Feral For Her Freedom

Water pelted me at a bone breaking force. I gasped and sputtered as it went up my nose. The small female looked me over before attacking me again with a coarse scrub brush. This was the fourth time of this sequence and I still smelled like vomit, urine, and gore.

She said nothing as she cleaned me, even going as far as to brush my teeth. I was still strung up from the ceiling, hanging in a star position with my arms and legs in an x. Myrin was wise to restating my feet, or else I’d probably have found a way to use them to hurt this female.

I had nothing against her, hell, I didn’t know her at all, but I’d do it to send a message to Myrin that I was still as feral as the day he first laid eyes on me.

Rape had now become a usual part of his routine. I did my best to let my mind escape, to simply pretend it wasn’t happening to me, but Myrin had a way of always bringing me back into that moment and force me to come to terms with what he was doing.

I had always believed the philosophy that if you didn’t give people the reaction that they desired from you, eventually they would give up on their antics. Myrin was beginning to make me think otherwise.

The One was the most persistent person I had ever met. He was out of ideas but refused to give up, seeming to use the strategy of constant provoking to wear me down until I snapped at him with rage and fire or crumbled beneath him into ash and dust.

My hair was pulled at sharply as the female grabbed chunks of it and cut them away, giving me an awful bob, but I knew it would be better for me in this situation.

“It helps,” she whispered hoarsely. “The smell always made me nauseous, and it gives him less to grab onto.”

I raised my head and met her eyes. She was absolutely tiny, probably no more than five feet, half the size of Myrin. I was surprised to see she met the beauty standards to a T. Big eyes, button nose, round face, porcelain skin, the whole works. How she didn’t end up being the consort of someone of high status I couldn’t fathom.

She lowered her eyes from my fierce gaze.

I huffed. Submissive too.

She cut away the last of my hair, having to stand on a stool to reach. I got another whiff of her scent as her neck passed right under my nose. I swallowed down the gag that rose in my throat. She smelled like Myrin. Then I noticed the circular scar from a ring of teeth.

A consort mark.

I jolted away from her, not believing this.

I knew Myrin had a consort, Jude almost didn’t allow him to take me with him because of it, but what was she doing down here? How had she been assigned the task of cleaning me up?

“He wants to remind me what awaits me if I ever fall out of line,” she murmured, brushing out my hair and I realized I had spoken my thoughts aloud.

“He’d do this to his own consort?” I snarled out, causing the delicate female to flinch at my harsh tone.

“He has done it to me before. He does it whenever he has no one else to discipline.” She moved her stool around to my back and started rubbing ointment onto my open wounds. I hissed at the sting. It felt like my flesh was being melted from my body. “It’s eating the infection,” she told me quietly. Everything about her was timid.

“Help me,” I pleaded with her.

The small hands stopped their duty and then resumed. “I can’t.”

“You must know something. Even if you could just slip me a key to the chains–”

“No,” she said sternly. “I refuse to be strung up alongside you.”

“How could you be so selfish?” I growled. Myrin was her consort, it was her fate to deal with him. “He tortures me!” I spat.

“I know what he does,” she said, “and I am thankful for your sacrifice. You keep his attention away from me and by the looks of it you can handle it. You’ve been here for nearly three months. Most don’t last more than two weeks.”

Three months of my life in this hell and this was my first decent bath. Before now, Myrin had just sprayed me with a hose a few times and was satisfied.

“You won’t even give me a chance to escape so that you don’t have to risk the chance of enduring the pain that is meant for you?”

“I have to go now.” The female was running from the truth, that she was just as horrible as her mate.

“He’s your consort! This fate was meant for you. How can you be so weak as to push it off on someone else?” She backed out of my cell closing the barred gate and hurried away as I screamed after her. “You’re a monster!”

•••

Not only did the cowardly female refuse to help me, but she snitched on me too. I got an extra brutal beating for daring to ‘turn his consort against him’.

“Enjoy the darkness, I’m going to give you a little extra time to think about what you’ve done.” He talked to me as if scolding a child. The light clicked off and he said his parting words, “You’ll conform. I’ll make you see the errors of your ways.”

The darkness didn’t bother me. While at first it gave me too much time to think, to doubt, to lose hope, now it was just bliss. I could focus on healing, on rebuilding myself inside, in strengthening my resolve. I had no doubt this could easily drive some people mad, but after what I had lived through, a little time alone was a gift.

The hours stretched on and my mental clock had me questioning where Myrin was when he didn’t come in at his usual time. I became anxious when time passed and there was still no sign of him. I jumped at every noise thinking he was finally here only for the door to remain closed and the light still off.

Part of me thought this was his new strategy. Perhaps he thought that not knowing when to expect him would mentally wear me down.

I had much time to think of all the possibilities before it finally hit me.

He was gone.

Myrin was still a One which meant that he had obligations. He still had meetings to attend and people to meet. This was my chance, my opportunity to escape.

I didn’t know how much time I had so I’d have to do this quickly, but I had to do this right. I needed food. I wasn’t going to get very far without some nourishment. I also needed to get out of these damn chains so that I could start using my legs properly again. I’d been trying to do exercise with them when I was alone, but there was only so much energy I could expend when I was starving and had to focus on healing.

I felt along my chains, pulling myself up so that the cuffs now rested lower than usual. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before letting go of the chains so that when gravity pulled me back into place, I could position my thumbs in the right position to break them. The first few times I tried it, I was only rewarded with an arm wrenching pain as the shackles held fast to my wrists. Finally, after several tries, I successfully broke the base of my thumb on my left hand.

I groaned, my jaw clamping shut. A mix between a laugh and a sob squeezed its way from my throat. Taking several deep breaths, I wriggled my hand free, wincing as the bones shifted under the pressure to accommodate a shape that would allow it to slide through.

Biting my lip, I reached up for my other hand and grabbing my thumb, I wrenched it back. A loud crack rang throughout the room followed by a burning pain that felt more like a tickle compare to some of the other pains I had experienced.

I pulled my hand from the cuff, and the moment I was completely free, gravity reminded me of its existence and I fell to the ground in a heap. I laid there for a few moments, unable to believe this was really happening. I had a chance to be free, to live my life again, if I could push through the final stretch.

In my mind it seemed so easy, just with in arms reach but when I tried to stand, I was harshly reminded of my situation and the hardest part was yet to come.

My legs were shaky, and it took me several tries to finally stand in a somewhat upright position. It was strange using my legs again, settling into the familiarity of weight on my knees and ankles and using my feet to keep my balance. It was like I was a fawn learning to use their legs for the first time.

I wobbled as I slowly made my way around the room, feeling for the table I’d been strapped too numerous times. The light was somewhere above it and turning it on was the first step.

That’s how I had to take this.

One step at a time.

When I knocked into it, I shakily climbed up onto it and reached blindly above until I felt the little chain. I seized it and pulled, letting out a content sigh when light flooded the room. I sat on the table, contemplating how I was going to do this.

My next step.

Getting out of this room seemed like a good goal.

I slid off the table and walked to the door giving it a firm tug, but it didn’t budge. I looked around it to see where the locking mechanism was but found none. Frowning, I pulled on it again, using two hands this time, and yanked hard. It moved, just a millimeter but it moved. I cheered silently to myself, not too surprised that there wasn’t a lock.

Myrin was a narcissist, he would never think someone would escape him—and even if they did, he didn’t expect them to get very far.

This door would certainly be an obstacle as it easily weighed over two hundred pounds. With his wight strength it probably didn’t take much effort on his part. In fact, a few months ago it wouldn’t have been much of a struggle for me either. But now I was skin and bones, no strength at all. I was impressed I was able to stand and walk half decently.

Still, I wouldn’t let anything get in my way of freedom, least of all some door. So, I pulled with everything I had, moving it centimeter by centimeter until the gap was just large enough that I could slip through. I was halfway through the gap when I turned back around and looked at the knives on the wall. I decided to grab one because I’d probably need it later.

The hallway was dark as I carefully made my way through it, finding myself at the bottom of some stairs. I inched my way up them, wincing at every creak and groan. Light flooded from under the door and it was a welcome sight.

Taking a deep breath, I latched onto the knob and slowly twisted it, opening it just a crack so that I could see if it was clear.

I was surprised to see a beautiful hardwood hallway with tall windows and heavy drapes adorning them. It was a beautiful house to disguise such horrors.

Seeing no one, I pushed the door open and closed it softly behind me. I tiptoed my way left, figuring right went deeper into the house.

My suspicion turned out wrong and I was lost in a labyrinth of rooms and hallways. It didn’t help that I had to keep hiding every time someone popped out from somewhere unexpected.

Step three was open ended depending on which opportunity arose. One way, I could get some food and stake out until I had enough strength to battle my way out if need be or make a mad dash to a place where I could vanish off the face of the earth. My second choice was really the next step I’d take in any situation. If a window arose for an easy escape, I was taking it, no matter what.

As fate would have it, I decided to follow my instincts. Soon I realized, I was really just following my nose because I came upon a kitchen stocked full of food. There was a huge walk-in pantry that seemed to stretch for miles, filled with anything you could ever dream of.

I started grabbing anything and everything, stuffing my face with the needed nutrients.

I wondered about the emptiness of the house. Was there really no one who lived in this house besides Myrin? I mean it would make sense why it was nearly vacant except for the occasional butler and maid. Why did he need cooks if he wasn’t here to eat? What use were his Twos here when he probably needed them with him? I hadn’t even seen his consort roaming the halls. Was she even allowed to live with him?

I shrugged to myself, all I knew was it made this easier. I’d take what I’d been given and be grateful.

In the midst of cramming as many mixed nuts into my cheeks as I could, I heard voices coming closer and closer. I quickly looked around for something to hide behind and settled for the barrels filled with grain. I leapt behind them, hoisting a sack of potatoes over my side so my arms and legs didn’t stick out.

The pantry door opened, and I could hear footsteps stopping and then shuffling around. I held my breath, willing my heart to stop beating so that it wouldn’t give me away.

“Did you hear? Myrin is flying back tonight.” My eyes widened and I strained to hear their conversation.

“Tonight? I thought the convention was supposed to last for a week.”

Damn, a week would have been a gift. Now I was cut short and I would have to get my escape plan moving along.

“Apparently he has something more important to do here.”

The other grumbled in response. “I wish he’d stay longer. He terrifies me. I hate being around him.”

I rolled my eyes. They didn’t know the half of it.

The rest of their conversation just turned into complaints and whining. I had a strong urge to spring from my hiding place and strangle them, while shouting that they had nothing to complain about after what I’d been through. Their self-pity disgusted me. They were more pathetic than any female. We could take it in stride and keep our mouths shut about it, but males turned into babies and just cried and complained about it.

After they left, I staked out for a while until I was sure they’d be gone and then I continued my way through the labyrinth seeming to go in never ending circles.

I was about to give up and break a window so I could jump out because none of them opened to any exit, but then I passed by a door with an obvious breeze. I halted, backtracking and stood before the door, feeling the cool air current coming from it.

I placed my hand on the knob, it was cold to the touch, so I pulled it open.

A warehouse setting of a high rafted ceiling and concrete floors greeted me. Cars were parked everywhere inside it.

I’d never driven one, hell I hadn’t been in one since my childhood. All I’d ever used were public transportations like buses and trains, but those weren’t really the same as a car.

I meandered my way through the different looking vehicles, coming to one that seemed more neglected than the rest. It looked a little more spacious, a good place to take a nap and cultivate the food I’d consumed into energy. I couldn’t risk collapsing just outside the mansion where I could easily be found. It was better to rest now and move later. Besides, it was just the beginning of the afternoon judging from the position of the sun I’d seen through the windows and Myrin wasn’t supposed to be back until tonight.

I knew it was risky, a gamble, to count so heavily on the timing of his return, but I needed to do this right. I couldn’t afford any mistakes.

As I crawled into the back seat of the car and closed the door, I told myself I’d wake up with plenty of time for an escape, that fate wouldn’t have allowed me to get this far to foil my plans at the last second.

I would succeed and I’d finally be free.