2.
She had felt pain before, but this was something else. Being stabbed and shot she could just about handle – they had practiced it numerous times, after all – but beaten by a vicious, angry mob was new.
It was slow, tortuously so. The pain from repeated blows to her arms, legs, chest and head were almost too much to bear. She squeezed her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to block it out, to no avail.
Perhaps the oddest thing about the whole situation was the silence. Apart from the sounds of fists meeting flesh-encased bone and the odd grunt from her assailants, there was nothing. She opened her mouth to scream, to call out his name, but again found her throat constricted. The words just would not come.
So she tried to curl herself up into a ball and wait until it was all over.
It wouldn't be long. Already she could feel herself slipping away. Away from the bright lights of the conference room and into darkness. Blissful, welcome darkness ...
But it was not to be.
Her eyes snapped open at the realisation that something was terribly wrong. Apart from the bloodthirsty gang of suits still battering her, that was.
A vital piece of information she could not quite grasp.
Before I went under ... what did he say to me?
An exception for this job.
A dream within a dream.
Sedation ...
She found her voice at last, her screams piercing the air as she kicked and bit her attackers. But their relentless assault continued. Uninterrupted, as though she weren't lashing out at them with the last shred of force she could muster.
It was too late. Why hadn't she been able to remember earlier? He would have briefed her on the job. He always did.
So where was he now?
Why wasn't he coming to her rescue as he had promised?
He had said he would never let another person harm her. He had told her that the first night they –
The thought vanished along with her consciousness.
Darkness enveloped her once more.
Familiar.
Frightening.
Altogether inevitable.
-/-
She opened her eyes to the sound of water. Her clothes were soaked through, every strand of her hair clinging to her face and neck, sending shivers shooting down her spine. She could taste the salt from the sea, could feel it burning her tongue, the back of her throat.
She tried to focus on her surroundings, staggering against the force of the waves as they crashed over her. The sight of the grey crumbling buildings almost sent her toppling to her knees.
No ... how can this be? It can't be happening, not again.
Surely ... surely he wouldn't have risked this? Not after last time, when she had almost ...
She shook her head against the pulsing thought, the fear that gnawed at the inside of her skull, in the pit of her stomach. She was missing something. She had to be.
But what?
She smothered the whimpers, the tears, and forced herself towards the shoreline. She tried to ignore the all-too-familiar city that reared up before her and concentrated instead on the bench just beyond the beach.
Someone was sitting there. Waiting for her?
It's got to be ...
The prospect gave her renewed impetus; she struggled on through the heavy water until she could feel the wet sand crunching beneath her feet. Her eyes lit up as she began to half-jog towards the figure, his dark suit a comfort to her addled mind.
She opened her mouth to call out to him, but the words died in her throat.
His hair wasn't dark, but blonde.
His suit wasn't three-piece, but two.
His eyes weren't warm, friendly, welcoming, but cold, deadly, full of malice.
A person she would recognise anywhere, at any time. Even in her dreams ...
Denley.
The man took a step forwards, grinning down at her, his hands clenched into fists by his side. The curve of his mouth slipped, his lips parted as he mouthed her name.
His voice froze her blood faster than liquid mercury.
'Welcome home, Ariadne.'
A/N: Oh dear, it appears I'm already up to my old tricks here! And there I was promising that everything would become clearer in this chapter. I just can't help myself, it seems!
Well, maybe next chapter then ... ahem. Yes, definitely next chapter. Sorry if it seems ... familiar, somewhat, but there is a reason. :) And that is all I shall say for now!
Except, when I said that this would be updated very slowly, I meant by my own standards. As in, not one chapter every night. Today is an exception as I didn't have a whole lot of work to do from school, but other nights will be different. I'll get them up as and when I can though.
EDIT: Does anyone know how to put the line breaks in? I did the Shift+Enter thing, but it didn't stick. Hmm.
