Page 89 of Coerced

“Um, I don’t know what to do here!” Spin called.

On the other side of the workstation, he stood perfectly still with his hands down. Curious, I walked over to peer around his shoulder and my jaw dropped.

A young woman lay curled in a tight fetal position, her dark eyes blank and staring. Thick black hair framed her face in a tangled haystack and she wore a short-sleeved, white t-shirt with faded navy jeans. Her feet were bare and her toenails showed the remnants of pink polish.

At first, she was so still and emaciated that I feared she might be dead, but as Spin took a step closer, she pulled herself into a tighter ball and curved her slim back forward protectively.

“Stop, Spin.” Chance caught his shoulder.

“I wasn’t trying to sneak up on her.” Spin frowned. “I came around the corner and there she was.”

“I know,” Chance said. When Spin asked what was wrong with her, he shrugged. “At a guess, I’d say she’s had too much trauma or stress to cope with and has shut down in self-preservation. Do you agree, Gemma?”

“Absolutely. Let me try, okay?” I looked at Chance. “Sometimes, being surrounded by big, strong guys makes a girl feel safer. Sometimes, it has the opposite effect.”

He nodded and left, returning to his inventory of the room, but Spin only backed away several paces. I looked at him curiously for a second before getting down on my hands and knees.

“Hi. My name’s Gemma. Gemma Shepherd.” I waited a few seconds, then continued. “You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to, but I would like to talk to you for a bit. I hope that’s okay. I won’t hurt you. None of us will.”

The girl didn’t respond in any way, but I wasn’t deterred. I talked to her quietly for a long time, moving closer an inch at a time. Spin drifted away eventually and I could hear him talking with the others. When I was close enough, I skimmed my fingertips down the girl’s forearm.

Her skin was frighteningly cold.

She must have been lying on this concrete floor for hours.No wonder her feet look a little blue!

I took in the dark circles under her pretty eyes, the red marks on either side of her face, and the fingernails bitten down to the quick. Her arms were marred with fading bruises and mostly healed needle marks, but they weren’t the track marks of a drug addict.

That doesn’t make any sense. Were they drawing blood from her? Injecting her with something?

“She’s freezing, Spin. I saw some cots over there. Can you find a quilt or something? Even a sheet would be better than nothing.”

He nodded and left.

“He’s a nice guy,” I told the girl, “although he jokes around entirely too much. My boyfriend almost killed him once when he took a joke too far. He needs someone to keep him in line.”

She didn’t so much as blink and I wondered if the girl was in a coma. If so, it could mean she wasn’t able to take care of her bodily functions. As there was no smell of urine or feces, however, I decided against that.

Catatonia? Is she schizophrenic? Maybe no one’s done anything to her; maybe this is her normal mental state. That doesn’t feel right, though, not with those marks on her arms. I huffed a sigh, sulky that my power was still silent.Hmm.Is that a lingering effect of those blankets, or is the building like Kerry’s cottage - locked down to power? I’ll have to ask the others what they think later.

Spin returned with a heavy wool quilt in his arms and threw it to me, clearly nervous about getting too close to the girl. I caught it and arranged it how I wanted, bundling the girl in it loosely and getting her to partially sit up.

“Not much else to do but watch her.” I sat back on my heels. “After she gets used to us a little more, I’ll get her into the bathroom and check her over for any major injuries. I may not be able to use my healing power, but I can still do basic first aid.”

I swiveled my head up to look at him.

“If we find any food, we could try to get her to eat something. Is there any drinking water?”

“We found a connecting bathroom, and there are paper cups in a dispenser by the sink.” He shoved his hands in his back pockets and scrunched up his shoulders. His eyes were back on the girl. “Want me to get one with a little water in it?”

“Sure. Maybe she’ll take a drink. That would give me more information, seeing if she takes it or not.”

Spin nodded and disappeared for a few moments, then returned with a little paper cup nearly hidden in his big hand. He stretched out and handed it to me, and I held it up to the girl’s lips. Obediently, she opened her mouth and took a tiny sip.

“What do you think is wrong with her?” he asked.

“Most likely, Chance is right and she’s in a stupor.”

“Stupor?” His brows drew together tightly.

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