There's so much pain. It's pulsing through my body, and God I hope that my Slayer healing will kick in soon. My eyelids are heavy, and I try to crack them open, but only manage to pry my right eye open. There's only darkness, and then suddenly the dank and cold of the place that I'm in registers.
Snapping my left eye open, I moan softly as I try to sit up. My shoulder is still burning, and a flood of memories of the battle quickly flows in. Sitting up, I gingerly raise my left shoulder, wincing as soreness encompasses me. But a question plagues me even more sorely than my pain, where am I?
It's damp beneath me, and my legs are stiff. Then I notice the cold steel bars that surround me. I'm in a cage.
Nowhere to run...nowhere to hide...the Gentlemen are coming by...What? So not the time for PTB cryptic messages. God, just get me out of here...
"Ah, so you've decided to awaken," a dangerously low voice drawls from a corner.
"Well, couldn't keep my gracious host waiting," I bite back, flinching as I raise a finger, lightly tracing the deep gash in my right shoulder, crusted with dried blood.
"Such daring for one so young," the voice purrs, getting louder, alerting me that he's coming closer, "are you sure that you want to risk your life with such obstinacy?"
As my blood starts to fiercely pump through me, I can feel the aches start to reside, and I scramble up against the back of the cold cage. The bars press bitterly into my back, through my slightly ripped jacket, and I hold back a gasp as the iciness of the metal stings my skin.
A shadow looms in front of the cage, and I can see through the darkness that he still has his mask on, lurid silver eyes glowing from behind. Wait a minute, silver?
"Let me tell you, bitch," he hisses, sending chills up my spine, "if it weren't for my Lord's orders, I'd have you screaming in pain for all the trouble you caused me tonight."
Boldly swallowing back my initial fear, I gather the courage that my reputation has had me known for. Slayer-nerve.
"Oh, so sorry to spoil your dinner plans," I reply sweetly, "but there was the pressing issue of you being an evil bastard."
His anger is almost palpable as a livid growl escapes from him, and he nearly charges into the cage. But then he stops, breathing heavily, and a single word escapes his lips, "Crucio."
I barely manage to hold back my shriek as that cursed pain wracks my body, over and over, rendering me helpless and shuddering intensely on the ground. Oh God, oh God, oh God, stop, stop, stop, stop....
And then it does, leaving me shivering on the floor in pain, tears streaming down my face, moaning softly in pain. So much, oh God, it's gonna kill me, I'm going to die...
"Such a pity I can't do more, but when my Lord is done with you, you'll wish I had," he drawls with a disgustingly pleased tone, "There's much in plan for you."
I don't have the strength to reply, so I just lie there as he leaves, cursing myself for my weakness as the pain continues to pull tears from my stinging eyes. I have to do something, have to get up, have to get out of here...
I try to move, but groan out loud. There's a warm trickle flowing down my arm, and I can smell the blood stream out of my open shoulder wound. Clenching my eyes and biting my tongue, I quickly pull myself up, screaming softly and panting heavily as the pain continues to pound, my back barely supporting me.
I sit there for a few minutes, trying to gather my thoughts through the throbbing. Slowly, I stretch out my limbs as far as possible in the tiny cage, wincing as my shoulder stings, but biting back the pain. As the blood starts to flow again, my head clears.
I peer through the darkness and spot a tiny glass window situated high on the wall, barely letting in some air and a fracture of moonlight. It's probably got some strong mojo on it to keep me from getting out, but as I squint around the room, I realise that it's my only escape.
Formulating a quick, probably reckless plan in my head, I try to gather as much strength as possible by doing a quick meditation. Crossing my legs, I focus what energy I have left on my heart, the organ inside me that's not coiling in pain. Breathing deeply, I empty my mind and wait for my heart to gratefully pump healing blood through me.
I don't know how long passes as I sit there in complete silence and eerie emptiness, but eventually, the sharp soreness resides, leaving me only slightly stiff in my muscles. I raise a gentle finger to my wound, and am glad to find only a thin crust of blood remaining as a scab.
Now, the escape.
I lean forward, grabbing one of the metal bars, and wrap my hands around it. I grunt as I lie on my side, latching my feet onto another bar on the other side, pulling my body, and in turn, my hands towards it, bending the bar.
The metal creaks before bending away fully, leaving a partial, gaping hole. I crawl out, and stretch the kinks out of my body. I pat myself, realising that the only weapon I have left is the one stake tucked snug in the side of my pants. But then I feel a thin object next to it and I draw it out curiously.
It's the plastic rose that we used to get to the forest. Hope bubbles in me; I can get back, but then I realise that I'm touching it, and there's no poof! magic going on. The bastard must've put some anti-Portkey stuff on this place, 'cause I do remember Snape saying that all I had to do was touch it, and I'd be back at HQ.
Sighing, I stuff it back in the waistband of my leather pants and make to drag the cage over to the window. It grounds loudly against the concrete, and I frown. This isn't going to work, not without waking the friendly neighbours anyway.
I bend down and shoving back a grunt, hoist the heavy steel cage over to the wall, trying to lower it as quietly as possible. Nimbly jumping onto the cage, I flinch as my boots clang loudly against the metal. Pausing, my breath softens as I listen intensely for any footsteps.
Nothing comes. I turn back to the window, feet wide as they balance on the metal bars. I scowl as I can feel the crackles of magic emanating from the small glass window. If I'm lucky, I could probably squeeze through, but most likely without an immense amount of pain.
Laying my left hand against the cold wall, I hesitantly push one finger towards the charmed glass. As I touch it, I gasp and topple off the cage as a burst of pain rips through me.
Damn him! Lying on the floor, I shake my head. Damn that stupid Voldemort and his prick followers! Tensing up, I brace myself for a huge amount of pain as I crawl onto the cage again, this time, resting one foot back on the edge, the other raised in preparation for a solid kick.
Clenching my fists, I shove my foot through and stumble back as throbs smash through my leg, pieces of glass also embedding through my pants. Falling back onto the floor again, I realise that I need to get out; won't be too long before my captors realise what I've done.
I gingerly, but quickly lean over my leg, gritting my teeth and ripping shards of glass out of my leg. I stumble to my feet and in one blur, run forward and launch myself off the cage through the hole in the wall.
It's like dying all over again. The portal that took me to peace had a price on it, unbearable pain that split me through over and over, and this reminded me like it. I knew there was still glass left on the edges and that it was cutting through my skin like butter. Crackles of magic pierce me, stabbing me through and again, all over.
Then it's over, and I can feel myself begin to keel over. Grasping onto the edges of my consciousness, I blindly stagger away. I barely make out huge black gates in the distance, and limp my way towards it, the pain shooting through me making me throw up along the way.
With the acrid taste of bile in my burning throat, and my legs starting to give way, I pray to the PTB to give me strength as I rush over, pummeling into the gate and gasping violently as it gave way against what strength I had left; enough to let me squeeze through.
Voice in the distance alerted me to the immense danger I was still in. They know, they know I've gone, a voice registers in the fogginess of pain in my mind. My head is slamming with pain, and as I leave the icy metal of the gate, I manage to wrench the plastic rose out of my pants before collapsing as the swirl of the Portkey takes me away from the wretched place.