Emerald Eyed Luna novel Nina (by Mrs.Smith) novel Chapter 72

I jolted awake as my cell door opened up. Mary stepped in and had a tray with her. She placed it on my cot as I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Mary had sat down on the other end of the cot and dangled her legs as she waited for me to eat. I saw scrambled eggs, toast and some lumpy looking stuff which I am assuming is oatmeal.

Grabbing the mush, I leaned against the wall and began to eat.

“Can I ask you a question? Mary asked quietly.

“Go for it” I said between bites.

“You don’t have to answer, I am just curious,” Mary said as she played with the loose string on her shirt. I waited patiently for her to decide if she wanted to ask or not. “I overheard the council men talking last night. They were talking about you and how you are supposed to be our queen, but instead you are under their mercy. I am just wondering why you don’t just put them in their place?” She asked nervously.

“Fair question.” I started trying to decide the right way to answer this. “The Moon Goddess gave me the ability to take back control over the wolf race. But our decisions affect how the future is mapped out. She tempted fate by coming to me to ask me to do this because she saw a future where I did just that. I commanded the council men to step down and/or kill them, but that created a lot of controversy. You see, they are very powerful men. They have their own allies and tools at their mercy. If I did that, many people would see it as I am power hungry and they didn’t do anything wrong, so I killed them unjustly. Making me unfit to be queen. People will need proof that they are corrupt in order to believe it. It is true I could go around and command people to do whatever I wanted, but again, most will say I am just power hungry. So, I am allowing myself to be tortured so I can get the evidence I need to show the public that they are corrupt in many ways. No one will believe me if I don’t have evidence. If order to be a good leader, you need to have the respect of your people and going around forcing people to do your will is not how you get respect. I am doing this to earn the respect of my people. I am confident it will pay off in the end.”

Mary was quiet for a minute, “It would be easier to command them though.”

I laughed at that, “Yes, yes it would, but I would not have the respect of my people, nor would I have the evidence I need to take down the trafficking ring.”

“True…”

“This is all the more evidence against them. It will pay off. That, I am positive!”

“I hope so, but it is time for me to go. All done?”

“Yes, thank you!” I said.

“You’re welcome. You look better today.”

Giving her a sad smile, “For now”, Mary nodded in understanding and left the cell.

It was nearing 9 pm when they finished with me for the day. They decided that today’s punishment was to strap me to the wall and whip me with a leather whip that had small glass blades on the end. They also decided to see which made the bigger bruise, a baseball bat or the driver, a golf club. By the looks of it, the baseball bat was bruised, but the driver was thicker. They successfully broke every rib, left femur, right heel, right shoulder, collar bone and bruised up my face. I am only seeing out of one eye currently.

Grant just put me back in my cell and told me I had one hour to heal before it would be my chance to break into the office. The shit I do for my people…

Thankfully, Mary showed up with some ointment and water. Raven was helping me heal my legs first so I could walk to the offices and Mary was tending to my face. Raven managed to close the whip lacerations as they were all superficial, so I didn’t leave a trail of blood.

“Lay down so I can clean your back and legs. I brought you more clothes” Mary said as she pulled a rag out of the warm soapy water and rung it out. I did as she told me. She worked in silence. When she was done, the water was a deep brown. It stung like a bitch. Although they were closed enough, I wasn’t bleeding, there was dirt stuck that needed to be removed. I was so dizzy, and the pain was the most excruciating thing I have ever felt. It was all I could do to not pass out.

“Remember Nina! Stay awake!” Raven kept yelling in my head.

Stay awake, stay awake, get evidence, stay awake. I kept repeating that in my head as they worked. I ended up waiting and hour and a half before I was mentally able to stand and walk. My heel and femur were not healed fully but enough I could put some pressure on them. I got dressed in the baggy sweats and t-shirt Mary gave me. This will have to do as my clothes are not ripped to shreds and stained with blood.

“It’s time, you need to get moving!” Raven said with urgency.

As I went to put the folder back, I heard the squeak of sticky wheels. I ducked under his desk just in time for someone to pass by. I stuck my head out a tad when I heard singing and it was an elderly lady with a housekeeping cart. She parked it and walked into the office next to the one I was in. I went back around in the space with my feet under the desk and tried to think of a plan. Being in this position with these injuries is not ideal. My cuts screamed in pain as they were pulled to their limit. I sat there for a second trying to think of my next move when I saw the carpet with a wear pattern in it. In the corner of his office, there was a bookshelf. I started looking at the books and they were pretty common books you would expect to see. I saw one on prophesies which surprised me, so I grabbed it quickly and got back under the desk.

As I opened the book, a couple of papers fell out. Oh shit! He will notice this for sure. I wonder though what would fall out of a book! Opening the first page, I scanned it. It was a shipping and docking list of times and dates and what shipment was due. The second page was dates of operation in each warehouse and the third was the amount of product that was shipped in and out and on what ship.

None of this looked incriminating but who would write, ‘shipping 23 girls out on the 16th of June on cargo ship 4256 at 9pm.’ I got a hunch and I put the book back and grabbed a few other books. I shook them and more papers fell out. I didn’t have time to really look through every page as I could hear the housekeeping working and I knew my time was running out. I need to head back asap!

I went through as many books as I could without even looking to make sure I got them all. I started getting a bad feeling and I knew my time was up. I need to go now! I grabbed what I had and went to the door. Peeking out, I saw Mary standing in the hallway looking very nervous. Shit! What is she doing? I got out and locked the door and stuffed the papers in my pockets. Limping my way to Mary, she hurried to me.

“You need to get back down there now! I just saw their car pull up!” Mary said hurriedly and looked very nervous.

“Okay, I am going!”

“Which room were you in? I will clean it really quickly and make it look like I am doing my job!?”

“Devin’s!” I said as I was walking to the elevator. I pushed 1 as it dinged. I didn’t even let it open all the way before I jumped in. Pushing 3, the elevator started going down and I was feeling very anxious. As it dinged again, I made my way to my room and got in, locking the door. Folding each paper as little as I could, I stuffed it into the brick and laid down just in time to hear the elevator ding. Oh shit, who is that?”

I pretended to be sleeping as I heard footsteps walking up to my door. I felt their presence, but I kept my heart steady. After what seemed like hours, I heard them walk away and get into the elevator.

That was too close of a call. I don’t even know if I got everything, but I hope I got enough. I got as comfortable as possible and fell asleep.