20. Second

"So, listen to me carefully. Don't say anything, don't do anything, and don't leave my side one step. Toads are quite aggressive people, especially if it concerns something unknown. " – Adam instructed Ann

Anne silently saluted him. Now she was completely wrapped in a hooded robe, as well as a mask hiding her face. Adam didn't want to reveal Ann's identity ahead of time, it's better to keep it a secret for a while.

"Good girl. "

He turned away from her and knocked on the huge gates of the Toad Outpost.

The outpost itself is located deep in a dark forest. Adam and Ann had to hit the road in the morning and only by lunchtime they were able to reach it. The outpost had huge stone walls and four towers at each corner. This is a reliable protection against all sorts of huge insects, but against herons or other birds, it is useless.

"Who are they?! " – a crack opened in the door and yellow eyes appeared

"I am Adam, a trusted member of the Primordial family. Call Captain Grime, he knows why I'm here."

The toad behind the door squinted, after which the crack closed and silence fell. Adam calmly leaned against the door and looked ahead while Ann shook her head from side to side in fear, looking for danger.

"Stop spinning, we're safe here. The nearest areas from the outpost are cleared of monsters, so they won't catch you... maybe. " - his words didn 't make Ann feel any better

Adam just grinned and closed his eyes.

(After all, I probably screwed it up in vain. There was no need to tell about all the creatures of the dark forest....but I have so much fun looking at her scared face. I just couldn't restrain myself.)

En saw something rushing in the dark woods and quickly stood next to Adam, holding his hand. He flinched, but still pushed her away.

[ CREAK ! ]

Slowly and with a creak, the huge door opened, forcing Adam and Ann to move away from it. There was a squad of frogs outside the door, with their commander standing in front of them.

"Hmmmmm, are you definitely a trusted Primordial? I would like to see confirmation. " – it was Captain Grime

It was a huge toad. Much more than the others. He was wearing armor covering his entire body. A long cloak fluttered from behind, and a sword hung on it. He had one eye that glowed with a mysterious green glow. The other eye was blinded in one of the battles, and a long scar ran through it reaching to the end of his head.

Adam carefully, without sudden movements, reached into the pocket of his robe and took out the object and threw it to Grime. He abruptly caught it and examined it. After examining it, tasting it and sniffing it, Grime threw it back to Adam.

"Alright, follow me. Don't leave me anywhere, otherwise I'm not responsible for your safety. " - He smiled a predatory smile that made Ann shake

He followed him until a squad of toads surrounded them, preventing them from escaping anywhere. They walked slowly through the dark and damp corridors of the outpost, descending into its depths. To the dungeon.

Grime took the torch and led them to the farthest corner, then stopped and turned to them.

"I don't know why you need this... thing, but you'd better be careful with it. When trying to catch her, she knocked out several of my fighters. " – he shone a torch into the camera

"That's why I had to put her in shackles. "

Light illuminated the camera. At the far end of it, a blonde was tied to the wall. Her clothes were badly tattered and torn in several places. Her head was lowered down, blocking the view of her face. But even so, you could see how there was dried blood on her face. She hung like a lifeless doll.

Grime unlocked the camera and Adam literally flew inside. He was next to her in the blink of an eye and took her by the chin and lifted her to face him. He immediately noticed her gaze, which could not focus on him. He also saw that she was rocking a little from side to side.

From the holes in her clothes, he noticed that a large bruise began to appear in the area of her ribs, and her chest was rising very slowly.

(Most likely a severe concussion, small wounds all over the body, bruises and possible rib fracture. That bastard....)

Adam's eyes lit up with gold. His whole body was covered with lightning., illuminating the camera even more. He reached out his hand to her shackles and calmly tore them off the wall. Then he tore them apart, freeing her hands.

She immediately fell, but he managed to catch her and lifted her in the pose of a princess. He carefully put her on the ground, then took off his robe, exposing his armor, and rolled her up, because he noticed how she was shaking from the cold. After he quickly picked her up and left the cell.

" Grime.... " – his golden eyes looked at him

Grime immediately grabbed his sword, felt the danger coming from those golden eyes.

"....I'll talk to you later. " – he walked past him, coming up to Ann

Ann wasn't in the best of spirits either. You could see how she was shaking with rage, while blue lights of anger flashed in her eyes from behind the mask. Adam walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up and he shook his head.

"Later. Her first. " – she turned her gaze to Sasha

She was breathing very slowly, as if she didn't have enough oxygen. She was shaking all over and unconsciously clung to Adam's chest, looking for more warmth. Ann gently touched her face, which made Sasha shudder.

"Uh–huh." - Ann nodded seriously

They quickly ran out of the dungeon and came to the closed gate. Adam didn't stand on ceremony. He jumped up and tore the door off its hinges, opening a passage for them. Then they ran for all their strength. Sasha was getting worse by the second.

It was a race against time and death.

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Sasha was at this moment in a semi-delirium. She didn't know where to be. The last thing she remembered was a strong iron taste in her mouth, and then darkness and severe pain. She also remembers the golden color, a lot of gold. She was lifted up and she felt a strong cold, but it immediately disappeared when she snuggled up to something incredibly warm.

" Mmmmm " – she slowly opened her eyes

She couldn't focus her gaze for a while, her entire surroundings were floating. She rocked from side to side until she finally could not orient herself. She immediately realized that she was in a different place. There was no longer a smell of dampness and rot around and she was also no longer tied to the wall, but lay on a soft and comfortable bed.

" Where am I ? " - She slowly lifted herself up until the blanket slipped off her

She clutched her head in pain and realized that it was bandaged. Her torso was also wrapped in a bandage. When she touched him, she immediately pulled her hand away from the pain. She grimaced, but said nothing and looked around the room.

She was wearing nothing but a blanket and bandages covering her body.

It was a cozy, medium-sized room. There was a small table, a window, a wardrobe and a door leading to the bathroom. There were also bookcases and a chandelier, as well as several lamps illuminating her room.

"I don't think it's a prison. Or else I was transferred to a luxury prison cell." – she rubbed her eyes

"No, you're not in jail. " – she stopped abruptly when she heard a man 's voice

"You're in a different, better place. You're in my house. " - She shifted her gaze to the corner

There was a male figure sitting on a chair reading a book. He was dressed in a blue robe, he had leather gloves on his hands and an iron helmet on his head covering his face. The only thing she could see was his brown eyes looking at her.

"You woke up earlier than I expected. I thought you'd been lying in bed for about a month because of your wounds. " – he put down the book and took a chair and sat down next to her

" Who are you and where the hell am I ? " – she stretched out her hand to her hair and tried to cover herself with the other

"How brisk we are. Isn 't that what we 're looking for ? " – in his hands was her hairpin

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. If I wanted to, I would have killed you long ago. " – he put the hairpin on the bedside table

"And please don't scream, otherwise you'll wake her up. " – he pointed somewhere

Looking there, Sasha saw that someone was sitting next to her bed, she was half lying on her bed and drooling. Sasha immediately recognized her friend's thick hair. There was fear on her face and her eyebrows were wrinkled from something.

"Ann.... " - she whispered softly

"I haven't left your bed all week, I even had to carry food here so that she wouldn't starve to death, stupid girl. "

Sasha gently put howling hand on her head and Ann's face immediately calmed down. She gently stroked her on the head.

"I can say that your arrival is the most unlucky. Well, something has become something. " - he grinned and shrugged his shoulders

Sasha turned to him and glared at him. The same one did not look away, but even, on the contrary, happily answered her.

"My name is Adamantius, I am the one who will take care of you for an unknown time. I will not feel sorry for you or say that a heavy burden has fallen on your shoulders. No, you know that perfectly well without me. " – he pushed back his chair and stood up

"Get well and wait for this dormouse to wake up. " - He walked around her bed and adjusted the blankets on Ann 's body

"There will be dinner soon, we will discuss everything at it. In the meantime, get used to your new abode. You're here for a long time. "

He walked out the door, leaving Sasha alone with the sleeping Ann. Ann drooled right on her clothes, it reminded Sasha of their hiking in the mountains when they slept in the same tent. Ann was always leaning on her side.

Sasha smiled and ran a hand through her hair.

(Everything will be fine. Everything will be just fine. We're back together. All that remains is to find Marcy and get out of this dumpster home. ) – her eyes started to water

(Mom, Dad....) – she covered her face with her elbow

"I want to go home.. "sob "....I want to go back. " – her eyes didn 't stop watering

Sasha was crying quietly, alone in silence. No one has seen the tears of a girl broken by the tortures and horrors of this world. No one saw the tears pouring out of her eyes while she herself was breaking like a porcelain doll. She almost died just entering this world. No one saw her pain and suffering, no one except one person standing quietly outside the door.

And soon, it was time for dinner.

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