Chapter 11: Unexplained situations

Cuore’s pov

I stirred awake and felt a thin material draped over my body. I shot up and scanned the area around me. I was alone in a small room. It had plain white walls, no windows and one solid metal door. There was also an old wardrobe in the corner next to a basin and toilet.

I felt a sharp pain in my arm and noticed I was attached to an IV drip that hung from a hook on the wall. I quickly ripped the needle out and felt a bit dizzy. What on earth was in that drip? I even had different clothes on. I wore a plain white shirt that was full of stains and a pair of black tights. I needed to get out of here. The single bed I was on had a quilt covering it. It was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. Random pieces of material had been sewed together to form a blanket.

A gunshot went off in the distance. Where was I? This didn't look like a hospital.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and tried to stand up. Everything felt like jelly. My knees gave in and I fell to the floor. Luckily my arms held me up so I didn't hit my face. What was wrong with me? I sat on the floor and pulled myself back up onto the bed.

"Okay let's try that again," I muttered and pushed myself off the bed. I stood up but could feel my legs were extremely weak, so I sat back down. Where was my gun? Or even my dagger? I had no weapon to defend myself with. I forced myself to get up and slowly made my way to the wardrobe.

It contained a few clothing items but none of them belonged to me. I scratched through them but there was nothing useful. I quickly put on the pair of sneakers that were in the cupboard, if I wanted to escape I needed to wear shoes. There wasn't even a mirror around for me to see what I looked like. I quickly ran my hands through my hair. Taylen, you are in an unfamiliar place and you care about your appearance? I asked myself.

Yeah, I was right, what I really needed was a weapon. I flipped over the bed and tried to break off one of the legs. That failed since the wood was too thick and I didn't have my usual strength. Shit. I then tried to break off the wardrobe door which eventually worked when the screws came undone. I placed the door diagonally against the wall and jumped onto it. After a few tries, it worked and the wood slit into three pieces. Yes! I had a weapon.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?!" I shouted and banged on the door. I tried everything to get someone's attention but there was no response. I remained locked up in that room for 5 days. Luckily the tap worked so I could drink some water, but I was starving. I even shoved the needle back into my vein so that I could absorb the remainder of the drip. I hoped it contained nutrients that would help me survive.

Alexio was constantly in my thoughts. I said my goodbyes to my Dad via prayer, he had probably passed away by now. I was angry that I wouldn't be able to see him one last time, but most of all I was tired. I just wanted something to happen. For someone to come save me or to just pass away in my sleep. Waiting and not knowing what was happening is a nightmare.

A loud bang from the other side of the door scared me awake. I grabbed onto my piece of wood and called out, "Hello! Can you please help me?" My plan was to sound scared so that the other person would lower their defences and give me the upper hand.

"Put down the weapon Cuore." A female voice bellowed in English. How did they know? Urgh, probably a hidden camera somewhere. I scanned the room but couldn't see anything.

"Yes, we can see you." She replied. We? I was outnumbered but that didn't scare me. I tightened my grip onto the wood and prepared myself for a fight.

"Put it down, or I'll shoot your lover boy." She added. I heard a male scream and muffed voices argued over something silently so that I couldn’t understand.

"Cuore, you need to fight..." I heard Alexio shout but his voice was cut off by a gunshot.

"The next bullet won't miss." The woman warned and I heard Alexio grunt. He was still alive.

"Okay, okay!" I shouted back and put down the piece of wood. I then kicked it over to the opposite side of the room. The door flew open and a group of heavily armed men flooded into the room with guns all aimed at me.

"Well then Cuore, why don't we have a little chat." The woman stated and stepped into view. She was the same woman who told me I was at a hospital. Two men stepped closer to me and grabbed onto my arm, as a reflex I side kicked the one to his throat. This would break his Adam's apple and crush his throat, which is lethal if he does not receive medical attention. The other wrapped his arms around my body so I shot my elbow back into his side rib which made a snap sound and threw him over my shoulder.

A gun went off again and I jerked my view towards the woman. Alexio knelt in front of her with his head bent towards the floor. She held a gun on his head.

"I think you have a hearing problem." She hissed and clicked the safety off. I stopped and let another group of men grab onto me.

"Much better." She smirked and forced Alexio to stand up. He looked awful. His hair and beard had grown out, he looked malnutrition and was covered in dry blood and filth. My poor Alexio, what have they done to you?

The men pushed me forward. I tried to slip out of their grip but they had me trapped. We walked down the passage and stepped outside. The sunburnt my eyes, I hadn't seen sunlight in quite a while. The men released a snicker as I had to squint to see where I was going. I saw a few people hard at work while a woman with a gun watched over them. She moved her thumb across her neck when she noticed me staring. I was going to die.

We walked over to a shed and the men forced me down onto a chair and tied my hands behind my back. I tried to wiggle off but I was stuck.

"Thank you, babe." A man stated and placed a kiss onto the woman's cheek. I noticed he had a five-point star tattooed onto his hand. It was a symbol of our rival mafia family.

"Stidda." I spat as he turned to face me.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would figure it out. Welcome to New Zealand Cuore." He rejoiced and his arms flew open.