𝐓𝐈𝐋 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐎 𝐖𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 ⚠︎︎ 𝐉. 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑

chapter eighteen

Waking up hours later was a fucking chore. Her head was steadily throbbing, eyes trained on the flickering light hanging above her head. She barely felt her arm, drained of any feeling, her knee was killing her, she felt exhausted and dehydrated.

Thalia swallowed, dry lips parting to suck in any air she possibly could. She fought to pick her head up but found it was too difficult so she settled for blinking a few times, adjusting her vision to the room she was currently lying in.

It was cold too, she felt exposed, using her senses she found that her coat was gone, along with her gloves and hat. They'd taken them, leaving her in some old workout pants and a tank top. Thalia shivered and with a groan, attempted to roll over.

It was a painful and long process but she didn't get far, rolling to her right she felt a harsh tug on her left wrist, the sound of metal jangling as well. The brunette finally opened her eyes, trailing through the room.

It was grey and white, metal covered the walls, there was a large steel shelf right by her head. The cold air, the looks of the room, she tilted her head to see the door was large and only a small window looking in that had a light frost covering it.

She was inside a large fridge, left alive for whatever reason, alone and shivering.

A chill ran down her spine, not from the cold but the thoughts of what they'd done to her while she was knocked out cold. Pieces were being put together, slowly but surely, she closed her eyes.

They snapped open within seconds.

Ellie.

A gasp left her lips as she shot upwards, her left hand was handcuffed to some sort of loop in the wall. It kept her from moving too far and though she tried to pull on it, there was no use. Thalia grunted and looked around the room, besides her and the shelf, there wasn't a thing in this room.

She stood up and felt her knee lock up a bit, it was the left knee so she used her right leg to handle most of her weight. "Motherfuckers! Let me out!" She screamed as much as she could, lack of water and food made her voice hoarse, less menacing.

Thalia had no concept of time, she was in the corner opposite of the door, she couldn't see out the window even if she wanted to. "Open the fucking door!" She yanked on the cuffs once more and hissed at the way it dug into her skin.

The woman was completely at their mercy, her weapons were gone and quite frankly her sanity too. She used her right hand to brush away the hairs in her face, huffing out when she realized this would be but a mere waiting game.

They had the upper hand and fuck if she didn't want to take it back.

The wait wasn't long though, if she had to make a guess, an hour at most. The fridge door opened to see James, walking in with a tray of food and water bottle. He didn't speak to her, didn't get too close, he put it down a few feet from her vicinity before pushing it with his foot the rest of the way.

She knelt down and grabbed the water bottle, "What am I doing in here?" He shook his head, "I can't answer that." Thalia pressed her lips together before standing back up, she untwisted the bottle with her left hand.

Her brows furrowed as she stared down at it. There was no give, no seal was broken when she'd opened it. Her eyes met his and she threw it at him, water, most likely contaminated, spraying across the cold room, "Fuck you."

James blinked a few times, wiping the water droplets off his face, a sour expression written across his features. "We don't have much food." Thalia gave him a humorless chuckle, "I'm well aware."

He nodded and stared down at the cold floor, "We have to do what we need to survive. There are women and children- starving here." She looked down at the food in front of her, seemed to be deer, "So why waste food on me?"