Solacium

Ch 32: Damian

The ground beneath me bumped and jolted as I slowly began to regain consciousness. Slowly blinking open my eyes, I squinted against the daylight that immediately filtered through my vision. I tried to cover my face with my hands only to realize they were tied firmly behind my back.

What the-?

Frowning, I shifted so that I could lay on my back, looking up at the small enclosed space I was confined to. My confusion slowly gave way to understanding as my gaze traveled from the leather seat I laid on, and up the trees that moved quickly past the window above me.

As I began putting together the pieces in my mind, my memories gradually returned to me. I remembered the lonely cabin and following the girl with the green eyes inside. Then I remembered something hitting me from behind and my world violently going dark. At the memory, a dull pounding sensation began to form at the back of my head where I was struck.

Gritting my teeth against the new sensation, I looked around the car until my eyes settled on the figure sitting in the driver's seat. It was her. Her long hair hung loosely down her back while her intriguing emerald eyes stayed focused on the path ahead. Her hands gripped the steering wheel hard, making her knuckles turn white while she drove. All the while, her expression was hard and her eyes were lost in what looked to be deep thought.

Glancing around, I noticed a small duffel bag resting in the passenger seat where I once was. A dull reminder that I was not there anymore, and despite our deal, I had ended up tied and thrown in the backseat.

Letting out a breath, I shifted to sit up. With my hands tied behind my back and my feet tied together at the ankles, the task was far less graceful than I had imagined it to be. With a groan, I struggled my way upright using the leverage of the door beside me. As I did so, I heard a disgruntled sigh come from the driver's seat.

"Why am I tied up?" I grunted as I sat up, squinting my eyes at the girl.

"Comfort," She answered simply, keeping her eyes on the path ahead. My eyes followed hers to see that we were still driving through the forest, yet on a path someone had cleared manually. My gaze darted to the cut trees that lay discarded at the sides of the path before I turned back to the girl.

I scoffed. "Oh yeah? Whose?"

"Mine," She responded dryly, clearly in a mood.

Except she always seemed to be in one. I chuckled to myself, leaning back against the cool leather of the car's back seat.

"I thought we had a deal to work together?" I continued, watching her brows furrow together in an unamused frown.

"You lied and manipulated me into dragging you along, I hardly see that as teamwork."

I held her gaze for a moment, and suddenly a thought occurred to me. "Is this some kind of payback for what I did to you?"

The car fell silent as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel, rolling her jaw at the clearly unpleasant memory.

Yeah, my current tied-up state definitely had something to do with that. I thought grimly.

It was a shame we saw that moment in the warehouse differently. Though she seemed to remember it with disdain, I only looked upon it fondly as one of the only enjoyable conversations with another person I had had in years.

After a moment, I cleared my throat. "Look, I know you're still upset about the whole kidnapping thing, but I really had no other choice."

"Oh yeah? How about just leaving me the hell alone? Was that not a choice too?" She spat, her green eyes glaring fire at me from the reflection of the car mirror.