'There's a room where the light won't find you, holding hands as the walls come tumbling down.'
It was a secret Coates Academy kept well and kept dark. The school was for troubled teens, after all. The difficult ones, the hard faced and the violent. The bare faced liars, the mother murderers. A school full of kids that no one else wanted, that had no reason to obey you. What do you do when they've had enough of your rules and your orders and your plans? Why, you lock them up and throw away the key.
The school was an old building and not long before it was used for other things, despite the old Latin motto it so proudly displayed. Perhaps as a hospital, a haven for war heroes, or maybe an old asylum hiding terrible secrets. Below the kitchens, in the belly of the beast, there was a cold, damp corridor lined with doors that opened into with could have been large cells. The rooms were clean and well looked after, if not a little bare. The central heating didn't reach down there and although there were no windows, from somewhere could be heard the light whistle of the wind.
It was down here he had taken her. Drake was one of the few students who knew this placed existed. Only a few months earlier he had been dragged down himself and thrown cruelly into one of the rooms.
'Think about what you have done.' They had said. And he had. He thought about the way the boys face had turned a beautiful shade of violet as his hands tightened around his neck. Felt his life force beating just millimetres from his fingers, the fascination in Drake's eyes had sparkled as he watched the life ebb from his victim's before him.
Yes, he thought about it very much.
She was unconscious and he carried her like you would carry your wife on your wedding day. Her head cradled against his shoulder, arms slung around his neck. Unusually gently he placed her down in the corner of the little cell. She moaned in her sleep and he stood back and stared down at her. The tell tale purple and blue bruises were just beginning to form on one side of her face. For one brief moment Drake considered letting her go, leaving her to roam freely the chaos outside. But just as quickly as the thought came, it left, and he closed the door. She couldn't leave, and nothing or no one but him, could get in.
The first thing she noticed was the silence. A great big wash of quiet that came wave after wave. She would sit with her back against the wall, legs outstretched, hands in her lap. Just listening.
But there was nothing.
She had no doubts to how she came to be here. No question to who put her here, even though she hadn't seen him since that day at the lake. Even now she could feel the water rushing around her head and automatically she curled her knees up to her chest. That night had knocked her. A day he had kept her in here, she had wanted to make a note of it on the wall but was that signing her fate? Was he even going to return or was this his way of burying her alive? Tears threatened her eyes but she blinked them away and slipped down onto her side, her arms wrapping around her legs. It was a long time before she eventually slipped off to sleep. Her dreams were littered with her mother's face before contorting into a shark like smile.
When she woke up he was there. Leant against the wall, arms folded. There was a blanket piled neatly on the floor with a sandwich and a bottle of water. Lilly sat up slowly and licked her lips. She eyed the sandwich first before looking up to meet his eyes. One eyebrow rose.
'What am I doing here, Drake?' She asked slowly.
His face remained impassive. 'I put you here.' He scoffed as if it was obvious. 'You think I was just gunna let you run around out there?"
'You can't just keep me locked up. Are you insane?' She laughed but in the back of her mind she was starting to panic. There was no way she would let him see that though and she got to her feet, keeping her head up high.
'Who's gunna stop me, Lilly?' The boy grinned and pushed himself off the wall to take a step towards her. 'I told you it's not over till I say its over. I've got things to do. Caine's got big plans, ya' know? I can't have you distracting me.'
With every word and every realisation Lilly felt colder and colder. A sick feeling of dread was rising in her stomach. 'So what? You're going to keep me in here forever? Because Caine ordered you to?'
Drake's eyes darkened and his smile dropped. He was in her face in seconds and he suddenly looked years older than he really was. 'No one orders me to do anything.' He hissed. Something shifted on his body then and Lilly frowned, glancing down for just a moment. Her jaw fell slack and a breath of air left her body. She stepped back, pressing herself against the wall but he followed. 'Do you like it?' He smirked, noticing her gaze. He uncurled his whip hand from around his waist and let it writhe and twist in the air. It slid across her shoulder and down her chest to the waistband of her knickers.
Lilly shivered, closing her eyes, she almost whimpered and shook her head. 'What is that?' She said through gritted teeth, turning her face away. She felt the tentacle like limb on her face, twisting her jaw so she was forced to look at him.
'It's a new me, baby, I think you're gunna like him.'