DARKNESS

DARKNESS | Chapter 3

'You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.' -Unknown.

CHAPTER THREE

A looming castle stands before me, glinting dangerously under the light of the full moon. After trekking deep into the forest lead by my betraying saviour and a scary guy named Blake, we have finally reached civilisation- a form of habitation, anyway.

So far, I find myself unable to label these people as 'civilised'.

"Open the doors!" Blake booms at the guards standing on either side, who rapidly obey. Keeping up his quick pace, Blake and Brayden lead the posse down a corridor to the left and into a hallway, lit only by fire sticks lining the walls. "We shall take her straight to the isolation cell. I shall alert Ash of her presence as soon as she is secured."

Ash. Ashleigh.

He's here?

Isolation cell?

I start to struggle, refusing to give into these inhumane peoples. I shall not surrender to Ashleigh. He's a coward. A murderer. A cold-hearted man with no concept of the word 'love'.

He's the man I've tried to avoid, yet somehow he found me. He knew who I was. He knew I was still alive. I escaped thanks to Brayden, who turns out to be one of Ash's minions- which doesn't make sense considering he rescued me and killed some of the attackers- and now I'm finding myself back within Ash's grasp, so far unable to escape.

Apart from not having parents, my biggest issue merely a few hours ago was having to go to school and deal with the never ending storm of homework.

Now I'm fighting for my freedom.

I'm fighting for my life.

Before I know it we've reached the end of another hallway and I'm being roughly pushed into a narrow doorway in which the walls are still lined with cobblestone. Suddenly the floor is taken out from under my feet and I stumble to regain my balance, falling into the guy in front of me, who falls into Brayden, who falls into Blake. The two men behind me are the only ones unaffected, the man right behind me roughly pulling me back up to my feet.

"Watch it," Blake hisses, glaring at me under the dim light of the fire sticks. Brayden stands back up just before the guy directly in front of me, the three of us having been the only ones bowled down. "You can't escape us, girl, so just give up."

Give up? I don't think so.

Blake starts walking again and this time I take notice of the steps descending below me, managing to stay on my feet. The stairs wind deep down for a few solid minutes before we're bombarded by a metal door.

"Open up!" Blake yells.

"Who's there?" The voice on the other side questions as a latch opens up to reveal two eyes peering at us. "Master Blake." The guard's eyes scan over the rest of us. "Master Brayden and Master Kale as well. Come in, come in. Sorry for the delay."

"You'd better be. Next time open up straight away or I will be forced to inform my Father. The consequences will be severe."

"Y-yes Master Blake." The door opens to reveal a short, chubby guy with dark hair. "B-but, you must also take into account the security procedure. This is a very serious job and I can't just open up to anyone-"

Blake grabs the guard's shirt and pushes him roughly up against the wall, his feet a good few inches off of the ground.

"Do I look like anyone to you?"

"N-no Master Blake."

"That's what I thought. Which is exactly why you will open up straight away for me, got it?"