Chasing Death

Chapter 23

"If love is being written in the definition of pain for you, then that is not love, it is a compromise. Love needs only adjustment, not compromise."

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There's a reason solitary imprisonment is a punishment and when that captivity is in the deepest pits of hell, it's a hundred times more hellish.

I didn't realise how much time had passed. All I knew was that I was soaking wet and cold, drenched in blood, the blood of someone I had killed. I couldn't see my hands, but I was positive that they were caked in dried blood. The metallic tang of blood was in the air, and my stomach heaved with each breath that I took. I felt sick to my core.

I wrapped my arms around myself in a semblance of warmth, but it was only cold- cold and numb. My body and my mind, was frozen in a state I couldn't get myself out of. My wide-open eyes saw nothing but the darkness. It was a void, an unfulfilled eternal void of madness and I was pretty sure it'll take only a few hours for this place to drive me insane.

I curled myself into a ball on the cold stone floor, tears running silently down my cheeks.

Why did I come here? Why couldn't I have left Nikhit dead? Why had revenge and equal pain for all the hurt been so necessary?

The more I thought about it, the less I liked it. I was trapped - well and truly trapped.

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I didn't perceive how many hours had passed, but a rustle of feet alerted me to the presence of someone in the darkness.

My eyes had by then adjusted to the dark. I spotted a tall figure shining in soft light. A light silvery and bluish hue emanated from the person on the other side of my cage.

I raised myself up from my fallen posture and crawled forward, but my head hit the bars of the cell.

"Tora." A gentle voice whispered to me.

"Mani?"

I didn't know if the expression on my face was a surprise, shock, guilt or regret, but somehow the fact that it was Mani and not Mrithun made me feel a bit better. Maybe I didn't want Mrithun to meet me at my lowest or most vulnerable yet. I knew I looked pathetic.

"Tora?" I heard him whisper again, this time closer to me, as he had bent down at my level. I thrust my hands through the bars of the cage and felt my fingers being clasped gently by a pair of rough hands.

"You're cold," he gasped, rubbing my palms for warmth.

"I'm soaking," I whispered, my voice breaking.

"Inhuman people," he seethed. I couldn't see him, but the presence of someone familiar actually made me feel a bit relieved.

"Technically, they aren't humans," I replied dryly, wondering how the sense of humour was still preserved in me, in spite of all the torture.

There was a silence. Perhaps Mani was debating what to say next, but again I filled the gap.

"Why would you come?" I asked him.

"Because you're my friend and you are innocent." Surprise laced his voice.

"I might not be that innocent after all," I sighed, drawing back my arms from his.

"What do you mean?" The concern in his statement was palpable.

"I mean..." I paused. How much did I want Mani to know?

"What did you hear about the incident?" I asked instead.

"I heard some human trespassed, and you chased him and slew him to protect yourself. He had stolen Death's blade. Am I right?" he asked slowly.