chap 1

Elisa's pov

I dragged my feet on the burning hot coal, grunting with every step I took. The man leading me tugged on the chains around my neck. "Move it. You brought this upon yourself." I bit back a snarky reply and kept my head down as I continued moving.

When I reached the end of the burning coal, I collapsed to the floor. My knees giving out beneath me.

John scoffed. "Watch your mouth, next time." His boot flew up kicking me square in the jaw. I groaned in pain, listening to their mocking laughter. "Take her back to the cell!" He commanded and soon two men were by my side pulling me to my feet harshly.

I didn't try to fight as they pulled me away. I didn't have the strength to. I hadn't eaten or drank anything all week as my punishment. I coughed up blood, splashes of it landing on one of the men. He threw me a disgusted look and I made sure to smile at him with my bloodied teeth. When we got to the barely lit cell, they threw me in and walked away.

Marie, my room mate scrambled over to me. She was an old woman, and a motherly figure to me after my real one passed away. "Elisa!" Her worried voice reached my ears and soon her wrinkled arms caressed my face. " Child look at you. Why do you keep being stubborn? We must do as they say if we want to survive."

I used the little strength I had to sit up and meet her gaze, "We're going to die either ways so why should I surrender."

"It's just the way things are." Marie spoke softly.

I understood where she was coming from but the thought of me surrendering to them made me utterly disgusted. It's been more than 10 years since werewolves took over and imprisoned all of humanity as their slaves. 10 years since they killed my family. I looked away from Marie, and started to use my hands to crawl back to my mat.

Marie sighed and got up. She went to her side of the room and brought out something from a pile of clothes. My eyes widened when I saw what it was. "Food?! Marie you could get killed if they find out you hid food." My voice was barely above a whisper as my eyes moved around frantically in fear that a guard would pop out of the shadows..

She sat down beside me and pushed the plate into my hand along with a bottle of water. I watched as she tore her cloth and moved towards my feet. I flinched and tried to move my feet away but she grabbed it and shot me a look that clearly said, 'Don't test me Elisa.' So I let her do whatever she wanted. Her hands were shaky as she wrapped both my feet. She got up when she was done and started to move towards her side of the room when I stopped her.

"Marie?" I called out. "If you're giving me your food, what did you eat?" A part of me selfishly wanted to wolf down the food but the more reasonable part of me was worried about her. She was stranger than usual. She'd stopped moving but she didn't turn around to face me. "You don't have to-"

My words were cut off as she suddenly turned around, tears running down her face. She squatted gently in front of me, cupping my face in her hands. "You need to learn how to be selfish, Elisa. I won't be here forever and you need to accept that."

My brows furrowed. What's she talking about. "Marie-"

She covered my mouth and I could feel her eyes piercing into mine. "Elisa you must surrender to them. You have to. It's the only way to stay alive. It's the only way to seek revenge." She didn't say anything more and only stood up. She turned away from me and I could barely make out her next words because of how low they were. "Don't mistake what I did for kindness, Elisa."

I watched her walk away from me and over to her side. She lay on her mat, her body turned away from me. I glanced down at the food and water in front of me and with a sigh I picked up the spoon. I quietly ate the food and emptied the water, feeling a little strength return back to my body. I slid the plate over to Marie's side who still hadn't turned to look at me before crawling over to mine.

I faced the wall till Marie's voice broke the silence. "Tell me how it happened." I turned around. She was staring at the ceiling. I copied her, my eyes staring at the moldy ceiling. I knew what she was asking for.

I closed my eyes, memories of that night coming back to me. "They ambushed us when we were trying to escape." I repeated the same thing I'd told her for years but this time I wanted to tell her the story- at least half of it. "My mum wasn't...she wasn't feeling well and she thought death was our only escape." I could feel her eyes on me but I kept mine shut and continued, "My parents stopped the car and went out to argue. Soon my mum pulled out a gun and she shot my dad."

My eyes flickered open and I turned to meet Marie who was staring at me wide eyed. A soft laugh escaped my lips. "It's silly right? She walked over to the car to shoot me and my brother next but she didn't make it to us. She was shot by one of the werewolves and we were captured."

It was silent between us for a while and then Marie's voice broke through. "Do you ever regret anything?"

The scene of the night before everything went down flashed in my mind. I wish I wasn't there that night. I wish I didn't hear their conversation. I wish I didn't know I was the cause of everything. I shrugged my shoulders, "Don't we all?"

"I regret not being able to do what I was supposed to." Marie said. It felt more as if she was talking to herself than me but then she turned her head towards me. "I regret meeting you, Elisa."