บท 16: Under The Table (2)

He kept his eyes glued to the table as his feet started to head in its direction. As he got closer to it, his eyes trailed down to the legs of the metal table where he could see something peeking out from next to its hind legs.

It didn't take him long to realize what it was. Her wiggling toes made it pretty obvious that it was her foot. Not tearing his gaze away from the ground, he continued to walk closer to it. With each step he took, the whimpers got louder and clearer, easy for his already trained ears to catch.

"Are you there, little one?" He muttered softly, his voice echoing in the quiet room. "Are you okay?" He knew that he was not going to get a reply, yet he still tried. He was hoping that sooner or later, he might get one. Even if it's a single word, it would be better than nothing.

Bringing his feet to a stop next to the table, he ended up squatting next to the table. "Hey?" His voice was barely a whisper. It was his attempt of trying to come off nice and not to add to her already scared state. Coming to think of it, it would have been much easier for him to call a woman who worked under him and get her to take the girl upstairs.

But that wouldn't have helped the whimpering, frightened girl. Making her go through any more discomfort was the last thing on his list. He had seen how distressed she looked back at the warehouse. He didn't want to make things any more rattling, at least not until he had figured out more about her.

He tilted his head to his right and his eyes landed on a lone figure which was tucked in the corner right next to where the two walls meet. She had one of her knees propped up which was supporting her hands and face.

"Hey? Are you okay?" He questioned her once again. Seeing her body tremble in fear as her suppressed sobs made their way into his ears, only added to his frustration. He was at a loss, not being able to figure out how to help her.

"Can you come out?" He added. "We can have a chat if you do." He was careful with the choice of his words and his tone was soft. "Come on out, little one. I can't help you if you don't." He continued when he didn't see her moving from her spot.

His last few words finally managed to get a reaction from the girl as she raised her face and looked at her with her tears filled eyes. Her face was flushed red and her cheeks were wet.

She continued to stare back at him, her eyes never leaving his face. To him, it appeared as if she was trying to look through him. Maybe she was trying to see whether or not his intentions of helping her were true.

After what seemed like an eternity to Blake, she finally gave him a nod in response. Shifting a little under the table, she got on her knees and hands before crawling out. Blake moved back a little to give her some space so that she could easily move out without hurting herself.

Blake waited patiently until she was no longer under the table and was out in the open for him to clearly observe her. He saw her settling down on the ground next to the legs of the table with her back resting against the wall.

He waited for a couple of seconds for her to start talking. When she didn't, he moved from his spot and ended up settling next to her on the floor. He made sure that there was plenty of space in between.

"Why did you run away from the room?" He questioned her, but his words were only met by silence. He exhaled out a long frustrated sigh, but still kept a leash on his temper. "You ought to talk to me, little one. If not me then someone else. Should I get a lady for you in here if that's what you are comfortable with?" He looked at her intently as he waited for her to respond.

He saw her shaking her head in a no before she brought her knees close to her chest and hugged them.

"Then you can talk to me. If you don't feel like talking, just move your head as I question you. Will you be fine with that?" He muttered softly. He was doubtful at first about getting a nod in return, but he heaved out a sigh of relief when he saw her bobbing her head up and down.

"First things first, can I have that back?" He added and pointed his index finger towards her left hand, earning a quizzical look from her.

She turned her attention towards her own hand and realized what he was talking about. It was the finger clip which was still hugging the tip of her index finger. Since it was synced to the system, he was able to track her using it. It was a good thing that he didn't settle for anything less than the best when it came to his own well being and the well being of those he held dear.

Without muttering a single word, she extended her hand towards him as she had no idea what it was, or how to take it off.

With a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips, Blake raised his one hand in the air and took the finger clip off of her finger as his other hand supported her hand and kept it in its place.

"T-thank you." A meek, flustered voice was heard reverberating into his ears as he was putting the clip into his pocket.

"And she talks." He added lightly with a soft chuckle. He wanted to make her feel better before throwing a series of questions in his direction. He was more than curious to know her side of the story, starting from how she ended up at the warehouse.