Page 3 of Captured By the Monsters
As I moved through my small yet cozy apartment, I faintly heard my phone ringing incessantly from the kitchen. I knew it was my parents calling, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer. Nothing could prepare you for this type of goodbye, one that had been permanent for every other woman before me.
What could I say that would make this easier on any of us? The answer was glaringly obvious—no words could help.
Reverting to autopilot, I walked to the kitchen and grabbed my phone to check how much time I had left. My wallowing had taken up two out of the four hours I had until I had to be at the Citadel. Damnit. I needed to be quick now.
I walked to my bedroom and pulled Gizmo’s carrier out of my closet, gathering all of his toys from the apartment and putting them inside with his favorite green blanket from my bed. It would give him some comfort with the smell of me and our home until it eventually faded, which hopefully wouldn’t happen until he had adjusted to life with my parents.
As I placed the crate onto the bed, my eyes caught on the floor-length mirror in the corner. Something in my broken gaze snapped me out of this pity party I was stuck in. My gray eyes looked dead. All the fight and spark gone. That wasn’t the Sera everyone knew. While I had censored myself enough to fly under the radar of our government and their workers, my family and close friends knew the determined and headstrong woman that I was.
I had no option but to go, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t fight tooth and nail to come back.
A pounding on my door startled me, my hand flying to my chest as I jumped. Walking towards the entrance, I called out, “Who is it? I’m busy.”
“Sera! Let us in right this instant, young lady!” my mom’s trill voice demanded, causing me to let out a heavy sigh. I guess this is happening now.
You could always count on your mother to make you feel like a scolded child, even as an adult, right?
I was surprised a hole didn’t burn into the white front door from how hard I stared at it, contemplating how to continue. I wanted to see my parents, I wanted to let them hold me and comfort me, telling me everything would be okay…but they couldn’t guarantee that this time. No one could.
“Don’t deny yourself or us this moment, darling,” my dad softly called. He had always understood my thought process and actions, even when my mom couldn’t wrap her head around it.
Swallowing the lump that had lodged itself in my throat, I unlocked the door and pulled it open. I didn’t have a second to breathe before my mom launched herself at me and wailed, “My baby. I can’t lose you, Sera,” as her arms wrapped around my waist and her face nuzzled into my neck, instantly getting it wet with her tears.
Biting my lower lip—hard—to focus on something other than my own emotions that wanted to well up again, I looked at my dad to try to get some assistance with Mom. But what I saw there broke me.
My dad was always the calm, cool, collected one of the family. The voice of reason who wasn’t quick to anger, and I could honestly say I had never seen the man cry. He was a glass-half-full kind of guy that managed to find the silver lining of every shit situation.
I guess if there was ever a moment for him to break down, it’d be when his only child was being sacrificed. There wasn’t a silver lining in sight to this clusterfuck.
His lower lip was quivering as his blue-gray eyes pooled with unshed tears.
“Oh, Dad,” I said, my voice cracking as he gave in and wrapped his arms around Mom and me, holding us so hard I knew he was imagining that he could protect us from everything.
He would do anything for us, but there was nothing any of us could do to prevent this from happening.
My cheek rested on Mom’s soft head of blonde hair as I allowed myself to cry right alongside them. Her hands ran soothing circles on my back as she tried to calm me, despite her own sorrow.
My parents weren’t always perfect, but who was? What I could say was that they loved me fiercely, and I knew that if they could, they’d offer themselves up in replacement of me in a heartbeat, no hesitation.
After a few minutes, I retracted myself and sniffled, wiping my nose with the back of my hand as I leaned down to grab Gizmo, who was hitting my ankles with his little head. Cradling him like a baby, I rubbed his belly fur as his eyes fluttered closed in bliss. I put on a fake, albeit wobbling, smile as I looked at my parents sternly. “Don’t forget the scoop of sugar-free vanilla ice cream every night before bed for him.”
This caused my mom to fall into hysterical crying once more, but my dad managed to plaster on a matching fake smile as he put an arm around Mom and pulled her head to his chest as he promised, “I will, darling. He will get all of our love and all of the ice cream.”
Nodding at him, I turned to walk with Gizmo to his crate in my room. My eyes stung, having to come to terms with saying goodbye to my best friend. I moved my hand from his fluffy belly to under his chin, causing his head to fall back as he extended his neck all the way out for me, purring in delight.
A single tear fell down my cheek as I lifted him to plant a kiss on his head. Pressing my lips to his forehead, I whispered in parting, “I’ll come back, Gizmo. I swear.”
He nuzzled my face in answer, and I took a deep breath as I lowered him into his crate. I couldn’t look at him as I closed the door and brought him out to my parents. I didn’t want to see the hurt in his eyes as he realized he was being taken from me. I couldn’t bear it.
My dad stepped forward and took the carrier from me, kissing the top of my head. “Give them hell, darling.”
A chuckle came from me as I recalled how I told them that if I was ever selected, I’d be such a pain in the ass to the monsters that they’d have no choice but to hand me back over.
“I will,” I swore, steel straightening my back as I internalized that thought.
“I love you, honey,” Mom said as she pulled me into one last hug, her floral aroma comforting me. As her head pulled back to look up at me, her kind gray eyes looked broken. I wondered if they’d ever be able to move on after this. I had to show them that I wasn’t defeated by this and that there was hope.
Pulling my shoulders back, I looked at both of them and said, “I refuse to be another woman added to the statistic of sacrifices that never return. My name is Serafina Adler, and I’ll be back.”
