ONE
ARTEMIS
My eyes were open, but all that lay before me was darkness.
My heart jolted like a broken pendulum, slamming against it's cage of bone, stuttering at the realisation that I couldn't see. I slowly raised a shaky hand to my face.
I saw nothing. No hand, no nothing. Only darkness.
I fumbled over my eyes with callused fingers, what had they done to me?
I couldn't breathe.
Only water filled my lungs.
I gasped, clawing at my throat, but felt nothing. No water. I was imagining things.
I thrashed against his strong hands. I tried to cry out, I tried to scream, but only a bitter taste filled my mouth.
It felt almost as though I was falling. Then my knees slammed against the fallen leaves.
Leaves...
Leaves.
-I couldn't even remember the last time I had felt leaves. That meant that I was in woodland. Unfamiliar land.
I hadn't seen daylight in years, and now when I was free for the first time, I couldn't see it.
They discarded me, like a trash.
They used me and used me until they had taken everything that I had left, even my sight, then when they were done they threw me to the wolves.
I had seen them dispatch other girls before. Once they were no longer fit for purpose, they would drug them and shove them in the back of a van, abandoning them into the woods.
-Food for the hounds.
I was blind.
A weight finally settled into the pit of my stomach, a horrible, sick feeling. I threw up what little I had left in my stomach, retching on my hands and knees until my throat grew hoarse and my eyes became tired.
My flailing hands grabbed at the edges of the barrel, desperately trying to pull myself out, but he was too strong.
I wiped my lips with the back of my hand and slowly pulled myself to my feet. I would make it out of this alive, I had to.
Everything sounded distant, almost blurred. My head began to spin, and little black dots blurred the edges of my vision.
The hard stones mixed amongst the soft earth hurt my feet as I struggled to navigate the forest. I held my hands out before me, feeling trees, bushes and leaves. All the things that I could once see.
My fingers caught on the rough bark of a tree, the scent of pine filled my senses.
My lungs screamed for air, a great rumbling roar that consumed my entire body with the need to breathe. It felt as though my lungs were tearing themselves apart more and more every second that passed without oxygen.
I almost fell backwards, shocked at the sensations that flooded my body. I wished it would stop, I couldn't bear to relive that night.
I was blinded, left weak and useless in unfamiliar territory. If a rogue wanted to attack me, there would be nothing that I could do about it, I was helpless. I wouldn't even see them coming.
I clawed at his hands, digging my nails deep into his skin but he didn't let go. His grip didn't is falter on the back of my neck.
I sucked a deep breath into my lungs, I had to get through this. A horrid feeling clawed at my eyes and throat, hot salty tears threatened to spill down my cheeks at any moment. But I wouldn't let them, I wouldn't let this break me.
I may have lost my sight but I was no longer at that place. I was the most free that had ever been.
I choked and spluttered, but I found no oxygen, only the abyss of chemicals that surrounded me, filling my lungs and every fibre of my being. My eyes burned viciously.
I walked for what felt like centuries. Where I was headed, I didn't know but before long the thick leaves and twigs underfoot changed to softer grass, in the distance I could have sworn I could hear the sound of running water, aswell as something else... Something that almost sounded like-
A rustle of leaves behind me had me spinning around in an instant. I couldn't see, only darkness lay before me. My chest heaved, my throat felt as though it was closing up. I couldn't breathe.
Was I dying? Or was I already dead?
"Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head!" A rough voice barked from somewhere in the dark.
My stomach lurched violently. What could I do? Nothing. Except for what he told me. I didn't know where he was, let alone if there were more. He would he stupid to be alone.
-And he had the advantage of being able to see his surroundings. I did not have such a luxury.
I stopped struggling, my hands growing weak and my body slowly going limp in his thick paws.
I lowered myself to my knees, not quite trusting myself to not collapse completely. I held my hands behind my head, numerous footsteps soon followed. I was right, he wasn't alone. I kept my head down, long locks of stark white hair falling to cover my face. Thick hands wrapped around my wrists, soon followed by something rough, -a rope being tied and knotted tightly.
The empty, silent, nothingness that echoed within me was deafening. This silence was much louder than any noise.
"Get up." He hissed, sour breath fanning against my face. Something sharp pressed against my windpipe. "Try to run and I'll slit your fucking throat."
The darkness beckoned me, at least, that was until he let go and I crumpled to the floor, heaving and retching.
I stumbled over sharp rocks and twigs, trying desperately not to fall forward into the knife at my throat. "Watch where you're going, you dumb bitch!" One of them growled. A strangled cry broke from my lips, something mournful and guttural. A sound of raw emotion, aching and fresh.
I was alive.
But probably not for much longer.
We walked for what felt like days, my feet were cut and bruised but still I kept going, I wept silently until my broken eyes felt as though blood had replaced my tears.
The pressure at my throat diminished and I fell to my knees. I cried, tears carved their salty paths down my cheeks like rivers through a forest.
One of the men sighed, almost pitifully. "Portare eam."
I was roughly thrown upwards over a shoulder.
A scream, so thick and guttural echoed through the wood. A horrid sound that sent chills down my spine and fear coursing through my veins.
I realised too late that the sound had come from me.
I was dropped, and I could've sworn I felt my very bones rattle as I slammed into the cold hard earth.
I realised too late that I should've kept silent.
A thick hand that stunk of metal and sweat clamped over my mouth. "Stolida! Are you trying to get us all killed?"
I choked on my breath, I couldn't breathe. His paw like hand covered almost half of my face. The wood was silent for a moment, only the echoed call of a lone crow and the snap of a twig somewhere in the distance.
"Lotan, quickly!" One of the others whispered, fear causing his voice to shake slightly. "They're coming."