Chapter 88

Valerie

I woke in a damp, dark place, a cold wall at my back. For a moment, I wondered if I was still back in the Cell. If the last several years of my life had simply been a dream, and I had never left the confines of this cramped prison.

But even The Cell was in better condition than whatever this hellish dungeon was. I sat in a puddle of wet, something damp dripping from the ceiling above and landing on the nape of my neck. It was too dark to make out the details of my confinement, but I immediately found several others, sitting in the darkness. Someone to either side of me, and a handful across the room, rested against the walls.

Humans. Tied up, just like me.

I turned to my right, where a boy sat, slouched forward in a miserable position. His eyes were closed, but there was no way he was asleep. It would have been impossible to get any rest with the way he was sitting. “Excuse me,” I whispered, nudging him with my shoulder. “Sir? Where are we?”

He did not answer. He did not