Bound by Glass

14| It Seems I Have To Stay

I woke up and my stomach immediately growled a good morning welcome. I sat up on the narrow bed I had fallen asleep in the day before. Or was it this morning? I had completely lost track of time. I looked around, but there weren't any windows. I shook my head–there isn't any sun to track the time with in here, Tenna. My stomach grumbled again. When was the last time I had eaten?

I had been led to this room after Haco hissed a 'not now' and pulled me away from Allie. He pulled me to one of the other doors, a dirty blue one this time, and set me on one of the bunk beds which lined the walls.

"Don't move," he said, before leaving and locking the door behind him. It creaked on its hinges, but when I threw my shoulder against it, it didn't budge. I tried to open it with a small nail I had found, but the rusty thing broke in half before I could try properly. I stuffed the two halves in my pocket–who knew, I might need them later.

I tried every bed, checked every wall, but there was no sign of a way out, apart from the door where I had entered. No trace of any weapon either; Vace still had my dagger.

I had lain in bed, unable to sleep for a couple of hours. I pondered over the fact that I was able to end up here. Only my luck could accomplish that. After a while, I had fallen into a dreamless slumber, my weary limbs finally relaxing. Still, in the back of my mind, I had a little voice telling me not to trust these people. I didn't know if I listened.

After I woke up, I looked around the room again. Nothing had changed, except one of my boots that had tipped over beside my bed. I grabbed one of the boots and discovered there was still sand in them, so I shook them out before I pulled them on.

A knock on the door startled me, and in a flash I stood next to the bed. It unlocked and light flooded the dim room.

Vace opened the door, and leaned against the frame. "Morning," he said. He frowned. "You look horrible."

"Thanks," I grumbled. I pulled a hand through my dark hair; it was probably a mess. "You don't look so bad yourself," I said, glancing up.

No reaction.

I crouched to tie the laces of my boots with a speed that was only possible after years of practice. "I see you're back," I said eventually.

"That's correct. But I'll soon be off again," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"So, what, you're just here to gloat?" I said sarcastically, "Come and look at the tiny little Outsider who managed to slip into the Globes and just so happened to find your person in a rebellion? Or, at least, the dream of it," I said. I gave a last tug on my laces and stood up.

When he didn't react, I cocked my head. Haco hadn't told him. Surprising.

He stared at me, and rubbed his thumb over his bottom lip, a habit he seemed to have when he was thinking. He kept staring at me, as an animal waiting for its prey. I didn't move my gaze from his dark eyes, not going to be the first to look away.

After a while he spoke. "Come," he said simply, and pulled a hand through his ink black, shoulder length hair. It was tied together on the back of his head, and the messy strands fell back into place, framing his face. He seemed untouched by my outburst.

Did he actually just brush that off?

"I knew," he commented, aiming at my outburst, during which I confessed that I was an Outsider. He turned around when he saw me look confused. "I knew the moment I saw you."

He repeated his earlier order. "Come on," he said when I didn't follow him. He said it in a way that confirmed my hunch that he was the leader around here. He was used to the fact that people listened to him. Like I anticipated, my lack of obedience annoyed him.