赤裸裸的滑稽故事

Her eyes opened.

They moved back and forth, looking at the ceiling and the walls around her. She recognized the room. The one provided for her in Autumn.

She felt movement on her arms, he was doing something. It was tight, a bandage? He pulled something off of her finger, and something else from her arm.

“Alice, come on,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, there’s no time for acclamation. We gotta go, now.”

Alice reached her hand to her mouth and found an oxygen mask strapped to her face. She pulled it off and tried to sit up but felt dizzy.

“Whoa… shit,” the man cursed.

He licked his lips nervously, looking back towards the door every couple of seconds.

“I’m sorry, I know you’re dizzy. You just woke up from a long nap, but we gotta get you out now.”

Alice furrowed her brows as she stared at the man. He looked familiar with the dark beard and tattoos on his neck… but she couldn’t remember his name.

She knew she was in Autumn. She had business here. But she couldn’t remember what that business was. Or why she was in this room.

“Who are you?” Alice asked.

He looked at her and cursed under his breath.

“You don’t remember me?” he asked.

Alice shook her head.

“They didn’t treat you… I heard Holden say it was too dangerous to do it now,” he said softly.

Holden.

That name she knew. That name she always knew. Along with the confusion and knowledge that she had lost everything, and only he could give it back to her.

“Fuck… you’re fracturing….”

Alice didn’t understand what the man was saying. But something inside told her that he was right and that she needed to go.

“Go where?” Alice asked aloud.

“Escape,” he said.

Alice felt her brows raise and her eyes widen.

Escape. Was that a joke? There was no escape.

“I promised you I would help you get out. It wasn’t supposed to be like this… I thought I had more time to get you out clean. But Roman knows… he knows I don’t got control over anyone anymore.”

Roman? Alice felt a strong flurry of anger and resentment at the name, but the reason didn’t come to her.

“I’m sorry, Alice,” he said softly. He squeezed her shoulder.

Alice felt confused by this man’s actions. She didn’t know him, though he clearly knew her. Her instinct was to push him away when he touched her, but something told her that he meant no harm. That this time, he was trying to do the right thing.

“Tomas…” Alice whispered.

He looked at her, a moment of confusion and then shame before he nodded.

There was a soft pain at the back of her head, she closed her eyes for a moment, and she could see him. He was smiling, laughing. He reached his hand out to her, tenderly stroking her cheek. He whispered something.

The vision changed, now he was screaming, throwing things, and grabbing her shoulders roughly. Angry, heartbroken tears streamed down his face as he shouted a name.

‘Laura’.

She opened her eyes.

“You remember me now?” Tomas asked quietly.

She swallowed and shook her head.

“Just the name,” she replied.

She was used to not knowing everyone she came across, but this fragmented memory, and his name… it was whispered to her from somewhere. With it came a feeling that she could follow him this time. That something had changed.

Alice didn’t understand, but all she could go on was her instincts, so she would follow him.

“We gotta go,” he said.

Reaching his hand to her, she took it, and he helped her to stand. She was wobbly at first, but it passed quickly.

“Here,” he said, grabbing a bag beside the bed and handing it to her.

Alice looked inside, and she saw black clothing and shoes. These were not her usual costumes.

Holden always dressed her brightly, drawing the attention of every eye in the room. She was always to be seen, but never known.

“What is this?” she asked.

“You can’t go out there like that,” he said.

Alice looked down; she was wearing a basic white nightgown.

“You need to blend into the shadows. It’s the only way to get past the chaos out there.”

“What do you mean, chaos?” she asked.

Alice pulled the clothing from the bag, and Tomas turned to face the wall. As she dressed, he told her that the Autumn wolves had gotten restless and even more violent than usual. Roman had whispered in all the right ears and created a maelstrom of anger and frustration.

They were growing feral without an alpha to guide their impulses and give them purpose. Roman was charismatic and bloodthirsty. He was the gasoline to their fire.

Tomas told her that she had been asleep for over a week, almost ten days.

After Roman had found where Bell was hiding and that he couldn’t cross the boundary of Winter, he had become unstable. In the first few days, he mostly kept to himself or spent his time beating on Tomas.

At the mention of Bell and Winter, she felt a heavy pain in her chest.

Tomas said that in the last few days, Roman had taken several risky actions. He had sent wolves out on skirmish runs with the lesser packs. Scouts were sent to both Summer and Winter, but none of them had returned or reported back.

“He’s planning something,” Tomas growled. “I don’t know what… or when, but yesterday… he went too far.”

“You can turn around,” she said, fully dressed. “What did he do?”

Tomas turned. He looked up at her, his eyes were tired and worn. She could see that he had suffered. He was at the end of his rope and ready to give in.

“He captured someone,” Tomas said. “Someone I know. Someone that people care about.”

“A friend?” Alice asked.

“Used to be, a long time ago,” Tomas sighed. “But the problem is that when he told me, I couldn’t convince my wolves to set the man free. And Roman knew right then that I was no longer Alpha of Autumn.”

“Why didn’t he kill you?” Alice asked. She furrowed her brows, unsure why she had asked that question.

A flash of fiery eyes and a malicious grin made her gasp.

‘Roman,’ she thought. Those were his eyes, that was his smile. A demon.

“He has no reason to rush, he’s wanted me dead most of his life. What would a few more hours hurt?” Tomas smiled. “He went off to torture his prisoner. He’ll come for me tonight. If he hasn’t already realized I got out of my room, he will very soon. Then, he will send my own wolves to kill me, and capture you.”

“Why not kill me?” Alice asked.

That inkling in her mind, the whisper, the instinct. It told her she had asked something she shouldn’t have. Something she didn’t want to know.

“Because you are the only thing he has ever wanted to keep alive.”