibly and flinching like a hypochondriac trying to avoid the spit of their neighbor in fear of catching meningitis. His eyes are twitching, and he keeps throwing his arms out as if to move something out of his way...it's very disturbing.

"Hey! What's going on over there!" I throw a look towards the dick of a guard shining his fancy flash light at us and decide to flip him off. I'm not a prisoner- not a captive- so don't treat me like I have a bed time or a place to be. I am as much a free person as these imbeciles are! "Get down from there!" He yells, shaking his light threateningly as he stalks over to my stall and bangs on it. "I said get down!"

"Fuck off! You're not in charge." He growls and attempts to throw open my door, but turns his attention to Riley's stall as he begins screaming out in pain. Large purple and light blue veins bulge down his neck as he arches his back and yells in pure agony, breaking levels higher than a banshee! Whatever is happening to him is causing blood to flow from his nose. The whole sight is just not comforting in any way...he looks possessed.

Soon guards from every direction are swarming Riley's stall, trying to see what's going on and who to contain. Natalie is removed from the area and pushed inside my stall with me, forcing us to listen to the cries for mercy...but not be there to help.

When did we become prisoners in this?

I look out of my stall for my mother or Braden, for some kind of reassurance that everything is going to be okay and that this is just for our safety...but when I see Braden laughing and having drinks with some of these men...not even trying to get to his best friend who is going through some kind of torture...and then see my own mother fast asleep in a sleeping bag...I lose all hope. Watching Braden actually fills my stomach with a sour churning feeling, one that makes my cheeks tingle and my eyes water.

"Nat, let's runaway." I whisper beside her shaking frame. She, too, is feeling a sensation similar to mine. Whether it's because no one seems to give a damn about us, or because Riley is so hurt, I don't know, but I feel her heart aching.

"When."

I flinch at the blood curdling scream Riley releases when the men strap him down to his cot and inject some kind of muscle relaxer. Within seconds, Riley is as still as the dead. "When he wakes up."

"We can go sooner. I can use a spell to carry him in his comatose state." I nod silently and then make the mistake of looking at Braden again, bringing that horrid stomach churning sensation back.

"Just wake me when you're ready."

****A/N****
Sorry it's short, I havent had time to write. Got grounded and a bunch of awful things happened...but I hope you enjoyed what I managed to upload! Please vote:) thanks lovelies!!!

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