PATRIARCHY

nineteen

chapter 19

the twenty-fifth of june, 2155

It takes a few seconds to believe what I just saw. My hand still clings onto one of the bars, and I blink repeatedly, the image of him appearing every time my lids close in on each other. He's nearly unrecognizable.

"Yes, it's me," he says as I catch my breath. Beneath the hoarseness, it's definitely his voice. He's here. He's alive.

I try to reach the barred window again, but only my eyelashes reach beyond the bottom frame. My eyes dart in every direction of the hallway, trying to find something I can stand on, but it's no use. I drop Alden's blazer to the ground to get a better grip of the bars and I halt when I see it unravel, the maroon color of my heels sneaking through the folds. I put them on within a second, and--yes! I'm tall enough.

"Amelia!" he shouts in a whisper, putting his hand--which has managed to stay warm--on mine. His fingernails are brittle and dirty, and his grip is weaker than what I remember. Appearance-wise, the only thing that looks the same as before is his tattoo and his eyes.

"W-what happened to you?"I fumble, pressing my face as close to him as I can so that his hand touches my cheek. "They told me you were shot!"

"In my-" he says before inhaling sharply through gritted teeth, visibly struggling to stand. "They shot me in my leg," he says, straightening his back. So he really was shot, Xander didn't lie about that, but why wasn't he in the medical center with Penn? Did they just leave him here without any help?

"What are those?" I whisper, noticing the thin red marks sneaking up his shoulders. He shakes his head, positioning himself so I can't see them.

"Nothing I can't handle," he grunts. "Amelia," he says sternly, his eyes held wide open. "Do you know where we are?"

"No! I mean, all I know is that we're in an abandoned prison in the middle of nowhere," I say, my throat so tight that it comes out a strangled yelp. His eyebrows raise and his dirty, wavy hair holds stiff by dried blood as he nods.

"Alright, alright. Do you know a way out?"

"Yes- They're taking me home any second now." I whisper, the walls closing in on me. The only reason I needed to return home was to see through my obligation to Alden. I had signed up for a life with him once his name left my lips, but now... He's here as a prisoner. From the looks of it, they haven't offered the luxuries they've offered me. Definitely not the option to leave.

His face scrunches, followed by an uncomfortable grunt. He looks down for a split second, leaning his forehead against the rusty frame. The marks are more visible now, and they remind me of something I saw depicted dozens of times in my history books. Oh my god... did they whip him?

"Go," he speaks, a bead of sweat collecting in his eyebrow.

"Without you? No, I can find a key, just wai-" I begin, but his clenches his hand--this time strong as ever--around my wrist. He sets his eyes at his initials on my wrist.

"You don't say no to me, you do as I say. Go home. You're not safe here."

"Neither are you! Just please let me try to save you." I plead. His lips tremble with disgust.

"I keep you safe. I've already failed once. Go home!"

I stumble, almost falling to the floor when the heel of my left shoe snaps. I whimper, putting all of my faith and weight on the remaining heel. Alden squeezes my hand, and we lock eyes.

"Keep an eye on the roads on the way back. Tell your Father everything you can remember," he instructs, with a demanding finger between us. "Now go."

He lets go of me and recludes back into the darkness to where I can't see him anymore, and I realize quickly further words are useless. So I back away, walking backwards to the stairs, my eyes dead set on the rusty door behind which he is rotting.