Chapter 64. Prisoners

CLARISA

A cold bucket of water woke me up instantly. Startled, I thought I was going to die. Shivering in my small cell, more like a cage, I looked around. The man was leaving; he held the keys and guarded the door. Other prisoners were there, most of them asleep or possibly dead, but I couldn’t be certain.

“Let me out!” I screamed again, having lost count of how many times I had called for help, yet no one ever responded.

The prisoner in the narrow cell next to mine barely breathed. She only got up to drink water and then went back to sleep. I had tried to talk to her numerous times, but my attempts failed. I had been kidnapped; my aunt had set a cruel trap for me, and I couldn’t understand why. We had always been close, and I trusted her like my mother. This situation was bewildering. The cold penetrated my bones, and the almost frozen water reddened my skin with each splash.

The man seemed indifferent to my pleas, not listening to my screams and ignoring t