The Companions of Time

chapter 28

For three days the boots came and left us something. It wasn't anything fancy, but on the second day he gave us a loaf of bread , which was readily received.

We were gaining back our strength gradually, and I was determined to get out of these confines.
Sadly Grey was losing hope.

I could see it drain.

I could see the glimmer in his eyes disappear.

We slept most hours each day, to keep our strength up.
The food portions seemed to grow as well, and the hollowed feeling of the past weeks soon diminished.

I wish I could say that I dealt with it strongly, like a heroine in a book, or almost any person in the movies I had seen. That would have been a lie if I said that, because I did weep bitterly.
As the portions got bigger and my hopes had risen, the tears stopped, and it was merely determination in my veins.

The time seemed so long, yet we had only been there for five weeks. That seemed like an eternity, and I was surprised we had lasted this long.

"How are we going to get out?" Grey asked breaking the silence that cut through the slightly illuminated room.

"We could devise a plan," I suggested.

"Will we- how will we be physically able to complete this though?"

I thought for a moment, and my thoughts were interrupted by the loud clang of our door opening. Two men came in, and I could tell something was about to happen.

I put an arm out in front of me, and thankfully the man grabbed my arm and not my hair. It seemed that my hair was a target for grab.

This time they did not escort us to the torture room, and we climbed many sets of stairs.

The other guard and I went to the left, and Grey and the other guard went to the right.
There was a door at the end of the hallway, and I was sure I was destined for it.

"I'm sorry," mumbled the guard before placing a cloth over my mouth and nose.

The sharp scent made my vision blur, and a warmth filled my head before everything went black.

Dear reader, I want you to imagine the person closest to you. Someone who you would die for, someone who means more than you than life itself. I want you to imagine everything you would do for them, how far you would go to keep them alive.

A dearest reader tells me, does their thoughts about you matter? Do you care what they think?

Now I want you to close you eyes for a moment and imagine the very worse thing that could happen to the two of you.
It could be watching them wither away slowly, it could be watching them betray everything they ever stood for, or it could be them forgetting you completely.

I want you to imagine how you would feel, how things would be. 

When I woke up it was like I had been transported into another world.
It wasn't the same room we had been in before. Sure it was dark and damp and there was no exact way of telling where I was, but I knew. I knew this was different, the room felt emptier, I could feel the distance of the walls from me.

I then remembered the cloth over my face, and the room at the end of the hallway.

I tried to stand up but a wave of nausea hit my body hard and I crumpled to my knees.
Anger rose in my chest, How dare they treat me like scum! How dare they hurt me and Grey! 

I was sick of it! I would fight back, I would fight back hard. Once again in a heat of anger, I rose to my feet. Just to sit back down again. Speaking of Grey...

"Grey?" I called hoarsely.

No reply. I squinted hard against the darkness when suddenly a blinding light turned on. It hurt my head and burnt my eyes. There was this ringing sound in my ears, so loud and harsh I could hardly think straight. Then out of that blinding light, a figure emerged.

It was Grey.

I looked up at him with wide terrified eyes, "Grey what's happening? We gotta get out of here!" 

I reached for his hand but was shocked when a hard slap to the cheek sent me whirling backward.
His eyes were cold and unfeeling like steel but with the sharp, articulate reflective of glass.

"Do not look me in the eye." He stated emotionlessly.

Holding my swollen cheek and tears coming to my eyes, I looked away from him.

"Grey why? what's happened to you?!"

"Rise," he ordered.

With trembling knees that felt like Jello, I stood up. Jello. Sure did miss Jello.

I stood my eyes fixed at his feet.
"Look me in the eye," He commanded.

I refused.

He repeated the order more forcefully, "Look me in the eye, Hazel. Can you? Or are you chicken?"

If there was one thing I couldn't take, it was people mocking my pride and dignity. My eyes full of determination and frustration I looked into his eyes.

Whap.

Down I fell again, my head hitting the dark floor hard. Only one thing in my mind. "This guy, whoever he is, is a psychopath."

"Grey tell me what happened?" I said wiping the blood from my lip.

The pain of the bruises felt like nothing compared to the thought of losing him. This was new to me. This feeling of such complete and utter devotion that I would die for him, that I would die without him. I shrugged it off for nerves but something within me had changed, and Grey was right at the center of it.

"Who did this to you?" I asked with a quiet cry.

"You did," He stated.

I recoiled in surprise but also in terror and inexpressible sadness "What?!"

"You're the reason it here. You know I was happy, alone at that orphanage. Unlike you, I had a life, a life worth living. But you, you 'd read your dumb books and smile. I never cared about you Hazel, not one bit, but...your rich grandma, now that's a different story. I guess when it boils down a bit I didn't care about her either. I was hoping for things to go different, to have her consent on you being my wife, but the old hag just hated me I guess. She saw right through what you couldn't. I never cared about her one bit...I just cared a whole lot for her social security number."

I felt tears welling in my eyes, "Grey why are you saying this?!"

"Because then things went wrong, got complicated. And there I was, stuck in the past without a dollar to my name with a spunky girl who was really getting on my nerves. God, I tried to get rid of you so many times. Remember the carriage? My doing. Then you got curious, you started digging around. I couldn't let that happen. I played my part long enough but I wasn't getting anywhere with you. So as your closest friend and last living relative, I decided would it be so much worse for my plan if you ended up...conveniently disposed of?" 

I was horrified.

The worst part was that I believed it, I believed that he was telling the truth.
Silently I cried, how could I develop feelings for this monster?

Was I that young and naive?!

I felt betrayed, so very betrayed and hurt. Grey only smiled an evil smile. Pushing a lever on the wall I felt the pain in my head increase tremendously. I screamed at the top of my lungs writhing in pain.

"Grey!" I sobbed. "Stop you're killing me!"

"I should think that's the whole objective," he cackled.

"Have some compassion!" I screamed, "I love you!"

He laughed again shaking his head jeeringly, he walked over and pulled the lever again.

"Frankly my dear I don't give a darn."