Page 8 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)
Ava
I try to open my eyes, but it feels like they’re sealed shut. I start to panic, but they suddenly open. I blink against the bright light streaming in through the windows and stare at the ceiling in confusion, trying to place where I am. It suddenly all comes back to me. The text, my brother, the guy in the bathroom. I sit up, wincing when it causes a wave of dizziness. I blink again, trying to clear my head and take in everything around me. This is obviously a bedroom. I have no idea where I’m at. A quick glance shows that I’m still fully clothed. That brings a nominal amount of comfort. I stand to my feet carefully, listening for any sounds. When I hear nothing, I creep towards the door, certain it’s going to be locked. But when I turn it, it surprises me by opening. I slowly pull it open but don’t move into the hallway beyond. When I still hear nothing, I finally step ever so carefully into the hallway. When nothing happens, I walk quietly down the hallway. There are several closed doors. One open door reveals a bathroom. I round a corner and take in the kitchen, followed by the living room and dining room.
“You’re finally awake.”
I whirl around and stare at the tall woman. I instantly categorize her as a vampire. She’s got the pale skin and the eyes of one. Sometimes you can’t always tell with the skin, but the eyes are always a dead giveaway. They’re always vibrant colors, so different than human or even shifter eyes. And they’re always chaotic, kind of like the energy inside of them. Their eyes always look like they’re swirling or something. I should know; my eyes did the same when I had vampire power inside me. Thankfully, the other healers healed me of it. “Where am I?” I demand.
The woman ignores my question. “Are you hungry? There’s human food in the fridge.”
I blink, trying to figure out what in the world is going on. “Where am I?” I ask again.
She makes a weird trilling sound that makes me irritated. “None of that now. You should know—I'm not allowed to tell you anything. You will have to wait to ask all your questions to somebody other than me. I'm just here to see that you eat and stay alive. Oh, and that you don’t escape.” She looks back at me as she says the words. I have a feeling that as docile as she looks right now, she’s anything but. My thoughts are confirmed when she says, “Of course, if you do run, I’ll have to chase you. And I do love a good chase.” I shudder at her words. I stand in the doorway to the kitchen and watch as she opens the refrigerator door. She wasn’t lying when she said there was human food in there. There are various containers of soup, chicken and rice bowls, salads, and more. They all have labels that I know and recognize. Somebody obviously went through a lot of trouble to stock this fridge. A bad feeling runs through me.
“How long are you planning on me being here?”
She doesn’t answer, not that I expected her to. I look at the fridge again. That was a lot of food; that didn’t bring me comfort in any way shape or form. “Do you know where my brother is?” I ask.
The female vampire gives a rather dramatic sigh. “Maybe you didn’t get this the first time, so let me make it very clear. I am not going to answer any of your questions. So, stop asking. You really don’t want to make me mad.” She gives me a smile that is downright scary; she flashes her fangs while she does it, and I take the hint.
Okay, no more questions for the scary vampire. She leaves the kitchen, but I stand there a little while longer, trying to figure out what to do. My stomach growls, and I study the closed refrigerator door. My thought is that the food is not contaminated. If they’d wanted to kill me, they definitely could have done it while I was unconscious. They obviously have a plan for me, which makes me a little sick. I pull out a chair at the kitchen table and sit down. If my brother really is alive, then they’ve had him for nearly two years. The thought makes me sick. My little brother—what all has he had to endure? I can’t even imagine. But then I wonder why. What have they done with him all this time and why wait that long to get me? Why am I even here? And where is here? The questions ping around in my head. I have no answers for any of them. After sitting for a long time, I slowly stand up from the table and approach the fridge. I don’t know what they have in store for me, but I know that when the time comes, my brother and I will be getting out of here. I have no idea what kind of shape he’s going to be in. He could be injured, malnourished, weak, or worse. I’ll need to be at my best, and I won’t be able to do that if I’m weak from hunger. I make the decision to trust the food and eat. I dig through the fridge and find a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, one of those that has no crust. I figure it’s probably one of the safest foods to try. I snag a water bottle as well and sit back at the table. I take one bite and wait a few minutes. When nothing happens and I don’t keel over and die, I finish the rest of the sandwich and drink the entire water bottle. I glance behind me to make sure the vampire is nowhere in sight before I search the drawers. I search the entire kitchen from top to bottom but don’t find one single knife, not even a butter knife or a pair of scissors. There’s not even any glass cups or plates that could be broken and used as weapons. Everything is paper or plastic. I sit down with a sigh; somebody really planned this out. I refuse to become discouraged, though. I will keep my wits about me and bide my time. Make no mistake, I will find my brother; and we will escape this place—whatever it is.
It takes three days for them to come for me. Three of the longest days of my life. I'd just finished a bowl of soup at my usual spot in the kitchen when they came. One minute, I was alone, eating my soup. The next, I was surrounded by three vampires. I said nothing as they commanded me to stand and follow them. Thankfully, I was already dressed and wearing sneakers. I’ve refused to think about the fact that all the clothes in my room are the right size for me, down to the underwear and bras. I follow the two men and one woman out the front door and into the sun. I study each of them, but the sun doesn’t seem to affect any of them. I try to take in as much as possible as I walk. We follow the sidewalk from the house I’ve been living in to a larger building behind the house. The vampire in front pushes the buttons in some kind of code, and the doors slide open. I follow them inside, wondering what in the world we’re going to encounter inside. The inside is as quiet as the house has been the last three days. We walk through a large open area and over to an elevator. After another code, the doors open, and they usher me inside. The elevator goes down for what seems like a really long time. When the doors open, I follow them reluctantly. They must really trust that I’m not going to run away, because not one of them even gets close to touching me. Of course, they probably know if I do run, they can catch me before I make it a foot. With that discouraging thought, I follow them to yet another closed and coded door. After that one opens, I follow them into a room. A dark feeling comes over me. This is what I’ve come to expect from the vampires. I stop moving, and somebody pushes me forward. I stare at the bed with various wires hooked up to it. “No.” It comes out breathless, but I’m trying to just keep breathing. “I was told my brother is here. Where is he?” I turn around, but I’m shoved forward.
“You’re going to do what you’re told,” one of them says, jerking me forward.
I fight back, not that I’m much good against vampire strength. “No, not until I see my brother.” I’m shoved forward again. I reach out and grab the first thing I find to use as a weapon. It’s a test tube. I throw it at the vampire’s head. He ducks, and it explodes against the far wall. Before they can touch me, I grab another and do the same. Somebody grabs my arms, and I fight against them. “Let me go!” I yell.
The door to the room suddenly opens. “Release her.”
The room goes quiet, and I turn around and see the guy from the bathroom. I can’t figure him out. He’s not a vampire. If I had to guess, I would say he’s a wolf. So why is he here? And what is he doing with my brother? “You said my brother was here,” I say as I straighten up.
He gives me a cold, disinterested look. “He is.”
I dig deep for a bravery I don’t feel. “I’m not doing anything until I see him.” I squeeze my hands together, so they can’t see how badly they’re shaking.
He studies me with dark eyes, and I fight against the shiver that runs through my body. There’s a dark side to this man. “Want me to deal with her?” One of the vampires asks from behind me. The man’s eyes don’t leave mine.
“She wants to see her brother? She can see her brother.” Then without another word, he walks out the door and leaves it open behind him. It takes me a minute to get my feet working, and then I’m following him. We walk down a long hall. There are closed doors on both sides. He enters a code at yet another locked door, and we enter an open space with bright fluorescent lights. I blink against the sudden brightness. There are lots of people at work; they’re all wearing the same outfits—dark blue tops and bottoms. They almost look like scrubs. What shocks me most is that most of them are human. They rush in and out of small rooms that have glass enclosures. We walk past one, and I look inside and immediately wish I hadn’t. There’s a man strapped to the bed, and he’s in obvious pain. He's straining against his restraints. I can imagine he’s yelling, but the encasings are soundproof. I shake my head in revulsion and fear. I know what these places are like. I was trapped in one of these facilities once. I push away those memories and focus on just putting one foot in front of the other. Then we stop in front of one of the enclosures. I look through the glass and stare at the boy in the bed. If I hadn’t seen the picture of him, I don’t know that I would even recognize him. My eyes take in his gaunt frame. I don’t know whether to be happy or sad that he’s still alive. Of course, I’m glad he didn’t die that night, but I hate that he’s been here since then. My stomach cramps, and I feel like I’m going to throw up. “I want to talk to him,” I tell the guy who led me here.