In Her Mind by Blake Pierce

Author:Blake Pierce [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2024-12-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Amber’s eyelids fluttered open, the hope that it was all a nightmare dissipating instantly with the dull throb in her ankle. She winced as she shifted on the cot, the old wooden frame creaking under her weight. She had tried to keep track of time, counting the seconds and minutes in her head, but despair made a poor timekeeper. She was sure that it must have been a full day now, some twenty-four hours since she’d become a prisoner in this forsaken place.

She had managed to nibble on some chips, the salt stinging her dry lips, and to take small sips of water that tasted like plastic. The meager provisions on that shelf, those half-empty bottles of water and crumpled bags of junk food, were the only things keeping her from complete dehydration and starvation. She had conserved as much as possible, acutely aware that every bite and swallow might need to last an unknown stretch of time.

The light from the kerosene lantern flickered, casting erratic shadows across barren shelves. Its brightness was dwindling again, mirroring her own sense of hope. She knew she should get up and tend to the flame before it died out completely, leaving her in darkness. But her body felt heavy, leaden with dejection. And when Amber attempted to move, pain shot up her leg from her sprained ankle, anchoring her back to the cot. A sigh escaped her lips, not just for the physical hurt, but for the ache of realizing she was well and truly trapped.

Images of her own life – her family, her friends, the animals she cared for – flashed before her eyes, each image a reminder of everything she stood to lose. She wondered if anyone was looking for her. Trentville was small; someone should have noticed her absence by now. But what if no one was looking? What if her disappearance had slipped through the cracks of daily life?

No doubt Dr. Reynolds would be covering her shift at Paws and Harmony Rescue. Guilt, irrational yet sharp, jabbed at her conscience. She knew it was ludicrous to feel responsible for abandoning responsibilities when she herself had been taken against her will. But rationality had little place here in this flickering light.

She pictured Liam, with his earnest eyes and the soft way he’d say her name, like it was a secret only they shared. How he must be worried, pacing the length of his dorm room, unable to concentrate on the biological diagrams that usually captivated him.

And then there was Jason, whose image brought an involuntary shiver despite the room’s chill. His hands, once familiar and comforting, now seemed foreign, belonging to a past life she had willingly left behind.

Would her absence forge a truce between the Jason and Liam, uniting them in a cause greater than their own needs, desires, and jealousies? Would they both be searching for her? Would they have enlisted others?

The lantern sputtered, reminding her of its dwindling life, she forced herself to focus on practical matters.

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