Chapter Seven

I'm suddenly having second thoughts as the clock on the nightstand shows the time getting later and later.

This isn't going to work. There's no way. Even if I can make it out of the house and off of the grounds, where am I supposed to go? Well, there are still a number of towns and places where people would probably allow me to stay in their homes for a night or two. I smile at the reassurance the thought brings before my negative thoughts continue, wiping the smile off my face. It's November and all I have on is a thin shirt and sweatpants. I'll freeze to death before I even reach home. My face falls. But I won't freeze before making the next town… It's relatively close. I can probably get there in a few hours if I'm quick enough. I nod to myself at the plan. But do I really want to? Do I want to risk everything out there and possibly die for something that might not even pan out? I could get home and sent directly back to the market.

But maybe not. I might get there and be able to get enough people riled up to help me. It'd be a long shot, but it'd be worth it if it works, right? The possible outcomes greatly outweigh the potential risks, don't they? I nod again, resolutely this time. I look over to the clock again and see it's half past midnight. Well, if I'm gonna do it, I better do it now. Just stop thinking about it and do it.

I lift myself into a sitting position and put my feet on the floor. I creep across the room to the door, crack it open and look down the hallway. There's no light coming from below Axel's door or any other room. I tiptoe out and reach the stairs where I stop to listen for a moment. It's completely quiet, so I slowly make my way down the stairs. At the bottom, I glance both ways and see no one. I make my way across the foyer and reach the main entrance. I smile as I silently slide the lock out of place and grip my hand around the knob.

The foyer light clicks on. I spin around and my heart stops. Axel is standing at the bottom of the stairs in a pair of pajama pants. He's leans against the stairway handrail and crosses his arms

"Congratulations, Iris. You made it to the front door. I can't say anyone's ever managed that one before." His words are dripping with sarcasm. "Next time, though, you might consider looking behind you as you sneak down the stairs. You never know who might be coming out of their room for something to drink." He waits for me to say or do something, but I don't. I remain where I'm standing, my hand still frozen around the knob. My breathing is labored and a cold sweat is trickling down the back of my neck.

Think, Iris, think. You have to do something one way or the other.

After a few more silent moments, Axel sighs and pushes himself off the rail. He uncrosses his arms and holds a hand out in my direction.

"Come on, kid. We both know you're not going anywhere." His words cause rage and desperation to flood through me.

I swiftly throw the door open and am halfway across the lawn before I realize what I'm doing. Too late to stop now. I hear Axel running behind me, swearing.

"Iris, stop! Damn it, Iris, stop!" He sounds a good ways away, but I urge my legs to go faster to put more distance between us. "Fuck!" he growls.

Go, go, go, go, go, I repeat in my head. Suddenly, there's something gaining shape ahead of me. Shit, fence! As I get closer, I see it's a tall wrought iron fence. I take quick note of the horizontal bars spaced every few feet up the fence. Those are your only hope. When I'm close enough, I jump to grab onto a higher bar. I feel the edge of the metal cut into my palms, but I force myself to push past it. My feet make contact with a lower rung, and I use it to push up enough to grab onto the next bar. I pull myself up high enough to get my feet onto the next bar. I continue this for a few more seconds before looking up. Just a few more feet. Hurry up before he gets here!

Before I can grab onto the next bar, though, a pair of arms wrap tightly around my waist and yank me from the fence.

"NO!" I shout. I start screaming at the top of my lungs and thrashing about, trying to get him to let go of me.

"Stop screaming! Who do you expect is going to come and help you, huh? Nobody!" Axel shouts at me as he starts pulling me back to the house. I quit screaming, but continue trying to fight out of his grip. After a few feet, I start losing steam and he's able to move faster. Apparently this pace isn't good enough for him, though. He growls angrily, picks me up, and throws me over his shoulder. I start pounding on his back, but it doesn't seem to faze him at all. I continue anyway against hope.

Once in the house, he kicks the door shut, heads up the stairs, and turns toward his room. He dumps me onto his bed before going back to shut and lock his door. I roll off his bed as quickly as possible to face him. His face is red as he stalks over to me. I stand my ground even when he's right in front of me. He's a good eight inches or so taller than me, so I have to angle my face up to look into his. He is definitely not happy.

"Would you like to explain what the hell just happened?" he asks. His voice is dangerously quiet. I glare up at him.

"I don't owe you an explanations for anything," I say just as quietly. A growl rumbles in his chest as he glowers down at me. I don't break eye contact, refusing to back down. Finally, he breaks it and steps back with a swear. He turns away from me and brings his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"It's been a long day. Let's just get some sleep and talk about this in the morning. Maybe things will look better then," he says. I can hear the forced calmness in his voice. I scoff.

"I doubt it," I say with a snarky edge in my voice. His shoulders heave as he takes a very deep breath.

"Can we please just fucking go to sleep?" he snarls.

"Fine," I hiss back. I walk past him to head back to my room, but he catches my wrist.

"Oh, no. I don't think so. You'll be staying in here tonight. You really think I'm stupid enough to leave you alone after a stunt like that?" he says incredulously, looking at me like I'm the dumb one. I yanks my wrist back from him and glare. He glares just as meanly back and gives me a slight push towards his bed.

"I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you," I respond harshly.

"Fine! Sleep on the floor for all I care!" He hisses, throwing his hands into the air. He stalks over to the bed, throws back the covers, and flops down with his back to me. "And don't bother trying the door. It's alarmed."

"Why would alarm your bedroom door but not your main door?"

"Because I'm awesome. Now shut up and let me sleep."

I continue standing there for a few more minutes before giving up. My shoulders slump, and a sigh escapes my lips.

"I'm not going to be able to sleep without messing up your bed," I say quietly. I hear a soft grumble from him.

"What are you talking about?" he asks, flipping over to look at me.

I open my clenched fists and wince slightly at the movement, the pain finally setting in from cutting them on the fence. I hold them out towards him. He looks and sighs. He pushes himself into a sitting position, runs his hand down his face, and gets off the bed to go into his bathroom.

"Sit down," he calls, and he sounds exhausted. Defeated, I plop my bottom down onto his bed, my feet hanging down the edge. A few moments later, Axel comes back in carrying a bowl and a small bundle. "Scoot back," he orders softly. I move farther onto the bed, and he sits cross-legged in front of me, balancing the bowl in his lap. I can see now it's full of water. He drops the bundle next to him. It consists of a hand towel, a roll of bandage, and a small tube of cream. He picks up the towel, dips it into the water, and holds out his hand for mine. I put my right hand into his, palm up. He presses the wet towel to the bloodied cut.

"Shit," I hiss while trying to pull my hand back. He grips his hand around it to prevent me from moving.

"Don't move. The sooner we get this over with the better. You deserve it anyway," he murmurs. I stop moving and grit my teeth through the stinging. When the first hand is cleaned, he smears some of the cream on and wraps it snugly with some bandage. He repeats this with the other hand and gets up to put everything away. While he's gone, I make my way under the covers, pull them up above my head, and lay as close as possible to the edge, my back to where I know Axel will be laying.

He comes back in a few minutes later. He looks over at me and sighs before turning the bedroom light off. I feel the mattress shift as he climbs into bed. I sneak a glance over my shoulder and see he also has his back to me. I'm suddenly exhausted. I curl up on myself and a single tear slides down my cheek. I close my eyes and feel sleep coming down around me.

On the edges of the darkness, there's screaming. There are knives and blood and more screaming. So, so much screaming. There are whips and chains and fists and bloodied up shoes. There's pain. There's pain that never stops.

Never stops.