The Untold Story

36. A truth so grave arose.

Song: Ruelle - Until we go down

(Where my Shanara Chronicles fans at? This song has the perfect tone for the chapter and it's the theme song to another  one of my favorite series, so win-win!)

Trigger warning: This chapter deals with a subject that may be difficult to read.

Nathan's jacket was gone. It was the first thing Natasha realized thanks to the cold seeping into her skin from the cold, hard floor on which she was currently lying sideways. The cold was more soothing than uncomfortable though, easing the burn of the pain she felt in every part of her body. The most prominent pain was in the side of her head, which thankfully wasn't pressed to the floor. She was ignoring it though, because acknowledging it meant accepting that its cause was real and not just another one of her nightmares. This was also one of the reasons her eyes were still closed. Once she opened them, whatever awaited on the other side of her eyelids would become real.

So instead, she took an inventory of all her other pains. The stinging in the heels of her feet and upper arms was not so bad. It was more of a slight twinge that she could ignore if she tried hard enough. Her hands were tied behind her back and her ankles were bound together too by what she assumed was a string of piranha teeth from the way it was digging into her skin. As long as she stayed completely still, she could ignore those too. There was nothing she could do about her heart, threatening to beat a hole through her chest. Hard as she'd tried, she couldn't get it to slow down and she worried, though unreasonably, that it was beating loud enough for the world to hear. The frantic beat rang in her ears, adding to the pounding of her head and almost drowning out another sound that had gradually been growing closer to her. 

It was a shuffling sound, like something sliding slowly across the floor. Maybe it was something that could harm her. At this point, all she hoped for was that it would kill her quickly before she had to face the reality of what she'd seen. Unbidden, the image came to the forefront of her mind, accompanied by Kelsey's ringtone; the last thing she'd been conscious of, cutting through the darkness that surrounded her. The memory did nothing for her already accelerated heart rate. If anything, it made it worse. A whimper fell from her lips as she fought against the memory, making her head pound even harder. The shuffling stopped abruptly.

"Natasha?" a voice called out from the point where the shuffling had been coming from. She knew that voice, but was it real? Did she dare open her eyes and find out?

The shuffling resumed, faster now and accompanied with heavy breaths and an occasional muttered curse. Her eyes were still closed when she felt something warm nudge her in the back.

"Are you awake?"

Still filled with disbelief, she shifted backwards a bit, wanting to make sure this was real and she wasn't dreaming. Her body protested against the movement and white hot pain shot across her entire body making her cry out. Some dust entered her mouth as she did so causing her to erupt into a fit of coughs that aggravated her already sore body. She almost passed out from the pain and in that moment of weakness, forgot about her resolution to keep her eyes closed.

The view wasn't much different with her eyes open except for a dim light coming from somewhere above her. The rest of the place was shrouded in darkness and the most she could tell through her hazy, teary vision was that she was in a small room with a staircase on one side.

"...your head a little, away from the dust and breathe slowly." The last fragments of the sentence penetrated through the cloud of pain that surrounded her. She did as she was told and when she was finally breathing normally, she spoke.

"Kelsey?" she mumbled, voice hoarse from coughing.

"Yes! It's me. I'm so glad you're alive," Kelsey replied, sounding relieved. "Do you think you can turn around and face me?"