Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders) (25 page)

“If I ever get the chance, it will be her luck that runs out,” I said.

Enrique stood so fast that I almost didn’t see it, and came at me with
the same speed, his face distorted from rage. I tried to back up, but didn’t
get two steps, before he had me. He picked me up, and threw me over his
shoulder.

“Take care of your mistress,
Now
,” he yelled
at
Tanda
. “I’ll take care of this one myself.” He
stormed away, with me in tow, but I wasn’t going to go quietly. I hit, kicked, and
scratched, whatever I could do to cause some damage. He didn’t even slow down. The
only indicator that I was causing harm was his shirt. It was now soaked in his
blood, the color going from the original bright blue to a scarlet-black.

“Keep it up,” he said, as he continued to tromp down the corridor. “It
just makes me want to slam you in the hole even more.” I dug into him like a
wild animal, inaudible sounds escaping my lips. I was going to give this
bastard something to remember me by.

He passed the cages, going straight to the door that led to the hole. I
paused out of pure disbelief that he wasn’t taking me to the torture room. I
knew I had to keep up the show, afraid if I didn’t, they would suspect I was up
to something.

“No! I won’t go back down there, I would rather die,” I screamed.

“Oh, you’ll go back, but when you come out, you’ll be a new woman,” he
said.

He opened the large iron door, and at that point, I wasn’t sure if I
was purely acting, or if I truly didn’t want to go back down to that foul
place. I decided to get my point across one way or another so I bit down,
digging my fangs into his muscular back. He let out a scream, and slammed my
head and upper body against the heavy metal door, knocking me unconscious.

*****

I must have been unconscious for a while, because when I opened my
eyes, I was lying just outside the door to the hole that had been my home for
six long weeks. My ears were ringing, and when my vision finally adjusted, I
saw Enrique towering over me.

“I wanted you to keep this little gift in your heart forever, so I
waited for you to come around,” he said, as he started undoing his pants.
Oh, God, no, not that
,
I thought. I tried to crawl away, pushing back with my
hands and heels, but my head pounded with such ferocity that I could barely
move.

“Enrique, please, no,” I pleaded. “The Mistress will be mad if you do
this, you know that.”

“Really…is that what you think? Well, I know for a fact that the
Mistress thinks you slept with Isa.”

“No, you’re lying,” My mind was scrambling. “I swear, she’ll know. I’ll
tell her everything.”

“Go ahead,” he spat. “I’ll dispute it. I’ll tell her you’re mad because
I stuck you down here. Now, who do you think she’ll believe?”

“Please don’t do this,” I begged as tears began to fall.

He got to the floor, and crawled toward me. I tried to kick him, but he
must have seen it coming. He grabbed my leg, mid-thigh, and pulled me closer. I
began slapping, punching, doing anything I could to keep him off me. He pinned
down my lower body with his, and reached for my arm. Before he could grab it, I
raked my nails down the entire length of his face, leaving bloody scrawls in
their wake. He growled as he took hold of my arm, and snapped it forcefully
backwards at the elbow. I cried out, not only from the pain, but more from the
fear. He held my other arm firm with one hand, and began to lower his pants.

“No, No, No,” I cried, over and over. Then he took me. I screamed as he
crammed himself into me. I could feel my insides rip with each of his thrusts,
and it felt as if I were being stabbed internally with a branding iron. This
seemed to go on for what felt like an eternity before he was finished. He
pushed his upper body
off of
me, and spit in my face.

“You’re as sorry a piece of ass, as that little whore you seem to care
so much about.”

 
He pulled himself up
off of
me, and before redressing, wiped himself on my soiled
gown. I curled into myself as much as I could,
forming
a tight little ball on the floor. Enrique walked over and opened the door to
the hole.

“Get in your place, you piece of shit,” he said, kicking me square in
the back. “That’s for ruining my shirt.”

I didn’t even cry out. There was nothing left in me. He had taken my
body, and might as well have taken my life. I pulled my way into what could
easily have been my death chamber. Just to think, my only sanctuary was to lie
in the decay of those who had gone through this same nightmare. How many had he
done this too, and how many would follow in my place.

He slammed the door as soon as my feet cleared its frame. I heard him
laugh as he disappeared down the hall, the remaining light disappearing with
him. I lay on the inhuman floor and wept. I could feel the decay attaching
itself to my body, and yet I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything. I
wanted to lie here in this filth and die, and rot along with it. Then a
resounding voice began to echo in my head.
“
You’re as sorry a piece of ass as that little whore you seem to care so
much about
.”
 
How could I have forgotten? That bastard did
the same thing to that beautiful little girl, when she was only sixteen years
old. How can I, ten years her senior, lay here and wallow in my own self-pity,
while she is still out there, going through God knows what? Who knows how many
times he has taken her, how many more times he will take her?
As many times as he wants, if you don’t pull
yourself together
,
I told
myself.
You are the only one that will do
something about it. You just have to make it long enough to get out of here. Then
he’ll pay. They’ll all pay
.

Chapter 19

I don’t know how many nights passed, but just when I started to think
no one was coming, I heard footsteps approaching and saw a little light seep in
around the door.

“Miss, Miss, can you hear me?” It was Garvin.

“Yes,” I called. “I am here, in the same room as before.”

I heard the lock turn and the door opened. I covered my eyes
momentarily to shield the light, and when I lowered it, there were two
wonderful faces smiling back at me.

“Come, we must hurry,” Garvin explained hastily. “The ship leaves
tonight.”

I pulled myself to the door, and they both helped me out.

“Miss,”
Tanda
said quietly.

“What is it, honey?” I asked.

“I’m sorry that he hurt you,” she said, hanging her head as to not see
anything but the floor beneath her. “We know about it. He seems to brag about
what he does.”

“I know,” I raised her sweet face to mine. “I’m sorry, too. He’s a no
good dog that needs to be put down.”

“You promise you will come back for us?” she asked unexpectedly.

“Nothing but true death will stop me, baby,” I took her in my arms. “I
promise you that.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but we must hurry,” Garvin said again.

He led me down the narrow hall to a round disk that was inset in the
floor. It had a small handle on one side, and he lifted it from there revealing
an opening that led down into a dark tunnel. “This is the underground sewer
drain that Isa spoke of.”

I peered down inside, becoming a little anxious.

“How will I know which way to go?” I asked.

“Follow the water,” he said. “It will lead you out. Isa had his man
place a bag by an overturned rowboat about a mile to the left of the drain
exit. It has a change of clothes, and a few other things he said you would
need. The ship is anchored about a hundred yards offshore. You’ll see it when
you reach the rowboat.”

“Okay, I think I have it,” I said. “Do I use the rowboat?”

“No!” Garvin said, sounding a little panicked, “You must swim. They
have people watching for any unexpected boats.”

“Okay, no boats,” I said. Garvin still looked uneasy. “It’s going to be
okay, Garvin. I can do this.”

“I sure hope so Miss, because if they find out
we
...”
I stopped him there.

“They won’t.” I looked at him steadily until finally he nodded. “Well,
no time to waste. Let’s do this,” I said smiling at them both.

 
I saw a tear slide down
Tanda’s
cheek. I went to her, and held her as if she were
my own.

“I love you, sweetie,” I said, pushing her back to look in her eyes. “I
will see you again, I promise.” She only smiled and nodded her head. Then I
went to Garvin.

“This means so much to me. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay...” This
time he stopped me.

“Just come back, Renee,” he said with despair. “We need you.”

“I know,” I said, starting to cry myself. “I truly know.” I reached out
and touched his face lightly. “Okay,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Come
on, help me down this thing.”

It was a longer drop than I anticipated. I sat down and hung my legs
over the lip of the hole. They each took an arm, and began lowering me down
into the opening. The arm that Enrique had broken was healing nicely, but I
could definitely feel the difference in the pull between it and the other. When
they lowered me as far as they could, they released. I let out a little yelp,
and soon felt my feet plant firmly on the bottom. I looked up and could still
see them both. I wanted to say more, but the waist deep water was already
pushing me forward.

“I’ll come back for you,” I yelled as I was propelled along. “I
promise! I promise!” Then they slowly faded from sight. Dear God, please help
me keep that promise. I can’t let them down
.

The tunnel was
pitch
black, but Garvin was
right. The water was pushing me the way I needed to go. All of a sudden, the
bottom dropped out from under me, and I was moving very fast. The drain had
become a slide of rushing water. My head bobbed under the water, and before I
knew it I was spat out, freefalling through the open air. I gasped for breath,
preparing to scream as I fell what must have been at least a sixty foot drop,
straight into the ocean. Before I had a chance to think, I hit the surface of
the water hard, feet first. I plunged under the water, but didn’t panic. Growing
up, I swam like a fish, so I just did like I would have back then, and calmly
made my way to the surface.

As I emerged from the salty black water, I felt the night air cool on
my face, and I got my first taste of freedom. The air was calm, and the stars
were brighter than I could ever recall before. It was beyond beautiful. It was
heavenly.

I slowly made my way to the shore, carefully making sure no one was
around. I kept my body as close to the jagged rocks as I possibly could, in
hopes that I couldn’t be seen from the top of the cliff. I started my way down
the rocky beach. My feet felt as if they were being torn to shreds, the salt
water burning like alcohol, but I couldn’t risk walking on the sandy area. It
was just too exposed.

I came around a bend, and there it was, the upside down rowboat. I had
been fine up until then, but suddenly I couldn’t move. I was scared to death.
What if it was a trap?
I started thinking in circles.

“Get a hold of
yourself
,” I said in a low
whisper. I crouched as close to the ground as I could, and began making my way
to the small boat.

As I reached it, I looked around to make sure I was alone, and then
started searching for the bag. Within seconds, I saw something sticking out
from under the boat.
Yes!
I thought
to myself, as I pulled the bag free. Bag in hand, I ran back to the cliff side.
When I got there, I looked around once more, and still saw no one. I was safe. I
opened the bag, and pulled out a pair of black pants and a black shirt. I took off
my tattered gown, and put on the new clothes. It was a pretty good fit, to have
been gotten by someone that didn’t know my size. I reached back in the bag and
pulled out a sealed jar. I didn’t have to guess what was in it. I opened the
jar, and sucked down the sweet, red nectar. Almost instantly, I could feel the
blood coursing through my body, giving it the strength I needed to start my
journey. I knew that if I could go six weeks without nourishment that this single
jar of blood would do for a while.

The bag was still heavy, so I reached back inside. I pulled out an
eight inch blade, housed in a leather sheath. The sheath had straps on the top
and bottom, and though it took a little while, I eventually figured out what
the straps were for. I placed the blade on my lower leg, and tied it firmly
into place.

I reached back into the bag to make sure it was empty, and found one
last thing… a letter. It read,

Dearest Renee,

I must say I have never met a woman quite like you. I
hope your journey finds you peace. When you find Martin, please tell him what I
have done to aid your escape. Tell him it is my way of asking for his
forgiveness. He will know the meaning of my words.