A/N: So, I know I am supposed to be working on the second part of Beneath The Surface, and I am, I promise. But this story has been consuming my thoughts so I'm giving in a posting it. It maybe a little slow going on getting it out, so I hope you stick with me. Between this fic, BTS 2.0 and a few others that I'm working on, I'm being pulled in too many directions for any consistency.
I hope you like this, and that it makes some kind of sense (probably not contextually but the writing should, I hope) and that you have enough patience to come with me on this journey.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is Glee, everything else is mine.
She stumbled through the cold hard streets, blind to everything but the single thought that spurred her on. Her hands flailed frequently, grasping for unseen supports before falling to her knees. Her bloody clothes were in tatters and hanging off her skinny, gaunt frame. A mass of thin silver scars gracing her body could be seen, a stark contrast to her tanned skin. I watched her pass, unfeeling, devoured by my own fears. I wondered briefly if she had a family, friends missing her, but it was nothing more than a fleeting thought, gone before it ever really registered. I resumed my search for food, picking carefully through the large bin in the alleyway as my stomach rumbled its usual protest at the lack of sustenance. I mentally assured it that it would have food soon enough.
Just as I found a left over hotdog, only a few hours old, a hand whipped past me and snatched it out of my hand and I turned my head to see it disappear into the mouth of the girl with the scars. As she swallowed it I threw out my hand wrapping it around her throat and forced her back against the brick wall. I balled my other hand into a fist and held it up next to my head, making my intentions very clear. Her chocolate eyes shone with fear instantly but the firm set of her jaw showed an acceptance of the violence. I glanced down at her and noticed the unmistakable outline of her rib cage and hip bones. Pity filled my heart and I let go of her and stepped back letting her drop easily to the floor, her eyes staring at a fixed point behind me.
I sighed heavily and returned to my task of finding something to eat, sliding my gaze across to her every so often, curiosity filling me. Having found nothing worth eating in the bin I wandered further down the alley to another stand of bins. I whipped around at the shuffling behind me, relaxing slightly when I saw it was her. She looked at me pleadingly, tears lining her dull eyes, threatening to fall.
"What's your name?"
I almost surprised myself with the question. I hardly ever cared about the ones old enough to take care of themselves but there was something about this one. Though she seemed small I put her at sixteen or seventeen. Her face belied her body; lines carved her age, plain for all to see and her eyes held a tiredness that had nothing to do with a lack of sleep. She looked at me with a wariness that comes with a long period of distrusting everyone around you. She brought a grimy hand to her chopped brown hair, though I guessed it wasn't always this short; her hand run past the tips of her hair and she seemed surprised there was no more. She repeated the motion, pushing the hair out of her face.
"Why?" She answered with suspicion, I understood. Names are important down here, among the rats and sewage. Names imply attachment. Attachment isn't a good idea because you might not be around for very long. Attachment means you will get hurt. If she didn't want to tell me I wasn't going to push her. I turned and continued rummaging through the garbage. I knew I needed a good haul tonight, but it was too early for the restaurant bins yet. I felt hands grab onto my arms, trying to turn me around and I let her.
"My name? I…." Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Her eyes searched my face as if trying to find the answers in me and her hands gripped my upper arms harder. She swayed slightly to the left and her eyelids fluttered before frustration filled her face and she swore. "God dammit. I can't remember my name. They even took that from me."
The tears that had threatened to fall made good on that, and carved wet tracks down her dirty cheeks as she began to sob uncontrollably. I pulled her into my arms and whispered soft words into her ear. I told her it would be okay, that They wouldn't touch her again, that I would take her somewhere safe. My usual defensive stance melted at the sight of this beautiful girl crying her heart out. After a few minutes she collected herself and took a step back.
"I'm sorry."
I looked at her with my eyebrows raised. "You're sorry? For what?"
She gestured around us and I followed the movement with my eyes, not understanding what it exactly it was she was referring to. I fixed my gaze back on her and she shrugged helplessly.
"I was hungry," she supplied. She was apologising for the food. "I am hungry," she corrected with a sigh. I nodded and took her hand. She immediately intertwined her fingers with mine and I frowned at the action. It felt nice, natural even. I ran my eyes over her face one more time, looking past the gaunt, hollow cheeks and layers of grime, trying to see the girl she used to be. There was nothing familiar about her. She returned my stare, unwavering in her fear but strong at the same time. In that moment I resolved to find out what had happened to her, but for now I merely tugged her into step with me. She covered the back of my hand with her other one and gripped onto me as if I was her only lifeline. I conceded that I may well be her only shot at survival in the city.
I took the long route to the shelter, avoiding the tolls and barricades they had set up in the roads; doubling back on myself a few times, just in case someone caught our trail and tried to follow. After twenty minutes we were stood in front of the makeshift metal door that was the entrance of the refuge I had created. I knocked out the agreed rhythm and waited for the shuffling behind the metallic barrier to die down. I counted to five then said the password.
"Open sesame." With a quiet rasp the metal parted and I ducked into the space created. The small brunette was more hesitant to enter. I was stopped by the tug on my arm and I turned to see what the problem was. She had pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and was shaking her head at me vehemently. I stepped back out and stooped down a few inches to meet her eyes. "It's okay. It's safe here." I cupped her cheek with my free hand and tried not to take offense when she flinched back slightly at the contact. I sighed deeply through parted lips and made to pull my hand back. In a flash, her fingers were pressing my palm into her cheek as tears rimmed her big brown eyes.
I stroked my thumb over her skin and nodded at her; a question in my frown. She stepped forward. "Okay," she whispered at me, fingers still gripping both my hands tightly. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze then righted myself before turning back and walking through the entrance. She put up no resistance this time and followed me into the long corridor. I stopped briefly as the young boy on the gate slid the door back into position then set the locks in place. He picked up the small lantern and walked ahead of us, lighting the way through the twisting maze of passages that lead into the bowels of the city.
I glanced back to see the girl was wide eyed and nervous; her bottom lip was firmly planted between her teeth as she worried at it incessantly. I smiled at her, hoping to ease her anxieties, and was rewarded with a shy and tentative smile in return. After a few more twists and turns the passage opened out into a large entry room with several doors leading out. A few of the younger kids that were hanging around ran towards me as I entered the room. Sally, the youngest wrapped her arms around my legs and held on tightly.
"Lucy! You were gone ages," she admonished. I knelt and wrapped one arm around her shoulders before leaning back and looking at her. Her light brown hair was just long enough to brush her shoulders and her tawny eyes spoke of her heritage. She was five years old, but born in a lab; modified to increase her intelligence and develop other special abilities. I stole her from them when she was three. She was already capable of things that were well beyond her age, even then.
"I'm sorry kiddo. I found someone new that needs our help." I gestured to the girl still hanging onto my hand. She was looking around at the other children suspiciously, eyes flitting from one to the other but never really seeing them. Sally stepped forward and extended her hand.
"Hi," she said sweetly. The brunette stepped behind me, her fear evident.
"Her eyes," she whispered against my shoulder blade. I turned to her to relieve the pressure building in my wrist and ducked my head to grab her attention.
"It's okay. She's a good kid." She stared at me for a few seconds and I could almost see the thoughts flying around in her head. Eventually she bobbed her head softly. I felt the corners of my mouth tug up a little and she returned the gesture. I gave her hand another quick squeeze before I stood to my full height and called to the rest of the kids milling around. "Come here guys." They all stopped what they were doing and made their way towards the three of us, ending up in a semi-circle. I turned to a boy of eight. He had short brown hair; spiked messily to look cool and soft cocoa eyes. "Evening report Rob?" He nodded and stepped forward.
"Three teams have returned with a good haul. One team is still out but they should be back any minute. Josie nearly got tagged but was able to slip into the sewers to avoid them." I gasped.
"Did she get back okay?" I asked, concern plain in my voice. To come so close to the patrols was careless and put the rest of the team in danger. To go into the sewers was akin to suicide unless you knew your way; even then it was still highly risky. I took a breath to try and calm my rapidly beating heart. Rob nodded at me and I felt a wave of relief wash through me.
"She did. She took a minor bite to the wrist but Claire is keeping an eye on it." I bobbed my head at him in thanks and he stepped back. I sighed tensely as the surge of adrenaline wore off and remembered the terrified girl clinging to me. I pulled her forward slightly.
"Guys, this is-" I paused as I realised I didn't have a name for her, "This is our newest member. She is a bit nervous so go easy on her okay?" The group nodded as a whole and then dispersed, only Sally staying for a second longer to wave goodbye to the scared brunette. She raised her hand in response but didn't return the motion. Sally skipped off into another room and I was left only with the girl. "Come on," I requested softly. She complied easily and I led her through the last door on the left; into the sleeping area I shared with older ones. I stood her next to my bed and told her wait while I acquired some sheets and blankets.
"What is this place?" She probed quietly while I laid out the cloth on the floor. I padded out the sheets with an old comforter then folded over the blankets and gestured for her to sit. I watched as she lowered herself then I joined her; noting the wince that twisted her face when she sat down.
"It's a safe haven and shelter for orphaned or rescued kids." I answered simply, though the real explanation was a great deal more complicated than that. She took that in then shifted tensely, grimacing again as she moved. "Are you hurt?" I enquired softly. Fear flashed in her deep brown eyes again and she started worrying her bottom lip between her teeth once more. She searched my face for something then, seemingly having found it, nodded gently. "Will you show me?" I requested carefully, sitting as still as I could. Her gaze flicked away for a second then ticked back to my face.
Without really answering my question she shifted onto her knees and turned around. She reached over her shoulders and gathered as much of the thin material covering her back as she could before lifting it over her head. I gasped as her skin was uncovered. From the base of her neck to the bottom of spine were sliver scars; zigzagging across each other. Some were mere slits; less than a millimetre thick, but some were a good inch wide with ragged edges. I swallowed hard as I spied burn marks forming a pattern-less mosaic of welts. I lifted my fingers to the top of her vertebrae and drew a line down her spine, feeling each ridge and bump that elevated her skin. When I was on par with the sharp shape of her hip bones I noticed the source of her discomfort. Thick rectangular bruises covered the area, emphasised with deep puncture marks. I noticed the girl shiver as my finger grazed the tip of a bruise. "Sorry," I supplied quickly and removed my finger from her skin.
She lifted the rag back over her head and covered the mass of wounds before turning back to face me. Her eyes were focused on the ground and her brow was furrowed. Remorse surged through me at the thought of hurting her and I opened my mouth to apologise again but she silenced me with a shake of her head as her gaze met mine.
"You didn't hurt me. No one has touched me that gently…" She trailed off and the weight of the guilt lifted ever so slightly. The urge to protect this fragile girl coursed through me, so strong that I took me by surprise.
"No one is going to hurt you ever again. I promise you that." She smiled sadly at me but shook her head.
"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs before resting her chin on her protruding kneecap. "Your name is Lucy?" She asked shyly. I tilted my head to the side and frowned.
"To the kids. You can call me Quinn." She nodded but looked puzzled. I sighed. "I haven't really been Lucy for years. She died when my parents did and I was captured." Her eyes opened wide in disbelief. "Since then I've used my middle name."
"I like Quinn," she whispered. I chuckled dryly.
"So do I, Sweet. So do I," I told her, the pet name falling from lips easily. "So, until we figure out your real name, we need something to call you." She fidgeted slightly and began chewing at the inside of her cheek. "Is there something you'd prefer?" I queried lightly.
"I like Paige," came a quiet voice from the doorway. I turned to see Sally and Amy; another youngster hovering in the rectangle of light. Amy was 6 and born naturally. Her parents had been captured and she was 'filed' away for future experiments before I found her. It was Amy that had spoken. I gestured for her to come closer.
"Why Paige?" I asked with a smile. She ducked her head timidly and tapped the toe of her buckled shoes against the hard floor.
"It was my best friends' name," she answered bashfully. "I always thought it was really pretty." She met the brunettes gaze briefly before looking away. I turned back to the girl.
"How does Paige sound for now?" Her eyes grazed the floor before meeting mine.
"Paige?" She rolled the name around in her mouth a couple of times, testing it out. After a minute or so she seemed to have made up her mind. "It's a nice name." She said simply. I allowed a small grin at the fact that we now had a name for her, but I vowed to myself that we would discover her real name.
Paige jumped as the bell rang out signalling meal time. She pushed backwards into the wall and I cringed in sympathy at the thought of those bruises being pressed. I held out my hand. "It's okay," I reassured her. "Do you want to get some food?" She nodded warily, still looking in the direction of the shrill noise. Eventually she took my outstretched hand and I helped her to her feet. We made our way out of the bedroom and through another door which lead to our canteen of sorts. At the head of the room was a long metal table with food sectioned out onto it. I lead Paige to the counter and encouraged her to help herself to as much as she needed.
We sat in a corner away from the hustle of hungry children and I picked at some bread. I waved at one of the foraging teams as they waited for the younger kids to take their pick. My attention was diverted as Josie walked in; a grubby bandage around her wrist. I excused myself and marched over to her, gesturing for her to follow me out of the room and into a small office space that was mostly disused. I shut the door and folded my arms across my chest.
"Can you explain to me what happened today?" It came out more as a demand than a request and I saw her balk. She absentmindedly picked at the grey dressing on her arm and looked everywhere in the room but at me.
"It was an accident," she started. "I saw a burger lying in its wrapper in one of the alleyways. I went across to pick up but as soon as I did, an alarm triggered." I stood up straighter and my arms fell limply to my sides.
"They're setting traps now?" I asked anxiously. She nodded and I indicted that she should continue.
"I ran to the back of the alley instead of out into the street and cut through the back paths but they were waiting. I took a side turn and the only way out was the sewer grate. I didn't have a chance to think, I just don't want to go back there." Her chest heaved as she began panicking. I sighed and strode forward to pull her into my embrace. Sometimes it was easy to forget she was only 13.
"It's okay. You're not going back. I won't let that happen." I rubbed her arms as I stepped back. "We need to advise the other teams that there are traps out there now." I pinched the bridge of my nose as a wave of weariness spread through my body, seeping into my bones. "What did Claire say about the bite?"
"It's fine; it's small. She gave me a jab just in case and I need to go back tomorrow to have the dressing changed, but it feels fine." I nodded my approval and reached over to open the door. Josie gave a half shrug and I knew that was the best I was going to get in the way of an apology. I followed her out and returned to the canteen to find Paige. She was sat in the same corner I had left her in, but Sally was sat with her, leg crossed, talking energetically at her. A gentle smirk lifted one corner of my mouth as I raised my eyebrow. The five year old was gesticulating to emphasis her story and as I got closer I realised she was telling Paige about how she was rescued from the facility.
Paige was leant forward, engrossed in the tale with wide eyes and her food all but forgotten. I leant one shoulder against the wall and listened to Sally. "So out of nowhere Lucy just appeared and hit the guard over the head with a piece of wood. The other guard turned and fired his gun at her and it hit her in the arm but she didn't feel it and threw the piece of wood at him. It got him in the face and he fell on the floor so she kicked him in the face and knocked him out." I winced at her portrayal of me in the story. It was true, or near enough, but I wasn't sure it was what Paige needed to hear about me at that particular time. "So then she let the three of us out of the shackles and then we fought our way out of there. Well. She fought her way out and we just followed her. But if we could've helped we would've and we would've been unstoppable."
The smirk returned to my face as I approached them. "You telling stories again, Sal?" I teased. Her head whipped around her mouth fell open into a little 'o' but she quickly recovered and shrugged.
"It's not like it's a made up story. You saved us." I ruffled her hair and jerked my head to the side. She got the hint and stood up before waving a goodbye to Paige. This time Paige waved back with a small smile on her face.
"Cute isn't she?" I asked as I held out my hand to Paige. She nodded and her grin got wider. "Are you tired?" I probed. She shrugged and I rolled my eyes in mock annoyance. "Come on, I want Claire to have a look at those wounds on your back." I gripped her hand and cheered silently when she came with me with no complaints.
Claire was happy that the puncture marks weren't as deep as they appeared but she gave me an ointment to apply before we went to sleep to keep the lesions clean and to help them heal. I gave her my word I would follow her instructions and we departed back to the bedroom area so I could try and get Paige settled. I found a few sets of clean clothes for her and averted my eyes while she changed into a black tank top and grey sweats. I quickly changed out of my own street clothes and into a large worn shirt; so big I didn't have to undo the buttons and a pair of shorts. I turned to see Paige looking at me.
"Won't you get cold in shorts?" She asked. I smiled at her concern but shook my head; my bobbed blond hair swished around my cheeks and tickled them.
"I'm a naturally a warm person." I filled in for her. I didn't want to tell her the full truth and I knew half-truths were just as bad as lies but talking about myself didn't come easily to me. Some of the experiments they had done on me had raised my body temperature well above that of a normal human. I remember the agony of fever the first time they did it. I felt like my insides were boiling and my heart was going to explode. After the fifth attempt and many injections they successfully raised my core temperature by 3 degrees. They continued until I began having an adverse reaction to the serum being administered. After that they kept me for observation purposes until I managed to break free and escape.
Paige shifted and I gestured for her to lie down. I lifted the hem of her tee and gently applied the cream to the harsh bruises, making sure to warm the salve up first. I wiped my fingers clean and lowered her top when I was done. "Sleep well, Sweet." I whispered as her head settled on the pillow. I tucked the blankets around her and waited until her breathing evened out and I was sure she was sleeping. She looked peaceful in slumber, the hard lines of her face smoothed out so she looked closer to her actual age. I flattened a stray lock of her brown hair and turned to retrieve my worn and battered book for behind my bed. I read on as the others began ambling in for the night. A whimper drew me from the words and I turned to see a tear sliding down Paige's cheek. I put the marker between the sheets of paper and tucked it back in the hidey-hole.
I dodged as Paige lashed an arm out and she whimpered again. She kicked for foot into the floor and scrunched her face up in pain. I reacted quickly and scooted the few inches from my own bed to hers; sliding under the covers and gently wrapping my arms around her waist. I kept my cheek to her shoulder blade to avoid her failing arms and concentrated on my heat. I pushed it out and within seconds I felt her warming up. I pressed my lips to her ear and whispered comforting words. "It's just a nightmare, Sweet. Come back to me, I've got you." After a few seconds she calmed and I withdrew most of the warmth, leaving a little emanating out so she didn't get cold. I was about to move back over when her hands covered mine and she tightened her grip so I couldn't move. With a sigh I settled next to her and she pressed back into me. I tried not to think about how nice it felt to have someone enveloped in my arms and instead concentrated on keeping my heat levels steady. I tried to fight the wave of fatigue that swept through me but I soon gave in and slipped into a dreamless sleep.