I woke up tied to a chair with a gag around my mouth, useless really, because no one could hear me even if I screamed at my loudest. I felt a cold draft and an icy feeling creep up my throat. I was in Nazar's clutches again. It was damp and misty and smelt of mold and mildew. I had a huge headache but it didn't matter; I was so alert with questions
I could answered some of them too like how did I get here? Easy my friends betrayed me. Or Where am I? Defiantly in Nazar's castle. Some I couldn't answer; Is Aubrey safe? What happened to my friends…or so called friends.
As if to answer me I heard a cough. I quickly zipped towards the sound and saw Aubrey with a chain ball around her ankle.
For a moment I just stared at horrified and relived that she was okay, her beautiful, long brown hair was tangled in knots and rats nests. Her soft, milk pale face was dirty with bruises. He cloths were torn into rags and she sort of limped as she laid on the ground trying to get up.
"True?" She called looking at me. She began to cry as she came towards me and released my gag "Oh True! He told me you were dead and I didn't want to believe him." She hugged me as tight as she could "I'm so glad you're alive." She began untying the ropes on my hands.
"Aubrey," I said lightly "I'm glad you're alive too, what happened?"
She shrugged "Not much." She began coughing again.
"What happened to you?" I asked feeling my wrist and untying my ankles, if Nazar did this to her I was going to add that to my torture list I had in store for him.
"Nothing…" she said faintly.
"That's not true." I accused "What happened?"
She spilled everything "He abused and tortured me," she started "I haven't eaten anything but breadcrumbs and only had stale water to drink. Every day he comes in and tells me how worthless I am, but I'm strong and I don't believe any of it. He's tried to get me on his side, he told me he finally killed you off and you were gone," She began to tear up. "That part I did believed and once I did I felt odd, like he was my King and I had to worship him, well then you came and everything was okay after that. He moved my cell into here for some reason or another."
"To torture me I bet." I answered. I was full of emotions though. Aubrey, the sweetest girl anyone knows and he did this to her? I felt revenge. I wanted to make him pay.
"I can't believe that you were that strong," I replied. "I'm proud of you."
Aubrey looked like she was going to say more but then the door opened and Nazar came in. I shaped into a cheetah and charged at him. He simply pushed me out of the way and I transformed back ready to kill at any moment.
"You've got guts girl," he said laughing. "That's good, we'll need that."
I put my guard down; I didn't want to look important to him.
Immediately after I put my guard down I realized that was my mistake and immediately two Henith seized me and put hand cuffs on me that made me dizzy, I couldn't think right, all I knew was Aubrey was there and I was being dragged off somewhere else.
I was thrown in a chair when the handcuffs were taken off. I could see and think clearly again, I looked around. I was in a sterling white room, no windows, no doors, at least any I could see. The room was vast and yet I felt closterphobic. I heard a voice speak through an intercom.
"True!" it said, clearly it was Nazar I could smell his evilness all the way here. "How have you been? Ready for your pre-test?"
Huh? I thought this is weird, in Goodvalnia we had pre-test to help us determine our best skill so we could use it and make it better and later in life make it a career. "No, I will not take a pre-test. Why would you even ask that?"
He laughed his evil mwhaaa-oglabolg laugh "I thought you might say that," he said "That's why Aubrey here is shown on the screen in front of you."
On the wall in front of me Aubrey appeared as if she was in a movie. She didn't seem to see me though. However she looked lonely and frightened.
"Aubrey!" I yelled "Can you hear me?" She stayed ignorant to my voice.
"You can hear and see her," Nazar answered for her "but she can't hear or see you. So here's the deal, you cooperate and I won't hurt her, you don't and she'll be in pain and you'll see the whole thing."
"It's a trick!" I blamed "Aubrey isn't really there."
"You think so?" Nazar smirked "Let's test it shall we? How about level 3 to start off easy." Aubrey started to shake and cry; She began to curl up more and then straighten back out and seemed to be dodging something. She was hit by that thing twice and now had a red scratch on her chin and had a bruise on her arm.
"Stop!" I yelled; I couldn't stand seeing her like this even if it was fake. She stopped squirming and fell limp, she tried to get up, muttering to herself "I'm strong, I can do this." I admired her bravery.
"Agree to cooperate?" asked Nazar. I didn't like it but I had to give in until I thought of a new way to get out of here.
"Ya, sure. Whatever."
"Good choice." Nazar said "Here's what you are going to do. You're going to run as fast as you can and any obstacle you see in your way, you're going to deflect it."
"Ready?" Nazar asked even though it wasn't much of a question so I nodded "Good, begin!"
On cue, the room turned into a forest and seemed to grow dramatically in size. It was now the length of the forest of the arena I was trained at. I started running as fast as I could, I was running so fast everything was a blur. All of a sudden I saw Charlie in front of me who was tied upside down a caterpillar suit, I hesitated then stopped completely.
"No, You never said my friends were part of this!" I said.
The room went white again and Nazar spoke "Poor, poor Aubrey, shall we try level 4 instead?"
I started to hear Aubrey scream in horror as a figure of her was shown on the screen. She was crying full out and yelling at people to stop.
"Alright! I get it!" I replied. "Let me finish."
The room turned back into the forest and Aubrey stopped screaming.
I started to run and saw Charlie again, little thoughts started to come into my mind True, this person betrayed you, just kill him. He doesn't deserve to live. It hurt that he betrayed me but I couldn't kill him, so I untied him and shoved him out of the way.
"You're welcome!" I yelled at him as I ran away.
As I kept running, I saw more and more of Charlie's family. I shoved them out of the way like I did Charlie but they kept getting closer and closer until I couldn't shove them anymore. I stopped running "Is this the end of it?"
"No, it's not. If you can't shove them out of the way just kill them all together." Nazar replied.
"Kill them?" I gasped "I'm not a killer. Never have been, never will be."
"True, listen to me." Nazar said with a concerning tone "This family betrayed you; they sent you back to the place you hate most. Why should they live?"
I thought more about it and he was right, they shouldn't live, but I was raised not to kill.
"No Nazar, I will never kill anyone." I said being firm.
Aubrey showed up on the screen looking dreaded in pain "Not even for Aubrey?" Nazar said with a pitiful voice that was obviously a fake.
It hurt me but I knew that if I killed someone because of Aubrey, Aubrey wouldn't forgive me or herself. "Not even for Aubrey." I confirmed choking down the tears.
"Very well." Nazar replied with a snarl "One day you will kill someone. I swear one it." The same two Henith put the handcuffs on me and dragged me out the door into a cell.
"That person will be you." I thought.
Aubrey was in a cell lying limp on the floor. Gotta be strong, gotta be strong for True. She thought. Then she heard the door open.
Nazar walked in, "Hello dear Aubrey, how are you feeling today?"
Aubrey sat up with all her might to make sure she didn't give victory to Nazar "I'm feeling better than yesterday." Aubrey replied happily, hiding her hurt.
"Is that so?" Nazar laughed "well I have another proposition for you."
"If I didn't take the last one why would I take this one?" Aubrey sassed.
"because this one involves True."
Aubrey ears perked up "I'm listening."
"True, can't kill." he said as if it was a terrible loss. "Not even if it means your safety."
Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief; at least True was still sane.
"I don't know why this is good news for you, you still have to pay for it." Nazar said "Unless...you decide to join my side and fight against True."
"Never!" said Aubrey bravely "You're going to lose and I only pick winner teams."
"You're going to go through so much torture you'll wish you was dead." Nazar warned.
"I don't care." Aubrey said immediately "I already rather die than be on your team."
"I'm sorry to hear you say that." Nazar said with a sad tone "You were such a good person who looked almost as good as me."
Aubrey gagged "No need to insult me!"
Nazar slapped her and Aubrey didn't move; she was knocked out.