Traitor, Traitor [NaNoWriMo 2013]

Chapter Fifteen

The air inside was thick with the stench of sweat and the metallic taste of fear.

We sank into a crouch, edging as close to the opening as we could. From where we sat, we couldn't see exactly what was happening. Clean shoes tapped across the floor, moving from one end to the other, often pausing in front of a bed. Twenty beds had been set at neat intervals, a few of them occupied. Those who lay on the beds had been strapped down and watched by men clad in white.

A scream pierced the air and I stifled a gasp. A woman writhed around on her bed, struggling against her restraints. Her neck arced, the veins standing out with stark clarity against her pale skin. She screamed again, a scream laced with poison agony. She pressed her body against the restraints, but they didn't budge. As she thrashed about, her veins turned a brackish blue, drawing patterns on her skin. Her face throbbed with blue veins that tensed as she screamed. Tears flowed down the side of her face. She cried, begging for mercy from the pain. The others in white coats had stopped to watch her. I pressed my palms against my ears and shut my eyes, pressing my head to my knees.

Abruptly, the screaming cut off. I looked up, fearing the worst. The woman lay eerily still, her body a mass of live ink. She stared with wide eyes at the ceiling. One white coat undid the restraints. Slowly, the woman sat up, her posture stiff, her eyes unblinking.

Then her head turned and those ghostly eyes found mine.

I lurched back so hard I crashed into Kirin.

We scrambled to our feet. I held my stick of wood aloof. More than a dozen eyes regarded us but did nothing.

Then the woman stepped into our line of sight, watching us with eyes like a snake's. She tilted her head to one side, then the other. Her entire body was webbed with purple veins.

Then she jumped. I shrieked and slammed the wood into the side of her face, making the wood break and the woman stumble.

Kirin grabbed my arm and shoved me out the door. I rushed forward and leapt over the fallen body of the guard, Kirin right on my heels.

I hesitated for a second, unsure of which side I had to go. I ruled out the stairs at the entrance, because would loose precious time trying to find out how to deactivate the traps from this side. I was definitely not headed to the temple. They must have blocked that exit after I got out the first time. Which left the corridor in the middle.

I ducked into it, praying it didn't lead to a dead-end. We pounded onward, the slapping of the woman's feet urging us forward.

As we ran, the atmosphere shifted. Instead of damp walls, the smell of moist mud infiltrated the air. Torches illuminated the room we were running into.

The room was long, rolling forward, the far end of it cobwebbed with shadows. Steps led to the brown ground. By either side of the stairs was carved a narrow path that held what looked like thick water. The path shot into the darkness.

Kirin understood what it was faster than me. He grabbed a torch and touched the liquid with the fire. The fire danced on the liquid, racing down the path and lighting up the far end. He did the same on the other side and the light spread like wildfire.

A growl alerted us to the woman following us. She stood at the entrance and stared with those creepy wide eyes at us.

Kirin grabbed my hand and we stumbled forward. My other hand clutched my skirt in a desperate attempt to hold it up so I wouldn't trip.

The room was as narrow as it was long. We followed the blazing trail of light into a large room, where the trail of fire ended. It squared into a large room, meeting itself on the far wall.