Blood red love by Dripping Creativity

lood red love 

83 

Charlie’s mind was fuzzy. It felt like someone had stuffed too much cotton into it. She had a hard time focusing on one thought. She knew she was awake, but it was hard opening her eyes or focusing on the surrounding sounds. Her body felt distant, as if it was a memory rather than attached to her mind. She tried to crawl back towards conciousness; she had a feeling she had forgotten something important. Her brain started to slowly speed up. Charlie noticed her body was on a bed, but there were small vibrations. She wasn’t stationary. She 

had a hard time combining the two facts. Why would a bed be moving? Somewhere nearby, someone closed a door, and the sound got her attention. It didn’t sound like a regular door. It sounded weaker. Something was off. With great effort, Charlie forced her eyes open and immediately regretted it as the white surroundings, bright and full of light, stung her eyes. She stopped the sound that wanted to escape from her. Her first instinct was to cover her 

eyes with her hands, but her arms were stuck behind her back. It startled Charlie. Why couldn’t she move her arms? It all came back in a rush. The car crash, the man trying to yank her from the car, Min. Everything started to make sense. She was on a bed with her hands. tied behind her back. Charlie opened her eyes again and let them get used to the bright light. She was in a small room decorated in white and beige. It reminded her of a hotel room. She focused on the small, oval window and froze when she realised they weren’t on the ground. She was on a plane, going God only knows where. So many questions passed through her head. But most of all, she felt an overwhelming need for Vidar. He must be going crazy with worry for her. And Caine as well. Charlie only hoped the clan would support him through it. She had no doubt she, and the others, would come for her. Her mission was to figure out who had taken her, how to protect herself until Vidar arrived and get as much information as possible in the meantime. Charlie didn’t need to wait long. The cabin door opened and Millard stepped inside. She wasn’t surprised, but if her hands hadn’t been tied behind her back, she would have slapped him. It might not be the sensible thing to do, but Charlie’s hand itched to connect to Millar’s cheek. Millard looked at her and chuckled. 

“Nice to see you haven’t lost you inner fire,” he told her. 

“Untie me and see if you still think it’s funny,” she retorted. At first, he looked surprised, then amused. 

“Now, now. That is no way to speak to your life mate,” he said. 

“Since Vidar isn’t around, I will speak how the fuck I want,” Charlie spat at him. For the first 

1/4 

83 

time, she saw anger in his eyes, and it wasn’t the restrained anger he had showed on rare occasions before. No, now he didn’t feel the need to restrain himself. It terrified Charlie, and she made a mental note that it was a bad idea to provoke him. 

“I would suggest you forget all about him. He will be distracted and won’t come for you, and your little baster protector is no longer alive. You are mine now and you will only ever belong to me from this 

day,” Millard told her in a cold voice. Charlie swallowed and tried not to show how scared she was. He will come for me, she thought, and when he does, I will watch him rip Millard limb from limb. It was the first time in her life Charlie actually revelled in the idea. She didn’t want to think of what he said about Caine. 

“Where are you taking me?” she asked. 

“To a place where no one can touch me. We will stay there until you get used to the idea of being with me,” he said as he turned and opened a cabin on the wall. It would be a long stay then, Charlie thought to herself. If she couldn’t provoke Millard, at least she needed an outlet for her sarcasm. “I think it’s time you went back to sleep, Charlie. I do like talking to you. But it will make it easier for all of us if you’re not conscious when we land,” he said, turning around. In his hand was a syringe with a liquid inside. 

“No, please, Millard. Don’t inject me with that,” she pleaded. Charlie had no way of knowing what was in the syringe. She was terrified he would give her something that she wouldn’t 

recover from. 

“Hush now, it will be okay,” he told her. He plunged the needle into her and Charlie felt a coldness seep through her body. The cotton was back in her mind again. She tried to fight it away, but she was losing the battle. Millard had sat down on the bed and was gently stroking her hair and murmuring things to her in a language she didn’t understand. The world went 

black. 

Charlie was slowly floating back again. This time she was instantly aware of what had happened and she strained her senses to wake up quicker. She felt exposed and weak in the state she was in. As her brain focused, she noticed her hands weren’t tied behind her back. Her shoulders were aching slightly, probably from her arms being twisted behind her for an extended period. But when she tried moving them, they felt fine. Charlie took stakes of her body, and she was surprised to find no real issues. Her breast and ribs were still sore from the seatbelt, but she took it as a good sign. She couldn’t have been unconscious too long if she still felt the pain from the impact. Slowly she opened her eyes and this time she wasn’t met 

2/4 

by stinging light. Where ever she was, the room was partially in darkness. A small amount of light came from the right. She looked past her feet to her right and froze when her brain processed what she saw. She struggled to sit up on the bed. Her brain told her she wasen’t imagining things, she was in a dungeon. An honest to god dungeon, complete with stone walls and one wall that was iron bars. On the other side 

the iron bars was a stone clad tunnel. The air was damp and cold. There was the smell you find in old houses. But the cell she was in looked like no dungeon she had seen in the movies. It had a large bed, on which she was laying. A fluffy rug was lying on the stone floor and there was a metal table and two chairs against one wall. IT looked like someone had tried to make the space homely and failed miserably. Who did Millard think he was? He was only slightly older than Charlie, and here he was playing dungeon master like some medieval lord. She had to remind herself that she couldn’t provoke the deranged vampire, no matter how much of a jerk and cliché he was. Charlie had to play the long game. If it was one thing her life had taught it, it was how to be patient. Her goal was to stay alive and as unharmed as possible until Vidar came. She needed to focus on that, and, just to give herself something to do, she would try to learn as much about Millard as she could. There were footsteps coming her way in the tunnel. They sent soft echoes and made it hard to hear how many people they belonged to. The light flickered for a moment and then started moving closer. Millard stepped into her sight on the other side of the bars. He had the huge man that had pulled her from the car with him. Charlie looked towards the tunnel, half expecting Min to join them, but no one else came. 

“Your awake,” Millard sounded happy. 

“So I am,” she agreed. It would be harder than she had anticipated to not provoke him. She was a natural at sarcasm and over the months with Vidar had relaxed. Vidar never minded her sarcasm. On the contrary, he seemed to enjoy it. But then, he wasn’t a psychopath, unlike the vampire in front of her. 

“Hi,” the large man said and gave a little wave.. 

“Eh, hello,” Charlie said, looking at him. When he had been yanking at her, he had looked terrifying. Now, not so much. He had a vacant smile on his face and was looking at her the same way children look at their favourite animal at the zoo. 

“Loyd, we talked about this,” Millard sighed. The giant man looked at him with an expression that even Charlie could tell he had no idea what Millard was talking about. “You don’t speak to the prisoner,” Millard hissed between clenched teeth. 

3/4 

83 

“I know,” Loyd said with a smile while nodding enthusiastically. 

“Charlie,” Millar said, pointing at her. “Is a prisoner.” 

“I know, boss.” 

“What did you just do?” Millard asked. 

“I said ‘Hi‘,” Loyd told him, and it was almost comical to watch as the lightbulb when on in the giant man’s head. “Oh, sorry,” he told Millard. Then he turned to Charlie. “I’m sorry I talked to you, miss,” he told her. Charlie did her best not to laugh at the look on Millard’s 

face. 

“That’s okay,” she told Loyd. 

“Loyd, you are doing it again!” Millard sighed. 

“Doing what?” Charlie couldn’t hold back the snort coming out of her mouth and tried to cover it up by feigning a chough. 

ga 

“Never mind. Let’s go,” Millard told his man. “I’ll be seeing you soon Charlie,” he then told her. She stayed silent as the two men walked away, taking away the lamp Millard had been holding. Leaving her cell in semi darkness again.