Chained (The Siren Series #2) (7 page)

“
Now, now, you’ll all get your turn.” Idina
said to her sickening children.

“
They have been roaming around unchecked,
Idina.” Rhea said “they have been killing innocents, and that
cannot go unpunished.”

“
My children would do no such thing,
and how dare you accuse them!” Idina’s temper flared.

The five of us closed in on each other. We
had to stick together. Things were going to go south fast.

“
I think we’ve talked enough-.” The
naked woman’s eyes found mine and stopped mid-sentence.

“
Well, well. What have we here?” the
creatures eye found mine but before she could move, Rhea and Marcus
stood in her path, cutting off her view. “Is
that
the creature everyone’s been talking about? She
doesn’t look like much, does she?”

“
I think we should leave, I’m having a
bad feeling about this.” Robin whispered.

“
I haven’t finished with you yet!” it
screamed. The woman sprung forward with her claws
outstretched.

Sophia quickly stepped forward and created a
barrier around us, protected from the hideous creatures.

“
Barbus said you would come, he was right.”
said Idina as she circled around the barrier. “He will reward me
when I give him the girl.”

Rhea snatched my arm and the rest held hands
together, ready to leave this hell hole. I waited for the stomach
churning ride, but nothing happened.

“
Rhea?” Sophia said.

The snake creature started to laugh. “He also
gave me a few tips on how to trap you. You cannot leave.”

No, I would not let them capture me again, I
won’t. I was in full panic mode. My fight or flight mode kicked in
and everything pointed to flight.

Robin lifted his hands out to one of the
leaches. It began flinching violently on the spot. Within a few
seconds it turned to its mother and pounced on her like a crazed
animal. Idina grabbed it by the throat and quickly snapped its
neck, a quick death. She screamed a high pitch wail that tried to
tear its way into my skull. I fell to knees and hopped for the pain
to end.

“
What did you do that for?” shouted
Marcus

“
I was just trying something!” Robin
replied.

“
You’ve just pissed her off even
more!”

“
Guys, I cannot hold this barrier all day.”
Sophia commented.

Idina spat a yellow substance at the barrier
and it slowly degraded around us. I sat on the floor, panicking.
They would lock me up again, and no one would save me this time. My
heart thumped in my chest and I tried to calm myself down but all
of the horrid memories came rushing in one by one. My body felt
like stone, I couldn’t move.

The group chatted above me, each offering a
way out but then another voice would cut in and call the plan a
failure. They shouted at each other while the snake woman laughed
at our failed attempt to hatch a plan.

“
I cannot hold it!” Sophia
screamed.

“
Ellie.” A soft voice said. “We need
your help.”

“
Hurry they are getting through over here.”
a voice called out.

I was sick of this, I always afraid of what
was around the corner and always afraid of myself, not knowing what
I was capable of. I didn’t want to listen to the person in front of
me. I wanted to block it all out, no more. I didn’t want this!

“
Ellie, can you hear me.”
a
gain the voice tried to
get through to me.

Screams and yells filled my ears. I placed my
hands over my ears to try and block it out.

“
Ellie!” this time the calm voice was
filled with terror.

I needed to do something, they needed me.

I stood up and tried to call on the pain
of being abused at the hand of the leaches and torment I suffered.
I screamed and my voice shattered the barrier, destroying the
leaches that blocked our path. We all backed away from the coiling
creature and her leach army and headed back the way we came. We had
to get out, fast.

I hurried with the rest of the group while
Rhea and Marcus dispatched any followers. Robin led us through the
maze of pipes and tunnels that seem never ending. He tried to
remember the way out but fear fueled his decisions.

Adrenaline fueled my body and my mind was
sharp, I felt as if I could run all night without stopping. As we
carried on another leach jumped down and blocked our path, we
didn’t have time for this crap. I screamed and the leach was sent
spiraling through the air and impaled by a thick steel rod right
through the chest. The dying leach screamed in agony before finally
submitting to its bloody death. Robin was first to run off and I
hurried after him back through the tunnels.

“
Do you know where you’re going?” I
asked the balding man.

“
Yes!” he said over his shoulder, but I
didn’t really hold much faith in him.

I pounded the floor until my heart became
heavy inside my chest. Behind me I could hear screeches of dying
leaches and flashes of white bright light. My lungs burned with
each new breath, but I had to keep pushing myself. Marcus quickly
caught up to me with sweat covering his body and a bloody sword in
his right hand. He kept his pace steady with mine and I caught a
glimpse of him as he was running and he had a huge grin on his
face.

“
What you smiling for?” I asked
breathlessly.

“
It’s the chase, I was born for this.”
He said.

“
That’s comforting, not.” I
replied.

We came to a stop at a ladder leading up to
the surface. Robin was the first to climb, then Sophia.

“
She-witch!” the creature screamed as it
slithered towards us with great speed. Many leaches ran behind her
hoping to get a taste of their next meal.

Rhea faced the woman; she reached out with
her radiant white hands and above her pulled the lose pipes towards
the ground. She had blocked their path.

I hurried up the ladder with Marcus right
behind me. I quickly gripped each bar as fast as my hands could.
The fresh air welcomed me back from the dark tunnels and I fell to
the ground near Sophia and we both gasped for our breath as if it
was our last.

“
That was a failed effort, wasn’t it?”
wheezed Robin.

“
Big time!” Marcus replied.

“
That was a trap.” Rhea
said.

“
You think?” Robin said
sarcastically.

“
What the hell was that thing?” I
asked.

“
I’ve never seen anything like that
before.” Sophia added.

I turned to Rhea expecting answers but her
eyes never left the dark manhole. “We were almost eaten by those
things.” I said.

“
If Robin kept his cool, we could have
avoided it.” Marcus pointed the finger at Robin.

“
I was doing something, unlike you who
was flirting away with that thing.” Robin shouted.

Marcus face filled with rage.

I thought the two of them would have a fight
right in front of me but Rhea pushed out with her hands and sent
the two of them flying in opposite directions.

“
Enough!” her voice roared. “We need to
get back and report this, now.”

There was silence among us. We had failed our
mission from the council and nearly gotten killed in the
process.

Rhea again grabbed my hand and we
teleported away from the sewers and back to the safety of the
underground bunker. My feet touched the ground and the stench hit
me like a punch to the stomach. My eyes focused on the grisly scene
in front of us. Blood splattered the walls along with screams
echoing throughout the halls.

The runaways lay on the floor in a pool of
their own blood. Deep slashes and bite marks littered their bodies,
they died a horrible death. I just stared at their bodies, their
faces had frozen in their last moments of their life. I had enough
of seeing dead bodies, I wanted to be sick. When will it end?
Marcus rushed down to a dead Protector, did he know him? Marcus
slowly closed his glassy stare. Out the corner of my eye something
was approaching fast. It was a leach and it was heading straight
for Marcus.

“
Marcus!” I yelled.

He readied his weapon as it came charging in.
He ended its life with one quick swing. More screams and shouts
came from the sleeping quarters and other corridors. It was a
massacre and we were in the middle of it.

“
Ellie, stay here, I need to go and get
something.” Rhea ran off leaving the four of us behind.

“
I’m outta’ here, bye.” Robin said as
he ran through the halls looking for a quick exit.

“
Wait.” I called.

“
Coward.” shouted Marcus.

I wanted to do something, to try and save
these kids but was it too late. I needed to do something. I ran
towards Rhea, leaving behind Sophia and Marcus. I came to a
corridor with many blood stains across the white walls. I ran
passed the fallen residents and tried to find Rhea as fast as I
could. As I rushed passed, something caught my eye. I quickly hid
myself behind the wall, thinking it was a leach looking for its
next meal. I slowly peered around the wall to see a leach crouched
over something. I came away from the wall to see the disgusting
creature feeding on someone. The wild unkempt hair gave it away.
The leach had killed Amanda, and it was draining her dry.

I quietly stepped forward, hoping to catch
it off guard. I screamed my disgust at it and the creature was
blown away crashing through a wall. The small roof supporting us
had taken a beating from my scream, I had to be careful with my
powers, I didn’t want to burry us, but it was worth it for Amanda.
I took one look at her, her hair wet with her own blood, it covered
half of her face but I still knew it was her. The guilt tore into
me. I wished I wasn’t so hard on her. None of them deserved this,
nobody did. Why did this have to happen?

“
Ellie?” said a voice behind
me.

I turned around to be greeted by Rhea who now
held a strangely familiar large tome under her arm. I just stared
at her with tears forming in my eyes. “How could anyone do this?” I
asked.

“
I’m sorry, Ellie.” s
he replied.

I took off with Rhea without looking back
at the destruction the leaches had caused. We returned to where
Sophia and Marcus stood their ground against the many
monsters.

“
Where have you been?” asked a pissed
off Marcus.

I tried not to meet his gaze with tears in my
eyes but he could already see them.

Sophia’s face lit up as she saw Rhea.

More leaches came out from their hiding
place and surrounded us with their blood covered talons, fresh from
the kill. Marcus stepped forward brandishing his blade. One leach
made a quick grab for me but he killed it with one clean strike. I
was about to scream but I remembered about nearly burying myself.
My powers were useless.

They rushed at us, ready to taste us.

Rhea’s bright light engulfed us, turning the
leaches into ash one by one.

“
Where were you
?” Sophia asked with panic in her
voice.

“
I had to get this.” Rhea held out a
large tome.

“
What’s that?” Marcus asked.

“
It is something that can save us.” she
explained. It was the same book I saw in Rhea’s house. It must be
very important if she willing to go through a crowd of leaches for
it.

“
Where’s Robin?” asked Rhea.

No one spoke. “He ran away didn’t he?” The
coward had run away with his tail tucked between his
legs.

“
Yeah, he saw the bodies and took off.”
said Sophia.

While we were caught up talking, a few
leaches spotted us and headed our way.

“
Enough about the book, what do we do?”
Marcus shouted while cutting through the oncoming
leaches.

I looked at Rhea for her all-knowing advice.
Her face was grim and colourless.

“
We leave.” she said.

“
What?!” Marcus asked with rage in his
voice.

How can Rhea leave them? Did she really check
for anyone that could be alive?

“
Are you sure, what about survivors?”
asked Sophia.

Rhea remained silent.

“
There may be people hiding, scared for
their lives.” I tried to find a reason to go look for them but I
knew there was no one else.

“
Ellie, there’s nothing back there, but
death you’ve seen it with your own eyes. We need to leave.” Rhea’s
voice was steady.

I looked over at Marcus who was now walking
back and forth seething with anger. He was fighting for his fallen
brothers, for their honor. How could we leave?

“
Marcus, you need to come with us.”
Rhea said.

“
I will not leave, I will fight!” he
roared.

“
Marcus, there’s nothing left.”
whispered Sophia. She tried to put her hand onto his shoulder but
he quickly shook it off. He didn’t want to know.

“
Marcus?” I called.

Rhea walked up to the grief stricken young
man and grabbed his hand, Sophia and I quickly followed by holding
onto her. My stomach started to knot and I was pulled away from the
bloody scene. I could see Marcus trying to fight Rhea’s hold she
had on him, but her grip was vice tight.