Back From Prison, Built For Revenge - Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Chloe slowly opened her eyes. An invisible wall of darkness trapped her in the unknown.
Her head spun, her throat felt raw, as if scraped by sandpaper. Her limbs felt as if filled with lead, so weak she couldn't even curl her fingers.
Her nostrils were assailed by a pungent, sickening stench, a vile mix of mold and engine oil that turned her stomach.
Chloe tried to move, only to realize her wrists and ankles were tightly bound with coarse ropes. The rough fibers dug into her flesh, leaving a faint, clammy wetness, probably blood.
Every movement sent needle-sharp pains deep into her bones, forcing a stifled gasp through clenched teeth. Her back scraped against the icy, unyielding floor, the chill seeping through her thin clothes and piercing her to the core.
Meanwhile, the relentless drip of water pounded against her nerves like a death knell.
"Where am I?" Chloe's head felt heavy, her thoughts clogged. All she could recall were fragments from before she blacked out.
'The alley behind the café, the sudden kidnappers, the syringe reeking of decay, and the moment Demi collapsed?' she wondered. The memories flickered in and out, jagged and sharp, like shards of broken glass slicing through her mind.
"Demi?" Chloe murmured in a hoarse whisper, her voice barely audible. "Did you get out? Or—"
Chloe abruptly bit down on her lower lip, refusing to let her mind go there. 'No time to panic. I need to stay calm,' she told herself.
Taking a deep breath, Chloe forced herself to concentrate. The kidnappers didn't seem to be nearby; all she could hear was the steady drip of water and the occasional metallic creak of loose tin sheets swaying in the wind.
In the distance, faint voices reached her—two rough, grating male voices, like sandpaper scraping across glass, making her skin crawl.
A man snapped, "The whole goddamn outskirts are crawling with cops. This broad is a real pain in the ass. If I'd known it would be such a mess, I never would've taken this job."
"Shut the hell up," the other voice growled, low and controlled, with a hint of suppressed anger. "What are you so afraid of? This place is out in the middle of nowhere. They won't find us anytime soon."
The first voice scoffed, "You buy that? One screw-up and we're dead meat." He cursed again, then added, "And can we even trust that contact of ours?"
"Enough with the bullshit. Stick to the damn plan. Just drink your booze," the second voice snapped, clearly losing patience. He kicked something metallic, which clanged loudly.
Chloe held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to make a sound. The kidnappers weren't close, but every word they uttered hammered into her mind.
She caught the crucial details. The police were searching the area, but hadn't found this place yet. 'I still have a chance to survive,' she wondered, 'but time is running out.'
"They're not exactly a united front," Chloe tried to reassure herself. But reality quickly hit her hard.
This was clearly an abandoned factory, littered with scrap metal and reeking of oil and rust. Escaping from a place like this was no easy feat.
The room gradually fell silent, leaving only the kidnappers' low murmurs and the occasional clink of glasses in the background.
Chloe tried to move her wrists, but the ropes were tied so tightly that each attempt sent a searing pain through her skin.
She gritted her teeth, refusing to make a sound, and kept repeating in her mind. "Don't give up, please," she murmured.
Evelyn's words suddenly echoed in Chloe's mind, words Chloe had heard countless times as a child. "Chloe, no matter what, never give up easily."
Like a ray of light in the darkness, those words illuminated Chloe's fragile heart and allowed her to regain a glimmer of strength to persevere.
Time ticked by as the kidnappers grew lax. They started drinking and playing drinking games, their laughter and curses growing louder by the minute.
One even began to hum an off-key tune. This absurd revelry formed a jarring contrast with the cold, derelict surroundings, but for Chloe, it was a glimmer of hope.
Chloe painstakingly inched her body closer to the metal shard beside her, the only thing that could save her now. With every agonizing inch, the ropes sawed into her flesh, sending fresh waves of pain.
Sweat streamed down her temples, stinging her eyes, but all she could do was grit her teeth and endure it.
Finally, her fingers brushed against the metal shard. It was covered in rust, yet its edge was razor-sharp, capable of slicing skin with ease.
Chloe wedged it carefully between her fingers and began to saw at the ropes. Each swipe of the shard carved new wounds into her hands, some shallow, some deep enough to sting.
But she dared not stop. Every second she paused could extinguish the last flicker of her hope.
After what felt like an eternity, there was a faint snap. The rope around Chloe's left wrist finally broke. She nearly burst into tears of relief, but she told herself, 'Now isn't the time to celebrate.'
Chloe quickly yanked off her blindfold and, in the faint light, scanned her surroundings. It was an abandoned workshop, cluttered and piled high with broken-down machinery and sheets of rusted metal.
The two kidnappers were slumped in a corner. One was completely passed out, sprawled on the floor and snoring; the other, though still conscious, swayed unsteadily with a bottle in hand, clearly on the verge of passing out.
Chloe took a shaky breath and cautiously began untying the rope on her right wrist.
Her left hand was so numb she could barely feel it, but with every painstaking movement, she was terrified that even the slightest sound might draw their attention.
Suddenly, one of the kidnappers rolled over and mumbled something incoherent in his sleep.
Chloe held her breath and didn't dare make a sound. After a few seconds, though it felt like an eternity, the man slumped back into deep sleep, cold sweat trickling down Chloe's back.
Finally, amidst blood and sweat, Chloe wrestled free from all her restraints.
Though her legs were numb from being tied up for so long, she gritted her teeth, forced herself upright, and took her first shaky step. Just as she did, a towering figure loomed in the doorway.
"Going somewhere?" A deep, raspy voice sliced through the air like a blade, instantly freezing the entire space. He stood there, silhouetted against the dim yellow light, his hawk-like eyes fixed intently on Chloe.
The crushing presence emanating from him weighed down like a mountain, making it almost impossible for Chloe to breathe.
Chloe froze, every muscle tensed to the breaking point. 'Who is this guy?' she thought. 'An enemy? Or my savior?'