Page 28 of Shattered Souls

She stands off the couch and in my daze, I don’t mirror her action. “I’m going to bed. Uncuff me and send me to my prison, or I’ll go find the twin that will.” With a coy smirk, I reach in my pocket, her eyes lingering on my throbbing erection, and toss her the small set of keys.

She struggles for a moment, but eventually releases her wrists. “Eight weeks—twenty-four days, little scarecrow. You up for the challenge?” She walks over to her room.

“Only if you think you can handle me.” She winks at me and grips the door. “Then, yes, sir.”

9

Rayvn

The next few days start to blur together in an endless cycle of sleeping and eating in the confinement of my concrete prison. Either one of the twins comes to check on me once a day just to make sure I haven’t clawed my own eyes out—I’ve come aggressively close.

My bare feet slap against the cool floor as I pace the small area in front of the door. I spent the better part of an hour knocking and screaming for one of them to let me out, but neither came.

My mind has had nothing to do but think about what Seek told me. I have twenty four chances to get out of this hell hole and I need to spend the first few nights memorizing the layout of the scare park.

I hear shuffling outside the door and immediately freeze. They come closer and closer until they stop at the entrance of my door. My whole body sags with relief when the door swings open.

“Thank god.” I have to resist the urge to throw myself at whichever twin currently stands in front of me with a look of boredom.

“Let’s go.” Seek, should’ve known by the look alone, mumbles. He moves aside from the mouth of the room and allows me to step out and suck in a deep breath of the slightly less muggy air.

Hyde is standing in the kitchen, eyeing me nervously. Ever since he showered me and let his fingers slip inside of me, he won’t even try to talk to me. I’ve been trying to wrack my brain and force my small knowledge of sign language to take front, but my attempts have proven unsuccessful.

Though it doesn’t help that the one with all the knowledge I need won’t even finger spell to me anymore.

“What day is it?” I question as Seek fastens my cuffs on my wrist. They’ve become a weight on my wrists that I’ve grown to look forward to—considering they mean real air.

“Thursday.” Seek reluctantly responds. He pushes away from me and enters the kitchen. He pushes past his brother and tosses the fridge open before sliding a cold bottle of water across the island. I almost miss the offering completely thanks to my limited motion.

“Great,” I try a few times to open the cap of my water but at the angle and my cuffs I fail a few times. Hyde comes over and wraps one hand around my hand that still cups the bottle. I’m unsure if it’s the bite of the bottle or the way his chest barely brushes against my back that causes my skin to break out in goosebumps. He pops open the water for me and I shyly look over my shoulder and sign thank you.

“So now I get to run from you two maniacs in just shy of twenty-four hours.” Seek huffs, quickly signs something to his brother that I don’t understand, and then briskly exits the room.

“You know I won’t bite—right?” I say into the air, knowing he’s watching me.

I don’t expect to hear a response, but the lack of anything makes my skin crawl with embarrassment. When I turn to face the music, he’s gone. Just gone.

I place my water down and walk around the island. The room is utterly empty other than my curious fingers and the vast opportunity to finally snoop on the broody brothers.

I start my nosey business in the living area. The other night when I laid on the couch and tried to rest—but was cut short by Seek and his fat mouth—I saw plenty of things that I wanted to get up and touch.

I walk over to the short bookcase that’s organized by author name and not book size, which feels like a crime. I run my fingers over the mismatched spines and read each title.

Echoes in Red, Letters Never Sent, A Breath Too Late, Our Quiet Wars, Kiss Me Like A Secret, Beneath Your Skin, Permission to Exist, Burn the Map, When Monsters Fell in Love.

My finger doesn't stop until I find a title that causes me to snag it and hurriedly hide it under the covers in my room. ASL for Beginners. The corners of the book are bent and worn from obvious years of use, but it will help me get the job done nonetheless.

I’m breathless and once more standing in front of the island when the twins return with something dangling from Seek’s hand. The pair look at me like I’m the crazy one here, but just as quickly drop the look. Seek comes up to me and holds a leather strap in front of my face.

“Meet your newest accessory.” He holds up a long, thin strap of pink leather. A metal, glinting ring settles on either end of the material, and my mind races to try and figure out what it is.

“Okay? I’m flattered—but I think my waist is a bit bigger than that.” I try and fail to add a splash of humor to my voice.

“Lift your hair.” He demands, his face drained of any joy as usual.

I stare at him for a breath longer before reaching my bound hands over my head and try to collect my hair. I can only manage to grab about half of the black mass before my fingers strain and a cramp forms in my bicep.

I hiss and bring my hands back to my front, rolling my shoulders and waiting out the cramp. Seek jerks his head at his brother, and in an instant, Hyde’s hands are on me once more, scooping my hair in one hand and wrapping the locks around his fist.