Prologue
I awoke to the sound of rain.
“Pit pat, pit pat, pit pat.” Each drop hit with a relentless rhythm, a wretched sound that had always grated on my nerves. The storm had come in like a thief, stealing away the last remnants of calm I’d hoped to cling to.
“Why is it so loud?” I thought, squeezing my eyes shut, desperately wanting to retreat back into the comforting embrace of sleep. But as the cold droplets slid down my cheeks like tiny fingers of ice. It didn’t take long for the reality to settle in—I wasn’t in my own bed, or even my own house.
A creeping dread coiled in my stomach as I slowly opened my eyes, pushing myself up from the hard mattress beneath me. The dim light barely illuminated the small room, shrouding it in shadows that danced ominously around me. It was hard to make sense of my surroundings at first. The air was thick with an unsettling stillness, broken only by the rain’s rhythmic drumming. Yet, despite the eerie vibe, the place was surprisingly tidy. A dresser stood in the corner, its surface free of clutter, while a large, faded rug covered the worn timber floors. But it was the walls that caught my attention—adorned with an array of peculiar artwork.
Panic fluttered in my chest as I swung my legs over the side of the bed, intent on finding a way out of this bizarre nightmare. But just as I stood, the sound of metal clanging against metal pierced the silence.
“Cling clang!” The noise echoed in my ears, filling me with dread.
That’s when I realized—I was chained to the bed frame.
“Fuck, I think I’ve been kidnapped,” I muttered, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. I wiped my face with my hand, more rain dripping from the leaky ceiling, mingling with the beads of sweat forming on my brow. Unless I had somehow wandered into this hellhole myself and secured a shiny chain around my left ankle—an idea that seemed utterly ridiculous—I had been taken against my will.
“How the hell did I get here? Why don’t I remember what happened?” My thoughts spiraled, a chaotic whirlwind of confusion and frustration. The relentless rain outside blurred into a murmur, overshadowed by the frantic rhythm of my heart. “Where are my clothes?” I exclaimed, the chilling realization washing over me. I was completely naked, chained to a bed, and the cold had nothing to do with the storm.
I should have listened to Ma. She had warned me, eyes filled with worry, that the storm would come. She knew the risks of wandering into the wilderness alone. But the hunger gnawed at my insides, a relentless reminder of our dire situation. I had hoped to find something—anything—to bring back for her and Bell. And now, here I was, possibly destined to become another creature's dinner.
“Keep calm,” I whispered to myself, trying to quell the rising tide of panic. “Calm and quiet. That’s what we need to be.” My mind raced as I inspected the chain binding my ankle—its cold metal glinted in the dim light, connected to a short length of chain that offered little room for escape. The room offered no tools, no weapons, nothing to aid in my flight.
Just as I was about to stand and search the limited space more thoroughly, the door creaked open with a slow, ominous groan. My heart dropped, pounding in my chest as I braced myself for whatever—or whoever—was about to step into my nightmare.
