Scheming women seek reve.., p.24
Scheming Women Seek Revenge,
p.24
She just wanted to fucking die already.
This time she was determined to kill herself. She was determined to trick them into thinking she was alive until she was dead, but her head swam as it was impossible to keep the breath in her lungs any longer, and her movements slowed. It was hard to think. Hard to keep up with what she’d originally planned to happen.
They jerked her back by her hair, ripping out chunks at a time because she was so malnourished that her body had given up. Jerry gasped, unwillingly, as her body tried to kick itself into gear and keep her alive longer.
“Who do you work for?”
Jerry swallowed, the taste of the liquid hot on her tongue, but she didn’t even have a moment to think about what the flavor was as they shoved her back into it. She gasped, the liquid hitting her throat unexpectedly. Jerry tried to focus, again, wanting to kill herself to at least end it for now, knowing she’d eventually awaken back into this hell.
There was no escaping it unless she could properly die. All she could do was postpone the inevitable. She could prevent herself from telling too much, from staying still for too long, from giving in to their demands. Jerry drew in another breath of the liquid, this time on purpose. Drowning seemed better than subjecting herself to this.
Again her head floated, and she gasped in more. It moved down her throat as she swallowed. She just wanted to die. No one could save her in Joab, no one could break her free. There was no hope of escape other than death or pretending to follow their rules enough to survive and be freed, but this was her fifth time back. She would be marked this time, and she would never be allowed into society with the rest of Penum.
This was her destiny.
She knew it had always been a long shot with her and Arloa. Something like this was going to happen, something that would separate them to the point that she’d never be able to return herself to Arloa’s presence. Jerry gasped in more liquid, barely able to make her lips move to swallow it down. But she didn’t want to swallow, she wanted to breathe it in, she wanted to stop up her lungs to the point she’d never be able to wake up—but that was a fruitless choice.
She was a zombie. The virus had taken over her and had given Joab the ultimate power to torture her without killing her in far too many ways. Relaxing her entire form, Jerry let them do whatever they wanted. She had no hope.
MONTH FOUR
Everywhere hurt. She’d lost all track of days and weeks and months. Even hours and minutes meant nothing anymore. She lay in the corner of her cell, the thin straw the only thing protecting her from the cold cement, but that was barely worth mentioning. She forgot how many times she had fake-died before being dragged back into the reality that was her current situation.
The cell door creaked open, the metal clanging as it was clipped to the wall. She didn’t even bother to move. They would do whatever they wanted to her, how many times it took. Boots scuffled along the floor, the scraping loud to her ears. Jerry waited patiently for the tip of one to slam into her belly as she was kicked.
A heavy breathing greeted her. Confused, Jerry pried her eyes open to look up into the face of another leather clad authority. He bent down, gripped her chin hard, and dragged her toward him so their faces nearly touched.
“What’s her name?”
Jerry shook her head, tears prickling the corners of her eyes. Even if she wanted to answer him, wanted to give in to what he demanded, she couldn’t without more information as to who he was talking about.
“What’s her name?”
Jerry bit the inside of her cheek to center herself. She wouldn’t give in, not to that. Not to giving up any of her crew to this man. She lifted her shackled hands to his wrist and held on tightly, not harming him in any way, but holding herself steady in a way he wasn’t.
“Who will rescue you?”
Jerry raised her gaze to his, locking her eyes on his dark ones. She couldn’t even see what color they were in the lack of light in the room. She couldn’t figure out what he wanted, but this line of questioning was so different from any of the others they had given her.
“What’s her name?”
Jerry tensed. Something inside her compelled her to answer, and she gave the only name she could think of. “Kauket.”
He dropped her and walked out of the cell, slamming the door shut. Jerry stayed shackled in place against the cold cement floor. She had no idea what happened, but she was glad for the break. Before she could calm herself, he came back. He knelt onto the ground in front of her and covered her head with a burlap bag. Jerry fought it, but she had no recourse to hope she’d be able to get out.
Crying out and screaming wasn’t going to get her anywhere, so she stayed still and quiet, hoping that would feed her more answers than asking questions would. Her shackles were removed, something that hadn’t happened since she’d been brought there. Instead of the heavy metal against her skin, she was tied up with scratchy rope.
She wanted desperately to ask what was happening but kept her silence again. Unable to see anything, Jerry was dragged from her cell and down the corridor. She didn’t know where they were taking her. Left in the dark, she followed the orders of the hands against her body as she was shoved in different directions.
He pushed her down, making her crouch. Her toes spread in order to keep her balance, smearing in something wet and slimy. Jerry waited for the next silent command, and when the hand against her shoulder pushed her forward, she unexpectedly fell. Her skull slammed into a wall as she rolled and slid down a chute. A loud crash echoed before the top of her head rammed into something, causing her to bite her tongue. Blood filled her mouth.
When she stopped moving, she dragged in a deep breath. Hands on her arms and legs pulled her across the hard stones. Jerry tried to scream, but her voice left her as she was lifted up and flung like a bag of seed. She landed with a thud, pain shooting through her shoulder and hip where she landed. She kept quiet, still not sure what to say or do. Nothing of this had been what she experienced in Joab before.
Engines whirring told her she wasn’t on the island any longer. Her heart fluttered with hope—something she had long thought had been extinguished. She was pushed into a room, her hands and feet still tied so tight that she couldn’t move even if she wanted to. She was at everyone else’s mercy.
Heels clicked against the deck as the ship lifted up. Did she dare to dream she was actually escaping Joab? No one had ever done that before. Or were they taking her to her final death? That would be so unlike them, though. If they were going to kill her, they would do it publicly, to scare the rest of the prisoners.
The door opened and snicked shut, a lock sliding into place. Every hair on Jerry’s body was attuned to the sounds and smells around her. She was about to buck her way across the floor when the bag was lifted from her head. She squinted against the bright lights, so unused to seeing in this kind of illumination. She gasped as she looked into steel-blue eyes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adrian J. Smith has been publishing since 2013 but has been writing nearly her entire life. With a focus on women loving women fiction, AJ jumps genres from action-packed police procedurals to the seedier life of vampires and witches to sweet romances with a May-December twist. She loves writing and reading about women in the midst of the ordinariness of life.
AJ currently lives in Cheyenne, WY, although she moves often and has lived all over the United States. She loves to travel to different countries and places. She currently plays the roles of author, wife, and mother to two rambunctious youngsters, occasional handy-woman. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or her blog.
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BROKEN WOMEN FIGHT BACK
A prison break, a determined senator, and questions that need answers.
Escaped from Joab, Jeraldine Adelric is on the run. No longer a captain, she needs time to recover and plan her next move. As Arloa cares for her, she can’t help but wonder how the virus that has culled the planet started.
With a new mission in hand, Jerry digs deep into the politics of Raegina while trying to rewrite her stars and make a new name of herself. But she can’t stop longing for the seas. With Arloa’s support and love, Jerry takes precise steps to secure her future.
Will she stay or will she go?
Releases May 2023
Adrian J. Smith, Scheming Women Seek Revenge
