The Next Luna

3

Zoey

The room was dark. It smelled of mold. I was chained to the stone wall. I was sure I was in the basement of an old building. They forced me to walk here with a blindfold on. I tried to pay attention to the turns they had taken, but after the fifth or sixth, I lost track of what direction we were headed in. I know we walked through my backyard and headed into the trees that lay just behind the house. I had fallen a few times, and each time they growled at me and pulled me back up onto my feet roughly. The chains that they wrapped around my wrists burned my skin which meant they were made with silver. I had always had a strange allergy to it. Mom and I could never figure out why, so we simply avoided it. I pulled at the chains, again and again, trying to free myself. But they held strong. I could hear the men moving around upstairs. They hadn't touched me in the same way as they had my mom, thank God. But I was sure it was only a matter of time. Just the thought of my mom brought back the images of what they had done to her. Not only what they had done before killing her like she meant nothing, but afterward. They cut her open, filling a couple of bowls with her blood, then left a message for a man who didn't even know I existed. Tears stung my eyes. What had he ever done to them to make them hate him so much? 

The sound of someone walking down the wooden steps had me pushing up onto my feet. I wasn't ready to cower in the corner and let them do as they pleased to me. I would fight for as long as I could fight. If there were an opportunity to run, I would do so. I didn't know where this strength came from, but I was glad about it. The boy I had seen at school walked over to me with a smile on his face. Nat, that was his name. He was an ass to anyone that got close to him. He was known for pushing people into lockers for simply brushing up against him. He had been in the grade ahead of me but had to repeat a few classes from Junior year. He stopped a few inches away from me. He smelled like he hadn't had a bath in days. He reached out and ran his fingers over my cheek, pushing a strand of hair back behind my ear. "Good news, sweetheart, it seems daddy dearest got our little message. Now the real fun can begin." His fingers trailed a path down my neck. I jerked away from his touch. It made my skin crawl. His eyes darkened. If I wasn't mistaken, they went from brown to pitch black. A deep growl vibrated through his chest. I froze. It sounded like an angry dog who's protecting its favorite toy. His hand shot up, grabbing a handful of my hair and pulling my head to the side. He leaned in close, so his mouth was right near my ear. Hot air blew over me, making me want to throw up. "Not long now, and I will have you. Father promised you to me, but I have to wait for the full moon." The full moon, wasn't that next week sometime? He inhaled deeply and moaned, “oh, that’s a pleasant surprise.” He inhaled deeply again, “oh yes. And if I am right, you won't make it to the full moon.”  His tongue slithered out of his mouth and ran up my neck. The bile I had held down so far forced its way up my throat, shooting out of my mouth and splattered all over the front of his shirt. 

My vision blurred as he slammed my head into the wall behind me. "You f*****g b***h. This was a clean f*****g shirt. Now I have to change." A sharp pain shot through my abdomen as he slammed his fist into me, making me double over. The movement didn't stop him, though. He just moved from my stomach to my side. When I couldn't hold myself up anymore because of the pain, he moved on to kicking me. f**k, that hurt way more. He had steel toe boots on. By the time he finished, he was breathing heavily as though he had just gone for a run. I laid in the fetal position on the floor, the silver chains digging into my wrists as they pulled tight to allow me to be in this position. He leaned down over me, grabbing a handful of my hair and pulling me up, so I was sitting up. He tugged again, making me look at him. "You are mine. You will learn to behave yourself and do as you are told. You will learn to please me in every way. Do you understand?" A strangled cry fell from my lips. Tears flowed heavily down my face as I nodded my head. Agreeing with him seemed to be the best thing. For now, I don't think I would be able to survive another assault like that." Good girl." Roughly he threw my head back again as he let go of me. My head slammed against the wall again. My vision blurred again as I watched him turn and storm upstairs again. 

Laying back down, I cried heavily. If my father had gotten whatever message they left for him and he understood it, I truly hoped he was coming for me. I prayed he would get here soon. Something inside me stirred as I was pulled into the darkness. A voice inside my head shushed me, "rest now. I will take care of us." The voice didn't scare me. In fact, it comforted me as I drifted off.