Imprisoned and Betrayed

/6\

When she had left and the door was tightly secured, Drayce lifted his head and glanced around. His vision was blurry, but still clear enough to distinguish the contents of the room. It was bare except for a sink and some cabinets along one wall. Drayce was chained in the middle of the room, his bonds hanging from the ceiling. He was on his knees with his hands raised above him and clamped tightly to the chains. They were much sturdier than the ones in his old cell and dashed any hope he had of escaping.

Instead, his thoughts turned to another option. Death. It seemed so inviting right then to escape all the pain he felt at the moment. His legs still burned with infection, his other bruises and cuts were also ridiculously annoying, and the stab of betrayal was just as painful.

After some careful consideration, Drayce came to a decision. He would starve himself. That, or he would die from the infection that Scarlett seemed to have forgotten about. Either way, his heart filled with relief as the hope of leaving this wretched place filled his mind.

After a few minutes, Scarlett came back with a tray carrying multiple food items. She set them down on a table, and picking up one of the items walked back over to Drayce.

Taking a spoon, she scooped some of the substance onto it and held it out for Drayce to eat, "Here." She said shortly.

He had dreaded this would happen. As soon as the door had opened, Drayce realized it would be harder to starve than he first imagined.

With a firm shake of his head, he told her his answer. His mouth clamped shut, he didn't risk speaking for fear of her shoving the substance into his mouth.

Scarlett sighed, "I can just hook you up to an I.V., you know. But it would be much more unpleasant. So I suggest you eat it this way."

"What is it?" He asked quickly yet suspiciously.

A sort of puzzled face appeared on Scarlett, "You know, I'm not really sure." She raised an eyebrow as she examined the guacamole-like substance. It was a salmon color and did not look very appetizing.

"Honestly, I don't really feel like eating some mystery meat right now." Drayce replied irritably.

Scarlett almost genuinely laughed. Something she hadn't done for ages. But she caught herself and realizing that she was smiling, stood up quickly and walked away. 'What is wrong with me?" She asked herself incredulously.

Drayce let out a breathe he hadn't realized he'd been holding, but then another spike of pain shot up from his legs. He couldn't help himself as he let out a cry of pain, his body spasming.

Scarlett walked back over, more irritated than before, "What now?" She snapped. Drayce couldn't answer. His world was filled with pain and fire. All he could do was try to keep breathing. Scarlett looked Drayce over, trying to find the source of the problem. Finally, she located it and rolled his pant legs up. The veins on his legs were ever prominent and were a nasty purple color. Infection. Scarlett gasped. 'I did this to him.' She realized, horrified. Scarlett shook her head, trying to clear the poisoning thought. 'I did it for my job.' She told herself, teeth clenched.

Typing in the code, she left the room, coming back in a few minutes later with a few syringes. She injected them into Drayce's legs and sat down on a chair nearby, waiting. If the antidote was not working by the next day, she realized, they may have to amputate.

"What...did...you...put i-in...me..." He gasped through clenched teeth.

"An antidote. It should hopefully help." Once again, Scarlett was shocked to find herself calmly explaining things to Drayce

He didn't have the strength to answer, but was grateful either way. He wanted to die, but not in that way. It was too painful.

After several hours, the pain subsided, but to Drayce it had seemed like forever. His body was soaked in sweat, causing his dirty and torn clothing to cling to him. His head hung low as he welcomed the reprieve from the horrendous pain. He had thought it would never end.

Scarlett woke suddenly, not knowing what had woken her. She stood up and went over to check Drayce's legs. She mentally sighed in relief as they looked much better. Scarlett went back over to the chair and sat down, feeling very tired.

However, she didn't have a chance to rest anymore when the door slid open to reveal Clev. He stepped inside and locked the door, "How's it coming?"

"Good. There was some infection in his legs, but I took care of it." She said simply.

"Nothing to worry about then?" He asked rhetorically, "Good. Well, I just thought I'd check on it and make sure he hadn't killed you yet." He said sarcastically.

"Well I'm still alive." Scarlett said stiffly.

Clev just humphed quietly, "So nothing to report then?"

"Yup."

"Well I'll go then." Without another word, Clev took one last glance at Drayce and left the room. The door clicked tightly behind him.

Scarlett let out an exasperated sigh.
"I just wanted to make sure he didn't kill you," she mocked, "I'm Clev and I'm so smart." She strode over to Drayce and examined his legs. Satisfied that they were fine, she went over to a table, examining the equipment on it. Scarlett glanced over at Drayce, hearing him stir, "Hey. You awake?"

He groaned in response and shifted his legs, keeping his eyes firmly shut.

"Well you need to eat something." Scarlett opened a packet and scooped some applesauce out of it. Walking over to Drayce, she held it out on the spoon. Seeing his hesitation, she said exasperatedly, "It's applesauce."

"I'm not...hungry." He grit out.

"Well you can eat it off the spoon or through an I.V."

"Why do you care?"

Scarlett hesitated a moment. Why did she care? Yes, she was supposed to keep him alive, but she realized that deep in her heart she wanted him to live. Angrily, she shook the feelings aside and snapped, "Because I'm ordered too."

"Well I'm not eating. So you're wasting your time." Drayce decided adamantly.

"Then it's going through an I.V."

"Go ahead and...try."

Scarlett walked over to a table and took a syringe. Next, she took the I.V. and walked back to Drayce. "Any struggles, and I will put you to sleep, understand?" Scarlett set the syringe down close by where she could easily grab it and grabbed the I.V. Holding Drayce's arm securely, she felt for a vein.

Drayce eyed her warily. "Please...don't," he asked in one last attempt.

Scarlett ignored him, and finding a vein, stuck the needle in. He flinched slightly as it penetrated his skin, but other than that, he didn't move or make a sound.

Scarlett stepped back, grabbing the syringe, "And don't try to take it out. That will end badly for you."

"Not that I care." He muttered quietly.

Scarlett heard his muttered words, but chose to ignore them. She sat back down on the chair, sighing quietly. Her feelings felt like torrents within her. She didn't know what to think anymore.

Drayce also was left to his own thoughts. 'So much for dying by starvation,' he thought bitterly. He was beginning to realize that he would probably never leave the horrible room again. As he grumbled to himself, he glanced around the room. Then, he felt the I.V. Scarlett had put in and scowled.

Suddenly having the urge to be rebellious, Drayce grabbed the I.V. tube in his mouth and yanked it out of his arm. He glared at Scarlett, almost daring her to do something.

A/N

Duh duh duh! Another cliffy>:-) heehee I'm evil. So....let us know what you thought about this chapter! Thanks again for reading!!!

Ithildae and Evara