Page 25 of Creed
Yet, instead of the pain I expected, there was just more shouting.
Slowly, already dreading what I’d see, I opened my eyes.
I was no longer out in the woods, or in a forgotten basement. Instead, I was inside some sort of vehicle, probably a van or a truck with a large space in the back. My hands were tied behind me, but my legs were free, and I was lying directly on the metal floor.
Reality and dream blurred together, and I wasn’t sure what was real anymore. There were no unconscious bodies hanging on the walls, but there was still an enemy shouting angry words. This time I knew the language, but a violent buzzing in my ears kept me from understanding what was being said. The person had Kayden pinned to the wall, shaking him hard enough that his back slammed against the metal.
Awake or dreaming didn’t matter. Either way, I was still a captive.
Our enemy kept their face covered by a bandana so only their eyes were visible as they shouted at Kayden. They were different eyes than my captor before, but the look in them was exactly the same.
Fury.
Bloodlust.
A desire to lash out and injure someone.
I’d seen that look far too many times, but this time it wasn’t directed at me.
It was directed at Kayden.
I needed to do something. They were going to kill him. My hands were bound, but my legs were free. I should have been able to do something with that.
Yet, all I did was lie there uselessly, struggling to breathe as I watched our captor slam Kayden against the wall one more time before throwing him to the floor.
“Useless fag,” our captor muttered as they stormed off.
It was funny that, out of all the shouting that had been going on, those were the words I was finally able to hear. A small, vulnerable part of me curled up inside my heart, scared and ashamed of being seen. Like a child that had forgotten their lines at the school play and could do nothing but run off the stage to hide.
Our captor’s eyes scanned over me for a moment, but almost immediately dismissed me. I was no threat to them in my current state. Shoving me aside with their foot, they walked past me and hopped out of the van, closing the doors behind them.
Kayden and I were alone, but I still couldn’t move. It felt like the chains, which were only wrapped around my wrists, had grown to encase my whole body.
“Creed?” Kayden’s voice broke the silence.
Something tapped against my leg, and I jumped. My fight or flight mode activated, and my hands strained against their bonds as I tried to reach for a weapon that didn’t exist.
My vision started to go gray around the edges, when the sound of Kayden’s voice cut through my panic.
“Creed? Creed! Calm down.”
His hands were bound just like mine, so he’d tapped me with his foot. Shame crept up the back of my throat. Kayden was safe. There was no reason for me to overreact so badly, but I couldn’t stop.
Why couldn’t I breathe?
My tongue was lead inside my mouth. No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t speak. In the end, I managed to make a vague sound to at least let Kayden know I heard him.
There was shifting sound beside me, and soon Kayden’s face came into view, closer than it had been before. He’d twisted himself into an awkward position in order to lie down next to me despite his hands being bound to the wall, but his expression showed no signs of discomfort.
A calm, comforting aura radiated around him, practically making him glow in the dim atmosphere of the van.
“Hey, Creed, look at me.” His voice was softer than I’d ever heard before. “I think you’re having a panic attack.”
Panic attack?
No, that couldn’t be right. I wasn’t the kind of person who panicked. I was the one who remained stoic while everyone else panicked.
“No, Creed, hey, focus on me.” I hadn’t even realized that my vision had started to blur, until his voice caught my attention again. “Just try to breathe with me. All right? Breathe in. Then out. Just like that.”
