Page 119 of Where We Promise
EPILOGUE
NATTY
Darkness consumed the air when I opened my eyes and it continued to trail me when I closed them.
I had no idea how much time had passed. I wasn’t injured, just cold and disoriented.
Feeling below me was smooth cement. Which meant I was in some sort of building.
The wall behind me was solid, made of drywall if the echo was any indication.
There were water bottles, full and sealed—lined up against the wall.
Good.
I drank, only halfway, then knocked along the wall until I found the stud and set the half empty water bottle against the spot and repeated the process.
The room, so far from the studs I’d placed was twelve feet long. I still had a way to go on the other side, but it seemed like a standard garage, and with it being drywall, I knew the softest places to kick. The lid of my water bottle took six seconds to hit the floor after I tossed it up in the air and heard it cling against the metal beams, which meant the room was smaller.
I didn’t know who took me, but it seemed they assumed that I was helpless and that the darkness would break me.
But the dark didn’t scare me, and I was far from helpless. This was merely a form of muscle memory.
I was raised by raiders, and during my time, I learned not to fear the devil.
No, instead I fell in love with him.
A smile graced my lips as I drank another water bottle and moved it to another stud.
Whoever was keeping me here was taking too long; at this rate, I’d be free in a matter of hours.
