Hurricane Heart

Arjan

I flopped back onto the clean, cream bed sheets, kicking off my shoes as Hurricane had done, loving the simple feel of carpet underfoot as opposed to concrete or tile.

Nevertheless, I still had to make sure that there was nowhere she could handcuff me to. Thankfully, though, the headrest was one solid plank of wood; no bars; no slats; nothing to hook a shackle round. That was always a good start.

‘We should come to these places every night,’ I commented.

Hurricane laughed humourlessly. ‘It’s all down to whether I can trust you, Arjan.’ I knew she was going to say something like that. Sadly, she did not elaborate any more.
Ever since I’d seen her crying this morning, if that was what she’d been doing, she’d seemed much less angry. She was less of an alien—whatever they were; I’d heard they were people who might live on other planets—and more of a human. Maybe she was not as devoid of emotion as I’d thought, though one tiny outburst of emotion in four days was hardly good.

Yet it also seemed like she wanted to keep this side from me, as though she was afraid of what I might use it for. But I had no power; not really. I’d seen that. I’d planned or even tried to escape on multiple occasions, and I had never succeeded. I’d never even come close. And there was no way I could win against her in a fight, even when she wasn’t using her gun.

If I could leave, of course I would leave. But by the sound of it, the only other option was to be kidnapped by the Soulless, and that did not sound good, even though I still knew little about them.

Hurricane looked across the room towards me, craning her neck as if to see something specific.

‘Oh dear,’ she said, but I could tell whatever she was saying was sarcastic or fake. ‘There doesn’t seem to be anywhere to handcuff you to.’

So we were having this conversation already.

‘That’s...a shame,’ I said, laughing slightly, though the nervous undertones showed through. She glanced at me, and a faint laugh even seemed to cross her face, lighting her eyes a little brighter, but then it was gone again, and the mask was replaced. Still, though, her eyes sparkled with something I had not seen in them before. Because of my lack of knowledge of it, I would call it imagination and freedom and dreams, but I knew it was something else entirely.

‘I guess it will just come down to trust tonight then,’ she said. She gave me a look that I could only describe as mysterious, before turning away, staring back up at the ceiling.

Her phone started to ring, and she jumped up in surprise, taking it and going briskly into the bathroom and shutting the door before answering. I could not hear her from my bed, and it didn’t feel right to go and eavesdrop with my ear pressed to the wall.

But then I did hear something. I’d never heard Hurricane afraid, but this must have been what it sounded like.

‘No!’ she cried. ‘No, they can’t be.’

After that, I could hear no more, but suddenly every muscle in my body was tensed. I slipped my feet into my shoes, ready to leave if that was what we had to do, ears and eyes fully alert to anything going on around me.

She came bursting out of the bathroom, her stride powerful, but I could see true fear in her eyes, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

‘There are Soulless in Tallinn,’ she announced. ‘One of them is at the front of the hotel. He’ll be here in a moment.’

‘How does he know which room to go to?’ I asked.

‘He just does!’ she snapped, unnecessarily stressed, but understandably uptight.

Then she looked me in the eyes.

‘Arjan, do you trust me?’ she asked, almost as if she was pleading.

I didn’t know how to reply, but I had never strictly lied before, so she’d sense it immediately.

‘Er, no,’ I said, most unhelpfully. She rolled her eyes, but any casual humour was long gone.
She stood in front of the chest of drawers, looking at me almost with desperation.

‘Arjan, come here,’ she said. For some reason, I got up and did as she said.

I walked over, standing beside her, taller than she was, and in a normal situation probably stronger as well.

But she was faster.

Before I knew what she was doing, she whipped out the shackles from I-don’t-know-where and fastened them to my right arm, locking them around one of the hook-like handles on the drawers.

‘No!’ I cried, pulling against it as I shot her a venomous glare. ‘What are you doing?’

‘You need to trust me,’ she said, her eyes begging as she backed away. ‘Please, Arjan. It’s you they want, and I need you to stay in here.’

‘I will!’ I cried frantically. ‘I promise. Please just let me out!’

There was a long, heavy knock on the door. It came three times, each time making the walls shake, with long breaks in between. We both froze.

‘I’ve got to go,’ she whispered, turning and moving gracefully towards the door as I continued to wrench at the shackles, realising it was useless. The drawer was fixed into its slot so I could not simply pull it out, and even if I could it wouldn’t be much use.

‘Please—‘ I cried desperately, and she whipped round, her eyes back to their usual murderous anger. She placed a finger to her lips.

‘Please,’ she echoed sternly, though for an entirely different reason. ‘If you want to live, Arjan, you will be quiet.’

As much as I hated it, I could not argue with her, so I watched helplessly as she picked up her small but powerful gun and danced towards the door, peering through the eyehole to see who was out there.

She opened it, and I took a deep breath, expecting to hear a gunshot; a loud smack as something came and knocked her out unprepared, but there was nothing. Still, I stood with bated breath, momentarily forgetting my struggle, and watched.