“Sully the table is on fire!”
His eyes shot open, focusing directly where the small fire crackled. Clouded opaqueness still fogged over them. Strategically using his feet to scoot his tied body across the floor, he inched himself closer to me. He closed his eyes, sucking in huge gasps of air every few inches, and each movement looked more painful than the last, but he continued to move determinedly. Sully's flesh was transparent crepe paper over the purple veins in his face that had deepened in color, spreading now down his neck and disappearing underneath his torn shirt. He was weak, and he was using more energy than he had in him to make his way to me despite his dwindling life.
He rolled onto his back, raising his feet up off of the floor and kicked at the bolts that were holding the shackles in place. Xander still remained against the wall, absolutely motionless, watching Sully’s attempt to help me even though it was contrary to reason; I was chained, not tied, therefore making it impossible for him to break the restraints without his full power.
“You worthless beast, help her if she ever meant anything to you!”
The sweltering heat was becoming unbearable in the tiny room. The fire had crept its way up the table, threatening to touch the bottoms of my feet if I wasn’t freed soon. Thick black smoke engulfed the leg of the table and filled my lungs. I coughed; which instantly sent shooting pains through my stomach. My head began to spin.
Davin and Dalton were still exchanging blows, not once looking my way to see that the entire place was about to go up in flames. Johnny Cash’s lyric “I Fell into a Burning Ring of Fire” played in the back of my mind. I didn’t know which was worse, bleeding or burning to death.
Sully continued to kick at the shackles, desperately trying to free me from the table, but his own confinement was making it next to impossible.
I relaxed my body. “We’re not going to make it out of here Sully. I’m so sorry I got you into this mess.”
“Don’t say that, Adelay! I will get you out of here; if it’s the last breath I take. I meant it when I said I loved you, and if it means saving you so that you can be happy with my brother, then I will fight until the end to make your dreams come true.” Sully stopped for a moment cringing in pain before fighting with the shackles again.
It was no use, he was powerless. His legs dropped hard to the ground. I looked at Xander, who had begun to stir in the corner he was backed up against. All his fur had disappeared, but his unnatural muscles stayed visible underneath his sweaty skin. He was on his hands and knees with his head hung towards the floor, heaving in and out, trying to catch his breath. He was returning back to human form and was stuck somewhere in between a wolf and a man.
“Xander. . .” was all I could force out of my mouth, before coughing up more traces of blood that gurgled in the back of my throat.
The smoke had gotten thicker. He looked up at me with his eyes black as night. Sharp teeth still jutted out from his mouth that had been almost perfect the last time I seen him. His forehead trembled while he struggled to speak, but nothing came out. He sat up, staring at his shaking hands with its clawed fingers in confusion, as though he was just realizing what he had become. He darted a look at me, his eyes wide in horror, then looked at the end of the table that the candle had set ablaze.
He moved on all fours to where my feet were held down by the shackles, grabbing their chains into his massive hands. With one powerful yank, the shackles were ripped from the table and my legs slumped to the side, leaving me held by only my wrists now.
The metal dug deep into my bony wrists from all of my weight pulling tightly against them. Within seconds he reached the top of the table, and ripped the remaining two shackles from the table, sending my body dropping to the ground. A whoosh of air pushed out of my chest after the impact with the ground, making my head woozy all over again. Next, he scurried over to Sully, slicing the rope with his nails.
Dalton came hurdling over the table, smashing his back into the wall, not even giving notice to me lying freely on the ground. His focus was solely on Davin who leapt over the table after him, grabbing for Dalton’s throat that he quickly slipped from his grasp, and bounded for the open door. Davin looked at Sully, Xander, and I, overwhelmed at the scene cast before him. He kicked the blazing table away from us, hiding Sully’s face in the newly found shadows and keeping Davin from seeing how truly awful he looked.
Dropping to his knees, Davin grabbed my face with both of his hands pushing his forehead into mine. “Oh, my love, I should have never left you! All of this is my fault; I’m so sorry, Adelay! I have failed you!”
I didn’t argue with him because this truly was his fault. I was angry with him.
Sully raised his voice enough to keep the charade going that he was okay. “I’ve got Adelay, Davin! Don’t let that son of a bitch get away!”
Davin squeezed his eyes closed, not wanting to leave, feeling my
