Captured Witch

VIII. Prison

“Ughhhh!” I screamed. I heard Edwin sigh in frustration at my voice again. “How much longer are we going to be in this damn car?” I had already asked that question more times than I, or Edwin, could count. No one responded.

            “So, what’s up with Mrs. Witchy over here? Like is she your wife or just along for the ride. I mean obviously she isn’t here by her own choice but like who owns her. What even is her name? I mean if we’re going to be in this car much longer, I should know her name. I feel bad just knowing her as ‘the other witch’”

            “Do you have an off switch?” Edwin finally snapped.

            “Nope!” I said happily, I got him to crack his cool demeanor at the hotel and now I was intent on shattering it further. Edwin sighed angrily.

            “Maybe if I could have my books back, I would be quiet, but you took those away. So here I am bored as hell and I’m just going to do whatever I want until my freedom is stripped away like Mrs. Witchy here!” 

            The witch shot me a glance then looked at the rearview mirror to see if Edwin was looking. She looked at and held up her finger to her mouth and bit. I saw the blood as she squeezed her finger, motioning me to do the same. She kept her eyes on Edwin as I bit my finger. She held out her bloody finger and I put mine on top. 

            Here, now we can talk in private. I heard in my head.

            Huh, a mind reading spell, I hadn’t thought of that one. I replied.

            It’s not really a spell. If it was, I wouldn’t be able to do it. It’s more like a trick us witches use to stay connected. Now that we’re linked, we can reach each other if we want. I’m Tamsyn but everyone calls me Tam. You’re Adalaide, us witches, especially us captured ones, know all about you. 

         Wow, I’m famous. What a thought. 

            We sat in silence for a bit. I listened to the hum of the car on the highway. Where are we going anyways? I finally asked.

            I have no clue where it is but basically to the headquarters. That’s where they keep us more powerful witches. It’s kind of like a castle. 

            So basically, impossible to escape, I said.

            Well, not impossible. Your mother did it 18 years ago with you.

            True, but I’m sure they upped the guards since then. 

            She shrugged. What is your goal with irritating Edwin? I mean don’t get me wrong, I'm enjoying it but  you’re only going to get hurt. Trust me, I might not be his wife, but I have seen him lose his cool before. It’s not pretty. She warned. Most of the immortals are that way though. They’re bitter toward us, even though we created their kind.

            You would think there’s a way to get rid of all of them. I mean the golden rule of witchcraft that I have learned at the school is “That which we create, we can destroy”. Isn’t there a spell or something that we could do?

            Even if there was one, we wouldn’t be able to, remember? I won’t be surprised if you are married off as soon as we get there. You’re powerful, more powerful than they’ve ever seen. They don’t know what you are capable of and it scares them. Can’t you tell from his terrified response?

            Huh, so they’re scared of me.

            No one has ever been able to use their powers with the bracelet or cuffs on. For you to be able to, especially with your emotions running high, it’s kind of a big deal.

            I nodded, processing what she said. Could the fact that I’m part immortal have anything to do with it?

            She shook her head. No because they’ve tested it on immortals. The power in the cuffs and bracelets mute their immortal abilities too. I think it’s just a fact of how powerful you are.

            Edwin slowed down. The highway in front of us was packed full of stopped cars. I laughed. “So much for getting their fast.”

            Edwin shot me a threatening glance then checked his phone. “There’s an accident up ahead. Great, they’ve shut down all lanes of traffic.”

            I kept quietly laughing. “Whatever are we to do” I said sarcastically.

            Edwin started laughing and started dialing a number on his phone. He held the phone up to his ear. “Hello, this is Edwin. Yes, I’ll need one, two other passengers, mile marker 78. Thank you.” He hung up. “Now we wait.”

            “For what?”

            “You’ll see.”

            20 minutes had passed. 20 minutes of just sitting there, waiting, it was agony. Traffic hadn’t moved an inch. Tam and I had been silently talking in the back the whole time, but I was bored. The sound of a helicopter deafened everything around us. I looked out the window and saw the helicopter landing in the field next to the highway. Edwin turned the car off into the field and parked it there. He got out, walked around, and opened my door. “Let’s go.” He pulled me out of the car.

            “You know, I’m getting really tired of being pulled around everywhere, I can walk.”

            Edwin ignored my ranting, pulling me to the helicopter. He picked me up and threw me in. Another man in the helicopter buckled me in and placed some headphones on my head. Tam hopped in followed by Edwin. Once everyone was buckled and the door was shut the pilot lifted off the ground.

            Great, now it’s inevitable that I’ll never escape.

            Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky like your mom.

            My mom wasn’t lucky, remember? She still ended up back with the immortals.

            Edwin stared at me smiling. He thought he was winning but I was never intending to go peacefully, or at all. If only fate could intervene and crash this damn helicopter. And let me tell you, if looks could kill, Edward would have been 6 feet under by now. Oh, how I wanted to wipe that smug smirk off his face. I could feel the anger burning up inside me again, the same feeling I had in the hotel. I could see Tam smiling out of the corner of my eye. She looked like she was about to start laughing. I just kept thinking about how angry he was making me.

Edwin started to cough. It was small at first, but it grew worse. I just kept staring at him, letting my rage build. It sounded like he was struggling to breathe at that point. He motioned for the man next to me. The man next to me got up and stuck me with a needle and injected me with something. “Great, another painful nap.” I stayed awake just long enough to see Edwin’s panicked face as he caught his breath and regained composure. I smiled as I drifted off, knowing I had won this battle.

My sleep was restless. It was filled with events in my life that angered me or scared me. Events that were highly emotional, like when my mom . My body shook in fear or anger in my sleep. I tossed and turned for however long I was asleep for. It was a longer sleep than last time, they must have injected me with a larger dose. I was also angered by the fact of what would happen when I woke up. I would be weaker, tired.

I heard men talking. There were several men nearby, or maybe even in the room. They were talking about me. Another fit of rage hit me. I heard items shattering in the room. I felt the room shaking. I heard screaming from a distance and an all too familiar sigh, Edwin. “If this is happening with her sedated and with the bracelets, who knows if the general knowledge of her people applies to her. Marriage may not be able to contain her powers”.

The room stopped shaking as my rage quelled. There was a collective sigh of relief in the room. I snapped my eyes open and gasped in air. I attempted to sit up but the massive headache I had kept me down. I groaned in pain. “Was all this really necessary?”

Edwin spoke up first. “At the time, yes.”

Then someone else added, “However, recent event show that it may have been more harmful than intended.”

“Huh, never would have guessed that” I added sarcastically.

“And I thought you were kidding; she really does have quite the attitude.”

Edwin motioned toward me in a very I-told-you-so manner. “And she’s only been awake for 30 seconds. Just wait, it gets worse.”

 I finally was able to sit up. My vision blurred and it took a second to re-focus. Once it did, I got a sense of my surroundings. Four men were here, 2 strangers just outside the doorway and Edwin and 1 other on either side of the doorway inside the room.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Ugh, this was actually the worst feeling in the world. I took a deep breath and calmly walked to the doorway. “Where do you think you are going?” Edwin said.

“Bathroom? Or is that like not allowed”

Edwin sighed and the two men blocking my exit moved. As I exited Edwin threw some clothes in my hands. I was escorted down the hall to the bathroom. Along the way I saw several women who looked either terrified or irritated. None of them were walking by themselves. I was pushed into the bathroom and the door slammed shut behind me. “Rude.” I muttered.

            I walked over to the sink and splashed my face with cold water. “Ah, that feels much better.”

            I stared at myself in the mirror. God how tired I looked. The circles under my eyes were darker than they’ve been before. I looked pale, and weak. I unfolded the clothes I was handed. Ugh, these were worse than the school’s outfits. Seriously. I mean, this just screams Edwardian vibes.  Someone pounded on the door. “Are you done in there?” a man asked.

            “Sorry, being knocked unconscious by some sort of mystery medicine takes a bit longer to recover from than one would expect. Does it inconvenience you?”

            “Yes, actually it does.” He started to turn the handle.

            “Well, I hope you’re ready to see me naked if you plan to come in.” I bluffed.

            He bought it, taking his hand off the handle. Okay, that bought me more time. I sat on the floor trying to steady my breathing. I appeared tough and had a smart mouth. In reality I was panicking. It was stressful considering what I had been to the last few days. I felt like I was drowning, and no one was around to help me. I slowly slumped down against the wall onto the floor. Tam? Are you there?

            Are you okay Adalaide?

            No, I feel so sick. And I’m so exhausted. I need to get out of here. Please help me!

            Adalaide, escape is a suicide mission. No one has been able to do it since your mother.

            That’s what I need. I need to talk to my mother.

            I caught my breath and stood up. I looked at the clothes on the counter and left them there as I opened the door. The man outside stared at me. “Are you not going to change.”

            “I decided that those clothes are awful and I’m not wearing them.”

            He sighed grumpily and led me down the hallway. When we got back to the room, I was thrown in. The door was slammed closed. I tried opening it but, surprise, surprise, I was locked in. I screamed angrily. “Can’t I ever just ugh!”

            I laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “This is actually a prison.”

            I don’t know how long I was in there for, but it wasn’t terribly long. The door swung open, hitting the wall behind it. “Get up” He said.

            Knowing it was Edwin, I kept laying down. “Did you suddenly become deaf? I said get up!”

            He yanked my arm and pulled me up. I rolled my eyes. “What?” I said with the most attitude I could manage.

            Edwin did nothing about it. “You’re refusing to wear the clothes we gave you? In case you were wondering, when I gave those to you it wasn’t a request that you put them on.” Shoving the clothes back in my hands.

            “Yeah? Well in case you were wondering, I don’t wear ugly, outdated clothes.”

            Edwin sighed. I could tell there was so much frustration built up in him. However, they wanted to keep me as calm as possible. I think he might have a brain aneurism. I chuckled at the thought. How far could I push this? I mean it’s not like they were going to inject me with whatever they had before, that obviously had unforeseen consequences.

            “Put the damn clothes on Adalaide.” He said through gritted teeth.

            “Find me better clothes Edwin.” I stood up.

            “Nothing is ever the easy way with you is it?”

            “The easy way would be for you to let me wear clothes I want to wear.” I threw the clothes back at him.

            “Well that’s not how things are done around here, get used to it.”

            “Nope! Won’t. Can’t. Not happening.” I responded bitterly.

            Edwin walked away facing the door. He put his hands over his face and groaned. “Fine, I tried to warn you. But, fine. You can walk around this wing, but you can’t leave it.” He stated, but there was no defeat in his voice. I knew this fight wasn’t over yet.

            “How do I know where the wing ends?”

            “The guards won’t let you out when it ends.” He left.

            Huh. Okay, guess I won that one. I don’t know who all was in this wing, but I was about to find out.