“Hold on, I’ll get you out of there soon.” Then added quietly to myself, “I hope.”
Using the sharp rock, I sawed at the base of the licorice tree, letting out a little squeal when it actually started to work. I just had to cut into the tree trunk until I’d compromised enough the integrity of the tree that I could push it over. Hopefully, the weight of the tree was enough to counter the weight of the man and pull him from the fudge pit.
With a deep breath and a prayer, I kept working on the trunk until it started to creak and sway. Jumping to my feet, I pushed with all my weight against the tree, directing it to fall away from the pit.
Finally, the tree crashed into several others, sending small animals skittering out of their hideouts.
Spinning away from the tree, I breathed out a relieved breath at the sight of the man now collapsed on the ground, no longer trapped in the fudge pit. Scrambling over to his side, I brushed his messy hair away from his face.
His eyes were closed. His thin lips pressed into a tight frown as his pointed nose sucked in ragged breaths. After a moment, he groaned, and his eyes fluttered open, revealing eyes so dark that the pupil was swallowed in the color. His mouth opened and revealed two sharp fangs.
I gasped and yelped, scrambling away from him.
A vampire. He was... I’d saved... Darn it, Mara, now you’d done it. If Rumple didn’t kill me, I’d just saved a creature that would have no problem turning me into his meal. Who knew how longhe’d been in that pit? It could have been days, and now he was not only a vampire but a starving one.
“Wa...it,” his voice growled, his hand reaching out toward me.
I shoved to my feet and grabbed my package. “Look, I’m glad you’re okay now, but I have to go before I’m eaten... I mean, late. I... uh... bye.”
Not waiting to see if he decided not to kill his savior, I bolted out of the woods and back to the safety of the town’s walls. Thankfully, the beast uproar was over, and I was able to deliver the package and get back to the factory in record time.
I’d only just gotten back to my station, earning me some curious looks from the others at my appearance, when an oily voice cut through the factory.
“Mara, my office. Now.”
Chapter 3
The tiny slit of light that poured into the bin began to dim once again, marking the end of day one of my time in the metal coffin. Hunger gnawed at my stomach. My limbs ached from being stuck in a balled-up position for so long. I had known this might be my fate if I helped Joe.
At least I saved Joe from the bin, and I saved that... vampire.
I was surprised how often my mind had wandered to the vampire during my time in the bin. How did he end up in the fudge pit? How long had he been there? What was he doing now? Did he survive after I took off, or did he succumb to his exhaustion?
Could vampires die of starvation? I didn’t know a whole lot about vampires. The only one I’d ever heard of was Count Blackthorn, who lived on the other side of the candy forest. Though why would he be on the edge of the forest? Was he headed for town? Or maybe he had something to do with the beast everyone had been freaking out about?
I sighed and leaned my head back against the steel wall. Rumple liked to put the bin where everyone could see it so they’d know what would happen if they stepped out of line.
The sound of my thoughts was louder with the workers having finished for the day. The usual hustle and bustle of the factory had drifted off as everyone went to their respect rooms or the meal hall.
Joe had come by to talk to me for a moment before running off himself, which was sweet but didn’t make me feel any better.
Rumple wouldn’t keep me in here forever. He cared more about losing profits than about punishing me. The longest he’d ever put anyone in the bin was for three days, and I’d hardly missed any time at all.
My aching stomach aside, it was nice to have a break from the constant grueling pace of work, even as one part of me knew that I’d have double the load when I came back to make up for my time gone.
After a while, footsteps quietly thudded through the factory, signaling the end of dinner. Soon, everyone would wash and go to bed, their minds on tomorrow’s work or dreams of one day escaping this place. A few might even be thinking of me in this bin and fearing if they would be next.
Did that vampire get home safely?
With that final thought, my eyes fluttered closed, my head rolling to the side.
I jerked awake. Wincing at the crick in my neck from sleeping at such an odd angle, I blinked in the dim light of the bin. What had woken me so suddenly?
Glass shattered in the distance. Shouts and screams made their way down the hallways to the main factory floor.
I pressed my face against the door of the bin, trying to see through the tiny slit of a window.
Was someone trying to rob the place? If so, they were in for a rude awakening. Nobody stole from Rumple and got away with it.
