Page 20 of Stolen

I sighed heavily, my back reminding me that I shouldn’t get irritated.

“I tried to run.”

She was silent for a moment; I could practically feel her eyes running over my bruised form.

“Was it worth it?” she asked. “Because you look like hell.”

Wasit worth it? It cost me more than she needed to know, but at least I hadn’t left empty-handed.

“I learned some of the layout and found a few of their cameras, which did not leave much hope for blind spots. I did mess up the guards. Jared should be out of commission for a few days,” I said with a small laugh. “I’m sure he’ll come after me, though, if they haven’t sold me by then. And the other two, well, they’ll be lucky if they can ever reproduce. I seriously hope not, though.”

I cracked my eyes open just in time to see her shake her head in confusion. “Wait, hold on, there’s a lot to unpack there. What do you mean you messed up the guards? And who is Jared?”

I almost laughed.

“Jared will be the one recovering from a stab wound in his gut. He’s also the scraggly looking one with the longer hair in the front.”

“Wait, you stabbed him?” she asked, her voice incredulous.

“Yeah.”

“Uh, how exactly did you do that?”

“I disarmed him and stabbed him with the pointy end.”

“But how?!?” she asked like she couldn’t comprehend it.

“Jesus, Kayla, what is this, twenty questions? He cut my ties, I locked his arms and managed to disarm the knife. And then I shoved it into his gut and ran for the door.”

She was silent again, but it didn’t last long enough. Fuck, I really needed some sleep.

“Damn, you’ve got some guts, girl.”

“No, I’ve got some skills, Kayla. And right now, they’re a little depleted so I need some rest to heal and recharge. You mind?”

“Okay, sorry. I’ll let you sleep.”

“Thanks.” And I drowned myself in a good long nap that would last until lunchtime.

6

Run

It had been two days since my last encounter with the owner, but with a little food, water, and rest, I could already feel my strength returning to me. Every now and then, I would stretch my body with what little room I had in my cage, relaxing the tension in my muscles and expanding the blood flow in them. I could see Kayla taking mental notes from my side view as she watched me.

She and I were beginning to become close now with so much time on our hands and nothing to do. She reminded me of home, and we reminisced a lot about the bipolar tendencies of Michigan weather and the fun of dodging the potholes when the snow finally melted. If we hadn’t met in such a shitty situation, we might have become friends at another time.

Earlier in the day, I had my follow-up with the doctor. I was healing nicely and had been deemed clear of any STDs or other illnesses. My anxiety spiked a little as I realized the precautions used on me days before were no longer necessary, especially after the doctor placed a birth control implant in my arm. I hadn’t fought against it. There was no way I wanted to risk bringing a child into the kind of world I was now living in.

About an hour after the guards escorted me back to my cage, three guards came marching in. Their boots pounded away on the floor, sending echoes through the room and giving way to the scowl I could feel forming on my face.

“Shower time!” the lead guard shouted. As he got closer, I realized it was Jared.

Well, look who’s back.

I suddenly realized how much it didn’t bother me if I really had killed him. It should have, but it didn’t. Probably because I thought none of these sadistic motherfuckers deserved to live in the first place. They were nothing to me. As far as I was concerned, the world was probably better off without them, and if I had the chance, I wouldn’t hesitate a single second to end all of their lives.

Uncontrollable rage did that to a person.

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