BOUND TO HIM BY FORCE

22. DEAD BODIES AND CELLS

I did not cry all through the morning.

I did not cry as they left me there, all going to sleep with nothing but darkness to keep me company.

I did not cry when the rain began pouring on me until it fell away.

 I did not cry as I felt my bladder as if it would burst, leaving no choice but to let the pee out, feeling it warm on my legs to my feet.

I did not cry as I saw as if the body before me was moving, nor when the smell of the man’s stool hit my nostrils.

I was raw and ripped apart.

My eyes were sore with my whole body but I was numb, I was numb to all the pain, of all the feelings, and the cold shrinking my skin.

My hair dripped with droplets going down my body, the rain having cleansed my body of all the blood and sins I had committed all through the past day.

The day broke, men walking out of the buildings, running around with sounds of groaning men filling the air. It seemed like an army. An army of men ran around the area without them sparing me a look. The sun hid away, the cold getting harsher with the wind. My teeth betrayed me, chattering as if to fall off with my hands surely blue by then.

My neck ached, my head hanging, and staring at the ground until a pair of boots stood before me. They were large and leather, brown in color, and I did not even have to look up to see who it was.

He was talking, his voice was heard in my ears, but none of the words made sense to me.

My body was untied, my hands falling away with the legs next. They were burning with pain. The rope tied where they had tied me at the stock house, opening my wounds with the rope coated with blood as the men pulled it away. I felt as if it had cut to the bone, barely able to stand. My waist was untied, it so painful I felt as if they had squeezed my womb and shred it apart. My frame shook, the man turning to walk away. I tried following, taking a step with my body falling on the dead body on the floor.

My inner voice was screaming yet there seemed to be a disconnect between my brain and my nerves, my mouth not moving. My hands were fast to push off the cold pale body on the ground, rushing up. My head picked up, the tattooed man staring at me with a smirk on his face.

I shuffled after him, trying with all I had to keep my body upright. The pain shot through each time I stepped down, the pain so much there was this piercing sound in my head with each step I took. I closed my eyes to open them, pushing forward. We entered through one of the buildings with nothing but steps waiting for us.

I nearly cried, but there were no tears to cry. The man jogged up and I took a deep breath, clenching my teeth to jog after him. It was death, but I would have to absorb the pain and get used to it to survive. The steps went higher and higher until we reached the top floor of the building. The building was quiet and seemed empty, doors all over. It was cold and dead, a place where the ghosts of a thousand dead people haunted. My eyes darted from one corner to the other, expecting something to jump out and kill me.

The man opened a door and stepped in. I followed, warmth hitting me, and had a shiver run down my body.

My feet sank on a plush carpet, looking around to see that it was an office. It was not just an office; it was grand and expensive looking. It did not belong in the building, as if I had just stepped into another place or something.

The walls were neatly painted, paintings hung here and there. Rows of shelves carried books. A large shiny mahogany office sat at one end with a large leather chair behind it. The desk carried papers, a computer, a laptop, phones, and more. It was stunning. The carpet on the floor was black in color, with couches and tub chairs all around. There was even a refrigerator with me swallowing, not knowing what I was doing there.

Another medium-sized desk stood not far from the larger one and there was also a chair, showing that two people shared the office. It was so large; it could be a whole house. There was a television at some side with a fireplace. It was not something I had expected to see.

“These will be your clothes.” A voice snapped me out of my trance, the man walking out of a door with a pile of clothes in hand.

“You will not get any other.” The man said with me accepting them with my shaking hands. I could see a two-piece working khaki overall with a black one, then half-boot working leather boots. I swallowed, holding onto the clothes. On top of them, a tiny box was placed.

“Go clean up, there are showers in your cell building, then go to training.” The man said, turning and walking away, leaving me standing there. There was so much I wanted to ask, so much I wanted to say, but I found myself turning around and walking out of that room. I walked down the steps, taking them slowly, the clothes heavy in my grip. I felt dizzy, finally sitting down halfway down, but I did not know what the man would do if he found me there, so I stood up again and continued walking.

Getting outside, all the buildings looked the same, made of concrete with men standing and looking out from the building tops. I could hear the masses training at some part of the estate, hearing them roar with energy. I turned over and over, trying to recall where they had dragged me from. Getting a sense of direction, I followed my instincts, the memory playing of me being thrown out of a building.

I stepped in, nothing but darkness crawling from the lowest to the highest point in that entryway. Cell doors caged the way, hearing the rats run all through them. The cells were empty, slowly walking through, half expecting to be attacked. I reached the end of that hall, looking to the right, and there, on the bed was Azrail’s coat. I walked in, staring at the floor, the rats not there at that moment. My eyes took in the whole cell I had failed to analyze when I woke up.

The walls were pained with blood and dirt. The mattress was dirty and torn with springs poking out of it. The frame was made of metal, bolted onto the floor and wall.

Nothing else was present, just the cold concrete floor. My eyes picked up, seeing a shelf at the corner of the wall, high up. I huffed, taking Azrail’s coat and folding it to slip it on the shelf, but it did not fit. I turned, with no other option than to stretch it, picking up the mattress and realizing that the frame had wires going over each other in such a way they made diamond-shaped tiny spaces. The rats would not be able to fit. I laid the coat then brought the mattress over it. My clothes were stashed on the shelf, taking the box and opening it, finding a toothbrush, a washcloth, a tiny soap bar, toothpaste, and a deodorant spray.

A bit of relief came over me. I took the box and walked out of my cell. My feet kissed the cold ground, walked past my hall, and took a turn, seeing more halls with cell doors on each side. The cells were empty. At the end of the horizontal hall, I walked through a door. I pushed it open and nearly gagged at the smell that came through. I sighed, closing my eyes and opening the door again to step in.

Tiles that had once been white were brown with dirt and mold, showers lining all through with them so dirty. They were wet, the floor wet with the water reaching my ankles. The water had dirt from the floor, having me bend over. I turned, running to throw up in the toilet. I pushed the cubicle door open to gag even more with stool in the toilet bowl that had not been flushed.

It was bad, turning to run out and literally vomiting on the floor.

Everywhere I looked I felt as if I would catch something. Disgusting and dirty. I was not going to shower there; I would only get more dirt on me. I turned, walking out of there. I walked out of the building, wandering aimlessly, looking for a place I could take a shower. I went from building to building and all their bathrooms were just as bad. I stood, not knowing what to do. I then went to the back of the buildings, seeing what looked like a place where animals would be kept. I walked over there, seeing pigs, sheep, chickens, and rabbits. My eyes fell on a shower-like tap. It was long, running to it to open it and water came springing down. I nearly cried out in happiness, looking all around and finding no one around. The t-shirt was pulled from my body, taking my washcloth and wetting it before soaping it. I was fast, the cloth moving all over my body, leaving foam all over. I rinsed then looked around again before washing my private parts. I closed the tap, using the cloth to wipe my body dry. I then brushed my teeth and, with that done, I quickly pulled the t-shirt back on, picked up my box, and rushed away. I got to my building, my stomach killing.

The deodorant was put on, taking off the t-shirt after making sure I was not being watched by anyone. I pulled the pants on, realizing one pair had an elastic band at the bottom legs which hugged the ankles. It was a bit big but the elastic on its waist made it possible for me to pull and tie the rope around my waist.

There was also a black t-shirt. I did not wear the jacket top, tucking in the t-shirt on the pants. My hands pulled on the boots, pulling them down, finding a pair of black socks inside. I pulled on the socks, then the boots.

I did not have anything to tie my hair with, braiding it into one long braid. My things were put away, looking around, and there was nothing left for me to do. I walked out of the cell. I was so hungry I thought I would die. The man had said to go to training, no choice that to follow the order given.

My feet followed the loud groans of men, walking around the buildings, hitting walls to turn around and find my way again until I walked through a breezeway that led to a backyard which was the training grounds.

There were a lot of men there, all of them in the same clothes I was in, training hard with them sweating.

Some had instructors, teaching them how to do certain fighting styles step by step. Others were doing fighting drills. Others were shooting far ahead. Others were running around, others picking up chopped tree trunks that had me pale. I found myself frozen. I suddenly realized what the whole place was.

It was a training facility for all Azrail’s men. They were bleeding and crying.

I watched others in a circle, fighting with blood coating them, yet they did not stop. It looked like hell. My head snapped to the side, seeing three men running with six others holing hounds which they let go. I gasped, the men running from the hounds which were dead on their heels, knowing they would kill the men if they did not run fast enough.

My stomach turned again, thinking of rushing away, but it was too late. As my head snapped, my eyes fell on a man that stood staring back at me.

I recognized him as Max, he had shot out Angelina’s name from the crowd.

His hand picked up, calling me over with his fingers. My blood ran cold, knowing that nothing good would happen in those training grounds.