There was no telling when he’d be back, but Eden knew it was only a matter of time. The hall outside her cell was silent. She sat on the cold floor facing the door, her head leaning against the wall, struggling to keep her eyelids from fluttering shut. Was it late? How long had she been awake? Time had ceased to have any meaning for her; everything was twilight in her metallic hell. She shot a glance at the piece of metal she’d ripped from the wall; the edges were still smeared with her blood and she could feel her own heartbeat in her palms. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was sharp and it was solid.
Lucas would have to come back at some point. Her stomach growled, and she wracked her brain. How long had she been down here? Was she missed yet? Rory must have realized by now that she was missing and would be raising the alarm. He wouldn’t rest until she was safe at home. She hugged her knees to her chest, shivering from cold or from loneliness. Someone had to be looking for her. Eden hastily wiped a tear from her face. Lucas could be back at any moment, and he wouldn’t catch her falling to pieces in the dark. Not today.
There was no sun to rise or set. There were no patrols through the hallways or meals brought to measure the time by. Eden’s stomach stopped growling eventually, giving up in the face of neglect. Her eyelids drooped but the floor was too hard and the room too cold, and she was too scared to sleep.
Eventually the footsteps came again, closer and closer down the hallway. Eden jolted out of her half-sleep and held her breath. The steps were definitely coming closer. She touched the metal sheet leaning against the wall behind her where she had tucked it out of view. She would have to be quick, and strong. Decisive. There would be no room for hesitation. If she could buy just a moment before he realized she was armed, she could make it. The half twilight turned to darkness as something blocked out the small window of her door. Every part of her tensed; she was coiled tightly like a sprint.
The door creaked open, groaning in protest, and hesitated halfway open.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Lucas’s voice was low and full of warning. “I don’t want to have to do this the hard way.”
Eden braced herself. The door swung the rest of the way open, and there he was, framed in the orange light of the hallway.
“I come in peace, alright?” he said.
He held his hands up and smiled at her, lopsided and lazy, a gesture she was sure was intended to be disarming. Eden let herself flinch as he held up his hands. Not yet.
“What do you want?” Eden asked, for what felt like the hundredth time. She fired her questions as rapidly as she could. “Why am I here? Where am I? Who are you?”
He lingered in the doorway and furrowed his brow, not in the way Rory did when he was concerned or confused, but in a darker way that drew his face into a scowl. Not yet.
“Slow down,” he said. “I’m not here to answer your questions. You’re here to answer mine. Starting now.”
Not yet.
“Fine. I don’t know anything, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you anything. Where am I and what do you want?”
“Cooperate and maybe you’ll get fed. Now, tell me about the weapon.”
He knew. He’d seen it. Had he? Either way, she’d hesitated too long, waiting for his eyes to drop from her, waiting for his tense posture in the doorway to relax. Stupid. He stepped into the room and let the door close behind him. She’d lost her opportunity.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said through gritted teeth. “What weapon?”
Lucas laughed. “She is not going to tolerate this stupid act the way I am. We know that Cardinal Enterprises is smuggling Paradisium into the city for a reason. What kind of a weapon are they building? And why?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eden snapped. Paradisium. That same word that had made Rory so angry. What was he involved in?
“‘What weapon?’,” Lucas mimicked. “Very convincing. Our intel tells us that construction on the weapon has begun. I’ll ask you one more time. What. Is. The. Weapon.”
Weapon? “There is no weapon! I don’t know what you’re talking about! Let me go, or you’ll be sorry.”
He snorted. “I doubt that. If you’re not ready to talk now, that’s fine. You’ll be too hungry and tired soon. And if you wait long enough, you’ll be lucky enough to meet her, although I don’t think you want that. Really, Eden. This doesn’t have to be so difficult. Just tell me what I need to know and no one needs to get hurt. Including you. Think about it, okay?”
Lucas shook his head a bit sadly but he gave Eden another one of his lopsided smiles before he turned and opened the cell door. He turned his back to her, finally, finally. Now.
Eden lunged forward, seizing the split second of distraction. The metal sheet whistled as it swung through the air, colliding with the side of his face. He cried out and staggered to the side, holding the side of his head. Redness was leaking through his fingers. Eden didn’t let her eyes linger. She shoved past him as he tried to get his bearings, her cold muscles screaming in protest as she flew out the door. She turned left out the door, her feet pounding against the steel floor. Lucas was shouting behind her, his words an incoherent blur against the wind in her ears.
She took another left at the end of the hall, the identical steel walls washed in orange light and melting together into an unchanging landscape. Was she escaping, or just driving herself deeper into the labyrinth? At the end of the next hall, she threw herself to the right, not bothering to look down the left hall. She zigged and zagged, choosing paths at random. Had she seen this hall before or was it merely identical to the last?
Eden stole a glance over her shoulder. He was there, and gaining on her quickly, though the side of his face was a bloody mess. She swore and stumbled, her stolen glance costing her her balance. Scrambling to catch herself, she pumped her legs harder, ignoring the burn and the pain. Everything was the same; everything was identical. Every door was unmarked. Eden couldn’t let herself slow or think of it.
“You can’t get out!” Lucas shouted from behind her. He didn’t sound far behind now. “Stop running!”
Her legs were burning. The place was a maze. There was no escape. Every hallway looked the same, the same unforgiving steel halls leading to nowhere. She stole another glance backwards.
A hand grabbed at her clothing, ripping her shirt, before grabbing again and clutching at her wrist. She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, swinging backwards with her fist as she tumbled down to the ground. It connected with something soft and malleable. He yelped again, but the momentum of her swing threw her off balance, and Eden crashed to the steel flooring, Lucas hitting the ground beside her. His hand was like iron around her wrist. Lucas was panting and his dark hair was slicked with sweat. He moved quickly, positioning himself over her and pulling her arms behind her back. Eden bit the inside of her cheek hard, fighting to keep from crying out the way he had. She tasted blood.
“That was a nice attempt,” he said through gasps, fishing two long zip ties from his pocket. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth, and I can’t wait until she finds that out.”
Eden thrashed as he moved his weight off of her, her heart pounding in her chest, but it was no use. She lifted her head and, through the curtain of blonde hair that covered her eyes, she glared up at Lucas. The gash on his cheek was still dripping blood and purple bruising was already blossoming around the raised gash. He spat blood on the floor. With her hands bound, exhausted and aching, Eden was powerless. Without much effort, Lucas lifted her and threw her over his shoulder, and she bounced against his back all the way back to the cell. He dumped her unceremoniously onto the ground.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“I hope you enjoyed this game,” he said. “You’re going to wish you cooperated with me when you meet her.”
“Who is she?” Eden demanded, although she had meant to stay silent.
He laughed. “You’ll find out in the morning. I’m going to leave you to think about your actions for a while.”
He crouched down in front of her and gently brushed a strand of hair back from her face. She snapped at him, teeth closing inches from his fingers.
“Whoa!” he said, rocking back on his heels. “I’m not your enemy, Eden. I know it seems like I am. You’ve been brainwashed by Cardinal Enterprises, but soon, you’ll see the truth. All I wanted was a little information. But now? Now it’s out of my hands. This could have been easy. You could have told me where they’re keeping the crystals, where the weapon is being built, what it is. Could have been a quick and easy chat, for the benefit of the city.” He shrugged and rose to his feet, hesitating at the door. “Now you’ll have to deal with her, and she isn’t half as forgiving as I am.” With a wink, he left her alone in the darkness.
She waited. All that was left to do was wait. Time passed without consequence. There was no food or water brought to mark the passage of time. Eventually her hands went numb behind her back. Hours passed. Maybe days. Her stomach had shriveled away at this point and her throat was dry and scratchy. Who was this woman, this she that Lucas had been so sure would terrify Eden? And more importantly, where was she?
Was anyone even looking for her? By now, surely, her family and Rory knew she was missing. Eden cursed out loud as she realized her cheeks were wet. With her bound hands, she couldn’t brushed the tears away and could only leave the evidence of her brokenness where anyone could see it.
Eventually, someone would come for her, friend or foe. And when that door opened again, she’d have another chance. How many chances would she have before they just killed her? Whatever information they believed her to have must be valuable, she realized. Her stomach flipped nervously and a wave of nausea rose in her. What would be more disappointing to her captors? That she was refusing to give up the information, or that she had no information to give up at all? As of now, it was obvious that Lucas believed her to be holding the truth back. Sooner or later, he–or she–would realize that she had nothing to give up. She sniffled, fighting back another round of tears. It would do no good to dehydrate herself faster than necessary. She could survive this. And if not, she resolved to go down fighting.
When the door swung open with its familiar squeal of protest, Eden jolted out of some restless place between sleeping and wakefulness. With every last bit of her strength, she rolled herself to her side and struggled to a sitting position, leaning against the wall for balance. She hadn’t even heard the footsteps. Her vision darkened around the edges and she swayed. She blinked rapidly and tried to focus on the two figures blocking the light from the hall.
“She doesn’t look nearly as troublesome as you described, Lucas,” a woman’s voice said disapprovingly.
They came into focus as Eden glared at them. Lucas stood just behind a statuesque woman with a mane of dark hair and a sharp hazel stare. Eden’s skin prickled. This must be her. Lucas touched a weapon at his side. That was new. They must be done toying with her, Eden decided. They’d brought out the big guns, literally and figuratively.
“I think she’s learned her lesson finally,” Lucas said. “The zip ties helped.”
With the little strength left in her body, Eden spat at his feet. The woman burst into laughter, the loud unrestrained laughter of a woman who feared nothing and no one.
“My goodness,” she said finally, wiping her eyes. “I take that back, Lucas. You were right.”
“Who are you?” Eden demanded. “What do you want?”
The woman narrowed her eyes at Eden, as if surprised to hear her captive speak out of turn. “We’ll get straight to the point, shall we?”
“I’d love to,” she said.
The woman extended a hand for Eden to shake, and made a show of noticing the ties that bound her wrists. Anger surged up in Eden’s gut.
“Oh, my mistake,” the woman said. “You’re really in no position for a formal introduction. I’ll keep this simple, in that case. My name is Bianca. I’m in charge around here. You are Eden Cooper, a cog in the evil machine that is Cardinal Enterprises. But no longer. I’m breaking you free of that life, Eden. You’re welcome. You work for me now. Welcome to the Hive. You’ll like it here.”
“I’ll die first.”
“That could be arranged,” Bianca shrugged. “Though I’d hate to see it come to that. You haven’t even heard what I have to offer. I guarantee it’s more than what you’re getting from Cardinal Enterprises.”
“What could you possibly offer me?”
Bianca crouched to the floor, fixing Eden in her gaze. “Now, I’ll admit. Lucas had no intention of grabbing you, originally. But if I recall what he told me, you spent most of the festival at the side of one Dr. Rory Lawrence, who is quite the rising star according to my sources.”
Eden’s stomach dropped. “Leave him out of this,” she spat.
“Ah,” Bianca smiled. “A close connection, it seems. Perfect. To make a very long and complicated story short, your Rory is the latest member on Jason Abrahams’ team, and I happen to know that they have somehow come into possession of a large quantity of a substance called Paradisium. I suspect they will quickly develop some kind of abomination with it. How funny that fate saw fit to drop you in my lap?”
“What is it you’re asking of me?” Eden snapped.
Her mind was too fuzzy to parse through Bianca’s words. Bianca smiled at Eden as if she were a small child with whom she was using her utmost patience.
“I want you to find out from your little friend: what exactly are they doing with the Paradisium? I want you to find out by any means necessary.”
“I won’t betray Rory,” she said quietly. “And he doesn’t talk to me about his work.”
“I think you can find a way, Eden.”
“No,” Eden said.
“Suit yourself,” she said, standing and spinning towards the door. Lucas stepped out of the way quickly, keeping his eyes fixed on Eden.
“I don’t care how long you keep me here or what you do to me,” Eden shouted after her. “Never!”
“Oh Eden,” Bianca chuckled and hesitated in the doorway. “I’m not worried about you. It’s Dr. Lawrence I would worry about. If I can’t get information from you, I’ll have to go straight to the source. Is he as strong as you are? Or do you think he’ll break?”
“Wait!” The word burst from her unbidden. There was no choice now. Her heart hurt more than any of the aches in her body.
“Change of heart?” Bianca asked softly. She gave Eden another broad smile, showing every tooth. Her voice dripped with faux concern. “I’ll have a tray of food sent down. You must be starving, poor thing. Remember this: I take care of my own. It’s only my enemies who need to fear me. And you aren’t an enemy anymore, are you? Welcome to the Hive, Eden. For your first task, I need you to find out everything you can about Paradisium and its properties. What are they using it for? Think you can handle that? Lucas, cut her ties. She’s one of us now.”
Bianca swept from the room without waiting for an answer. Lucas, left in her wake, chuckled and raised his eyebrows at Eden. “Like I warned you. Not very nice, is she?”
Before the tray arrived, Eden knew there was no way she’d be able to eat around the lump in her throat. She should let herself wither away, she thought. Wither away rather than betray her friend and feed his work to a terrorist cell. Would that stop Bianca from punishing him? Somehow, she doubted it. She was interrupted from her reverie by the creaking of the door and the scrape of a plastic tray loaded with food across the floor. She didn’t look up to see who opened the door, and whoever it was didn’t linger. The tray skidded to a stop in front of her, a roasted vegetable feast with barbequed tofu on top. The smell overwhelmed the small room quickly. Her stomach roared for relief, and her mouth watered, lump forgotten. She hated herself as she shoveled the food into her mouth like an animal.
Instead of fighting the weakness away, her limbs felt heavier with each bite of food. Her eyelids drooped. It was the guilt, maybe, she thought. Or maybe it was too late, she’d already starved to death and she’d never be able to process the calories quick enough to reverse it. The sleep that overwhelmed her wasn’t natural, she realized as she sat back, her stomach full to the bursting. She cursed to herself. Drugged. Of course. She pushed the empty tray away; it skittered away barely an inch. Eden slouched against the wall, her face resting against the cool steel. The cold was comforting against her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she wasn’t strong enough to open them again. Maybe just a moment. A moment of sleep and she’d be strong enough to fight again.