Curfew

by Samantha Stone

  I spied a cave off to my left. Small entrance, but I ducked inside. Several feet inside the hollow, the area widened, but it also grew darker and darker the farther I crawled, until I could no longer see my hands on the ground beneath me. To continue, I groped along, inch by inch until I hit my head on the rock wall. My imagination went wild with thoughts of horrible stinging insects, poisonous snakes and even bears inhabiting this dark space with me. Anything could be right there beside me. I crouched in the blackness listening—to nothing.

  Trying to relax, I stretched out the best I could in my cramped space, resting my head on my arms. By now, the Elite intruders must’ve given up the search, but I would remain here in the relative safety of my dark sanctuary until the creatures within this cave drove me out.

  I wondered what the Elite fiends planned to do with poor John. He didn’t deserve punishment just because he treated me better than the Elite norm, using humans like animals and discarding them. Maybe John could talk his way out of trouble. I hoped so.

  A rustling nearby twisted my stomach into spasms that tore through my body with anxious stabbing pain. Holding my breath, I waited, wishing that my hiding place had another way out. I knew it didn’t, I had gone as deep into this cave as possible. No more scuffling sounds, my visitor left without tormenting me. The breath rushed from my lungs in relief. A rodent, perhaps, no real trouble for me.

  Intense pain exploded across my scalp. Something tore at my hair.

  FOURTEEN

  I screamed as I slid along the dirt by my hair. Kicking my feet and grabbing for the rock walls didn’t stop my skid. Warm blood ran down my arms as I cut myself on the sharp granite. In moments the gloom brightened as my throbbing body neared the cave entrance. I heard talking and soft laughter before I flopped outside and the hair jerking torture on my head stopped.

  Surrounded. Four of them staring down at me, their mirrored sunglasses shielding their eyes from the setting sun. I knew those hidden eyes would be gold, like John’s.

  “Well, what have we here?” He thrust his big hand into my armpit and pulled me to my feet. I winced as the oozing cuts on my soles pressed into the soil. I didn’t want to bring attention to my many bleeding wounds so I stood tall and hid the pain. These Elite monsters may go into a feeding frenzy, like sharks with a wounded seal, and kill me right here.

  One of the others moved closer, gazing into my face.

  “She is too small. She won’t last long.” He removed his sunglasses and those hateful gilded eyes burned into me. Nothing like John or Stefan, this man had no soul. I glared back at him with all the hatred I could muster. He jumped away from me, laughing.

  “Whoa, I might be mistaken. I think this one will last quite a while. They all chuckled at his little joke. I curled my lip, looking from one face to the next. They looked so similar in appearance—all Elite men must be related. Dark hair, well defined cheekbones and tall muscular statures, good-looking villains, all of them. I tried to control my racing pulse, but the closer they moved to me, the worse my palpitations grew.

  “What do you want?” My shrill question brought more laughter, and of course, no answers. Two of the brutes moved to my sides, grabbing my arms with powerful, bruising grips. I couldn’t fight them as they dragged me along. I felt faint, and my head swam as they picked up the pace, making me run on my battered feet. As I stumbled, the man on my right slapped me hard across the face.

  “Keep up girlie. I’m not carrying you.”

  Bastard. I hated that man. I’d kill him if I got the chance. But then I stumbled again and fell to my knees on the rocky ground. The Elite dropped my arms instead of helping me. I kneeled there willing the monsters to die with every pant, but no such luck. One of them grabbed me by the hair and jerked me to my feet. No compassion. No concern for me at all.

  “Stop it, you asshole.” Unprepared, his blow to the back of my head sent me sprawling. I hit my cheek on the nearby granite boulder and almost lost consciousness. I welcomed that blackness, but it was not forthcoming. The agony in my face made me cry out but I muffled the sound with my hair. Holding my hands over the throbbing gash I tried to hide the fresh blood from the fiends.

  They descended on me, giant vampire bats swooping in on silent wings to slice into their sleeping prey. But I was aware. Their teeth ripped into my flesh. I heard their awful laughter and smelled the butterscotch scent of their bodies as it drowned me in false sweetness. One of them pulled my hands away and devoured the blood on my cheek and hands with a warm sticky tongue. His breath, so hot in my ear sickened me but then he shoved his tongue into my ear canal slurping up the pooled blood there as well. So many teeth, so much blood loss, finally that dark void took me away. As I left this world, the monster at my ear whispered to me, his words almost bringing me out of my swoon.

  “Who’s your daddy?”

  I slipped away.

  Frigid cold woke me. That jeering laughter again. I didn’t want to open my eyes and see them, those same four beasts that dragged me from the cave. They would be the first thing I saw if I parted my lids. I recognized the feel of water flowing over my body. Those asses had tossed me into a shallow mountain stream to revive me.

  “You might as well get up. We know you’re awake.” I chose to keep my eyes closed and feign a coma. Awful pain exploded in my ribs as a foot connected with my body.

  “Cut it out Gregori. You’re going to kill her before anyone else has any fun with her.” Gentler hands lifted me from the water and I opened my eyes. Night had fallen and I could see little more than faint human figures surrounding me. Not even the moonlight penetrated this dense forest. More than ever a sense of doom threatened to overwhelm me. I would die by these evil Elite hands—soon.

  On my own feet again, I stood for a moment, willing the dizziness away. My knees buckled, but I stiffened my legs and stood firm as they talked in soft whispers among themselves. I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by, my last chance to escape my dreaded fate. I darted away, into the trees. So hard to see anything in this gloom but I ran in short spurts between the numerous towering evergreens. My exhilaration grew as I moved farther and farther away from the Elite posse. Maybe they decided that I am too much trouble.

  I stopped to catch my breath and leaned against a broad trunk. My heart pounded, demanding that I slow my pace before it jumped from my chest and landed with a thud at my feet. I heard no movement in the surrounding forest. Bit by bit, I relaxed. Now I just had to find my way back out of this knot of woods and go home.

  Pushing away from the tree, I stretched my strained muscles and sighed. At that moment, a band of steel clamped around my throat, choking me.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” He slammed my head into the tree, squeezing my throat tighter and tighter still. I couldn’t breathe. He intended to strangle me right here. I struggled with renewed fury, scratching at his arms, his face, anything I could reach. One of my fingers connected with soft, wet tissue. He yelped and let me go. I hoped I had just blinded the bastard.

  An explosion of pain blazed through my head and I felt nothing more.

  * * * *

  My first sensation upon awakening—severe pain, just like my last impression before one of them knocked me out. Hard and cold, the ground beneath me, and the foul air threatened to strangle me as I tried to draw breath. My head pounded with pain, sharp intense stabs into the base of my skull and I wished for the darkness of the coma. No such luck. The agony continued and now I heard scratching sounds close by my face. I tried lifting my head and the pain intensified. I groaned and dropped back to the cold slab.

  “Hey.” A whisper in the dark. “Hey, are you awake, lady?” I turned toward his voice, but still I saw nothing. I didn’t know if I had lost my sight or if this place had no lighting. My eyes were open, but it makes no difference. Nothing there but the gloom and the fear.

  “Where am I?” My voice, though raspy, worked.

  I heard him clear his throat then shuffling as he moved toward me.


  “We are in the Elite feeder pen. The others have already been taken. The Elite bastards are having a party upstairs. You and I are all that remains of the large group that started out this long night here.”

  The panic rose from my bowels to my throat, acid on the back of my tongue, thick and bitter.

  “How did I get here?” I remembered nothing since I gouged the eye from my abductor.

  The young fellow hiccuped, a sound that could have been an insane laugh or the end of a cry. “How did any of us get here?” Such despair in his words. He had seen too much already. I doubted he would ever recover—even if we managed to avoid their fangs tonight.

  “We must get out of here.” I groaned. Just getting words out of my lungs hurt.

  “There is no escape, we tried, all of us. There were many at first, strong men too. We tried breaking the fencing, removing the thick wire that holds it to the posts. We even climbed to the ceiling and tried to pry the cage walls away there. It is no use, I tell you. We are doomed. Dawn won’t come soon enough to save us.”

  I heard a click from somewhere nearby and the creak of complaining hinges. My heart raced.

  Light flooded into the cage, flashes of terrible pain shooting through my cringing eyes to ravage my sore head. I saw the horror in the filthy young man’s face as he jumped away from my side to throw his slim body to the far corner of the chain link pen. I followed his terrified gaze to see one of them leering from the makeshift gate. A very young, oh so handsome one of them. Did they not have any ugly Elite?

  “So, who wants to join the party?” His sickening sweet voice made my stomach lurch and he laughed. “I take it you aren’t a party animal—are you, precious?”

  I wanted to tell him to shove his party up his ass, but terror choked off my hateful words. I pulled myself to my knees, moaning from the pain in my ribs and the intense pounding that grew worse inside my skull.

  The Elite man pulled a small bundle of keys from his pocket, jingled them at us and unfastened an enormous lock hanging from the latch. He opened the gate and moved into the cell with a purposeful stride. Hell, he stopped next to me, ignoring the other cowering waif.

  “You are damaged.” I stared at his leather shoes, trying to decide if I could even get to my feet to try an escape. I cringed when his hand stroked the naked skin on my backside as he pushed John’s shirt up to my armpits. I thought for a moment that he had rape on his mind, but his hand moved to my ribs, touching me where the other Elite’s foot had connected with my body.

  “Yeah, an asshole chose to help me after I fell down, by kicking me in the ribs.”

  He smacked his lips and pulled the shirt back down. Did he care? Did he actually sympathize with the humans that he obviously helped devour? My hopes bloomed.

  “You will have to be last, I’m afraid. You have internal bleeding and you’ll make a poor choice for an entrée. Perhaps you can be dessert.” My limbs gave out and I fell to the floor again. I cried silent tears as he drug the poor screaming young man out of the cage. As his terrified shrieks echoed through my soul, I wrapped my arms around my battered body, all hope of living through this nightmare—gone.

  FIFTEEN

  John wrapped his arms around me, holding me close against his bare chest as he kissed the pain away.

  “Sandy.”

  “Sandy.”

  Why did he repeat himself? I’m right here. I tried to tell him so, but at that moment, I realized that my screams would never be heard. I had no mouth.

  “Sandy. Wake up.”

  “Leave me alone. I’m dead already and I know you aren’t really there.”

  Rough hands shook my shoulder and the agony in my ribs made me moan. I opened my eyes and the real John leaned over me.

  “John?”

  “Yes, come on, we must flee. They were coming for you and I found this prison just in the nick of time.” He smiled down at me, so proud of himself and love for him exploded in my soul.

  With an arm wrapped around me and tucked under my armpit, he helped me gain my feet. I caught a glimpse of the young Elite from earlier, lying on the floor against the wall—hmm dressed only in his underpants.

  The clothing John wore did look a bit tight. The slacks came to a spot above his ankles. Giddy laughter rose in my throat, but John didn’t give me a chance to start giggling as he rushed to help me out the gate and past the slumped Elite guard.

  “He came for me, didn’t he? It was my turn to be devoured.” I choked on my whisper and John hugged me close for just a moment before he guided me to the exit.

  “You’re safe now, darlin’. We’ll get out of here. Just be quiet for now, we must hurry. The others will wonder why Sal hasn’t returned with you.”

  The massive iron door screamed on its rusty hinges as he widened the opening for us to fit through together. Should’ve left it alone, but too late now, the message had already been sent. We bolted up the stone steps and as we neared the top, the hatch crashed open and an Elite mob blocked our way. At my side, I felt John gather himself to his full height, prepared to fight for our escape.

  Two darts with trailing lines flew toward John and stuck in his chest. Another set followed and the surge of current traveled along those lines to his poor body. He grunted and collapsed, pulling me with him backwards as we rag-dolled down the stairs. My last coherent thought—I hoped for death so that they would not get their dessert.

  * * * *

  I knew before I opened my eyes that my body laid on the floor of the cell once more. I recognized the musty odor and the stink of urine, the smell of fear that permeated the concrete floor. No surprise that I’d lived but why toss me back in this damned feeder cage with dessert ready to be served? Oh no—what about John? What happened to him?

  Pitch black again. No difference in my sight when I opened my eyes. Biting back the pain, I lifted my battered body and tried crawling around on my hands and knees. The hard floor scraped my palms and the skin on my knees but I continued to search until I found him. They had thrown their kin in the feeder cage with me. I tried, but I couldn’t stop the moan as I felt his wrist—no John, no, no, no.

  No pulse. They killed my sheriff, my beautiful John. My ribs screamed in agony and still the sobs tore through me. He tried to save me and they murdered him. All because of me. I collapsed beside his cooling body. No strength left to cry, no strength left to care about anything. Hurry up and come for me you bastards.

  “Sannny?” Soft groan, sounding something like my name.

  “Who’s there?” It didn’t matter, not really and I wanted to take back my words. I decided not to play along with their sick jokes. Fuck ’em. They would get no life from me, other than what they stole from my veins.

  Another male groan carried around the room—pain in that moan. Too bad. I ignored him, not like I could help, even if I wanted to—and I didn’t.

  “San….” A cough rattled his chest. The clink of heavy chains followed the cough and yet another terrible groan. Damn this infernal darkness. A twinge in my frozen, battered heart wrung a drop of pity from me for the tortured man. I crawled toward the pitiful sound until my head met the chain link wall. He coughed again.

  “Who are you?” My whisper died in the dense black separating us. I cleared my throat and spoke a bit louder. “Who are you?”

  “John.”

  My throat clenched. “John is dead.”

  A growl made the hair on my arms stand on end. “No, Sandy. Not dead.” My heart raced. Could it be? I groped my way to the gate and to my surprise, found it standing open. I should climb to my feet, but instead I crawled around searching with my hands since I could see nothing.

  “Sandy. I’m over here, honey.” I almost squealed, but I managed to control my excitement before I screamed his name. At least his voice had a more normal sound to it now so he must be recovering from the stun weapon’s jolt.

  “I’m coming. Talk to me so I can find you.” I gained my feet and crept along, my hands outstretched in f
ront of me, my gait a slow sliding shuffle.

  “I don’t know what you can do to help me. They chained me to the wall like a common rogue.”

  Easy to find him when he spoke. I found his warm skin with my fingertips and heard the chains again as he slid his hand along my arm.

  “See, I’m not dead.”

  “No, you aren’t. But there is a dead body in the cell. I thought it was you.” I found the chains and tugged, trying to free him.

  “These chains are made to hold a powerful being. They cannot be broken.” John groaned again. I knew he tried to keep it to himself, but it slipped through his lips anyway.

  “What did they do to you?” I tried feeling along his limbs—his naked limbs. The assholes had removed his stolen clothing.

  “The fall down those damned steps did this to me. I have a pain in my shoulder. It will heal. The spasms in my belly are the real problem.”

  My stomach lurched. “What do you mean by spasms?” I held my breath, knowing before he said it, what his problem must be.

  “I’m hungry, Sandy. They must have stolen a great deal of my blood to make me weak—easier to handle. I smell the heat of your very essence and it taunts me.”

  I backed away, tripping over something on the floor. I fell on my bruised ass. I couldn’t escape without him. I knew that. But what could I do now? Even weakened, he must be ten times stronger than me.

  “Do you know where the light switch is? Maybe we can find something to help get those chains off.”

  “Come here, Sandy.” His soft request sent chills down my back, chills that pooled in my chest and sped my heart into a terrible rhythm. I skittered farther away, a crab walk on all fours that brought me to an abrupt halt against another cold concrete wall. His chains jingled then crashed against the bolts as he tried to break free.