Chapter 15
Gods he was so hungry.
He thumped his head against the wall behind him as his stomach let out a loud growl.
"You too huh?" Alex's voice came from the other side of the room.
Yugi opened his eyes and looked at her with a small smile. "A bread crust and half an apple isn't exactly satisfying," he said with a sad smile.
"Ah well, you get what you pay for you know," Alex joked.
"I can't believe you're still able to crack jokes even in a time like this Aex," Yugi said smiling and shaking his head.
Alex just shrugged. "We're not dead yet. As long as we have that, there's still a chance we can get out of this."
"How do you feel? Last night-"
"I really don't want to talk about last night Yugi."
"I'm not sure that's healthy," Yugi said gently.
Alex stayed silent for a moment not looking at him. Then she heaved a heavy sigh. "I know. I just… I can't. Not right now. After we get through this and get out of this place, maybe then. But not right now."
Yugi watched her for a moment before nodding slowly. "Ok. But you know I'm always here if you want to talk about anything," he said.
Alex gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks Yugi."
They sat in silence for a long time, not knowing what to say to each other, but taking comfort in the other's presence. Finally Yugi broke the silence though. "You know the sun's going down soon."
Alex sighed. "How's he feeling?"
Yugi grimaced. "Starving."
"Fabulous."
"Alex please be careful. His humanity is in tatters right now. He's barely keeping it together. You need to stay as far from him as your chain will allow," Yugi warned her.
She nodded solemnly.
"And Alex? If anything happens tonight… thank-you for being my friend," Yugi said with a smile.
Alex grinned back at him. "Anytime Spikey. But you know I'm going to see you tomorrow," she said confidently.
Yugi shook his head. "I sure hope you're right Alex."
Then the puzzle glowed and a pair of hungry red eyes locked on her. "Well, well, what have we here?" Yami asked with an evil smirk crawling towards her.
"Oh Yami," Alex whispered sadly. It broke her heart to see what Bakura had reduced him to.
The sound of his name made him freeze and squeeze his eyes closed though. "No. No! Alex, Alex, Alex... This is Alex, must leave Alex alone…" he chanted to himself under his breath.
"Yami?" Alex said and reached out as if to comfort him.
Yami's head snapped up his eyes filled with panic though. "No Alex!" he yelled crawling backwards, as far from her as he could get. "You must stay away from me!"
"I'm sorry Yami," she whispered.
"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for Alex," Yami said more gently, but she could still hear the strain in his voice.
"I'm sorry you're in pain. And I'm sorry that I'm the one causing it," Alex said, a single tear escaping.
"Please don't cry Alex," Yami rasped.
Alex swiped the tear away and gave him a weak smile. Before she could respond though the door slammed open again and their captor waltzed in.
"Good grief Pharaoh this is getting ridiculous," Bakura scoffed. "Your willpower has certainly increased drastically over the last five thousand years."
Yami glared at him weakly.
"Well, I've decided that you two have become boring, so I decided to speed up the process," he continued. Then he produced a ripped blood bag from nowhere and threw it across the room where it's contents landed splattered. All over Alex.
Alex looked down at herself in horror while Bakura cackled madly. She snapped her head up to meet Yami's eyes… only to see the face of a predator. Alex felt her eyes sting. This was her end. The temptation she now presented was too much even for her strong, beautiful Yami. Resigning herself to her fate she reached out a hand to cup his cheek when he stalked towards her. "I love you Yami," she whispered. He cocked his head to the side slightly as if he had no understanding of her words. He probably didn't. "I always have and always will love you, and I don't blame you for this." Yami's curiosity seemed to run out by that point because he reached out and tugged her over so he could scent her neck. She went willingly, closing her eyes, knowing fighting was useless at this point. And at least if he drained her, his strength would be replenished and he might be able to break free.
Then there was the now familiar twin sting. There was no feeling this time though. No lust, no pain, no numbness. Nothing. Alex let the tears run down her face and ran her fingers through Yami's hair knowing it'd be her last chance. She thought she heard scuffling, but she was quickly becoming tired, far too tired to think about mysterious noises.
And as more and more of her strength faded, she felt a sense of horror grow within the man holding her. Then the most beautiful red eyes were floating above her. "A…m…" she whispered trying to say his name. She finally remembered his name. Gods she loved him so much. Her Pharaoh.
"No please! Please don't leave me!" he nearly screamed. It seemed so familiar…
She felt his hot tears on her face… A pressure on her lips… And then she knew no more.