Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Just an Average Day in Hell ❯ THE LION TURNS OUT TO BE A CUB ( Chapter 2 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
Chapter 2
THE LION TURNS OUT TO BE A CUB
It was hard to tell what time of day it was as Christine slowly opened her slightly sore eyes; the room she was in was pitch dark for a second before her eyes adjusted. And what they adjusted to wasn’t all that pleasant.
The previous night’s memories rushed back as Christine tried to make sense of her surroundings, but they didn’t help. She didn’t remember the dark, stone ceiling that made the room look like a dungeon. She didn’t remember ever lying down on what felt like a hard slab of cement. And she definitely didn’t remember the chains that held her arms motionless above her head.
A numbing soreness shot throughout both arms as she wriggled to free herself, or at least position herself more comfortably. All she succeeded in doing was clanging the metallic chains together so they echoed in the small, closed chamber.
“Shit.” She mumbled under her breath, berating herself for being so naïve as to actually trust that strange Camron guy. Now that he had her chained up, he could easily finish what he’d started yesterday, if he hadn’t already.
Christine tried to calm her breathing and figure out what to do. She craned her neck to search for any close exits, but that only confirmed that she was indeed trapped in a miniscule dungeon the size of a closet, and even worse, there was ostensibly no way out.
She let her head fall back on the raised, solid rectangular hump she was on, deciding the best she could do now was calm herself and look on the bright side of things as she gazed at the ceiling. It was pretty hard to look for the bright side of things in such a dark room, she thought to herself glumly. What could Camron possibly want with her? Judging by his looks, it didn’t seem as though it would be hard for him to find someone to entertain him, and she was nothing special. Short, nearly-shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, trim waist, long legs… Nothing uncommon. Was it really necessary to imprison her?
Maybe he’s one of those black market brokers, and he’s gonna rip out my kidneys, Christine thought, satisfied to have found another reason for her imprisonment before falling into a panic-fit as she realized that she was in enormous trouble either way. Despite the knowledge that she wouldn’t be free of the chains no matter how hard she tried, she kept struggling against them.
Probably not the best choice as she attracted her captors’ attention. “Looks like our catch is awake.”
Christine gasped in shock as her head snapped to the side in the direction of the ominous drawl. The darkness obscured her vision, but there was no question that there stood a tall man in a rigid stance as he regarded her, shoulder-length blond hair unmoving.
“Finally.” Her gaze snapped in the other direction to find a shorter man with spiky black hair and a hungry expression. “I hate feeding on sleeping prey.”
“Yeah, it takes the fun out of everything.” Christine’s eyes widened further when another man appeared right between them. This one was enormous – even his silhouette showed off the rippling muscles that formed his body. He sported little to no hair, and a sly, crooked grin.
Where the hell did they come from?! Christine thought frantically. They had just appeared seemingly out of thin air – no door had opened to allow them in. And what the hell were they talking about?
“So,” the long-haired blond approached her, placing his hands on the table-like hump and leaning forward to look her in the eye, his orbs a sparkling blue even in the darkness. He removed his hands from the stone and with a strange hand gesture, her world was whirling, her back hitting hard against something upright.
What the…?! Christine ignored the numbing pain spreading across her abused back, vaguely aware that she was now upright, almost in a standing position – save the chains that tied her wrists and ankles to the wall behind her. The hump she had previously been face-up on was gone, and she found herself face-to-face with the three creeps.
Christine could hardly figure out what had just happened when the blond man continued. “Hope you lived a good life, ‘cause this’ll be the last time you open your eyes.” He grinned evilly and that grin soon became an open-mouthed snarl.
What the fuck?! Are those friggin’ fangs?! Christine could hardly scream before the blond-haired monster roughly grabbed her hair in a clawed, dead-hold, angling her neck so he had maximum access. Christine was shaking in fear, dimly aware that her death was something that belonged in those cheesy, cliché horror movies, not in real life. Eaten by a vampire? She thought hysterically. Great.
All thoughts were abruptly cut off as sharp incisors sank into the flesh of her jugular. Her eyes rolled back and her mouth was agape in a silent scream as blood poured out of her neck. Her body convulsed and excruciating pain radiated through it as the blond monster drained life from her, the smirks of his companions unseen as they watched from the sidelines.
“What the hell?! Elliot!”
Christine’s eyes were disoriented, lolling around in her head as she tried to escape the pain, but the intruding voice registered as vaguely familiar.
The monster who drank from her was startled, his teeth sinking deeper into her gouged wound before he slowly withdrew, his dangerous white fangs shining through the crimson darkness of her rich blood as his lips curled in a smile.
“Just kidding.” The one called ‘Elliot’ chuckled after facing the intruder, quickly loosening his grip in Christine. Without fully facing her again, he smoothly, lightly passed a hand on her shredded flesh, and Christine instantly felt a tug there. She gasped at the sudden lack of pain in her neck, no longer feeling her own blood sliding down her body. She would’ve tried touching her neck to see if the wound had really disappeared, but the chains handicapped her.
When she looked back at Elliot, she saw that he didn’t have any blood on his face either, the blond vampire’s mouth as clean as it had been when she’d first seen it.
What the HELL is GOING ON HERE?!?! Christine opened her mouth to scream, but no words came out. Sure, she’d been scared speechless before, but now she could feel her vocal cords straining, yet to no avail.
“Don’t even try.” The tall blond man that had just moments ago sucked blood from her smirked at her. “You know you won’t be able to speak for a bit after that round. Pretty impressive, huh?”
“Shut up, pretty boy.” Christine watched the buff man shove him away, mock irritation on his face.
“Okay – what the hell are you guys doing?” In the haze of her extreme confusion, Christine could make out Camron standing, holding a piece of dungeon wall open like a door, confusion and slight apprehension on his face.
Putting her bewilderment at the whole situation aside, Christine didn’t know whether to be anxious or relieved that Camron was here. She was relieved because the vampires seemed to relax and divert their attention from her. But she trembled with trepidation because she doubted Camron was coming in to save her.
“Chill, Cam, we’re just fooling around.” Elliot replied with a mischievous smile and a nonchalant shrug.
“What? Why would you…?” Camron’s confusion grew into anger before he stopped himself. Suddenly it dawned on him why the guys were being so revealing about their secret to her. “I didn’t tell her.” Camron told them, his frustration replaced by growing panic as he glanced at Christine in concern.
“What are you talking about?” The shortest vampire stared at Camron in bemusement. “Isn’t she one of Nessa’s girls?”
Camron shook his head, his face paling considerably.
“Aw, crap.” The buff vampire shook his head in slight disbelief, but mostly irritation. “Now we have to kill her.”
Christine blanched. Why did life have to end so horribly? She’d always wanted to die grey and old…
“No, no, no.” Elliot objected and Christine’s brown eyes lit with hope. “I say we fuck her, then kill her.” He winked at her, flashing a million-dollar smile that suggested he’d just found the best solution. Christine’s eyes went wide as plates and her mouth opened in a horrified, hollow scream as she delved back into frenzy tenfold.
“Lay off, guys.” Camron gestured in annoyance, grumpily ruling out both options. “Ell, just clear her memory.”
Do what with her memory?! What was with these guys? Christine was sure she hadn’t heard right. But then again, not much had been too normal since she’d opened her eyes that day. Deciding she didn’t want any more of this unreal crap, she struggled against the barriers that kept her glued to the wall.
“Christ.” Camron mumbled as she stole their attention, the fact that she was in chains on a wall finally sinking in. “Get her off of there.”
“You sure you don’t want to just get rid of her right now?” Elliot contradicted, hooked on his idea.
“Get her fucking down.” Camron demanded without raising his voice. He seemed pissed, and that reassured Christine for some reason; at least he wasn’t hell-bent on killing her.
“All right, don’t piss your pants.” Elliot muttered, turning to Christine with his hands uplifted, but turning back to Camron at the last minute to add, “But I’m still keeping her tied.” Without waiting for a response from Camron, he swiveled back to Christine. She shrank from him, willing him not to touch her. Elliot raised a brow at her before his face contorted in concentration.
Christine could not explain what happened in the next two seconds; one second she was chained to a wall in a dark dungeon-like room, the next she was tied down to a couch in a bright, sunlit room that practically blinded her in contrast. She recognized the room as Camron’s apartment, and glanced at him to see that he was on the threshold, holding his door open the same way he had held open a part of that stone wall. She didn’t even bother asking herself what the hell was happening again.
Now that the room was – inexplicably – brightly lit, she could see her assaulters more clearly. The blond she had already gotten down; he looked like a rockstar, what with his lean, lank body, flowing, seemingly highlighted, wavy blond tresses, cobalt bedroom eyes, and the dark, trashy clothing he wore that tied the ensemble together.
The buff guy was only slightly taller than the rockstar dude, his taut muscles straining against the confines of his tight grey T-shirt, which she could easily bet hid a ripped six-pack. His head was clean-shaven, showing off polished, dark brown skin that only accentuated the chilling hazel of his eyes. If this guy wasn’t an athlete, he had to be a body-building top trainer.
The last, shortest member of the dangerous trio was unmistakably Asian. The spiky jet black hair adorned by white tips could only remind her of do’s sported by Koreans or adventurous Japanese. The clean-cut, triangular goatee right below his bottom lip gave him an edge emphasized by the impossible darkness of his almond-shaped eyes.
Okay, so they were all so beautiful they looked like they’d just stepped out of some sort of awesome movie, but where the hell did they come from? And what did they want with her?
These were questions Christine would’ve asked had she been able to voice them. And if these guys weren’t lethal-looking enough for her brain to send out alarms demanding that she get out of there.
She wriggled with all the strength she had, but her body wouldn’t budge. She looked down at her wrists and ankles to see what kind of unearthly material restrained her movements so abjectly. Her eyes almost bugged out of her head when she saw nothing there – absolutely nothing. Just thin air, and yet she could feel something where the chains had previously been, paralyzing her.
“Clear her memory so she can go home.” Camron repeated, staring Elliot down. Hope seared in Christine’s heart. She was going home? Finally!
“Um, not now…” Elliot glanced away, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Just clear her fucking memory.” Camron snapped. “Isn’t that the easiest way anyway?”
Elliot narrowed his eyes at Camron. “No – not for a half-mage, and you know that. I used up a lot of my main magic in that biting trick just a while ago – which even you have to admit was totally awesome – so I’m running low right now.” Magic? Christine thought. Now magic exists? Are you kidding me?!
Camron’s expression fell as comprehension dawned on him.
Elliot sighed exasperatedly, sensing Camron’s upcoming rage. “Chill, dude. We could run her by my uncle’s if you still don’t wanna kill her.”
“We’re not killing her, for the last fucking time!” Camron snapped, glaring at Elliot. Christine jumped at the retort, but kept her eyes on Camron, aware that he could be all sorts of vile, villainous things, but at least not a murderer. She felt extremely relieved.
“What’re we doing with her?” The Asian vampire inquired, seemingly also put out that they wouldn’t be killing her. “Are we at least feeding?” His eyes twinkled in anticipation again.
“No. Just leave her alone.” Camron sighed, ran a hand through his short, silky hair, and glanced at Christine. “When will her voice come back?” He asked Elliot, but his stare remained fixed on Christine. She squirmed under his intense gaze. I just wanna get out of here! She thought emphatically, then shifted her attention to Elliot for his answer when she realized she didn’t want to leave without her voice, if he had that trapped in some magical jar somewhere, or some crap like that.
“It should be coming back right about…”–Elliot twirled his right index finger in the air, concentrating on Christine –“now.” With a flick of his wrist he pointed at her, and as though on cue, Christine coughed heavily, still trapped by the invisible barrier but able to move enough to bring her hand to her throat. It felt like she was coughing up a ball of sand.
Once the cough fit was over, she looked back up at Camron, Elliot, and her other two suspicious assaulters, and screamed. It came out raspy and broken at first, but in just seconds she had her normal voice back, and she was screaming up a storm, yelling for help and shouting God knows what in the small, echoing room.
“Shit – shut her up!” The buff vampire yelled, his hands clamped over his ears as the others did.
“Quiet!” The Asian vampire leapt for her, landing without a sound on the couch Christine was on, not touching her save the hand he clamped tight over her mouth.
Christine freaked and instinctively sank her teeth into his hand. He didn’t budge, his sharp eyes willing her to silence. She could vaguely feel a thick, sweet liquid enter her mouth as her eyes fell unwillingly closed.
THE LION TURNS OUT TO BE A CUB
It was hard to tell what time of day it was as Christine slowly opened her slightly sore eyes; the room she was in was pitch dark for a second before her eyes adjusted. And what they adjusted to wasn’t all that pleasant.
The previous night’s memories rushed back as Christine tried to make sense of her surroundings, but they didn’t help. She didn’t remember the dark, stone ceiling that made the room look like a dungeon. She didn’t remember ever lying down on what felt like a hard slab of cement. And she definitely didn’t remember the chains that held her arms motionless above her head.
A numbing soreness shot throughout both arms as she wriggled to free herself, or at least position herself more comfortably. All she succeeded in doing was clanging the metallic chains together so they echoed in the small, closed chamber.
“Shit.” She mumbled under her breath, berating herself for being so naïve as to actually trust that strange Camron guy. Now that he had her chained up, he could easily finish what he’d started yesterday, if he hadn’t already.
Christine tried to calm her breathing and figure out what to do. She craned her neck to search for any close exits, but that only confirmed that she was indeed trapped in a miniscule dungeon the size of a closet, and even worse, there was ostensibly no way out.
She let her head fall back on the raised, solid rectangular hump she was on, deciding the best she could do now was calm herself and look on the bright side of things as she gazed at the ceiling. It was pretty hard to look for the bright side of things in such a dark room, she thought to herself glumly. What could Camron possibly want with her? Judging by his looks, it didn’t seem as though it would be hard for him to find someone to entertain him, and she was nothing special. Short, nearly-shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, trim waist, long legs… Nothing uncommon. Was it really necessary to imprison her?
Maybe he’s one of those black market brokers, and he’s gonna rip out my kidneys, Christine thought, satisfied to have found another reason for her imprisonment before falling into a panic-fit as she realized that she was in enormous trouble either way. Despite the knowledge that she wouldn’t be free of the chains no matter how hard she tried, she kept struggling against them.
Probably not the best choice as she attracted her captors’ attention. “Looks like our catch is awake.”
Christine gasped in shock as her head snapped to the side in the direction of the ominous drawl. The darkness obscured her vision, but there was no question that there stood a tall man in a rigid stance as he regarded her, shoulder-length blond hair unmoving.
“Finally.” Her gaze snapped in the other direction to find a shorter man with spiky black hair and a hungry expression. “I hate feeding on sleeping prey.”
“Yeah, it takes the fun out of everything.” Christine’s eyes widened further when another man appeared right between them. This one was enormous – even his silhouette showed off the rippling muscles that formed his body. He sported little to no hair, and a sly, crooked grin.
Where the hell did they come from?! Christine thought frantically. They had just appeared seemingly out of thin air – no door had opened to allow them in. And what the hell were they talking about?
“So,” the long-haired blond approached her, placing his hands on the table-like hump and leaning forward to look her in the eye, his orbs a sparkling blue even in the darkness. He removed his hands from the stone and with a strange hand gesture, her world was whirling, her back hitting hard against something upright.
What the…?! Christine ignored the numbing pain spreading across her abused back, vaguely aware that she was now upright, almost in a standing position – save the chains that tied her wrists and ankles to the wall behind her. The hump she had previously been face-up on was gone, and she found herself face-to-face with the three creeps.
Christine could hardly figure out what had just happened when the blond man continued. “Hope you lived a good life, ‘cause this’ll be the last time you open your eyes.” He grinned evilly and that grin soon became an open-mouthed snarl.
What the fuck?! Are those friggin’ fangs?! Christine could hardly scream before the blond-haired monster roughly grabbed her hair in a clawed, dead-hold, angling her neck so he had maximum access. Christine was shaking in fear, dimly aware that her death was something that belonged in those cheesy, cliché horror movies, not in real life. Eaten by a vampire? She thought hysterically. Great.
All thoughts were abruptly cut off as sharp incisors sank into the flesh of her jugular. Her eyes rolled back and her mouth was agape in a silent scream as blood poured out of her neck. Her body convulsed and excruciating pain radiated through it as the blond monster drained life from her, the smirks of his companions unseen as they watched from the sidelines.
“What the hell?! Elliot!”
Christine’s eyes were disoriented, lolling around in her head as she tried to escape the pain, but the intruding voice registered as vaguely familiar.
The monster who drank from her was startled, his teeth sinking deeper into her gouged wound before he slowly withdrew, his dangerous white fangs shining through the crimson darkness of her rich blood as his lips curled in a smile.
“Just kidding.” The one called ‘Elliot’ chuckled after facing the intruder, quickly loosening his grip in Christine. Without fully facing her again, he smoothly, lightly passed a hand on her shredded flesh, and Christine instantly felt a tug there. She gasped at the sudden lack of pain in her neck, no longer feeling her own blood sliding down her body. She would’ve tried touching her neck to see if the wound had really disappeared, but the chains handicapped her.
When she looked back at Elliot, she saw that he didn’t have any blood on his face either, the blond vampire’s mouth as clean as it had been when she’d first seen it.
What the HELL is GOING ON HERE?!?! Christine opened her mouth to scream, but no words came out. Sure, she’d been scared speechless before, but now she could feel her vocal cords straining, yet to no avail.
“Don’t even try.” The tall blond man that had just moments ago sucked blood from her smirked at her. “You know you won’t be able to speak for a bit after that round. Pretty impressive, huh?”
“Shut up, pretty boy.” Christine watched the buff man shove him away, mock irritation on his face.
“Okay – what the hell are you guys doing?” In the haze of her extreme confusion, Christine could make out Camron standing, holding a piece of dungeon wall open like a door, confusion and slight apprehension on his face.
Putting her bewilderment at the whole situation aside, Christine didn’t know whether to be anxious or relieved that Camron was here. She was relieved because the vampires seemed to relax and divert their attention from her. But she trembled with trepidation because she doubted Camron was coming in to save her.
“Chill, Cam, we’re just fooling around.” Elliot replied with a mischievous smile and a nonchalant shrug.
“What? Why would you…?” Camron’s confusion grew into anger before he stopped himself. Suddenly it dawned on him why the guys were being so revealing about their secret to her. “I didn’t tell her.” Camron told them, his frustration replaced by growing panic as he glanced at Christine in concern.
“What are you talking about?” The shortest vampire stared at Camron in bemusement. “Isn’t she one of Nessa’s girls?”
Camron shook his head, his face paling considerably.
“Aw, crap.” The buff vampire shook his head in slight disbelief, but mostly irritation. “Now we have to kill her.”
Christine blanched. Why did life have to end so horribly? She’d always wanted to die grey and old…
“No, no, no.” Elliot objected and Christine’s brown eyes lit with hope. “I say we fuck her, then kill her.” He winked at her, flashing a million-dollar smile that suggested he’d just found the best solution. Christine’s eyes went wide as plates and her mouth opened in a horrified, hollow scream as she delved back into frenzy tenfold.
“Lay off, guys.” Camron gestured in annoyance, grumpily ruling out both options. “Ell, just clear her memory.”
Do what with her memory?! What was with these guys? Christine was sure she hadn’t heard right. But then again, not much had been too normal since she’d opened her eyes that day. Deciding she didn’t want any more of this unreal crap, she struggled against the barriers that kept her glued to the wall.
“Christ.” Camron mumbled as she stole their attention, the fact that she was in chains on a wall finally sinking in. “Get her off of there.”
“You sure you don’t want to just get rid of her right now?” Elliot contradicted, hooked on his idea.
“Get her fucking down.” Camron demanded without raising his voice. He seemed pissed, and that reassured Christine for some reason; at least he wasn’t hell-bent on killing her.
“All right, don’t piss your pants.” Elliot muttered, turning to Christine with his hands uplifted, but turning back to Camron at the last minute to add, “But I’m still keeping her tied.” Without waiting for a response from Camron, he swiveled back to Christine. She shrank from him, willing him not to touch her. Elliot raised a brow at her before his face contorted in concentration.
Christine could not explain what happened in the next two seconds; one second she was chained to a wall in a dark dungeon-like room, the next she was tied down to a couch in a bright, sunlit room that practically blinded her in contrast. She recognized the room as Camron’s apartment, and glanced at him to see that he was on the threshold, holding his door open the same way he had held open a part of that stone wall. She didn’t even bother asking herself what the hell was happening again.
Now that the room was – inexplicably – brightly lit, she could see her assaulters more clearly. The blond she had already gotten down; he looked like a rockstar, what with his lean, lank body, flowing, seemingly highlighted, wavy blond tresses, cobalt bedroom eyes, and the dark, trashy clothing he wore that tied the ensemble together.
The buff guy was only slightly taller than the rockstar dude, his taut muscles straining against the confines of his tight grey T-shirt, which she could easily bet hid a ripped six-pack. His head was clean-shaven, showing off polished, dark brown skin that only accentuated the chilling hazel of his eyes. If this guy wasn’t an athlete, he had to be a body-building top trainer.
The last, shortest member of the dangerous trio was unmistakably Asian. The spiky jet black hair adorned by white tips could only remind her of do’s sported by Koreans or adventurous Japanese. The clean-cut, triangular goatee right below his bottom lip gave him an edge emphasized by the impossible darkness of his almond-shaped eyes.
Okay, so they were all so beautiful they looked like they’d just stepped out of some sort of awesome movie, but where the hell did they come from? And what did they want with her?
These were questions Christine would’ve asked had she been able to voice them. And if these guys weren’t lethal-looking enough for her brain to send out alarms demanding that she get out of there.
She wriggled with all the strength she had, but her body wouldn’t budge. She looked down at her wrists and ankles to see what kind of unearthly material restrained her movements so abjectly. Her eyes almost bugged out of her head when she saw nothing there – absolutely nothing. Just thin air, and yet she could feel something where the chains had previously been, paralyzing her.
“Clear her memory so she can go home.” Camron repeated, staring Elliot down. Hope seared in Christine’s heart. She was going home? Finally!
“Um, not now…” Elliot glanced away, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Just clear her fucking memory.” Camron snapped. “Isn’t that the easiest way anyway?”
Elliot narrowed his eyes at Camron. “No – not for a half-mage, and you know that. I used up a lot of my main magic in that biting trick just a while ago – which even you have to admit was totally awesome – so I’m running low right now.” Magic? Christine thought. Now magic exists? Are you kidding me?!
Camron’s expression fell as comprehension dawned on him.
Elliot sighed exasperatedly, sensing Camron’s upcoming rage. “Chill, dude. We could run her by my uncle’s if you still don’t wanna kill her.”
“We’re not killing her, for the last fucking time!” Camron snapped, glaring at Elliot. Christine jumped at the retort, but kept her eyes on Camron, aware that he could be all sorts of vile, villainous things, but at least not a murderer. She felt extremely relieved.
“What’re we doing with her?” The Asian vampire inquired, seemingly also put out that they wouldn’t be killing her. “Are we at least feeding?” His eyes twinkled in anticipation again.
“No. Just leave her alone.” Camron sighed, ran a hand through his short, silky hair, and glanced at Christine. “When will her voice come back?” He asked Elliot, but his stare remained fixed on Christine. She squirmed under his intense gaze. I just wanna get out of here! She thought emphatically, then shifted her attention to Elliot for his answer when she realized she didn’t want to leave without her voice, if he had that trapped in some magical jar somewhere, or some crap like that.
“It should be coming back right about…”–Elliot twirled his right index finger in the air, concentrating on Christine –“now.” With a flick of his wrist he pointed at her, and as though on cue, Christine coughed heavily, still trapped by the invisible barrier but able to move enough to bring her hand to her throat. It felt like she was coughing up a ball of sand.
Once the cough fit was over, she looked back up at Camron, Elliot, and her other two suspicious assaulters, and screamed. It came out raspy and broken at first, but in just seconds she had her normal voice back, and she was screaming up a storm, yelling for help and shouting God knows what in the small, echoing room.
“Shit – shut her up!” The buff vampire yelled, his hands clamped over his ears as the others did.
“Quiet!” The Asian vampire leapt for her, landing without a sound on the couch Christine was on, not touching her save the hand he clamped tight over her mouth.
Christine freaked and instinctively sank her teeth into his hand. He didn’t budge, his sharp eyes willing her to silence. She could vaguely feel a thick, sweet liquid enter her mouth as her eyes fell unwillingly closed.