Racking of steel from a distance drew me out of the shadows of darkness into bright white light.
I coughed for a start, feeling my throat itching and closing up. What was the matter? What was the dream all about?
My eyes still closed, I tried to ruminate on the meaning of the dream that had seemed to have gone on for hours.
But nothing came up. I didn’t understand one bit of it. I didn’t know who those crying ugly women were, or what the valley was all about. I never even heard of it before, until the dream. Not that I was sure that the spot existed in real life.
For all I knew, the fucked up dream was a characteristic of…
Characteristic of what? I heard my mind taunt me.
But I came up short. A characteristic of what? Why was I hallucinating or having dreams without foundations?
I didn’t read or watch a movie about blood sucking demons or some shadow of death and darkness.
My ears perked up when I heard the metal racking again, and it dawned on me then that my cell door was being opened.
Taking a deep breath, hoping it was Adam, I opened my eyes slowly whilst sitting up on the bed.
A smile slithered across my lips, joy about to turn over, when I saw Adam saunter into the room with his twin, Noah.
The smile dried up however, when I beheld the stern look on Adam’s face. Did something happen?
“Adam, what is the matter?” I asked him tentatively, slowly standing up from the bed, waiting for him to walk to me, to hug me and tell me that everything was alright. Or what had gotten his face all strung up…
Staring at him, I could feel a rather strange energy around him, something that I haven’t seen or gotten before. It was unseen but tangible.
Yet Adam stood at the entrance, not giving a reply to my question. Rather he stared at me head to toe like a bitchy girl would, before sneering at me, causing me to pause my lips in astonishment.
What happened to my Adam?
I closed my eyes, willing all this to be a dream, willing that I was still in the shadows of darkness. It was better than this. It was better than basking in the un-affection of Adam. Now that I have tasted him, have tasted his love, have tasted his being, I couldn’t afford to be on the receiving end of his hate.
“Don’t delude yourself.” I heard him say, heard him clicking his tongue, and soughed, pinching myself to see the trueness of my situation.
“Follow me.” He mentioned so sardonically that I had no choice but to open my eyes and get used to my reality, my sad reality.
What had happened? Did Adam hit his head somewhere? Had Claire managed to brainwash him?
I watched as he turned around, without sparing me another glance, and walked out of the cell.
Nevertheless, I followed after him.
In the hallway, I wanted to try again, I wanted to ask him what the problem was, but for some reason my mouth stayed shut, and my throat…it was still itchy like something was clawing on it.
I wrapped my hand around my throat, wondering what could be the problem. I haven’t experienced this sort of issue before.
Was it something that I had eaten?
My mind played a rewind tape of all my consumption for the night; from the biggest substance that went into my mouth to the tiniest chocolate. It drew and stayed on the drink that a guard had given me a few hours ago, before I had succumbed to sleep.
Courtesy of the prince. He had mentioned.
My steps slowed down, as I ruminated on the concept of the drink.
The guard had just come up to me like some robot and handed the drink to me, and even his voice had been off.
But look at stupid me, anything tied with Adam was all good to me. Looking at the behaviors of Adam now, I was beginning to wonder if the water hadn’t been drugged.
At least that would explain the stupid dream that I had.
Was it death for me though? Poisons were usually made to kill someone, but why was I alive? The time frame hadn’t elapsed yet? I didn’t know. I didn’t care at this point really. Adam was ghosting me. And where the heck was Noah?
He had come with Adam to the holding cell, but my attention had been so fixed on Adam and his abnormalities that I hadn’t noticed when Noah left.
“Quicken up your steps. I don’t have much time on my hands for an idiot.” I heard Adam say sharply and gasped, not surprised, yet not believing that Adam would speak to me like that.
Even when he had been a silent partner in my bullying escapades, he hadn’t spoken to me in such a degrading way; like I was some rag or slave to him.
But I obeyed.
I quickened my pace, inhaling deeply at intervals to quell the scratching on my throat.