Naihabi Ridge

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Distrust

Avi

Maybe it was fate, maybe it was something else, but the man in front of me, tied to a chair and covered in bandages, had the same white hair and illuminescent orange eyes that I found on myself because of Soha.

But the man didn't return my wonder. He looked at me with fear rooted into his high cheekbones and dark olive skin, scalding into his stare and seeping through his ragged breaths. I stumbled a step backward and let my eyes settle on something other than his disturbing terror. He had white bandages wrapped all around his forearms and there were splotches of red where blood had seeped through. On top of being mangled as he was, there were thick ropes binding him to the chair in which he sat and I could see the burns they had caused on his wrists and ankles. My eyes returned to his face with a new recognition of his dread.
    
"What's your name?"
    
He blinked once, his eyes wide, then he tensed and shook his head.

"What have they been doing to you?" I tried again in a softer tone.
    
The man suddenly struggled against his bindings and I inhaled, realizing I probably said something wrong, and I bit the torch to hold it while I unsheathed my knife to cut the rope. I knelt behind the chair and asked him to stop moving, and after a moment of nervous hesitance, he stilled. At first, the knife slid on the rope because it wasn't pulled taut by my right hand (at which I cursed under my breath), but then the knife found a comfy notch in the rope and a rough, gritty noise came from the rope as I sawed at it, then it fell loose and the man visibly exhaled. I moved to the rope around his ankles and did the same, then returned my knife to its sheath and took hold of the torch again.

The first thing the man did was stand slowly and back up against the wall on the other side of the room, all the while staring daggers at me. After dusting off the uncomfortableness of his stare, I held the torch up to see him better. The orange in his eyes flared in the firelight.

"I'm Avi," I took a step forward tentatively. He stayed put. "What's your name?"

For a moment, his face softened and I noticed that he was actually quite striking, his jaw smooth yet sharp, his shoulders broad and his features defined—and I felt a pang of envy—but not a second later, his face twisted again and he was once again cowering, then he opened his mouth as if considering what to say. His name came out sounding something like "Quinn."

I nodded. "Right now it's dangerous outside, but I need you to follow me out there so we can..." I trailed off. Right. He probably didn't know what was going on. "Are you associated with the rebels?" I brought my wrist into the light, where the wristband Master Romia had given me dangled, the simple X of the rebels scratched into its surface. Quinn's gaze latched onto the bracelet and he looked to be holding his breath.

"You're with Romia?" He finally whispered.

I nodded again. "Do you know about the escape plan?"

His face blanked. I guessed that was a no.

I decided to take another step toward him and this time he didn't flinch or glare. That was improvement. I took another step forward and beckoned him to do the same, and he shot me a scrutinizing eye, but complied. We were mere feet apart.

My hands were itching to fidget right about now, but they were busied and I was afraid any sudden movement might startle Quinn, so I just stood, more uncomfortable than ever, and looked the guy straight in the eyes. I couldn't let him know I was on the verge of bursting, physically and mentally.

"We have to leave here," I offered him the torch. Mostly to free up my hand, but also as a makeshift sign of trust. "I can fill you in on the plan once we get outside, but, well, let's just get outside first."

I cursed my lack of words, but he agreed, taking the torch from my hand, and I pivoted to face the door. I marched to it, then grabbed the handle and turned.

Except it didn't turn.

I tried twisting it the other way, the tightness of panic creeping up through my insides, but it didn't budge.

Slowly, I turned back around to face Quinn, who gave a curious look to the door, and I tried to swallow the fear and claustrophobia from my voice.

"We're locked in."

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Whew, it's getting really tense...

Anyway, I have a question: what's your spirit animal? What do you think Avi's spirit animal is?

If you liked this chapter, give it a vote! If you have any questions or suggestions, they are all welcome in the comment section.