Prologue

Jess stirred, woken up by the subtle sensation of something cool and moist trailing down her forehead. When she moved her head her chin brushed lightly against a firm surface. It took her a moment to realize that her head did not rest upon the ground but instead it had grazed her own dirt stained breast bone. She let out a low moan as a throbbing at the back of her head informed her that she was indeed awake. With care Jess started to open her eyes only to find them glued shut from sleep, without so much as a second thought, she jerked her hand up with the intent of rubbing away the goo. Instead she was met with an inch of give before her hand jerked to a halt with a metallic rattle. Startled Jess blinked slowly one time before she began to furiously blink her eyes in attempts to clear away the dried goo and foggy haze. Her attempts at so only to be thwarted by the steady dripping of water that would continuously drop water on her head and send a dirty, watery fluid into her eyes and thicken the haze.

Frustrated, she gave up on trying to clear her vision and settled her obscured gaze on what ensnared her wrists. What Jess could only assume were cast-iron manacles bound her wrists. She had about an inch of free circular movement for each hand and each was bound tight enough so that she would not be able to slip her hand through but still loose enough for the iron to slide around. The skin surrounding each manacle was inflamed and bloody, rubbed raw. Her arms ached and upon further inspection she found that this was due to the fact that she was secured just inches above the ground, her body hanging forward slightly. Coldness seeped through her shirt in the spot where her lower back rested against the uneven stone.

Her pale eyes drifted away from the manacles and glanced around the place she was being held. The space was dimly lit, shadows danced across the uneven surfaces. This suggested to her that what little light that had been provided was from torchlight. In spite of the low lighting, Jess attempted to gather a better view of her surrounds. A few yards away from her on the opposite wall hung another body. The person was nothing but shadows and shapes, the distance too great and the light too low to make out any details. Her eyes lingered on the prone form as she looked for a sign of life, but the conditions made it impossible to tell if they were still breathing.

A lump formed in her throat and her stomach twisted into knots at the thought of being so close to a dead body. Jess swallowed the lump in her throat and ran her tongue across her cracked lips. She tore her eyes away from the other captive, and returned her chin to its place on her breast bone as she hung her head miserably.

The light might have been poor, but that didn’t matter. Jess already knew who hung on the opposite wall. She knew exactly where she was and what had happened. Jess had no problem remembering how she had arrived in this place and she even had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen in the upcoming hours. Instead of mentally preparing herself for the inevitable, her mind began to drift. Jess couldn’t help but think back to three weeks ago and wonder just how she had let herself get dragged into this mess.

Author's Note

Critiques are always welcome, as well as any suggestions.