"Put her on it."
Abby's blood ran cold and a chill coursed down her spine. She replayed that single moment over and over again, flashing through her mind. In just one second, the image of Cage pointing his long finger at her was captured in her mind. His eyes and his teeth… absolutely raging. She would never forget this moment for the rest of her life.
"No." Abby was in a state of utter disbelief. Her throat was dry, her body was overheating and she couldn't scream. This barbaric practice of drilling open humans to suck out their bone marrow until it was gone… it had to be a horrid nightmare.
Abby's mind slowly caught up with the rest of her body. Her senses didn't lie. For the past few minutes of what felt like hours, Abby had been witness to the brave Raven Reyes as she went through the procedure she was about to endure.
A group of Mountain Men guards unlocked Abby from her raised position, each roughly grabbing a limb when she became free. She struggled with whatever momentum she could grasp, twisting her shoulders, her legs, her body. The iron grips on her body didn't budge an inch.
A ringing sound assaulted her ears. Or perhaps, there was no sound… maybe it was her imagination. Her body's way of protecting her from the sounds of the surgical instruments that would soon haunt her. As her head whipped around from the force of the struggle, Abby's eyes caught sight of all her people chained up against the wall. They all had open mouths screaming, and a mad fury in each of their eyes.
But Abby heard nothing. Except for the ringing in her ears and Marcus…Marcus…Marcus yelling— fighting for her.
"…with her help!"
They placed her down onto the table, restricting her arms, her legs, her torso, her neck. The straps seemed like sandpaper on her skin, the hardened leather pulling tighter and tighter on her skin, tighter and tighter around her neck.
Abby tried to move her body again. She tried to move something, but all she could do was turn her head left and right in the neck strap. Cage stood to her right, staring right down at her. Abby chose to look up at the ceiling, at anything but that man. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her suffer.
One of the Mountain Men took a rusty pair of metal clips from the tray beside Abby's body and cut her pants up from her ankle to her knee. Her left leg was exposed now, her skin hypersensitive to the cold metal, the cold air, and the searing touch of a hand compressing her ankle.
Stop! Stop! Just stop! Abby pleaded to herself. Cage continued to stare down at Abby, taking in her trembling lips and wide, glassy eyes.
"We can't."
The gruesome sound of the drill started, followed quickly by the tip of the sharp metal, pressing into her shin. The man held down on Abby's ankle with greater force, steadying her limb as he pierced through the skin.
Abby cried out in pain, only to close her mouth and bite her lip hard, drawing blood. She didn't want to scream. It was against her nature, against everything she needed to be in her past life on the Ark. She needed to show strength for her people all around her, and that they needn't be afraid. They would survive. They always did.
The drill passed the thin layer of muscle and quickly scraped bone. All comprehensible thoughts that Abby had, were annihilated. Never in her life could she have imagined such excruciating pain, bursting from her leg through each nerve in her body, constricting every muscle.
She started to scream, and she couldn't stop. Not until the man ceased the drilling, carefully pulling out the drill bit. Abby's eyes were closed now, tears streaming past her temples to rest in her hair.
As quickly as the drill had left, the needle had entered, drawing out Cage's sick version of the elixir of life. They got what they needed, placing the vial with bone marrow onto the rack lined with others' vials.
Abby breathed, taking in all the oxygen she could. She needed to breathe… to keep living. For her people. For Marcus. For Clarke.
When they started to drill again, she blacked out.
As if it were some cruel joke of fate, Abby woke from her darkness. Her head had lulled to the side and her eyes met Marcus' eyes. He wore such a pained expression, like one of a lost, defenseless child. She could tell, also, by the way he was pulling his body forwards to the extent of his restraints— as if desperate to reach as close as he could towards Abby.
Abby wanted so badly to speak, to tell him it was okay…but all she could do was simply stare into his eyes. He was terrified for her…but just looking at him comforted her. That's all she needed.
Her vision faded in and out, in and out. The drilling was there and then it was gone. Marcus' face was there, and then it was gone. The one thing that remained constant was the fire in her legs. If only the searing torment could disappear along with her senses.
With what little strength she had left, Abby tried with great determination to keep her eyes open. The last thing she wanted to see was Marcus' face. That way, she could remember the moments they had together. The ways they smiled and frowned, laughed and even yelled. Everything.
Out of the corner of her eye, a commotion captured her attention. The Mountain Men started to fall to their feet, clutching their throats and faces. What was happening?
Abby had a feeling, and she just knew that her baby was alive.
Clarke.
Another darker figure entered Abby's limited field of vision, running to Marcus and un-cuffing him. Marcus tried to run as fast as he could straight to Abby, his injured leg slowing him down.
Abby tracked his handsome face, not wanting to lose it for even a second. She tilted her head upwards, following Marcus as he drew up to her side. His fingers brushed up against Abby's neck and collar as he fumbled with the leather straps. It calmed her, just feeling the slight sensation of his skin on hers.
"It's okay."
And she believed him. She trusted his words wholeheartedly. They were going to be okay.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! I wasn't expecting to do a story specifically for 2x16, but it just fell into place today :) Cheers, please review!