Chapter 1:Waking Up

I woke up with something scratchy like rough fabric over my head, acting as a full-face blindfold. Immediately, I guessed that it was a woven sack. I tried to reach my hands off to remove it, so that I could see where I was, but my hands were bound by metal to a wall. I attempted to move my feet, and they were bound to the stone bench that I was seated on. I felt something bulgy that felt like clothing stuffed into my mouth, and realized that it was acting as a gag. I screamed, but it was muffled by what I guessed was a sock. It tasted like rotten milk. I started to wriggle and squirm and squeal. I hated being held back or controlled by something, and the situation I was in contained both of those things.I screamed at the top of my lungs, and with my tongue I managed to push the gag out of my mouth. It rested inside of the sack at first, and then fell between my legs and onto the floor. I screamed again, but this time, it wasnt muffled in the slightest, and it resounded throughout the entire room. From the sound of the echo, the room wasnt very large, but there mustve been a door somewhere. Whoever did this to me mustve heard it.Just as I had suspected, I heard a door creak open. I heard a shuffling of footsteps, and then the door closed. The footsteps got louder as they came closer to me, and I squirmed even more, because I was worrying about what the person would do to me. I screamed again, and was bracing myself and tensing every muscle in my body, preparing to have something horrible done to me. But instead, the person simply lifted the sack off of my head.Although the light now exposed to my eyes didnt hurt, I still had to squint at first to see clearly. In front of the one swinging light overhead in the room, I could see the outline of a figure. When my vision completely adjusted to the light, I could see their face. It was a boy, about my age, staring at me. Long, greasy, brown bangs hung in front of his eyes. I moved my eyes past him and around the room. There were several other people chained up just like me, but their bodies were lifeless and motionless. They all had sacks over their heads, so I could not tell who they were, but I still feared for their lives.I screamed again, but the boy clamped his hand down over my mouth.Be quiet! he snapped. I bit his hand. He snapped his hand back, cradled it with his other hand, and cursed under his breath. I screamed loudly once more, and then glared at him, challenging him silently to try and silence me again. He glared right back.Where am I? Who are those people and why arent they moving? I asked him, worriedly glancing at the bodies around me. Why am I all tied up?If you promise you wont scream again, I will undo the metal brackets, and tell you everything thats going on, he said slowly, nodding. I nodded curtly. He immediately went to work on the metal brackets, and within a few minutes, my hands and feet and legs were free. My legs and arms were incredibly sore from being in such a stiff and awkward position for what I guessed was a long length of time.The boy sat down next to me on the stone bench. He looked at me, and asked quietly, Is that better? I nodded. Good.How long have I been here? I asked him, staring at the stone floor of the room.You and the othershe nodded to some of the bodies in the roomhave been here for around three hours. My eyes mustve widened, because he quickly added in, But your families dont know it. They were all asleep when we stole you guys from your homes.I swallowed a lump in my throat. And just why would you do that?He sighed. Because they were hungry.I looked up from the floor and at him, my eyebrows scrunched together. Whos they?The boy looked up at the ceiling, rubbing his tattered jeans worriedly. Im not sure if I should tell you that. Ill get in trouble and you will freak out. And from what I know of you so far, he said, his eyes moving from the ceiling to me, so that he could scrutinize me, you dont handle weird information very well.Whos they? I repeated more sternly.The demons, the boy said, his shoulders slumping.I raised my eyebrows. Demons? I asked, chuckling slightly.He looked at me, and raised an eyebrow. Whats so funny about demons?Theyre not real.The boy gawked at me. They are so real that its scary. The reason we brought you all here was so that they could feed on your flesh. And its nearly midnight, the boy mumbled, rising from the bench and heading over to the door. Midnight is their feeding hour.I chuckled again, shaking my head. You really expect me to believe that there are demons here, preparing to eat me and I looked around at the bodies. these guys?The boys expression was grim. You should, he said gloomily, and then swung the door open, and left. He didnt bother to close the door behind him, I noticed. Although I didnt believe in the demon nonsense he was talking about, I still was very scared. The boy had promised to tell me where I was, but he had left before he had gotten the chance. So naturally, I was frightened. I took advantage of the situation and sprung up from the stone bench, and to the door. Before exiting, I took one last look back at the bodies. I didnt know who they were, but I still was scared about what would happen to them.Good luck, I whispered into the room, and then closed the door.I was standing in a narrow hallway, and much like the room I had just been in, it was entirely made of stone, with moss and water spilling out between the stones cracks. There were two ways to turn: to my left, or to my right. To my left, the hallway continued beyond my vision. To my right, the hallway turned left, and there was another door. Trying to avoid seeing anybody else, I took the long hallway, to the left. Just as I had begun to move, I heard the door down the right hallway open. People were arguing, and one voice I recognized. I froze, forgetting for a moment that I was supposed to making a hasty escape.Maybe we should skip this group, the boy suggested to the person he was talking to.The other person grunted. Im hungry, Giovanni, and I will not wait any longer, he replied gruffly. His voice was extremely deep, and from the sound of it, he was very displeased with the boy.Giovanni attempted to reason with him again. But one of them has already come throughI caught my breath, and pressed against the walland who knows how long the sedative will last on the others.Good; I love it when they put up a fight, the man said, beginning to walk towards the stone room where the bodies sat, chained and what I knew now as unconscious. Ill eat the conscious one first.No! Giovanni exclaimed. Giovanni mustve gotten in the mans way, because within moments, he was pushed onto the opposite wall, and now in my view. The man who he had been speaking with was holding his neck, and I had to struggle greatly to keep from gasping at his size. He mustve been at least eight feet tall. He had to arch his back to be able to stand under the stone ceiling. His fists one of which was raised and ready to deliver a blow to Giovannis face were the size of my head. His head was bald, and I could see a pink scar run along the top.The man got closer to Giovannis face, and hissed, Dont get in my way again, Giovanni. I like you, and Id hate it if I killed you by mistake. The man let go of Giovanni. He dropped to the floor, shaking and gasping for breath. The man turned, and saw me, standing up against the wall. I gasped. The man smiled crazily, exposing hundreds of shark-like teeth.This must be the lively one, he bellowed. I was shaking violently, and backed away down the left hallway. The man took very few strides and caught up to me. He gripped my arms with his giant fists, and immediately they lost circulation and I could no longer feel them. He held me up in front of him, my feet dangling off of the ground. I could now clearly see his face. His face was unshaven, his eyes were a blood red color, and his teeth, while sharp, were bloodstained at the tips. My heart skipped at least three beats, and all I could do was stare in fear.He breathed into my face with his rancid breath, and a great title wave of nausea came over me. But I came through and began to scream.Ha! the man shouted, and chuckled. Youre certainly feisty! This is going to be a treat, he muttered. I was about to scream again, but I caught myself when I saw over the mans shoulder, Giovanni, rising from the stone floor. He pressed his index finger to his mouth, signaling for me not to scream again.Shane, Giovanni said to the man named Shane, placing his hand on his shoulder. Im not telling you what to do, but if her blood gets pumping, then when you bite into her, blood will spill everywhere. Its a waste and a mess. Giovanni came up beside Shane and nodded. Why dont you kill her first? he suggested uncaringly, shrugging. I widened my eyes. Giovanni glanced at me, but in that glance, I saw in his eyes that he was going to help me. I struggled to remain calm, but I managed. Use a stainless steel knife; its the cleanest kill.Shane grunted, his crazy smile slowly slipping from his face. He looked at Giovanni, Giovanni nodded, and Shane nodded back. Shane dropped me carelessly onto the floor. I landed hard on my left side, and my left leg cracked. I shouted out, and Giovanni glanced over at me worriedly. But he kept his uncaring mask on.I want to pick it out myself, Shane said, turning and stomping down the right hallway. Ill be back in a few minutes. Make sure that she doesnt go anywhere, Giovanni, or therell be consequences.Right, Giovanni called down the hallway to Shane. Shane rounded the corner, and immediately Giovanni spun around and slung one of my numb arms around his shoulders, and helped me rise from the floor. I moaned at the pain in my leg. I know it hurts, Giovanni whispered hurriedly. He swiped my legs out from under me, and ran down the left hallway with me. He ran incredibly fast, and within minutes, we were at a wooden door. Giovanni dropped my legs down onto the ground, and he opened the door for me. There was a flight of stairs, leading up into what seemed like a clearing in the middle of a forest.Once you cross the top step, Giovanni explained to me in a hushed voice, every second or so glancing over his shoulder, youll be safe. Demons, like Shane, cant cross the Demon Threshold. I nodded without knowing what I was showing understanding for, but anything that got me out of there I was happy to agree to. Run, run as fast as you can, and youll be safe. Got it?I nodded, and frowned. Why are you helping me? In the room, you said youd get in trouble. And that Shane guy threatened to kill you! Whats gonna happen? I asked him worriedly. He looked into my eyes, but he was staring past them and into me. His blue eyes were glinting sadly and I could tell that he was frightened beyond belief. Are you going to die?Giovanni opened his mouth to reply, but Shanes deep voice echoed through the hallway. Whered you go? he shouted.Run! Giovanni shouted at me. He nudged me through the door and onto the first step. Before I could turn around and thank him, the door had closed. Remembering what he had said, I dragged my injured leg behind me, and hobbled up the steps. It was nighttime, and it was very dark. The only reason I was able to see was because of the light of the moon. All of a sudden, I heard something slam and crack against the door behind me, and I grimaced. A tear ran down my cheek as I assumed the worst. Giovanni was dead.The door flew open, and Shane stepped onto the first of the stairs. I looked back at him, my eyes wide. He bared his sharp teeth, and his eyes flashed neon red. I shrieked, and ignoring the insane burning sensation running through my injured leg, I ran up the rest of the steps. Shane caught up to me, and grabbed onto my injured leg. I screamed out. He dragged me down a few of the steps, but I managed to lift up my good leg and bring it down very hard on his face. Despite his strength, his tolerance for pain was weak. He cursed loudly, and released my leg. I scrambled up the rest of the steps, and rolled across the top step. According to what Giovanni had said, I was now safe.Shane, the print of a boot mark on his face, roared, and ran up the steps at supersonic speed. I widened my eyes, and flinched as he dove over the last top steps, and expected to be crushed by a heavy mound of flesh, but instead, I remained unharmed. I dared to open my eyes, and gawked at what I saw. Shane was pounding with his inhumanly large fists against some sort of invisible force field, roaring, and his face a bright pink in color. Just like Giovanni had said, Shane was unable to pass over what he had called the Demon Threshold. But if Shane couldnt pass over the Demon Threshold, that meant that what Giovanni had said about the demons was true. I moaned, the pain in my leg now multiplying by a hundred, and gripped my knee. I glanced over at Shane, and frowned. Tears spilled over my eyes. The tears were for everything that had happened, that all of this horrible and gory stuff was true, and that such terrible monsters that do such terrible things walked the same planet that I live on. But mostly, I cried about Giovanni.After about an hour of lying on the ground, and crying and moaning and holding my leg, I sat up. I looked down the flight of stairs. Shane was nowhere to be seen. I glared at the door, and noticed for the first time that there was an insignia on the door. It was a vibrant blue flower with black spots, with four flowing petals. My eyebrows scrunched together. Such a beautiful flower, I thought, for such an ugly place.I struggled, but after a few moments, I managed to stand on my one good leg, and supported my other side with a tree. There was a thick and straight branch on the ground, so I picked it up, and used it to walk. I glanced through the trees of the surrounding forest, and saw the blinking red light of a radio tower in the distance. A spark of hope worked its way up inside of me. I wobbled into the woods, that tiny spark of hope driving me to make it to the radio tower, and get back home.