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Without a word, they open the door to the cell across from mine and they throw him inside. His battered form slumps against the cold, stone walls. His clothes cling to him, obviously given to him by someone here, so that he isn’t naked. A decency I wasn’t expecting. Nearby, there is a flickering torchlight casting unsettling shadows on his bruised face. I gasp silently, pressing my hand to my lips.
I jump to the bars of my cell, rattling them angrily.
“Cal?” I whisper. He doesn’t say anything at first.
The two brutes just leave him there, as if he’s nothing. They lock him in his cell, then leave us both alone.
“Cal?” I echo his name again. The oppressive silence enshrouds us both, but he manages to look in my direction. I want to run to him and embrace him, to make sure that he is alright. But I can tell even from here that he is not. He has taken quite a beating, probably in his bear form, defending the village. Now, in his human form, he is probably even weaker and feels the pain more deeply.
“El?” he calls out to me, and despite the weakness in his voice, I am glad to hear him. “How are you holding up?”
“I should be the one asking you that,” I reply.
“I’m okay, don’t worry about me,” he tells me.
“I have eyes, you know,” I remind him. “I can see the state you’re in.”
“God, were you always such a smartass?” he asks, and we both chuckle, but that bout of laughter obviously causes an onslaught of pain, because he suddenly starts coughing violently.
I grip the bars even tighter. “Cal? Cal!?”
He coughs for a while longer then inhales deeply. “I’m… okay, El. Really.”
“We have to get out of here,” I tell him, fully aware of how stupid and preposterous that sounds.
Of course we have to get out of here. But how?
“That will be a bit tricky,” he says, lifting his hands, and the chains rattle again.
“You’re tied?”
“Chained,” he clarifies. “You?”
“No,” I shake my head. “They probably don’t see me as a threat.”
“They should,” he surprises me with his words. “I saw what you did for Willow.”
“Willow?” I repeat, then I remember that is probably the name of the woman shifter I helped.
“You saved her,” he says.
“No, no,” I shake my head.” I merely helped a little. She saved me.”
“It didn’t look like that from where I was standing,” he smiles in the darkness. “You saved her, and then, she saved you. But your action caused it all. Your bravery.”
I can’t help but smile back. “Is she okay?”
“I don’t know,” I hear him say. “I saw her on the ground, but she was still alive and kicking ass. Rock, too.”
“He’s alright?” I ask, my voice on the verge of breaking.
“Rock?” Cal grins. “That guy can’t die.”
“What do you mean?” I wonder.
“A joke, El,” he explains, and we burst into a chuckle again. “But seriously, Rock is… Rock. I honestly don’t know anyone who has a more fitting name. He won’t leave us behind. He’ll come for us, I’m sure of it. And then, together, we’ll find a way out of here.”
I can hear the determination and belief in his voice, and it mirrors my own. “You’re right, Cal. Rock will find us. We just need to hold on and trust that he’ll come.”
