As soon as she locked the door behind her, I was spurred into motion. I checked through the bags they packed and took out the things I thought were the most important. I left my phone because I knew it would be the first thing they tried to use to track me. I made a mental note to get a new one as soon as I could.
I grabbed the small duffel bag and dumped everything out of it then stocked it with casual clothes, sneakers and my toiletries. I wanted to go out through the window but it was too far off the ground and I knew without a doubt that I would die if I tried to jump from there. That left the front door which made things more complicated.
I stuck my head out of the door first to be sure I was alone and I let out a sigh of relief when I realized I was. My body ached so I went into the bathroom first to look for painkillers. I muttered a small thanks to whatever deity was listening when I found some Advil. I popped two into my mouth and began my descent down the stairs.
I was shocked when I didn't see anyone. My suspicion flared and the hair at the back of my neck stood on end. I was passing the living room when I heard voices. At first, I was going to ignore it but I heard my name and my curiosity pulled me in that direction.
"Do you think it was smart to tell her?" Ian asked and the room fell silent. "Leindra does not look like someone who would take too well to being told that the lives of many are dependent on her."
"It is her reality and although I wish she found out on different circumstances, she needs to know what she is up against. Where is she?"
"She asked to be left alone." It was Amy who responded and I held my breath wondering if Darius would ask her to check up on me.
"Give her thirty minutes then go to her."
I let out a sigh of relief when I realized I still had some time. I was determined not to waste any more of it so I made my way towards the front door. I froze when I realized there were some men there. I muttered a curse under my breath and decided to check for a back door.
It took five minutes for me to give up because I realized I didn't know the layout of the house very well. I found myself in the kitchen three times after taking three different paths. I decided to just go out through the kitchen window. It proved hard because the window was small and was directly over a thorn bush. I had a few scratches but I figured it was better than not getting out at all
Once I was safely on the ground, I dashed into the woods behind me. I ran in a straight line hoping and praying I would find the road soon. The last thing I wanted was to die in the woods where my body was not likely to be found.
After about ten minutes of running, I heard the sound of a car horn and I let out a sigh of relief. It was as if the gods were on my side because I found myself in front of a bus stop. I went to the ATM first and withdrew all the money in my account before snapping my card in two. I knew Darius would track my finances first and I was determined to make it as hard as possible for him.
I didn't have any plans on where I wanted to go so I hopped on the first bus I saw. As it began moving, I briefly wondered if I was making the right decision. I was proving Darius right because he said I always ran from my problems but did it count as running if I was trying to keep them safe? If I stayed away, my family would be safe and at the same time, I wouldn't be a pawn in anyone's game.
Despite the ache in my chest as the car pulled away from Lunarius, I kept my eyes forward.
I stayed on the bus until the last stop. When I got down, I was tired. The events of the day were beginning to catch up to me and the sky was as dark as ever. I knew I needed to find a place to sleep or else I would be the victim of a robbery or something worse. I wasn't with my phone so I relied on word of mouth from people to get to the nearest motel.
It looked like something straight out of a clean freak's worst nightmare. There was mold on the walls and the building looked like it hadn't been inspected in the last ten years. Just by walking into the lobby, I saw a rat scurry past me. If I wasn't desperate, I would have hightailed it out of there but I swallowed down my discomfort and made my way over to the front desk.
"Hi, can I have a room for the night?"
If you're loving the book, nel5s.com is where the adventure continues. Join us for the complete experience all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you! The woman there looked bored out of her mind. She was blowing bubbles with her gum and made sure to smack it loudly after it burst. I had to bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from saying something rude. She took her precious time as she leaned down to get a key.
"That will be thirty dollars," she drawled and my mouth fell open. Thirty dollars for this place was a complete rip-off. "Better be quick, I get off in five minutes. If you don't get a room now then you won't get one for the night."
I muttered a curse as I dug into my bag for thirty dollars and slapped it onto the counter. Her smile widened as she counted the money and I pretended not to see as she pocketed half the money and dropped the rest in the cash register. I took the key from her and marched up the stairs.
Most of the people I passed in the motel were old men with leery eyes who made sure to watch carefully as I made my way up the stairs. I already knew I wasn't getting enough sleep because I needed to be watchful.
When I got to the room assigned to me, I was ready to scream. It was the size of a broom closet. There was a single bed that looked too small to accommodate my size. It was pressed up against a moldy and wet wall. There was a single window that was too small to fit a ten year old and the door to the left was open. There was a bathroom but I was sure that bathing in there would give you more infections than bathing in a
sewer.
Despite my disgust, I walked in and tried to lock the door only to find out that it was locked. It was like all my luck ran out the moment I left Lunarius. I knew I couldn't sleep without the door locked so I pushed up the bedside table towards the door to keep it shut. I didn't change out of my clothes because I wanted to be able to make a quick escape if need be.
I lay on the bed and placed my duffel bag on my chest. I had barely hit the pillow when
I was out like a light. The exhaustion in me was greater than my sense of self- preservation.
A low creaking sound had me opening my eyes. The lights in the room had gone off but I didn't need the lights to know that my door was ajar. My duffel bag was still on my chest and I rushed to a sitting position in an attempt to run away but I felt something cold against my neck making me freeze in my tracks.
If you're loving the book, nel5s.com is where the adventure continues. Join us for the complete experienceâall for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you! "This will be over very quickly if you follow our orders," a cold voice whispered in my ears and I resisted the urge to shiver. I was not going to show that I was scared. "Open the bag and give me all your money."
"I don't have any, I used it all for the room."
The words were barely out of my lips before I was backhanded hard. My cheek throbbed and the scent of blood filled the air. I would have been more scared if I didn't know that the person with me was human. If it were a wolf, they would have just taken me to Faye.
"Give me the money, now," the person repeated and this time, I reached into my bag and pulled out a stack of money.
I was smart enough to divide my money into four bundles in case of situations like this. The man took the money and I heard him chuckle.
"Pleasure doing business with you sweetheart," he murmured as he licked the shell of my ear. "You are a pretty little thing if I do say so myself, maybe I could take something for the trouble. You wouldn't mind, would you?"
"You wouldn't mind if I knocked your teeth into your fucking mouth, would you?"