ELLA.
"No!"
The word hit me strangely as it left their mouths, sharp, final, and utterly foreign, as though it didn't belong to me or my reality. For a split second, I wondered if exhaustion was playing tricks on my hearing, twisting their voices into something harsher than they meant.
No?
What did they mean by no?
We had no relationship with one another. No history that I could remember. No bond that tied me to them in any way. If anything, they were nothing more than strangers who had helped me in a moment of desperation—my saviors, yes—but that was where it ended.
This had to be a prank.
A cruel, poorly timed joke meant to confuse me further while my head was still pounding and my thoughts were muddled. I searched their faces for signs of laughter, for any hint that they were playing with me.
There was none.
I was still turning the word over in my mind, trying to convince myself that I had misunderstood, when it came again, clearer this time, heavier, undeniable.
"You aren't leaving!"
The certainty in that statement sent a jolt through me. My body stiffened instantly, every muscle locking in place as though I had been struck by lightning. I could neither move nor speak, frozen in shock, dumbfounded by the audacity of it.
Leaving was my choice.
Or at least, it was supposed to be.
"You have to follow us back to Ironclad Pack, Theresa."
Lurgard's voice cut through the silence, firm and resolute, as though he were stating an already-decided fact rather than making a demand. The name he used only deepened the knot forming in my chest.
Ironclad Pack?
The words rang unfamiliar and threatening.
"Oh heavens, please spare me that," I said, finally finding my voice. It trembled despite my effort to keep it steady. "I already told you, you've mistaken me for someone else. Can't you just let me go now?"
I looked from one face to the next, hoping, desperately, that reason would prevail, that one of them would see the truth in my eyes and understand.
Instead, Lurgard shook his head, frustration flashing across his features.
"No, Theresa," he said sharply. "I already apologized to you. Now stop this act."
The words struck something raw inside me.
"I'm not acting, okay?" I snapped back, my voice rising despite the pounding in my head. "I really don't know any of you. And I have a life to live."
The moment the words left my mouth, they felt… hollow.
A life to live?
The thought lingered, unsettling, and before I could stop myself, doubt crept in.
Did I really have one?
My chest tightened as reality pressed in from all sides. I couldn't go back to Alex, that door was permanently closed, sealed by fear and betrayal. And inside me was a growing pup, fragile and innocent, depending entirely on me for survival.
How would I feed it?
Where would I go?
What future was waiting for me without help, without money, without anyone?
The questions piled up relentlessly, each one heavier than the last.
Still, even with the uncertainty clawing at me, one truth remained firm and unyielding in my heart.
I would rather sleep under a bridge.
I would rather face hunger, cold, and the cruelty of the world alone than follow complete strangers to a place I didn't know, under a name that wasn't mine, into a life I didn't remember choosing.
I lifted my chin slightly, meeting their gazes one by one, fear and determination warring inside me.
I didn't know who Theresa was.
But I knew who I wasn't.
"Alright then," Leonard said, his voice shifting, hardening into something cold and deliberate. "If that's how you want it, I'll play this game with you, Theresa."
The way he said my name sent a chill through me.
"You owe us your life," he continued, his gaze locking onto mine with unsettling intensity. "So tell me, how do you plan to pay it back?"
The authority in his tone made me flinch before I could stop myself. It wasn't loud, yet it carried weight, the kind that demanded obedience without asking for it. My heart lurched painfully in my chest as the meaning of his words sank in.
Was he… serious?
I stared at him, disbelief washing over me in waves. My fingers curled instinctively at my sides as fear and confusion tangled inside me. How did he expect me to answer that? How was I supposed to repay something like that, being saved, when I never asked for it in the first place?
They could have left me there.
The thought struck suddenly, sharp and undeniable. They could have driven past like everyone else. Could have ignored me, let the guards catch up, let whatever fate was chasing me claim me.
But they hadn't.
And now, it felt like that choice came with chains I hadn't agreed to wear.
"I…" I opened my mouth, my voice catching painfully in my throat. My lips moved, but no sound came out. My mind scrambled for an answer, any answer, but found nothing, only fear and a rising sense of helplessness.
Before I could gather myself, Leonard spoke again, his voice final, as though the matter had already been decided without my consent.
"The only option you have is to come back and serve us."
The words hit me like a slap.
"What?" I echoed weakly, my breath hitching as I stared at him, certain I had misheard.
Serve them?
My pulse raced, pounding so loudly in my ears it drowned out every other sound. My head throbbed harder, the room seeming to tilt slightly as panic tightened its grip around my chest.
"You have no choice," they said together, their voices blending into one chilling declaration.
The finality in their words crushed the air from my lungs.
I stood there, frozen, my body heavy and unresponsive as the truth settled painfully deep inside me. This wasn't a request. It wasn't a suggestion.
It was a sentence.
And no matter how much I wanted to deny it, a terrifying realization crept in, I had just traded one form of captivity for another.