Thank you, LissaSue, for editing the story and your support!
***
Her eyes fluttered as she awoke in a darkened room, bright sunlight shining through the gaps in the blinds. The brilliant light blinded her, and she blinked a few times before managing to open her eyes fully. She looked around the room sleepily; it was unfamiliar to her. The room was classically decorated in light tones, oak furniture matching its peaceful air. She was in the middle of a canopy bed in the center of the room. Comfortably, she lay on the soft cushions with thick blankets covering her.
Her surroundings were completely silent; not even a ticking clock broke the stillness . The house was completely quiet for that matter. Had they left her alone? She heard no footsteps, no voices, music, or TV. Maybe she'd be able to get away unnoticed.
Straining to hear anything, she concentrated on her surroundings. There was something there; she heard two faint heartbeats somewhere below her. She was startled by a sudden rustling next to her, and scared, she tried to identify the source of the sound. Relieved, she realized it had been the curtains in front of the open window. She was still alone.
She tried to push herself up into sitting position, and grimaced at the pain that shot through her body as she moved. Everything hurt, badly. Swallowing the pain, she continued to push herself up. Annoyed, she found that one of her hands was limited in its movement by something, an IV-drip she discovered surprised.
She tried to make sense of her surroundings, and fear started seeping in as she tried to remember what had happened. She'd been in her cell, and it had been an exceptionally harsh day again. The blond man had used his knife; even the dark man had been present. The last thing she remembered was that he had ordered the blond man...
She cut off her own thoughts, disgusted by the memory. Still, that was the last thing she remembered before she had blacked out. Had he...?
Somehow she knew he hadn't, knew she had been protected by something, or someone, from him. And now she had to find out how she would get from this place and get somewhere safe. Breathing fast, she tried to contain the rising panic.
She looked suspiciously to the two doors; one in the middle of the long wall, farthest away from her and one in the corner near the windows. The last door looked like a door to a bathroom, no exit there most likely. The other one probably led to a hallway of some sort, also difficult. She'd try the opened window first.
She ignored the pain and overwhelming exhaustion, determined to escape. Carefully, she removed the blankets, revealing her skinny body. She was clad in short sleeved pajamas, bandages applied to the sites of her skin where the blond man had been exceptionally ruthless. She looked away from her body quickly, scared by the damage done to her, and started sliding to the edge of the bed. She'd tend to her body later.
The IV prevented her from moving any further across the bed. Tugging on the tube, she found it wouldn't come off. She sighed nervously; this would take too much time. Leaning against the headboard tiredly, she started picking at the tape that attached it firmly to her wrist. It took her a frustratingly long time, her fingers unwilling to do the job any faster. She monitored the door as she worked on her hand; she heard no signs of anyone approaching yet. Pulling off the strands of tape hastily, she finally reached the needle. Grimacing, she pulled it from her arm, ignoring the blood that started seeping from the puncture wound and ran down her hand.
Holding the bedpost, she pulled herself up, using the wall for support. She slowly walked to the window, breathing heavily from the exertion. If she could only reach the window then she could make her escape from there.
Frustrated, she realized she wouldn't make it even half way, her legs no longer able to carry her weight. She slumped to the floor, her back resting against the wall. She could no longer contain her panic and tears started flowing from her eyes. Now she finally had a chance to escape, her body refused her.
Angry and scared, she wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling them tightly to her chest. Trying to tune out her surroundings, she felt the gently rocking warmth she had felt when oblivion had grabbed her. Focusing on the warmth radiating from the depths of her mind, she relaxed into the feeling. This was escape, too.
***
Dominic bounced up the stairs to the front door; he was in an excellent humor that morning. He entered the mansion and crossed the hallway to the kitchen. "Anything new from upstairs?" he asked as he entered Alexander's kitchen.
Alexander was standing at the counter, making himself a coffee. He looked in good humor, too. "She's not awake yet, but she's sleeping more soundly, fortunately. No longer broadcasting her nightmares, and hasn't tried to trash the house." He winked at his friend. "We stopped the antibiotics."
Dominic grabbed a cup from one of the cupboards and poured himself some coffee. Sipping it, he stood silently beside his friend, enjoying the drink from the luxurious coffee-maker. "That's good. Has she been awake already?"
Alexander shook his head. He'd been checking on the girl every hour since they had found her, but she had not even turned in her bed, her shallow breath the only indication she was still alive. That had made him quite edgy the first times he'd checked on her, but he'd gotten used to it now.
"Did you have any success with figuring out where she's from?"
"Not really, I've been searching both the human's and our archives, but I haven't found anything on her, or these kinds of powers. Also, no-one filed missing matches her description. I've put the secretary on it; she's a bulldog with these sorts of things. Did you manage to contact that friend of yours?"
"I did, but he couldn't tell me anything either. It's obvious she isn't human, but he also hadn't a clue what race she's from." Alexander frowned. "Mason has been missing since we found her, too. He'll probably be keeping a low profile as long as the police are investigating the fall-out at his company. But I haven't been able to find anything on his little project we have upstairs either."
Dominic nodded. "Let's just hope she'll be able to tell us something when she wakes up. I'm not looking forward to having Mason as my enemy." Staring at the wall, he suddenly smirked. "You've placed your glasses inside the cupboards instead of on the shelves?"
Alexander grimaced. "I've had to buy everything new twice this week, after our upstairs guest had a particularly unpleasant dream. I'm not looking forward to explaining to the salesman in town why I'm buying a third set in a week."
Dominic grinned. "You wanted to redecorate anyway." Just in time, he dodged Alexander's shoulder punch.
Alexander sighed as he heard the glasses rattle against each other in the cupboard, the house slightly shaking on its foundations. He could feel the rocking waves starting to rise in his body again. The girl was having a nightmare.
"I'm going to check on her," Alexander said as he walked from the kitchen.