How did we get here? And who the hell put us in this box? Why did I keep waking up in weird places? Why was my head so fuzzy? Maybe it was time to reevaluate my life choices.
"Ben?" I tapped my hand against his. "Ben, wake up."
"Ten more minutes, Mom," he grumbled, wiping his hand over his face.
I sighed and stuck my finger in his ear, yanking on the lobe. He grumbled and tried to roll but woke when he found that he was standing, and, well, he was in a freaking metal box.
"What the hell?" he exclaimed.
"We're in a box," I told him.
"I can see that," he said, glancing around. "Why are we in a box?"
We both struggled as much as we could in the confined space, banging our shoulders against the walls and rattling the door. Even with both of us throwing our weight around, the box remained upright.
"I honestly don't know. I'm just glad it's not made of silver," I huffed. "This isn't your ‘clever' plan for finding a way for us to spend time away from River Oaks together, is it? Because this is not what I meant."
"No," he told me. "Phone. Do you have your phone? We could call for help."
I searched my pockets and looked down at the empty cage around my feet. "Nope. I'm getting the feeling we're not supposed to be able to call for help."
"Maybe this is some sort of training exercise from Jane?" Ben said. "Like survival training, when they drop soldiers on the top of a mountain and expect them to get home safe?"
"I don't think Jane would lock you up in a Saw murder box just to teach you life skills. The woman made you chocolate breakfast blood yesterday with a little chocolate syrup smiley face. That's the vampire equivalent of cutting the crusts off your PB and J."
"She likes you, too, you know," Ben insisted. "You just don't let her get close enough to make those little gestures."
"Not the time, Ben." I grunted, pushing at the door. Even with my superstrength, I couldn't make it budge. I craned my neck to get a look at the latch. It was sealed with a padlock.
"Maybe we screwed up paperwork for the Council or something?"
"That seems extreme, even for the Council," Ben said. "Besides, what are the odds we both screwed up paperwork that badly? You're actually pretty good with the paperwork, from what I hear."
"Good point," I said through gritted teeth as I unleashed the full force of my biceps on the door. And suddenly, I remembered standing outside the elevator with Ben. The flash of movement behind him. A needle and the sting in my neck.
"Dr. Hudson," I growled. "He lured us to the library and injected us. We were betrayed by Post-its."
Ben groaned, smacking his forehead against the cage. "I told you. Only trust instant messages."
"Yeah, yeah. Also, have you noticed that the sun is coming up?" I said, nodding at the horizon. "And we're in a box that offers no sun protection."
"I did notice that."
I wriggled my hips so I could work my feet up on the door. I braced my back against the wall of the box and pushed. The metal groaned and gave a bit but definitely not enough for either of us to squeeze out.
"The padlock," I said, nodding to the metal loop that was keeping the door pinned to the cage. "Think we can break it?"
"It's a Master Lock," he muttered as he propped his own butt against the back wall. "Who seals up a death trap with an unbreakable lock? That's just a douchey thing to do."
We put our feet against the door, extended our legs, and pushed as hard as we could. There was a loud groaning noise as the door buckled. Breathing hard-out of habit, really, and not need-we dropped our feet to the ground. I shoved at the door, but the latch and the lock were still pretty much intact. Maybe it was a special supernatural-strength Master Lock?
"I'm guessing Dr. Hudson was mad about not being able to complete his ‘research' on us. Remember, Jane busted in before he could expose us to UV rays? Maybe this is his way of finding out once and for all how we react to sunlight," I said.
"I am going to find that man. And then I'm going to shove a stake up his-"
Grunting, I pushed with my feet again. "I got it, I got it. More pushing, less anatomical threats."
In the distance, the purple of the sky was giving way to orange, and I could feel the warmth of the sun coming over the horizon. It wasn't unpleasant, really. And sort of a refreshing change of pace from the constant nighttime cycle we'd been through over the last few months. Though the fact that I almost welcomed the sunrise was a little concerning, in terms of my frame of mind.
"One more time," I told Ben.