Chasing Aurora

“Piper.” Aurora’s faint voice seemed to almost seemed to dance around me as I swam through a pool of inky black. “Please Piper. Wake up. Please.” Her voice started getting stronger, pulling me towards it. I could hear the tears in her voice. As much as I wanted to stay in the dark abyss, I felt this pull, this drive in my soul that made me jerk awake. My eyes met Aurora’s as they hovered over me and full of tears.

“What happened? What did Maleficent do to you?” I could feel panic building within me at the idea that she could have been hurt like I just was. I never wanted to see her hurt if I could help it.

“Nothing! What happened to you? You’ve been fading in and out of here all day and you were screaming. Then you just appeared and you didn’t wake up and I thought that- that- I thought she killed you.” She burst out crying. I moved off her lap and wrapped my arms around her holding her into my chest. It was then I realized that as much as I wanted to shield Aurora from what I was going through, I couldn’t.

“I pissed Maleficent off.” I admitted squeezing her tighter to me like a child clutching their teddy bear for comfort, “I’m going to spare you the details, but it hasn’t been good.”

Aurora pulled away from me and looked deep into my soul. Her hand lifted to caress my cheek, her thumb wiping away a tear that I hadn’t realized had fallen. “You don’t always have to be the strong one. We have to lean on each other because if we don’t, we aren’t going to get through this. So if you need to cry, scream, whatever, I am here for you.”

I could feel the tears gather in my eyes that I wanted to push down. I knew that Aurora was right. She always was. “I know you’re right. I just- I don’t want you to have to deal with this.”

“We have to be a team. I have been out of my mind worrying about you all day. I’m still going to worry about you but at least I know what I’m worrying about.” She dropped her hand from my face to take my hand. I pulled her onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her. With her head against my heart, I could feel it start to slow. I could forget about the world as long as she was in my arms.

“That goes both ways. I want to know everything that Maleficent does to you.”

“I don’t know what she’s done. I still haven’t woken up.”

That couldn’t be right. It was at least Sunday night by my count, but it could be Monday. Why wouldn’t Maleficent wake her up? I know she mentioned that she was taking Aurora overseas, but there is definitely enough time to wake her up. Nothing that is going on here makes any sense.

“What are you thinking about?” Aurora asked pulling me out of my head.

“It’s just, she’s had us for over twenty-four hours. Why wouldn’t she wake you up?”

“Maybe she’s just a crazy sadistic bitch?” Aurora said causing me to snort, “I don’t know why. I have these moments, where it is almost like I’m awake. I can hear people around me, but it’s almost like I’m underwater and no matter how hard I try, I can’t break through the surface.”

“This could work in our favour. If you can listen in on their conversations, maybe you can hear where they took you. Then if I get out before you, I can find you.”

“Aren’t we in the same place?”

Shit. I forgot I hadn’t told her. “No, Maleficent told me that she was taking you far away from me. She seems crazy paranoid, actually just crazy in general, but she insinuated that she was taking you halfway around the world.”

She was silent for a moment, unmoving in my arms. I hated that I had to be the one to tell her this. I hated every second of this. “We’re going to get out of this. Not only are we going to get out of this, but we’re going to have an amazing life. You’ll take over your dad’s company, I’ll be a therapist. We will have an apartment in the city and a cottage on the lake like we talked about when we were young.”

I pressed my lips to the top of her head unable to contain my smile, “Don’t forget about all the rescue dogs we’ll adopt. Give Samson some friends to play with. You can meet my family and my best friend Robby, and I’ll meet your aunts. We’re going to have the happiest of lives together.”

She let out a content sigh, all the tension leaving her body. “No matter what happens, remember the amazing life we’re going to have. Nothing she does will take us away from that.”

-----

I spent the next couple of days memorizing the guard’s movements in between my sessions in the Play Room with Doc. They kept a regular schedule, with four guards on duty at a time with three different shifts. The longer I was here, the sloppier they got. I could sometimes hear them in the breakroom, and it allowed me a chance to get to know who I was working with. Guard 4 had a knee injury, Guard 7 was colour blind, and Guard 2 was afraid of spiders. I just needed to find a way to exploit these weaknesses.

Unfortunately, I was also getting weaker every day. Doc took sick pleasure in finding new ways to hurt me, which left me barely able to move some days. If it wasn’t for Aurora’s constant support, I may have given up. She kept the fire burning inside me that allowed me to keep going. Even when I was in the midst of my sessions with Doc, I could almost hear her whispering to me. My gleaming beacon of hope that drew me out of my darkest thoughts.

That morning, while I was eating my breakfast of cold oatmeal, I was greeted by Natalie. I hadn’t seen her since I broke her nose. I couldn’t contain the smirk that played on my lips as I took in her bruised face. Her nose was wrapped in a bandage with the skin around it coloured black and blue. Even though she looked pissed, I was full of pride. That was just what I needed.

“Looking good Natalie, I have to say that I think black and blue are your colours,” I said leaning against the wall ignoring the pain that blossomed from the movement.

“You’re psychotic Piper.”

I snorted in amusement, “You are literally holding me hostage and torturing me. I don’t think you’re in the position to be calling anyone psychotic.”

“I’m going to need surgery to correct my nose!”

“Oh boo fucking hoo. I could not give a flying fuck about your nose! I am being tortured and Maleficent is promising to kill me and my girl. You need a fucking nose job. It’s not like it’s going to be your first one.”

“I had a deviated septum!”

“I don’t care!” I knew Natalie was self-absorbed but how could she think I cared. “When I get out of here, you’re going to spend the rest of your life in jail. I don’t think you realize the shit storm that is coming your way when my family finds out what you’ve done.”

Her face blanched for a moment before she recovered. She picked up the tablet she was carrying and with a few taps she looked up at me with a grin. She turned the tablet around so I could see the page. It was an article with my face right dead centre and a bold headline on top. JENNINGS HEIR STILL MISSING.

Natalie flipped the tablet around so she could read it, “Police are grasping at straws in the disappearance of Piper Jennings. It was originally believed she was abducted by a woman named Aurora; new evidence suggests that Aurora was taken along with her. Police have no other information about the identity of this other woman. With the trail going dry, the police are asking anyone with information about either of these women to step forward to aid in their search.”

I could feel my heart hammering in my chest as Natalie looked at me with a smirk. The police had no leads. I was on my own. I closed my eyes and just remembered Aurora’s words. We were going to get out of here. We were going to have an amazing life together.

“I think I’m going to be just fine. I’m going to marry rich just like I always planned while you’re going to rot here. Doc is going to carve you up until not even your own parents will recognize you. I’ll be here laughing the entire time.”

The surge of anger I felt wasn’t the red-hot anger I was used to. The one that made me impulsive and rash. No this was a cold anger, anger so cold that it burned. Natalie left my cell but that cold rage did not go away. It festered like an infected wound, eating me up from the inside out. I was going to get out of here. I am going to see my parents again. I am going to make sure that Natalie burns for this.

I wasn’t taken to see Doc that day. Instead, I was fed my meals and allowed to recover. My injuries didn’t seem to hurt as much either. Maybe it was the cold rage burning in me that took away the pain, but I was thinking clearer than I had in days. I slipped the plastic fork I was given with lunch under my mattress and ate my lunch with my hands.

“Where’s the fork?” Guard 9 asked me.

“They didn’t give me one. Do you think I eat with my hands for fun?” I asked as I lifted my dirty hand to him. He rolled his eyes but left the cell without another word.

Once I heard his footsteps walk away from the door, I pulled out the plastic fork. I didn’t know a lot about picking locks, but if I couldn’t get my manacles off, I was stuck here. I broke off some of the tines and tried to wiggle them into the lock. I tried to remember what I had seen in all those spy movies as a kid. Those spy movies made it seem way easier.

The tine broke in the lock and I cursed. I leaned back on the cold cement wall behind me and closed my eyes. What was I even doing? I didn’t know how to pick locks. Even if I could, I was not at my best and I don’t think I could stand a chance against even one of them. I can’t get out of here by myself. I need help. Please, somebody, anyone, help me.

Just as I sent out my silent plea to the universe, I felt a hand clamp over my mouth. My eyes flew open and I was looking into the eyes of a middle-aged woman, with short grey hair and large brown eyes. “Piper Jennings?” She asked without taking her hand from my mouth. I nodded, completely confused. “Good. My name is Flora, I am one of Aurora’s Aunts. I’m here to get you out of here.”