Warped

Chapter 24: Lukas

I take a nice big breathe in through my lungs, feeling so nice and content. No pain, no stress, just peacefully drifting out of sleep. Nothing wrong as my body begins to wake up.

Then I open my eyes, the faint glow of the torch flickering against the concrete reminding me of a cave. And then my nose also decides to wake up, the remaining scent of blood still coiled in my nostrils. And now, well now I don't feel so good since I've remembered where exactly I am.

Despite the grouchy brain of mine wanting to curl up and shut out this dark and brutal world, my limbs are begging me to stretch. Since I didn't do it yesterday after the first real exercise I've had to do and probably because I'm part cat. Yay....

Crankily, I appease my aching limbs and roll out of bed. Landing on all fours and stretching my back first, the crankiness dissipating as it actually feels quite nice. I wonder if it also felt so nice when I was a human and I just don't know because I never stretched enough, or if it's the cat again.

I lean forward, putting most of my weight onto my arms as I stretch each leg. This reminds me a lot of yoga, which again, not that I did any. But now I wouldn't be surprised if yoga just came from watching animals stretch when they wake up.

"Embracing your inner ocelot Lukas?" I roll my eyes at Petra, slowly getting on to my feet and stretching my arms out wide.

"Hey, don't knock it until you try it. It actually feels really good." I lean back, deciding to stretch out my back one last time before thinking about my dreadful reality. And I lean back and back, trying to stretch it out as far as I can...

When my balance tips uncontrollably behind me, my eyes flying wide open as my arms quickly snap behind me. I sigh and blink away my shock when my arms successful hold me in a bridge position. Yet another thing I thought I'd never be able to do. I guess cats are pretty flexible.

But as a stretch, it's quite nice too. I really shouldn't have had to be tuned part cat to learn how wonderful stretching is, total shame I didn't earlier. Probably even would've been helpful with what activities I do constantly.

Although my arms don't like it quite as much, so I push myself back up onto my feet. Letting a small smile break free as my limbs and mind are currently content with this very moment.

And then I smell that blood again, I see my friends sitting on their beds with the stress of this prison baring down on them, and I can even hear the faint footsteps of demons walking down the hallway if I focus enough.

With my good mood officially ruined, I drag myself over to the water tank. Bracing my tongue for the funky and icky taste of their drugged water. Using my dry throat as motivation to try and control the gag reflex already activating.

Water, probably one of the nicest things to drink ever, spoiled by these demons. I don't even think Hadrian or the other Old Builders were able to ruin water to this extent. Like, never have I wanted to not drink water as much as this.

Still though, I kinda have to live. So grinding my teeth one last time, I bend down and begin to drink. The water, metallic and bitter ad fuzzy, floods my mouth and drains down my throat. The cool liquid splashing into my stomach and swirling against the sides.

I pull away when I begin to feel a bit bloated. Although the full feeling is nice, it's not the same as food, but better than empty. But we're not going to get food again until after we do another exercise thing and then a long work shift, more like slavery if you ask me.

"So, how much longer until hell starts?" Probably not the most optimistic way to say it, but accurate. I spot eye rolls from Petra and Axel, I wonder how many I missed in the dark light earlier, but Olivia takes me seriously.