Venom

Chapter 7 Lucy

Lucy

Standing there watching the fights, waiting for it to be my turn; it was awful. There were so many of us, I wondered why the government needed us all? Scarlet had said we were some kind of vampire thing who killed, I wouldn’t have believed any of this up until now. Scarlet seems cold but since she came back, she has been different with me. A pair of hands grab me, Conway, he pulled me roughly through the crowds, the smell of his sweat and tainted deodorant seep up my nose making me want to throw up. My nerves are shot to hell as Conway shoves me into a line.

“You’re up soon little girl. Can’t wait to see that crazy side of yours.” Conway’s smirk sent cold shivers down my spine.

I turned my head away from him and stood trembling, my stomach churning as the line kept getting shorter.

I’m shoved in alongside a slightly older-looking girl, she was roughly the same height as me but she was a bigger build. I remembered what Scarlet had told me on the way here. The agent in the center spoke to us both.

“You fight each other, first one down loses, it’s as simple as that.”

He stepped back and gave us a nod. Immediately the girl came at me and swung with her right arm trying to punch me, I jumped back enough that she missed me. I danced around her like Scarlet told me to, and worked my way around the ring. She kept coming at me, she liked to use her fists. I tried a few swings, catching her lightly on one as she tried to dodge it. I could feel my confidence growing a little as we carried on, I’ve never punched someone before I’m not even sure if it was a hard punch I got her with.

I catch a glimpse of Scarlet next to a man talking, they look like they know each other. Beads of sweat form on my brow. I give my forehead a quick wipe, I realize how out of shape I am. I swing my leg trying to knock her legs out from under her, she wobbles but doesn’t lose her balance. I take this opportunity to move away from her and steady my breathing for a few breaths, that’s when I hear Scarlet’s voice. She said something about my brother, Kade. I stared at her, she knew I heard her. Next minute I’m seeing stars and falling backward onto the floor.

The taste of copper from the blood and the cold cement floor underneath me awakens my aching body. I squint and try to lift my lids but only one eye opens and I see that I’m back in my cell.

“You were out cold.”

Scarlet’s voice startled me and I moved myself away from her onto my mattress for more comfort. I touched the side of my head and immediately regretted it.

“Owch.” I wince from the pain, pulling my hand back and seeing the blood from the knockout added to my dried blood-stained hands. Memories came flooding back and I knew why I had lost my attention inside the ring. I glanced sideways, she was staring at me but it didn’t hold the same blank stare as when I first met her.

“Why were you talking to that guy about my brother?” I asked, showing I was pissed off. She didn’t answer me but looked like my question was festering in her mind.

“I heard you! Why were you talking about my brother Kade? Do you know him?”

“I ran into him on my last mission,” she finally answered, not looking at me. It didn’t matter though, I sprang to my feet gripping the bars that separated our cells in a frenzied excitement.

“Did you tell him! Did you tell him I was in here! He’s going to come for me, isn’t he! I know he is!” My heart was beating out of rhythm; for the first time since being here, I felt hopeful this would all soon be over.

“No,” was all she said, finally looked over at me and I read her expression as all hope faded.

“Do you want your brother dead? Because that’s what would happen if he came remotely close to this place to try and get you out!” Scarlet said as I sank to my knees defeated and hopeless.

“No one has ever come in here who didn’t have government access with their keycards and none of us have ever gotten out without being escorted and tracked for targets!”

I glance hard into Scarlet’s doubtful eyes.

“Then I guess you don’t know Kade. He will stop at nothing. You just wait and see!”

The clink of the hallway door opened again and in walked Conway. My stomach clenches just at the thought of him and I know he’s walking straight towards me.

“Well, well, look who’s finally awake,” he taunts me, stopping at my cell holding what looks to be a basin of water and buzzed himself in.

“Can’t say that wasn’t disappointing to watch.” Bending down right in front of me, Conway pulls out a cloth and dips it in the water. Reaching out to tend to my sore face and clean me up but I turn my head to the side.

“You know just how to turn me on when you play hard to get. Don’t worry, I’ll get to stick my cock in you before it’s too late.” He presses the cloth hard against my beaten sore face and I let out a whimpering cry.

“Mmmm, see. I’ve already got you purring for me, my little pussy cat.” My stomach ties itself in knots hearing his vulgar and cocky words, feeling his stinking bad breath blowing against my cut-up neck. He dips the towel in water and reaches for my face again when I turn to him with hate boiling over and spit in his face.

I feel his strike against my already raw cheek making the throbbing pain I had been enduring into a sharp excruciating pain. He threw the washcloth at me and was about to leave when he bent down closer to me.

“Don’t play games with me little girl, you may find yourself locked up in solitude, and you don’t want that now do you?” He paused, grabbing my chin roughly in his fingers, and made me look into his eyes. “I could do anything to you in there and no one would hear you.” He pushed me back down and left the cell, locking it before he disappeared.

It was the sound of Scarlet that took me out of my fearful tremble of what Conway had just said. She was wringing out the washcloth.

“Here. Come closer,” she said tenderly. I moved over to her and rested my head against the bars of the cell.

“Tell me more about your brother. What’s he like?” She started wiping my face gently.

“He is the best big brother in the world! He has always been there for me, stepped up when our mom left us and our dad got sent to prison. He works so hard to keep us afloat but trouble always seems to find him.”

“How so?” she asked.

“He’s been working ever since I could remember. Put all his savings into a run-down gym. He’s a fighter, always has been. He wanted to teach wrestling and training but he could never catch a break. Our dad started running illegal fights there, it was the only way we could bring in enough money to keep up the rent. Our dad got busted and Kade lost the gym. He went back to running the underground fights though. Once you’re in, it’s hard to get out.”

“He sounds like a nice guy who’s just been eating shit his whole life.” Scarlet’s voice was soft but it reminded me of Kade and I when we were younger and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“You just reminded me of a dumb joke when we were kids,” I continued with my laughing fit and I actually saw Scarlet smile briefly.

“I’m listening,” she prompted.

“His favorite cereal is Cocoa Puffs but I always made fun of him for it saying it looked like he was eating a bowl of shit terds.” Scarlet burst out laughing along with me, making me laugh even harder to the point I was crying.

“He would tease me chasing me around with the bowl and spoon saying, LuLu is coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs.” My laughs subsided as I wiped away the tears realizing I was now actually crying thinking of him and missing him.

“He’s always looked out for me and I let him down. I should’ve never snuck out to go clubbing! Now I’m here and I might never get to see him again.”

I can’t hold it in anymore, I mask my sobs with my hand to cover the wailing as the tears continued to flow down my face.

“Hey, you have to keep it together. You have to stay strong Lucy.” She said encouragingly as she rubbed my arm.

I stop crying and wipe my tears, she is right I have to stay strong, Kade will come for me. I know he will.