|
|
|
The steady drip of water could be heard echoing through the pitch black tunnels, brown water leaking from the crumbling stone walls, creating a slippery surface on which mold and lichen thrived, out of the piercing rays of the bright sun.
A small river of the same aforementioned dirty brown water flowed sluggishly through the center of the tunnel, dividing the remaining dry ground--if it could be called dry--into two separate narrow paths, barely wide enough for a rat to scurry by. The water flowed through a tunnel and into a room lit by a single torch whos flame had nearly died and only the glowing embers remained. The light left by the flickering and shuddering ember revealed a single ghostly white figure on the far wall.
"...ugh..." the figure stirred slightly with a groan. The smell of rot and mold accosted her nostrils, and she wrinkled her nose in distaste.
Where in the world....
She lifted her head with a slight moan, painfully aware of the sharp needles of pain that prickled at her temples.
It feels like I got hit in the head with a two-by-four... she thought. Oh wait. I was. Damn...
She tried to bring her hands to her head, only to feel the hard, sharp edge of metal bite into her wrists. There was the clack of chains, and she looked up towards the source of the sound. Her wrists were suspended a foot above her head in shackles that were oh so conveniently spaced apart so her hands weren't touching.
Damn. No alchemy then...
She scanned her surroundings. Darkness, mold, slime, dirty water. Great. She clenched her fists and yanked them forward as hard as she could. The chains held and threw her back against the damp stone wall. She bit back a yelp, dimly aware of the blood that dripped down her neck.
How in the world did I get down here anyway...
Then it all came rushing back. Edward, transforming into Envy, raising the plank of hardwood and cracking it over her head. That actually hadn't taken her out, but then...
I blacked out? She tried to get to her feet, only to fall back down upon her knees in surprise. She felt unusually weak...
I must have been drugged... the reality hit her like a wave. That means I can't break these chains...I can't get out of here!
Her rising panic almost overwhelmed her, and for a moment she forgot about her throbbing head.
Wait. Calm down. Think... She gritted her teeth, wondering if Envy had found her sword. She propped herself up as best as she could on her knees, and arched her spine. To her immense relief, she felt the familiar hard sheath pressing into her shoulderblades. Sitting herself back down, she contemplated her choices.
I could wait for Ed to realize that I'm gone...I can try to get out by myself... She gritted her teeth. Did she really have so few choices?
Well. Unfortunately, yes. Calling out for help would be stupid, since the only ones that would hear her would probably be the rats in this stinking sewer. Or Envy. She let out a groan, and struggled against her bindings again, only to be rewarded with the same results.
She was suddenly aware of a shadowy figure walking towards her through the muck. Her mind immediately thought of Envy, but then she realized No...it's too short to be Envy...but if it isn't him, then it's--
"Wrath." she said flatly as the childlike form stepped into the light of the torch.
"Not happy to see me?" he replied with a evil grin, his violet eyes full of malice.
"What do you want with me?" she demanded, trying to appear dignified before the boy, which was difficult considering she was chained to the wall and forced to look up at him to meet his eye.
"So impatient."
"Tell me!" she commanded, feeling the shackles dig into her wrists, and she cursed the fact that her hands weren't free to wrap around his throat. That he was standing there, leering at her, looking down upon her. That she was so foolish as to get tricked by Envy.
His grin only widened. "It's so simple, you know." he paused to let his eyes wander over her, her hands pinned about her head, the position that made her ribs jut out sharply from under her shirt, which had been torn in the scuffle with Envy. She wanted nothing more than to smash her fist into his smug face, but seeing as that couldn't be arranged at the moment she settled for glaring at him so furiously it would have made normal people run and hide in a hole.
Wrath grinned. "You know perfectly well why."
"Ed." she muttered, the truth sinking in, filling her with mind-numbing horror and pain.
"You got it." he smirked, walking closer to her. "He'll come after you for sure, and then we'll take him. Humans are so easy to fool."
That did it. She waited until he had stepped within her range, and then stuck out a foot, catching him in the chest and kicking him as hard as she could in her weakened state.
Wrath only laughed. "You think you can defeat me that way?" he sneered, slamming a knee into her stomach so that she gasped with pain. She felt something burst, and suddenly her mouth was full of blood. She retched, and spat it out onto the ground, where it was sucked in, a crimson stain in the brown earth. The salty, metallic taste remained, and she looked up at him, a narrow ribbon of blood trailing from her mouth, but her pride refusing her let her appear defeated.
Wrath smirked and walked away.
 Yumi Arishima · Wed Feb 08, 2006 @ 07:44am · 6 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
