NERTHUS
“Sweetie,” I want to comfort Danny who is curled up into a ball as they pushed him into a corner, but I can’t reach him.
My heart races in my chest as I feel panic take over my body. I stretch along the dusty floor, scraping the tips of my fingers against it as I try to reach him desperately.
Swallowing a sob, I sit back up and turn around. I pull at the chain tying my leg to the wall but it doesn’t budge, causing my fear to transform into a strangling sensation. “Baby, please. It’s all going to be okay.”
“I’m so sorry,” he continues to sob as he hugs his legs even closer. “It’s all my fault.”
I groan, pulling at the chain again as I reach out to touch him again. Kicking my legs, I pray to whatever entity is in charge of that God-forsaken place to just let me reach him.
But he is too far away.
Damn it!
“Stop saying that! It’s not your fault,” I say, fighting to keep my voice from shaking.
My limbs hurt and I can feel my nerves shaking as my body must be coping with the shock streaming through it.
“Of course it is,” he wails lowly, hitting his head against his knees. “I stole the dog and then I ran away. They only got us because of me. They even hit you.”
Touching my face instinctively, I flinch and I’m pretty sure that my nose is broken. “Don’t worry about that. It’s also my fault because I always have a big mouth.”
Even though I knew that I would lose in the worst way, I fought at the man grabbing me in my apartment with all my might.
I couldn’t believe my eyes as they opened the ventilation shaft and I was dragged down through the walls of the house where I used to live in.
How the fuck did they do that?!
At one point, they needed to beat me unconscious as I was risking getting them busted as I, naturally, screamed bloody murder.
I look outside the room and see a large hallway in which, from time to time, I see sketchy men walk around. “And it’s not because of the dog. I don’t think that Goldman would have had any funds to engage with mercenaries. And he is in jail, isn’t he? This must be something else.”
He keeps his head buried in his lap, sobbing quietly.
Another man passes our run-down room and as he checks us out from the door, I don’t like the look on his face at all.
Gulping the bile rising in my chest, I try to rip the damn thing out of the wall again before I kick my feet over the floor in a burst of desperation.
As he distances himself at a leisurely pace, I try to scoot closer to Danny once again. Laying on the floor to be at his eye level, I push out a distraught breath. “Danny, look at me!”
He doesn’t move or react, and I take another breath as I force myself to keep a calm tone. “I need you to look at me! Now!”
Slowly, he moves his head, looking at me completely frightened. I flash him a smile, keeping my voice down. “Thank you. Listen, it could be that bad things will happen, but you have to promise me that you will be a strong boy so that we can get through this together. Okay?”
“What bad things?” he asks lowly, and I shake my head.
“This doesn’t matter now. What matters is that we stay alive until Arawn gets us out of here, alright? You have to promise me,” I urge him again, and he finally nods.
Wetting my lips with my tongue, I turn my head to the entrance of the room again, seeing a bit more agitation between the men than it was until now. With my heart beating into my throat, I turn back to Danny, forcing a smile. “Are you hurt, baby? Talk to me.”
“No,” he says feebly, distorting his face. “The pain is nearly gone already. But they hurt you.”
I nod, my gaze constantly moving back and forth between the door and him. “Very good. Don’t worry about me, I’m okay.”
The voices start becoming louder and I look around panicky. “Do you have something on you that could help us get out of these cuffs?”
“I don’t think so,” he sits up sniffing, and looks around as well. Putting his hands into his pockets, he sighs crestfallen. “I think they took everything.”
Pointing to an old radiator standing in the corner, I whisper, “Can you reach that? There could be screws or handles we could use.”
“Maybe,” he says, starting to crawl but his chain stops just as he is a hand away from the damn thin.
I groan, rubbing my eyes as he cusses. “Damn it.”
“How will Arawn even find us?” he asks, lowering his gaze to his hands as he pulls his feet close.
Taking a deep breath, I scoot back onto my dirty mattress and lean against the shabby wall. “I don’t know. But I’m sure that he will.”
“What’s even going on?” he shakes his head, burying his head into his arms again.
“I don’t know, baby,” I exhale deeply. “I really don’t know anything.”
Turning around, he pulls at the chain another time, chuckling sadly, “Maybe it’s a bit loose.”
“Oh, my God,” I groan. Reaching into my hair, I pull out a flat hairclip which was hidden by my ponytail and threw it at him.
“Try to loosen the screws. Mine are too rusty and stuck,” I urge him and he collects the hairclip with shaky fingers.
He starts tampering with the piece of metal screwed against the wall as I hear a movement outside again.
My heartbeat risks suffocating me as I look out and back to Danny, my nerves about to snap as I want to know how if he is succeeding but also, I don’t want to interrupt him.
“Danny!” I suddenly hiss. “You have to stop. I think they are coming.”
Pushing the clip under his mattress, he lays down and curls up again while I sit back against the wall.
The tall man who kept making rounds stands into the door, eyeing us up. “What is going on here?”
Danny flinches, hugging his legs closer. I look up at him defiantly while I claw my nails into the mattress as my hands can’t seem to stop shaking.
“Nothing,” I say, trying to keep cool. “He is just scared. Why are we even here?”
“No questions,” the idiot grumbles, and steps into the room.
I look over to Danny who is looking at me petrified, and I wink at him, hoping it would calm him down. The mercenary starts searching my mattress, and panic expands in my chest as I think about him finding the clip under Danny’s.
I can literally feel Danny shivering and even if my eyes fall onto the shiny gun in his belt, I know that I would never forgive myself if they were to hurt him.
I’d rather leave this life.
Taking a self-encouraging breath, I wait for him to be close enough to jump him.
Of course, my trained but definitely weaker frame puts me at a huge disadvantage in my attack attempt.
As I have my arms wrapped around his throat, trying to cut his air off. I sink my teeth in the first body part I can reach and he groans in pain, straightening up.
My heart tears in my chest as the chain strains, pulling me down to the floor with a painful thud. Danny screams helplessly, and I start pulling at his chain as I cough, trying to get the air back into my lungs.
With a fast movement, the mercenary has packed and slammed me against the floor again. He doesn’t grant me the time to get my brain making the room stop spinning, as he hits me hard.
“No! Stop!” I hear Danny scream again, and I would like to tell him he should just take cover and close his eyes until everything is over but I don’t get to make a sound as the second punch hits my face.
Hitting the floor as a reaction to his hard blow, I think that I would not see another minute of the day as he lifts his foot, positioning the heavy boot onto my chest.
I taste blood in my mouth, my vision is blurring as suddenly a rattling resounds.
The mercenary is just about to lift his boot from me to stomp me down as Danny charges towards him.
His body surely doesn’t stand a chance against that of a grown man, but he gets him to stumble back, losing his balance, and topple down to the floor.
With a groan, I fight myself up from the ground, seeing that he is already getting Danny off him effortlessly.
Adrenaline streams through me as I see him lift his fist again and I push myself off the floor to reach the gun that fell off as he was torn to the floor by Danny.
Unfortunately, the mercenary spots me right away, reaching me with heavy steps that make the floor shake.
He kicks my hand, making the gun slide over the floor and as I retreat it to clutch it with a painful hiss, he leans down, grabbing my hair.
His stinky breath burns on my skin as he lifts me up slightly. “Fucking Bitch!”
“Danny!” I scream, and he seems to understand it right away as I notice the mercenary’s eyes widen.
The man groans as Danny stomps on him, slinging the chain around his neck, but before he can react, Danny lets himself fall on him like a dead weight, making him collapse on top of me.
I take a deep breath, breathing superficially to not lose consciousness.
With my last strength, I hold on to one side of the chain and roar as I hold it tightly while Danny pulls in the other direction.
The mercenary fights uncoordinated, not able to get hold of the chain. The fear in his eyes grows as he moves increasingly less.
Closing my eyes, I sob as I turn to the side, holding onto the end of the chain as my life depends on it.
I breathe heavily as it seems to take an eternity for his life to finally vanish from his eyes.
He exhales a last croaked breath as he slumps down, burying me under him.