What Following Brings (3 page)

****

Eden
lingered
by the prison cell
door
, even though the soldiers did not come get her. At her side, Adanna stared blankly ahead, a sad expression on her face. Eden reached over and grabbed her hand
. The
two of them laced fingers.

“
It
'
ll be okay,
”
Eden said.
“
We
'
ll get you back to your sister,
all right
?
”

Adanna nodded.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs caused them both to look over. Eden saw a group of ten Demon soldiers heading right toward her cell. Her heart filled with fear as she
looked
at them. How was she supposed to escape this?
She
had no doubt
that
when she reached the actual
prison
there would be many more men ready to contain her.
Already, she felt as though she was suffocating.

The head guard
who had a golden sword pendant on his chest
stepped forward and
looked
at her with
narrow
eyes.
Eden knew this was the Sergeant Dale Aaron had spoken of.
His mouth was a thin line and his beard was black and tufty. He glared at Eden as if she might suddenly sprout a second head and try to devour him.

“
Don
'
t make any sudden moves,
”
Sergeant Dale
said.
“
Do not struggle. Do not try to escape.
”

Eden frowned and stepped back. There wa
s no way
she would try to escape now under such heavy guard, not unless she didn
'
t have any other choice. She glanced to her right and exchanged looks with Adanna, who still held her hand.

Sergeant Dale
unlocked her door and held it open, waving her out with one hand.

“
Come through,
”
Sergeant Dale
said.

Both Eden and Adanna stepped forward, but he pushed Adanna back by her
shoulder
and she let g
o of Eden
'
s hand. Eden froze, feeling as though her heart had been ripped out.

“
Not her,
”
Sergeant Dale
said.
“
Just you.
”

Eden wasn
'
t sure what she
had
expected, but being separated from Adanna was not
it.
Though she felt fear shoot through her soul, she shook her head and grabbed Adanna
'
s
wrist
, tightening her grip. She didn
'
t want to let her go. Not now. N
ot after she had made a promise
and
had learned
Adanna was the key to saving the world.

Sergeant Dale
frowned
and stepped into the cell
.
W
hen he tried to pull Eden away from Adanna,
Eden
thrashed and accidentally hit him in the face. Eden stared at him, stunned, as he glared at her accusingly.

“
Grab the girl,
”
Sergeant Dale
said.
“
Watch her. She
'
s dangerous.
”

The nine remaining men split up and swarmed the cell. Eden felt one pair
of hands fasten around her waist
and another
grabbed
her arms. Three other men had Adanna now, yanking her away from Eden. Adanna still reached forward, desperately trying to grab her hand.

“
Adanna, no,
”
Eden yelled.
“
Adanna. Adanna, please. Let us stay together.
It
'
s
all I ask for. Please.
”

Eden was already being pulled away, out of the cell. One of the soldiers threw her over his shoulder
. She
kicked and thrashed, pummeling him.

“
Adanna,
”
Eden said.
“
Adanna, Adanna.
”

Her cries went ignored.

The soldier carried her up the steps and onto the deck of the ship,
where
she stopped
fighting
. Her eyes widened in horror at what the Demon continent
, Infernum,
looked
like. Endless dead lands spread out before
her
, dark brown and cracked from the heat. Eden was strongly reminded of flecks of dead skin. The only sign of vegetation was the occasional blackened tree with no leaves, stretching its branches toward the sky as if screaming for water.

The ship bob
bed on
crimson water
and
the air
stank like rotten eggs. Eden
looked
into the water and swore she saw something move beyond the surface besides heat bubbles, but she could not be certain. Eden whimpered and struggled again
. The
man
who
carried her swore and dropped her to the deck with a heavy thud.

“
What are you doing,
Corporal
Dawson?
”
Sergeant Dale
asked.
“
Get her back on your shoulder now.
”

“
I can
'
t, sir. She struggles too much,
”
Corporal
Dawson said, as Eden glared at him.

“
Then tie her up.
”

Before Eden even had time to blink, she was painfully thrust against the side of the boat
and pushed onto her stomach
.
Corporal
Daw
son tightened rope
around her wrists, then he spun her around and glared at her with angry brown eyes. She gulped and
wriggled
beneath his glare.

“
Do not kick me again,
”
Corporal
Dawson
said
.
“
Even if you manage to escape on the way to the prison, there are far
worse things than us out there.
T
hey
'
d be happy to eat a little girl like you.
”

“
I
'
m not a little girl,
”
Eden said.

“
You
'
re a
scrawny creature
,
”
Corporal
Dawson said, smirking at her.
“
You look like a little girl to me.
”

He
seized Eden around her waist and yanked her back to the rest of the soldiers.
She
bit her bottom lip and chose not to speak again
as she
had made too much trouble already. If she had been good, had walked out when she was told, then maybe the soldiers would be less angry with her and she would have a higher chance of escaping. Now, the soldiers were on their guard.

If only they hadn
'
t take away Adanna. What are they going to do with her?
She imagined soldiers beating Adanna across the face and tried to fight down the feelings of horror. Sargent Dale grabbing her arm brought her back to reality.

Eden bit her lip as she was immersed in the line of soldiers so there were five in front of her and five behind her, keeping her from escaping.
Corporal
Dawson pushed her forward, and the group began to move toward
the edge of the ship
. When they reached it, the group paused.

“
Five go down first, then the girl,
”
Sergeant Dale
said.
“
The
final five will follow after.
”

Throwing his leg over the side of the ship, Sergeant Dale dropped down and disappeared from view. Horror filled Eden.
I
'
m not going to have to jump down, am I? This ship is high.
If she did
have to
, she guessed
it would be
the least of her worries. She was about to be tortured in the scariest prison in all of purgatory.

The group
headed
forward again as more soldiers
moved
to go over the side. Finally, when it became Eden
'
s turn, she
looked
down the
ship wall
and saw, to her relief, there was a rope ladder
which
led down to a wooden dock below.
The jump wouldn
'
t be far.
Unfortunately, t
he relief was short lived.

“
Go on,
”
Corporal
Dawson said, forcing her forward.

“
My hands are bound,
”
Eden said.
“
I cannot climb down the ladder with bound hands.
”

An evil grin crossed
Corporal
Dawson
'
s face, and he pressed
a hand
against her neck. She shu
ddered in disgust at his touch, wishing he would let her go.

“
Sir, the prisoner has her hands bound,
”
Corporal
Dawson said.
“
She can
'
t get down this way.
”

Sergeant Dale
looked
at her with a smirk.
“
Then I
'
ll guess you
'
ll just have to toss her down. We
'
ll try to catch her. Maybe.
”

Oh, no.
Eden
'
s eyes
widened
and she stepped away from the side
, shuddering
.
It
was a long drop and she was not prepared for it
.

“
Oh no, you aren
'
t going anywhere,
”
Corporal
Dawson said.

Corporal
Dawson grabbed her by her waist, hoisted her up, and dangled her over the ledge. She couldn
'
t help herself. She screamed in fear. The drop had to have been at least twenty-five feet, and she had never been fond of heights. Her eyes widened as she
stared
down and saw Sergeant Dale standing underneath her with
laughing
eyes. She didn
'
t trust him to catch her. Chances were
good
she was going to hit the wood. Hard.
Would
she survive it? She wasn
'
t so sure.

“
Sergeant, here she comes,
”
Corporal
Dawson said, and then he released her.

As she fell, the air whistling around her, she screamed in fear. The drop was over before she could blink, and she found herself in Sergeant Dale
'
s arms. She shivered i
n fear and was frozen in place.

“
Oh, poor thing, I think you frightened her,
”
Sergeant Dale said, smirking.
“
Now get your butt down here so we can make it to the prison.
”

As the remaining men climbed down the rope ladder, Sergeant Dale peeled Eden off of him
self
and pushed her back. Eden, shuddering, stepped away. One of the other Demon soldiers gave her a pitying look but she ignored it. She stole a fleeting
glance
back at the boat and found herself
wishing
what she thought she never would
—
she wished
she was back in
her
prison cell.

Once all of the men were back on the ground, Sergeant Dale said,
“
Forward.
”