Clementine:
"Hushhhh! Nobody will find out. Just come with me," the old man said, raising his hand for me to hold it, but I started shaking my head. He had an eye patch on, his old rusty clothes smell foul.
"You will kill him," I uttered, my vision blurred.
"I won't. Trust me, I'll keep him safe." His face started to contort into something uglier, his nails poking out like a monster ready to devour its prey.
"No! No! I won't give him to you—not this time!" I yelled. A hard rock hit my cheek and I broke awake, sitting up panting and covered in sweat.
I found myself inside a cage in a massive stone hall. The air smelled of metal and dust. There were torches flickering along the walls. Cages were lined up on one side of the hall, and on the other side, bars prevented any prisoner from leaving for the outside world.
The moon shone above the trees, lighting the quiet forest. Behind them, the mountains stood dark against the sky.
"Thank you for waking me up," I groaned tiredly, thanking the person sitting in the corner, barely responsive. Dressed in all black, with tattoos on the backs of both hands and a head full of black hair—that was all I could see of him.
I had heard about this place. It's called the Transition Stage. This is where they bring the candidates who are being difficult.
"What is your name?" I asked him, trying to fill in the deadly silence, "I am Clementine Stark." I introduced myself, realizing he probably didn't want to be here either.
"Hey, can you get me that thing—" I gulped, reaching toward his cage, gripping the bars with my hands and pointing at the small, very thin rod next to him. It could work in our favor. But the guy was so odd.
He sat with his legs bent close to his chest, arms resting loosely on his knees. His fingers met in the middle like they were locked in thought, and his head hung low.
"I can open these cages if you get me that thin wire next to your cage," I whispered, making sure the others on the right were still asleep. He stayed quiet for a moment before turning his head to the left to look at the object I was pointing at.
The silent guy finally stood up, and seeing how tall he was made me thank the Moon Goddess for putting him in the cage beside mine.
He extended his arm out of the cage, and I was left with my jaw hanging at how long his arms were. He grabbed the wire and stared at it, head down, his hair hiding his eyes. He had a sharp jawline, so sharp I could've used his jaw to open the lock, a thin chin, and full lips.
His long neck had veins and an Adam's apple so prominent. I had never seen a guy so godly before. I wondered what his eyes looked like. He didn't lift his head as he strode toward me.
He stopped right on the other side, and I gently stretched my hand out to take the wire from him. He finally lifted his head, and I almost gasped at the color of his eyes.
They were a gorgeous shade of gray, like two glowing bulbs staring right at me. His thick black eyebrows made him look even sexier.
"Take it," he said, and I nodded. His voice sent chills down my spine. It was notably low, with a rich, husky texture that felt raw and edgy. I grabbed the thin wire and reached for the lock.
"Come on, come on," I muttered under my breath, pressing my skin against the cold bars, twisting the thin wire carefully inside the lock.
I could feel his eyes burning, steady, watching me from the other cage.
The lock clicked faintly, and I held my breath. One more twist and freedom felt just within reach.
And then it happened, I opened the lock.
"You're good," he said, and the way he complimented me in that deep, husky voice made my cheeks burn.
"What is your name?" I asked in a hushed tone, opening his lock.
"Ian!"
That was all he said. Didn't even mention his rank or anything.
Once I opened his cage, I stepped back and watched him get out. He was probably six-foot-seven, tall with broad shoulders and a slim waist, straight out of a manga.
He walked right up to my face, dipped his head low, and gazed into my eyes before stepping to the side and walking past me. I followed him until we reached another set of bars to the outside.
"The keys are hanging over there. You'll have to jump through the bars and open it for me," I added, and he turned to me, scrunching his eyebrows.
"I have wolfsbane in my system and I'm injured. I don't think I can crawl this gate like you," I uttered, not telling him climbing anything wasn't something I was good at, especially with the wolfsbane in my system.
He wasn't very talkative. He started climbing the gate.
The pants fit him so well. His long legs moved effortlessly as he scaled upward, and then he jumped down to the other side.
"The keys!" I called, impatiently jumping up and down, pointing toward the wall. He looked at me, his gray eyes peeking through his ruffled black hair and then at the keys.
There was a moment of pause in his body language where he was contemplating something and then, he turned around to run behind the wall instead of grabbing the keys for me.
"Hey! The keys!" I hissed, frowning.
"He's fucking leaving me behind," I growled in disbelief, stunned and pissed.
"Hey!" I called again, this time my patience cracking completely.
That asshole. He could've helped me, but instead, he bailed? What a prick.
Anger surged through my veins. If I couldn't leave, then I sure as hell wouldn't let him leave either.
"Somebody stop him—he's escaping!" I screamed, running toward the right side of the hallway where some rooms housed resting warriors. I started banging hard on the doors, waking them up, before racing back to my cage.
The warriors rushed out through the side doors, but at the same time, I saw the silent guy again, running back toward me with keys in his hand.
"Huh?" I blinked, stunned, as he approached and started unlocking the door.
"But the keys—" I pointed at the set hanging on the wall.
"They're fake. The real ones were hidden behind the wall. I had to go get them," he explained in that same deep, velvety voice.
"But I thought you had left me behind," I murmured, covering my mouth when I noticed the warriors reaching behind him.
He stopped slowly, turned around, then looked back at me with betrayal burning in his eyes.
"You fucking bitch," he grunted just before one of the warriors slammed a rod against his head, knocking him out.