Page 19 (1/2)

HAVE I BEEN ASLEEP? I can&039;t see the hen I tilt my head back and look behind me Is it dark outside? Was it even an outside ? Am I in the same room, or did they move me while I was asleep, if I was asleep? Maybe I&039;ve been awake all the tier Might have been here for days

Everything&039;s quiet Just a slow drip in the corner of the roo pipe Steady Constant I count to eight between drips

Throat&039;s dry Need water Want to call out, but I can&039;t Don&039;t knoho&039;s listening Won&039;t lower ed even if

"How are you feeling?"

The voice from the darkness scares the shit out ofwhichever way I look Did I i in my chest like I&039;ve run ten ht Someone&039;s next toCan&039;t see theainst my hand, and my whole body stiffens The door opens inward a fraction, just enough to let a narroedge of dull yellow light trickle into the room

"Didn&039;t mean to startle you," the deepaccent "I&039;ve been watching you for a while Just wanted to ht"

Theand stands over ht fro a long ti to anyone until I knoho and what they are and why I&039; now? He crouches down, and I can hear hi on the floor beside the bed

"You ot a lamp here"

I try to keep my eyes wide open, but they shut involuntarily when he strikes a as la the pain, desperate to see as s as possible after what feels like hours and hours of darkness The brilliant bright light burnswhite-hot The roar of the burning gas jet fills the room, incredibly loud after so ins to fade as htness The man puts the laet ed Can&039;t help but react I try to lunge forward, the chains still holding me down I arch my back and try to break free, but I can hardly move He shuffles back into the corner of the rooet rid of hi control All I can do is spit The spittle hits the wall and starts to drip down Mouth&039;s too dry to make any more

"Finished?" he asks Bastard I relaxpain inthis close to one of the Unchanged and not trying to kill hiht Can&039;tNeed to kill him, but it&039;s physically ith to spit again

The dark-skinned Unchanged ain, then puts it on the floor and sits down I htly, and I stare at him Won&039;t take my eyes off the fucker I&039;d kill him in a heartbeat if it wasn&039;t for these chains Five-five, five-six at the ht-as round as he is tall The whites of his eyes are bright and clear I i as I wrap these chains around his neck and pull theht

"Take it easy," he says "Calm yourself down"

He&039;s unarrinning ateyes that&039;s cold and evil His legs are apart, aruage Does he think I&039; all he can to try to seem open and nonconfrontational, but I don&039;t buy it Inside he&039;s terrified, scared shitless because he knohat I&039;ll do to hi this close to hiot ht, I have a hundred questions ready He knoon&039;t ask any, but he still waits for h to kill If I just had one hand free I&039;d have wrapped these chains around his throat and garrotted hi If I could I&039;d smash his head into the wall, or burn hirind it into his face or

"My name&039;s Joseph Mallon," he says, his heavily accented voice sounding co with you while you&039;re here"

Working withabout?

"You were lucky to get away from the hospital by all accounts," he continues "Now that says to me you were either incredibly lucky or very s it&039;s the latter You look like you&039;ve lasted well out there You&039;re in good shape"

Does he want to kill me or fuck me?

"I&039;ll tell you what I know about you, just to get us started"