In the Open Cage

Chapter 5

Drowning. Misa was drowning. No matter how much she clawed at her throat and flailed her arms to get to the surface, she couldn't get the breath of fresh air her body craved. Her heart galloped against her ribcage, her lungs ignited into a painful fire, her vision blurred against the light.

Misa opened her mouth to cry out for help, but her voice was clogged at her throat. She couldn't breathe.

Misa. A voice from the depth echoed to her. Her head throbbed. She stopped struggling, resigning to the endless ocean surrounding her. Misa! The voice wasn't something she could hear. It was more of a feeling, something so abstract that Misa wondered if it was her subconscious. It sounded neither male nor female, but a mixture of the many people she'd come into contact with.

Misa. She opened her eyes. Her name was beginning to sound closer, more real. She reached out to it. It had come for her. To save her from the waters that filled her lungs.

"Misa!" A hand touched her shoulder. Misa's throat hurt, her lips trembled, and her vision was still blurred. Reality came crashing down on her, wiping away the oppressive ocean that had filled her mind. Royle shook her as if he was trying to wake her up.

Misa blinked away her tears and focused her gaze on Royle's face. His soft lips, his strong jaw, and his eyes, so deep and filled with concern.

"Royle," Misa rasped, her voice thin and shaky. She collapsed into his arm, burying her face against his chest.

Royle stroked her head. "You're safe," he breathed, relief coating his words. "You're safe."

Misa was exhausted. She wanted to curl up in the captain's warmth and fall asleep, to never wake up to this nightmare she had walked into. Her veins still burned, and she knew exactly what Tika had done. A rage boiled through her, but Misa's mind was too spent to focus on the turmoil bubbling within her.

"I'm tired," Misa whispered, clenching Royle's shirt under her fists. "So, so tired."

"What happened?" His chest rumbled as he spoke.

"Please. I...I can't..." She peered up at him, exhaustion weighing down on her, tears threatening to fall.

"Misa." Royle's eyes softened. His voice was gentle. He grazed a finger down her cheek, dragging a strand of hair from her face. "It's okay."

"Tomorrow," Misa said. Her insides were shaking. Fragile. She was sure they would shatter into a million pieces if she even mentioned what Tika had done. "I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now, I just need to go to bed."

"Fine." Royle hooked an arm below her knees and stood, making his way outside and towards another room.

Misa raised her head, her arms locking around his neck. The thought of sleep diminished. "What are you doing?" Alarm made her voice shrill. Misa squirmed, bouncing her legs up and down. "Let me down!"

"Be still," Royle said. "You said you were tired."

"I said I was tired, not unable to walk!" Misa struggled against him, slapping his chest in annoyance. "Let me down this instant, Captain Bentham!"

Royle's jaw clenched. "Very well." He let her slip to the ground. Misa tried to step away from him, but her knees had gone weak, and she stumbled right back into his arms. His raised brow was all Misa needed to see.

"I can walk," she declared stubbornly. Moving her hand from him to the wall, she put some weight on her legs and found they were refusing to function. An odd tingle buzzed up her ankles and shocked her knees. Muffling a groan, Misa found herself falling forward, her legs still unable to support her weight.