Page 53 of London Has Fallen
London
The pounding in my head rouses me. I groan as I try to sit up but I can’t move anything aside from my head. I slowly peel my eyes open and cringe in pain as the light beams down on me, I slam them shut as the drum beat in my head intensifies. I try to recall what the fuck happened and that’s when everything comes rushing back to me, I was in a car wreck! I push through the pain in my head and slowly blink my eyes open until they adjust to the light above me, it takes a few tries but when I finally manage to get them open I frown. I expected to be in a hospital room not… whatever the fuck this place is. It’s a room but the concrete walls tell me I'm not in a place with people who care for my wellbeing and if that wasn’t enough, the fact my wrists and ankles are shackled to this metal bed frame should do the trick.
I fight against my restraints trying to yank free but it’s fucking futile!
I take calming breathes to keep myself in check, all getting hysterical would do is deplete my energy and show whoever the fuck has me that I am scared. I close my eyes and exhale as I recall what my dad taught me.
Never allow fear to become a factor, you shut everything down and focus. Pain is nothing but a second, it will go away, you just need to remember to shield your mind. They can break your body and you will survive but, if they break your mind that shit can’t be healed.
I replay his words over and over in my head, it’s strange to find comfort in something he said when at that moment all I wanted to do was escape and go be free. I wanted to be someone else instead of London Murdoch. I thought I could lead a normal life but since returning to Blackwood I’ve learned that I can never be anyone but myself. I am who I am and I’m good with that. There will never be a normal life for me because I am nothing like anyone else, I am the daughter of Royal and Erika Murdoch and I will survive this fucking place and conquer these trials to show my father I am worthy to take over and lead my family when the time comes.
When the sound of a key enters the key hole in the door, I force my body not to tense and remain relaxed in the bed. When the door opens, I lazily lull my head to the side and it takes a fuck load of effort not to allow the shock from showing on my face at the sight of the fucking triplets. Adonis walks in carrying a tray with food and water, Apollo keeps his head down but the sight of the scissors in his left hand has me on edge. Ares, he is the one to hold my attention, his gaze is focused on me and unrelenting. I try to decipher his emotions but all I can see in the depths of his gaze is guilt and shame. An angry man can be controlled but a guilty man is unstable and ruled by his emotions. Ares is the wildcard at this point so I’m going to have to work the other two to keep their brother in line.
Adonis places the tray on the ground beside the bed I am chained to, Apollo comes to the other side of the bed, refusing to meet my gaze as he looks to Ares as he stands at the foot of the bed. I raise my chin to show them even in this weak position that I am still superior, I am not a weak bitch. I will never scream, shout or beg for mercy. If I am to meet my maker, then I will go out with my fucking dignity.
“London Murdoch,” Ares says in a tone filled with loathing. “You have been sentenced by the Godfathers Of The night to complete the trial of innocence.”
I snort for show. “Innocence? Pretty hard to do anything when I am chained to this fucking bed,” I snap. The three of them share a look before Ares finally nods to Apollo before turning back to me.
“You will be bared for all to see. Given the fact you are the first woman to ever enter into the trials, you will become the trial and we will prove our worth by taking the innocence of our foe.” The second he finishes speaking, my attention is snagged by Apollo as he leans down and grips the shirt I wear, fear spikes inside me when he begins to cut my shirt open with the scissors, I keep my breathing even and mask of indifference in place. Once he cuts the shirt away he tosses it to the ground leaving me in my bra and pants, he reaches for the waistband of my jeans but hesitates.
“Do it,” Ares orders but Apollo remains frozen.
“If you don’t, he will,” Adonis whispers. I watch as Apollo closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before cutting from my waistband all the way down to my ankle, he does the same on the other side and yanks the material out from underneath me leaving me in nothing but my bra and thong. I dart my gaze between the three of them as fear slowly works its way through my body, I’m not stupid, I know what comes next. I need to mentally prepare myself for it because without a doubt, I know having them rape me will destroy something inside me.
“The hair,” Ares mutters. Apollo slowly turns back to me and does everything he can to keep his gaze from meeting mine as he leans over me to grip my ponytail. I don’t fight when he reaches around with his other hand. When I hear the distinct sound of the scissors cutting through my hair I close my eyes, I know it’s just hair but that isn't the point. This haircut isn’t something I wanted and they just took that from me.
“I’m so sorry, London, if we don’t do this he’ll kill him,” Apollo whispers as he draws back with what used to be my ponytail in his hand. Ares nods to his brothers and the three of them turn to leave. I slink into the bed grateful that they didn’t rape me but when a voice filled with glee sounds out around the room and the three of them go eerily still. I dart my gaze above my head and narrow my eyes, there are two cameras on either corner and a speaker concreted into the wall above my head.
“Take it all,” the voice says. I can see the muscles in their backs bunch as they slowly turn back to me, the resolute look in their eyes sets me on edge. A feeling in my gut tells me they were actually trying to be nice before but now, they have no choice but to do whatever it is they have to. Ares nudges Apollo but he doesn’t move. The distraught look in his eyes has my breaths coming in rapid pants. Then Adonis pushes him aside, plants his feet and shakes his head.
“I can’t!” Apollo snaps.
“You don’t do it, he dies. You want that?” Ares shouts in his face.
“Give it to me.” At the sound of his voice, everything inside me freezes. The triplets part to make way for Artemis. My gaze runs over him. His face is bruised and he walks with a limp. I can see he is shielding his brothers from seeing the extent of the real pain he’s in. He keeps his gaze on me as he holds his hand out for Apollo to place the scissors in the palm of his hand. “Get out,” he barks. The triplets practically run from the room at his order. He stands there just staring at me. As the seconds tick by, I watch as he slowly locks away his emotions until his eyes become nothing but an empty void.
“Make it count, pretty boy, whatever you planned better kill me because if it doesn’t…” I let my threat trail off, he knows what will happen if he does something to me, it will cost him his life.
“Believe me, you will wish that I had killed you by the end of this.” The regret in his tone gives me pause as he slowly eliminates the space between us. He comes to a stop at the edge of the bed, looming above me. I see the torment of emotions splayed across his face. Realization crashes into me, he isn't here to kill me.
“Artemis?” He swallows loudly and gives me his full attention. “If it comes to that, make sure it’s you.” Shame casts its shadow across his features.
“I can’t,” he whispers as he slowly bends down and glides the scissors through the center of my bra cutting it open. I suck in a sharp intake of breath.
“Look at me,” I grit out through clenched teeth, he slowly lifts his gaze to mine. “If it is anyone else, brothers or not, I will slit their fucking throats.” His gaze searches mine for a second before he tears it away from me to cut my underwear away exposing me to the cameras.
“I should have killed you and saved you from this pain,” he whispers before gathering the scraps of my clothes and undergarments and walking out. The moment the door clicks shut the speaker above my head crackles. Grinding my teeth, knowing without a doubt that Costa is the one speaking. Artemis wouldn’t be doing this for any other reason than his father forcing him to do this in order to save the lives of his brothers.
“You will be nothing but a broken little doll after this.”
“Maybe, but didn’t your whore of a mother ever teach you that broken things can be fixed?” I clap back, the speaker crackles again but no reply comes. Taunting him probably isn’t a good idea but fuck it. Artemis and Cronos never told me that this trial—Oh fuck! Artemis did but I didn’t figure it out until now.
“There are five trials in total. Kill. Take. Escape. Describe. Steal. The final trial is the hardest, you may think you are strong and can take on the world but believe me, this trial will break you. I don’t say this as a threat, I say it as a warning, London. That trial is not for the faint of heart, if it doesn’t break you physically, it will destroy you mentally and emotionally.”
If this is the final trial then does that mean I skipped one or something? I can feel it in my bones that something really bad is going to happen. You know when you have that feeling in your gut that you can just sense evil and you begin to feel nauseous because your body can sense the danger before your mind? I can feel that in my soul right now. I close my eyes to try to ease the pounding in my head. I try to get lost in my thoughts to distract myself from the fact I am naked and on camera. I don’t know who is watching but if they expect to see me break then they will be waiting a long fucking time, I would rather die than allow anyone the satisfaction of thinking they could break me.
I must have fallen asleep because the sound of the door opening draws my attention. I watch as two men enter the room with robes on, followed by another four in similar robes but theirs have the hoods down. When their gazes land on me their mouths hang open. The surprise on their faces is all I need to know that they didn’t expect to enter this room and find me shackled to this bed.