Page 26 of Black Widow's Bite

Nodding dully, my gaze dropped to the floor. I was weak. I couldn’t help her right now. Wyatt patted my shoulder gently, and I felt myself settle, the itch easing up just a bit. His own face became pinched, and I knew he’d helped me in his way. “You did good man, you found her when we couldn’t,” He told me and I lifted my head a little. He gave my shoulder a squeeze, then turned to chase after Cain, who was already headed to the car.

I listened as the car tore away from the building; the house growing silent once more. My eyes were heavy, now that my skin had stopped itching as badly, and I trudged back up the stairs. I was stuck waiting again, uselessly, which made my chest ache. I curled back up under my bed, my friends enveloping me back into the darkness.

Chapter 27

Addison

Idon’t know what woke me up first, the train horn as it rumbled past, shaking the ground underneath me, or my own teeth chattering from the cold. I tucked my knees up into my chest, trying to conserve my warmth. My fingers brushed against the skin of my legs, which was weird because I had been wearing pants. Wait, why was I on the ground? I forced my eyes open, blinking as they adjusted in the dim light. I looked down at my hands, which were tied together with a weird nylon-type rope. Panic blossomed into dread, as I tried to fill in the blanks in my memory that would explain why I was tied up in a warehouse wearing only my underwear.

I sat up, tucking my legs into my chest to keep warm while I worked on the rope around my wrists. The material was some horrible synthetic blend that wouldn’t fray even when I chewed on it, and trying to loosen it only made my wrists raw. Failing at freeing myself, I started to look around the room, searching for something that I could use to cut myself free or cut up whoever had fucking done this to me. I stood up gingerly, my leg sore from lying on the freezing concrete for so long. There was some promising trash piled up near one window, so I began to make my way over there, dragging the rope behind me as I stepped carefully over any sharp-looking rocks. I needed to find something sharp enough to cut a rope, not stab myself in the foot.

I’d nearly made it to the edge of the pile when the rope pulled tight against my wrists, yanking me backwards with a jerk. I stumbled back, trying to keep my footing as it pulled me back to where I’d been laying, continuing its journey upwards towards some sort of pulley-hook thing in the ceiling. My arms stretched painfully tight over my head, as I was lifted into the air, my toes just able to touch the floor if I strained hard enough. Someone chuckled and stepped out of the shadows, and I recognized the jackass from the lab. I glared at him, yanking on the rope in hopes it would magically unravel so I could strangle him with it.

“I’m impressed,” he mused, walking around me in a lazy circle. “Most people have a few minutes of terror, or even a little crying session, before they start trying to escape. That’s one of my favourite bits” he sighed, finally stopping in front of me, but leaving enough room so I couldn’t do anything nasty like spit at him, which I’d considered.

“Who the fuck are you?!” I snapped, swaying slightly as I lost my footing. I stretched my toes down to stabilize myself, my arms already burning from holding my weight on their own. He watched me struggle with mild interest, as if he was conducting a study and I was the subject.

“My little brother didn’t tell you about me?” He cocked an eyebrow. “I feel like sharing big family secrets would make for some prime pillow talk, but I guess Cain was never good at opening up to people,” he mused. “I’m Jacob, but you can call me Jake since we’re going to become close friends,” he smiled. “Do you prefer Addison or Addy? I think I like Addison. It’s got a sultry sound to it.”

Ew, what was with this fucking guy?“Okay, Jake,” I replied coldly. “Let me go and you can call me whatever the fuck you want.” I twisted my wrists, pulling at the rope, wishing for even a centimetre of give to take some of the pressure off my aching shoulders.

“You’re quick. I like that,” Jake announced, circling me again. He reminded me of a shark with his cold, dead eyes. Even when he smiled, they never changed. It was as if he was doing a creepy pantomime of emotions instead of actually feeling them. “I can see why Cain keeps you around. You’re not bad to look at either,” he told me, and I scowled at him. His roving eyes made me want to put on extra layers of clothes. “It’s too bad about that,” he sighed, flicking his fingers to my old burn scars across my shoulder and my collarbone. “I bet Cain liked those, though.”

“Cain is letting me crash at his place for a while, that’s it,” I snapped at him. “But you should really talk to someone about your creepy obsession with your brother’s sex life.” He chuckled and shook his head, taking a few steps closer.

“Really? So you’d normally let a roommate leave a handprint on your neck?” he asked, staring at the mark that Cain had made. My cheeks heated, and he looked annoyingly smug. “I’m sure he just needed to mark his territory. I bet you have your hands right full with all those horny little freaks in that dump he calls home.” My toes were cramping with the effort of holding myself up, and I could feel sweat beginning to run down my back from the strain on my arms.

“Just tell me what the fuck you want already!” I yelled at him, and he smiled, watching my feet shake as I struggled to balance on my tiptoes.

“I want to understand you, that’s all,” Jake smiled. “So I can figure out why my brother likes you so much. I know you’re different. Don’t bother with the whole denial thing. I saw the file on your little lab buddy Peter, and I dug into your past. You’re quite the naughty girl.” He started to circle around me again, and I hated when he went behind me and I couldn’t keep my eye on him. It was like turning my back on a wild animal. “What exactly do you do to people to make them so... crazy?” he asked, pacing back in front of me.

“Why don’t you come closer and find out for yourself?” I snarled, making him laugh.

“Believe me, I’m horribly tempted,” Jake sighed, moving closer but still just out of lunging distance. “The thought of something so addictive it makes you lose your mind, well it’s truly hard to resist. But I’m no dummy. I never try anything without seeing what it does to someone else,” he smiled. “That’s why I brought a friend.” My stomach clenched in fear as he called someone else out of the shadows. His ‘friend’ was an older guy, scruffy and slightly overweight. He looked like one of the dock workers. He probably worked in the area.

“Go over and touch her,” Jake told his friend, slapping him on the back. I twisted and tugged against the rope, scraping the skin off my wrists, but I couldn’t get away from the enormous stranger lumbering towards me. He had a stupid look on his face, like he had been smacked over the head with something and hadn’t quite recovered. The second his hand brushed my waist, I saw his look shift, his eyes glazing over.

“Get away from me!” I snapped at him, and he immediately dropped his hand and backed away from me. Jake looked thrilled by this, which I wasn’t expecting.

“Excellent!” he announced, rubbing his hands together. “What else can you do to them? How much power do you have, exactly?” he asked. When I didn’t answer, he just looked back at his friend. “Touch her again.” he ordered. The man looked torn for half a second before stalking over again. This time, when he touched me, I had a better plan.

“Run and call the police!” I shouted at him, and he turned to bolt from the room. A small bubble of hope formed in my chest.

“Stop.” One word from Jake, and the man immediately froze, popping my bubble. Jake turned to frown at me like I’d just hurt his feelings with my escape attempt. “Play nice,” he warned me. “Or I won’t play nice with you.” He pulled a knife out ofhis pocket, flicking it open. “Now, he’s going to touch you for a few minutes, so I can see what happens when it wears off. If you tell him to run again, I’ll hurt him, and then I’ll hurt you, understand?”

I glared at him, my lip curling in disgust. He took my silence as a yes and ordered his friend back over. “Touch her,” he snapped, and the man’s hands were on me again. I bit my lip to keep quiet as his hands moved over my body, cringing away when he started to get more interested in it, his hands moving over my breasts. “Alright that’s enough for now. Step away,” Jake announced, and I let out a shaky breath. My arms were screaming in pain and blood was starting to trickle down them from the raw wounds on my wrists.

“Well now, I guess we just wait and see.” he mused. I watched, my eyes hazy with pain and rage, as he got some more rope and tied his large friend to the wall closest to me. The guy sat quietly, not moving or even speaking, and Jake looked satisfied with his handiwork. He walked over to where he’d left his bag and pulled out something that looked like a syringe. “I like you feisty, but I’d hate for you to escape while I’m gone, so I’m going to give you a little something to make you more comfortable,” he told me, and I immediately began to kick and flail as he approached me. My body spun as I lost my footing, and he took the opportunity to jab the needle into my neck. I felt a cool burn as whatever was in the needle spread into my bloodstream, and my muscles went slack as all of my energy disappeared. “I hope you two enjoy yourselves. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in the morning.” He smiled, and I spat at him weakly as he walked away.

I felt the rope jerk against my wrists, and I dropped abruptly to the floor, my legs too weak to catch me. It was not a graceful fall. I landed in a heap and immediately curled up in a ball, tucking my arms down against my chest. I stared at the manacross from me, but he looked almost lifeless, with no thoughts or function behind his eyes. He hadn’t moved since Jake had left. The only way I knew he was alive was the occasional blink and the rise and fall of his chest.

My vision faded around the edges and I turned my head to look out into the darkness, tears sliding down my cheeks. I’d started shivering again, the chilly night air seeping in through the broken windows. I could hear the sounds of the night all around us. The birds had quieted down, but a coyote was howling nearby, and I thought I could hear the sound of frogs drifting up from the water. Something rustled nearby, and I had a horrible vision of having to fight off rats on top of everything else right now. I saw a brief flash of movement in the dark, a small shape close to the ground. I stayed very still until I spotted a long shape sliding across the floor.

A little snake slithered towards me, stopping to test the air with its tongue. It could easily be a coincidence. There is a lot of wildlife around the docks, after all. But something about this snake felt a little too... deliberate to be pure chance. “Tell him I’m here, okay?” I whispered to it, and it disappeared in a flash. I doubt very much that it had understood me, but if I didn’t have hope, I might just lose my mind.

I curled up as tightly as I could, shivering as the night grew colder. At some point I guess I must’ve drifted off to sleep. The drugs he’d given me weakening my body to a point of exhaustion where even the fear of being eaten by rats couldn’t keep me awake.

Chapter 28

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