It was Adrian.
“I’m fine. You? How did you get here?”
“They had you unconscious in a van.” Adrian’s words killed her. It was pretty clear how they got him; it was through her.
“Are you able to shift?” Aria asked. They needed to have as many options as possible, and if this was one of them then that would only help their cause.
In a matter of seconds, Adrian shifted and the ropes around his wrists were rendered useless as they slipped off his wolf form. However, the one around his neck forced him to shift back.
It was something Aria had never seen before, and in the dim light of the basement, she was a little awed. It wasn’t like she could just ask him to shift into his other form at any given time. That was way too invasive for anyone, especially considering how sacred it seemed to be to their people.
However, there was only one rope around Adrian now. Although he was panting for air, she felt a sense of hope. They just needed to untie the one around his neck and he would be free.
Once he caught his breath, his hands tried to find the knots that bound him. She honestly wished that she could see better, so that she might be able to direct him, but she was useless.
Again.
Aria could only hope that he could get out of the bind and quickly. They only had how long until they were transported somewhere else.
Then she took a glance at Mira, who was clearly too weak to move on her own. As she continued to look at her and absorb everything, Aria could feel a lump in her throat. Especially since the clothes that she wore weren’t the same ones from the crash. Aria could only pray to any diety that it wasn’t what she thought it was.
“I think I have it,” Adrian grunted as his arms fell to his sides.
The small taste of relief touched her tongue.
“Mira, I’m gonna get Aria first, then we’ll carry you out,” Adrian told her as if he wanted to reassure her that they weren’t just going to abandon her.
That reassurance was bittersweet. Aria didn’t know what they did to her down here and she was afraid to find out. The chances of Mira being in a fragile state of mind were too high, and they had to proceed with extreme caution.
As Adrian slowly scrambled to his feet, Aria wondered what they did to him. He must’ve been drugged or something to be that disoriented. Even as he got closer, he fumbled around with a few of his steps. While he undid her restraints, Aria wondered why this was so easy.
It was almost too easy.
Once she was freed, Adrian gave her a quick once-over and asked if she was injured. After she told him that she was as good as they’re going to get, he nodded and went to undo Mira’s bindings.
Aria didn’t want to crowd them, so instead, she opted to recon the room. That was the best thing she could probably do at the moment, especially considering Mira’s state of mind. After doing so, Aria found that the basement was cluttered and unkempt, but at the same time sparse enough to see the entire floor.
Her eyes landed on a body and her gag reflex almost kicked in.
She wasn’t sure if the person was alive but judging from the glossy sheen in their eyes, Aria would assume not. However this person died, it wasn’t a good way to go. Bruises, cuts, scrapes, scabs, messy sutures, and infections littered their body. Through the pile of bile on the ground, and the slight foam at the mouth, Aria was determined to not end up like that person.
“Did you know her name?” Aria asked, not entirely confident if she wanted to know the answer.
Adrian shook his head, but Mira replied, “Ivy. Her name was Ivy.”
Aria nodded and realized that she still had her smartwatch in her back pocket. Before they were taken to this place, Aria had to take off the watch because of a test in class, and now she was silently thanking Ms. Anderson for being such a dictator.
She checked the battery as she fished it out of her back pocket; it was nearly full and Aria made a mental note to make sure that this woman got some justice, or at the very least, a proper burial.
Another thought struck her as Aria turned on her GPS tracker. She hoped that her dad was trying to track her down. After all, the man was a computer nerd and she wouldn’t put it past him to understand how tracking works. Of course, the idea could totally fail but if there was a chance at being found by the right people, it might be worth the risk.
“Can you walk?” Adrian asked Mira.
She grunted in response, “Barely.”
“It’s okay, I got you.” He put his arm underneath Mira.
“Aria, do you think you could support her other side?”
She immediately complied.
“I’m going to take a look upstairs,” he said with a hint of nervousness. “See if the coast is clear.”
“Alright.” It was all that she could muster.
He gave them a jerky nod and Aria hated how pathetic she felt. She couldn’t fight for her life, she didn’t have incredible investigation skills, and she didn’t have hypersensitive senses that could aid in their escape. Aria could only watch as he crept up the stairs like a cat, and they waited in bated breath for him to give some sort of signal that it was safe to move.
A few hand gestures later and Aria began to test how far Mira could go. Her limp wasn’t bad but getting up the stairs without making too much noise would pose as a challenge. Even though Aria considered herself as
