Chapter 12 - Hellhole
Not a word had been uttered since everyone's return to the cell and the guards had made the mistake of shackling Helena and Sarah within reaching distance of one another; meaning only one thing. With emotions on the high and anger being the most dominant, the pair were almost certainly going to wreak havoc.
It was fairly late when everyone got their food, nearing 9 in the evening to the family's estimate. The guards began to share out the parsimonious portions and as unappetising as the simple pieces of stale bread would be under normal circumstances, it appeared almost heavenly subsequent to nearly a day of an empty stomach. When the guards reached Sarah and Helena however, the men seemed to skip right over the twins, despite the spare bread left in the trays they carried. As the guards made their way out of the cell, the pair, who'd usually be in uproar by now, were both far too exhausted to argue and far too uninterested to make a thing of it, considering their entirely non-existent appetite in the current moment, so, they let it go. S and Alison on the other hand, were not prepared to do the same.
Being the first two to notice that the twins weren't given any rations, maternal instincts and all, they each tore their pieces of bread in half and threw it to the other side of the cell. The swift throws, though perfectly aimed, were interrupted and caught halfway through, by one of the guards. He explained with a stern expression, clearly being worn-out by the resistance, "They're not allowed to eat. Chief's orders." Out of spite, the guard smirked and brought the two halves of bread he caught mid-air up to his mouth and began to munch on them, disregarding the fact that both Alison and Siobhan were absolutely starving. Having given up half their daily rations so that Sarah and Helena could eat was constraining their stomachs enough; having given it to the guard made it even worse.
Sarah had her back against the grimy wall of the cell, with her knees upright and far apart from each other. Her head was down; she didn't want to face her family's failed attempts at comfort so she was going to delay it as long as possible. It had only just occurred to her. Where was Kira? More importantly, how was she going to tell her daughter, that the dad she'd been asking to meet all her life was shot and killed? How could she explain that it was her own fault?
Helena, understanding Sarah's jumbled frame of mind, decided words were not the best form of therapy, not yet at least; so she scooted over to Sarah's side, gently grabbing Sarah's hand. She budged up as close as she could and let Sarah's frail and weak frame lean against her. Sarah rested the full weight of her head down on her sister's shoulder, while Helena began to rub the dried blood off of Sarah's hands. The blood was not Sarah's, no, no, it was Cal's, and every moment that it stayed on Sarah's hands, the longer the reminder that he was dead would remain, so Helena did what she knew would help, from experience, at least momentarily; get rid of the evidence, get rid of the memory.
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, trying to repress the tears and whispered as quietly as possible, with a genuine but damaged, "Thank you." Helena smiled sadly and laid her own head over Sarah's, propping her chin over her twin. She tilted her head downwards and kissed her sister on the head, knowing she needed the consolation and knowing that it helped, despite denial on Sarah's behalf in ordinary Sarah Manning style.
He felt the warmth of a soft material below his left cheek. He was on a sofa. His mind was muddled and this was all just too confusing. He sat up and saw that he was in a small bungalow. Its decoration was very old-fashioned and plain. Completely lost, he remembered the piece of paper in his pocket. He unfolded it and began to read.
Everyone but Sarah was taken to the same deserted clearing once again. Sarah was left in the cell today. The twins were absolutely starving. It somewhat helped that neither had any appetite anyway. All they were given were cups of water and what seemed like a pinch of crumbs every six hours; just enough to keep them alive. Sarah was alone in the cell, when she heard someone rattle the door open.
Sarah didn't look up. She was sick of looking up, because every time she looked up, she'd meet just another person whose life was guided by science, with the sole purpose of screwing with her own. Whoever this was, they were pushing some sort of cart in front of them, making a rather irritating rattling noise against the uneven floor of the cell. In her peripheral vision, Sarah could make out a black quadrilateral shape on the tray. Her curiosity whitewashed her reluctance to look up and when she did, she saw a tall man with greying hair, maybe in his early 50s. He was wearing a rectangular pair of stereotypical librarian glasses that hid his piercing blue eyes.
He greeted Sarah politely, only riling her up more, "Hello Sarah, Blake Emerson, Jack's father." His heavy south east English accent stuck out even more than it did in Jack's voice. Unlike the first time she first heard the familiar accent, she felt an overwhelming sense of unease wash over her. She retorted unobtrusively yet harshly, "You're the first without a 'Dr' before his name." He ignored the passing comment and motioned to the small TV screen beside him on the tray (what Sarah made out as the black quadrilateral shape). "Sarah, the pill we gave you yesterday, is still active in both yours and your sister's systems, so, we're going to make the most of it. Today is going to be easier on you physically, however, not so much emotionally. We're gonna pull as many emotional triggers as we can today and we're going to observe how that affects you mentally." Sarah dismissed his explanation as irrelevant and branded it straight into the extraneous category of her brain. Instead, she moved straight onto her more concerning worries, "Where's my daughter?" She asked, with not even the slightest hint of fear or falter in her voice. He replied with an apathetically that just almost sounded like an attempt at consolation, "She's completely safe. I can give you my word." Sarah snorted at him in mockery, "Fat lot that does for me. I wanna see her." He sighed, then pushed a button on the TV which turned it to a blank blue screen. He left the room without another word, and in the as soon as the door clattered closed behind him, the screen turned to a shot of Cal's cabin.
Sarah scowled at the screen in confusion. It was video footage of their bedroom in the house. She noticed the date in the bottom right-hand corner, which marked it as just over three months ago. So these bastards were watching them long before Frost even got involved, she thought to herself. It was late at night at this point in the footage, which you could tell from the darkness on the other side of the windows. The video proceeded to show Sarah herself, climbing into her side of the bed. She got her phone out and began to scroll through something. That's when the door opened, and a voice she was well-acquainted with, said from behind the door, where the camera couldn't just manage to see, "Hey you wanna go to the fair tomorrow? Kira's down for it." Sarah replied with a chuckle and a, "Yeah sure." She smiled as the door closed again and went back to her phone.
Sarah watched the screen as the minutes passed. A few moments went by, then she got up and left the bedroom. From what she could remember, she went to go get a drink of water, but was consequently bombarded by Kira, spending the next hour playing dolls with Cal and her little monkey. She remembered trying to get Kira to bed when it was way past her bedtime, then finally did, with a short bedtime story from her and Cal. A tiny smile at the thought, very nearly made its way onto present-time Sarah's face but was quickly broken by the far too real situation she was currently in.
The video tape began to fast forward over the segment of clip of the empty room then finally slowed down to normal speed. The footage showed the door swinging open, then Sarah and Cal walking in drowsily, tired from their little detour from sleep with Kira. The two were holding hands as they leant on each other to make it through the room. Sarah was already in her pyjama shorts and tank top, so she climbed straight into bed, while Cal blearily pulled off his shirt and changed into his black sweatpants. He then followed Sarah and cosily got under the covers with her. Cal cuddled up to Sarah and put his arm around her as she laid the side of her head on his shoulder. He kissed her on the temple.
The present-time Sarah flinched at the display of affection on the screen opposite her. She didn't want to watch, but at the same time, she couldn't take her eyes off. On the screen, they sunk down into the mattress together, keeping distance between them close. They were both lying down on their sides facing each other. Sarah could remember this moment perfectly. It was unclear from the camera angle because their bodies were under the blanket, but Cal lifted his arm off of Sarah's waist and raised it to her face to rest his hand on her cheek. It was just a nice moment. It irritated Sarah that it had to be invaded by the very people who killed him. Thinking about it just made it all the more real. He leaned in closer so their noses were touching, his hand still on her cheek, then took it to lift her chin up, so that they were staring right into each other's eyes. It was an acknowledgement of the fact that he was there for her, she was there for him, and they were there together, for Kira. It was at this point when Sarah knew she loved Cal and not just for the fact that he was the other biological half of Kira's biology, but because she loved him, for herself. Sarah loved how he always burnt the food, she loved how he would always look at her with such affection, able to communicate with her though just his eyes, she loved how that would make her feel safe in that moment, she loved how he was with Kira and she loved how he was with her. He could see right through her, just as Kira could; no matter the words coming out of her mouth, Cal could read her like a book.
He said something quietly, inaudible to the camera, but clearly audible in Sarah's memory. She remembered his soft words, "I'm here for you." It was around the time Cosima was still pushing for a cure and her physical health was rapidly deteriorating. It may have only been words, but it helped, and it made her feel like there was hope, which soon after, there was.
Cal shuffled down the bed so that his height seemed more similar to hers now, while their noses were still softly brushing against each other. Sarah then pulled a weak but sincere smile of 'thanks', then pushed up and placed her lips on his. It was a tender and gentle kiss. Cal pulled her hips in closer to his own and kissed her back, their tongues knotting into each other. He maintained his grip on her hips as he rolled over so that he was hovering above her, as his hands climbed up so that they were at each side of her head, careful of her hair. He lowered himself slowly and put his weight gently on hers, as he reattached their lips, sustaining this feeling of safety he felt whenever he was with her. Maintaining the kiss, he slid his hands up her bare back under her tank top, sending shivers down Sarah's spine. The contrast of the warmth of his hands against the coldness of her own skin was the most comforting sensation she'd ever known, the lingering feeling still in her memory.
Present-time Sarah was looking away, trying her best to ignore the fully-blown extreme invasion of privacy. In the background, quiet murmurs and whispers of hers and Cal's voice sounded. It was ridiculous how high boundaries of what classified an invasion of privacy were set after all she had endured, but this certainly surpassed the line. Refusing to watch, she desperately tried to deny the Emersons of a successful experiment, resulting in ultimate failure, considering her current level of emotions.
Back on the screen, Cal sat up from previous position, whilst Sarah remained lying on her back. He leant against the headboard and took Sarah's hand in his own, tracing shapes and scribbles on her palm. Bringing his knees up to his chest, Cal squeezed her hand and plopped a sweet kiss on its back. With a smile, Sarah turned her head to the side and pushed up for another gentle kiss on the lips this time. Telepathically agreeing that it was too warm, the pair pushed down the heavy blanket and feeling a sudden wave of energy, Sarah sat up against the headboard beside Cal.
Moments like these were so precious and supposedly untarnished by the intrusion of strangers wanting her biology. Moments like these were calm, quiet and relaxing. Cal reached his hand over to the further side of Sarah's waist and he tugged her close to him with a single pull. Resting her head on his shoulder, Sarah noticed Cal's suddenly quieter presence. Looking up to see what was wrong, she saw his unrelenting gaze fixed on the lasting scar on Sarah's right leg. Its colour was a mix between red and black after the stitches had been removed. Cal's focus on it was more or less discomforting and so as he looked down at the damaged tissue, Sarah, gently turned her leg as far as it would go around, hiding the scar. At the memory, she felt a shiver; Rachel going mad, the terrible pain shooting up her leg, the below freezing temperature she was certain she wouldn't make it out of alive. Suddenly realising Sarah's discomposure, Cal quickly snapped back into reality from his train of thoughts and reached over to her leg, softly twisting it back to its previous position. She was still raw from the events, but trying to cover up that very fact was a difficult job to do when surrounded by people 24/7, so it was no surprise to herself when her vision bean to get cloudy with quiet tears. Without any rolling down her face however, she only just managed to shove down the feelings further down. Understandably, feeling entirely to blame for Sarah's abrupt change in emotion, Cal bent forwards to examine the scar as a wordless way of saying, "It's over." He shuffled down the bed and made himself comfortable in a position where he was essentially straddling Sarah's calves. Reaching for the scar, Cal gently brushed it with the stubs of his guitar-worn fingers, as he smiled so genuinely it ached for Sarah to watch the footage. Trying not remind her of the bruises on her back from the same occasion, Cal climbed up Sarah's body so that their faces were at level with each other as he was now comfortably straddling her hips. As Cal delved in for a long, warm kiss, Sarah hung her arms loosely around Cal's neck and allowed the spontaneous movement of their effortlessly colliding mouths revel in each other. Watching it back on tape, it was a much longer-lasting kiss than Sarah could remember. It said, that whatever she was going through, she wasn't going through it alone. It was then that Sarah mumbled through the kiss, "I love you", as she squeezed him tight into a short embrace of appreciation, which she knew she didn't express enough.
Snapping back into her normal self, gooey emotional self aside, she allowed Cal to roll over to his own side of the bed as the couple shuffled back to lie down. As Sarah turned to face away from Cal, intertwining their fingers, he burrowed his head into her shoulder, hugging her with the arm whose hand she was holding. They were sleeping in a position Felix liked to tease them about, calling it, 'The Human Braid', when their legs would entangle in each other's. Alison once walked in to their bedroom while they were still asleep and later invented her own word for it, 'The Leg Hug'. The couple's hands released from one another momentarily as Cal reached over Sarah to switch the lamp on her bedside table off. The screen went dark when Cal turned off the lamp, causing present-time Sarah to break out of her focus on the TV.
The fast-forwarding sign appeared on the screen, as it began to skip through the night. Sarah muttered to herself, though it was meant for the Emersons. "This is sick", trying her hardest to break from her regaining concentration on the screen. The fast-forwarding sign eventually stopped blinking when the footage reached morning.
The daylight was shining in on the room when a gleeful yell was heard in the background. Kira soon after burst in through the door and abruptly woke the couple from their serene night's sleep. She jumped over the covers and onto her parents, eliciting Sarah and Cal's groans as they both felt winded by the sudden impact. Sarah let out a pained yet content with her daughter's presence, "What is it monkey?" Kira replied in a cheerful, "Get ready! We're going to the fair!" Sarah then responded with a feigned excitement of, "Riighhhttt, I forgot!" She gave her daughter a cheeky grin, as she turned to Cal with an expression on her face that said, 'This is your fault.' Cal laughed at Sarah's look of contempt as he sat up in the bed. "Alright, I'm gonna need a boost of energy before I can begin to get ready." Sarah nodded in agreement, which Cal replied to with, "Coffee's on the way." He finished with the same exact toothy smile that Kira was pulling, then walked off to the kitchen, leaving Sarah and Kira together on the bed.
Whilst Kira took her dad leaving as an invitation to take his spot on the bed, the little girl crawled in under the covers and squeezed her mum tight. Sarah hugged her tiny frame and kissed her on the head before sitting up, getting off the bed, then taking the blanket with her. In response to Kira's reaction of, "Heeyyy", Sarah laughed loudly, as she wrapped herself in the thick cover, pulling it over her head, so that only her face could be seen through the layers of cotton. Kira laughed at her mum, "You look like a burrito." Sarah chuckled back and began to walk to her chest of drawers, as she replied, "Speaking of, I hear the fair has amazing burritos. Auntie Helena wouldn't stop going on about them." Kira showed an eager beam across her face that stated that she of course knew about the fair's burritos. As she jumped off of the bed and ran to her mum's side, Sarah opened her wings of blankets to envelop her little monkey into her bundle of warmth inside the duvet, her arms around Kira. Kira poked her hands out of the warm burrito blanket and grabbed some clothes out the drawer. "Here, wear these." Sarah snickered at her daughter's authoritative words and replied jokingly, "Yes ma'am." She then shuffled with Kira, still in her makeshift burrito towards the bed and collapsed over onto it. They got themselves back into a comfy position and cuddled with each other for a few moments.
This made Sarah's heart ache. She didn't know where her little baby was and she couldn't protect her. She shuddered at the image of anyone hurting her precious daughter, but her thought train was soon interrupted by Cal's voice on the monitor, shouting, "COFFEE'S READY", from the kitchen.
The video then showed a foot grappled onto the doorknob as the door opened as Cal exclaimed, rather pleased with himself, "You see that?!" Sarah laughed at his pride and answered by clapping her hands mockingly. Cal grinned at Sarah's characteristic sarcasm and laid down in the bed next to Kira who wriggled her way in the middle of the two. He prudently passed one of the mugs over Kira's head to Sarah who began to sip from it with caution. The warm fluid passed through her system blissfully, as Cal smirked at her, "This is the one thing I don't burn in the kitchen." Sarah chuckled, "Well cheers to that." She said with a smile, lifting her own mug to clash lightly against his.
Present-time Sarah shut her eyes and pulled her knees close to her chest to hug them, while trying to block all sound from her ears, knowing that this was a moment she'd never have again. Cal was gone, Kira was with the Emersons and meanwhile, one terribly miserable constant remained where Sarah was concerned. She herself was the most damaged, the most broken and the most of an overall wreck. She couldn't be fixed, she thought to herself; she could never be the woman she aspired to be when she was only a kid. That dream unfortunately went down in flames the first time she had a sip of alcohol bought with the money she stole off some gullible clown who thought he'd have a chance at a relationship with her. Despite Sarah's multiple attempts at a normal, happy family, she had to accept that it wasn't a realistic goal to aim for anymore.
Today for Helena was a little different. She was made to stand opposite every member of the family and was asked questions about each of them. No one was understanding the different processes, much less so, their purposes.
Helena felt at fault for Cal's death. She put the weight of the blame on her shoulders, not only to relieve some of it off of her sister, but as a result of her presence at the scene. She watched it happen and couldn't do anything about it. It pained her to even think of the emotional turmoil twisting and screaming within her twin. What pained Helena even more, was to think of her little angel; Kira no longer had a father, but her mind raced back to Sarah. She felt responsible for bringing her sister back into all this. Sarah wasn't in particular fond of the suggestion of returning home at first, no, it was Helena who'd convinced her sister that it would be safe however, her presently dire situation begged to differ.
She began to backtrack. If Sarah hadn't gone back, the experiments wouldn't be going on. They would have no one to kill Cal for. Call would still be alive. Kira would still have a Dad. Sarah would still have the one person she ever fell in love with. Sestra might just be safe; at least what was considered safe in contrast to current affairs. Helena's thoughts made her wince. She didn't want to admit it out loud, so instead, she simply pictured the life their family could've been potentially leading, if she hadn't dragged her sister back home.
Despite all the mental chaos, Helena's logic began to kick back in, giving her somewhat of a sort of mild comfort. If she hadn't bought Sarah back, Sarah would be a fugitive on the run. Sarah would have no home. She'd be alone and scared. She'd soon find out that the Emersons had her family in their possession for bargaining chip purposes and she'd jump willingly right into their trap, with the low one in ten chance, that she might just go down to pull her family back up; because that was who Sarah was; she'd barge through a crowd only to put herself right in the line of fire in order to save someone else's skin.
At least, that was what Helena saw. What Sarah saw was immeasurably different. Sarah only saw the failure in herself, whilst Helena saw the pride of success. Sarah truly believed that this was a defeat. They'd lost. They'd fought valiantly and relentlessly against each next enemy around the corner, but every winning streak comes to an eventual end. This was their ensuing fall.
The next person in line was S, Helena's supposed mother, because anyone that Sarah loved, she loved. That's the very reason why it hurt so much to watch the premature expiration of Cal Morrison, a man she'd grown to actually like; a surprise to all around her, because Helena wasn't exactly the most trusting in strangers who her clones took a liking to, particularly her twin.
The guard asked her, "What is your relationship to this woman?" Helena responded in her thick accent, "Mother S." The guard took some notes down then looked back up and continued to repeat the same questions he'd asked her about the others. 'How long have you known this woman?', 'Do you trust her?', 'How did you come to meet?', 'What would be your reaction, if I put a gun to her head right now?' At the last question, she'd flinch every time, then retort the same answer, "I will cut you open, I will take out your heart then I will feed it to you." Her unfalteringly casual tone about it all made the guard wince a little.
When everyone got back to the cell later that evening, they walked in on Sarah laid out on her back, her eyes sealed tight, her hands over her ears and a TV screen opposite her blaring out at a rather loud volume, a voice they'd all been anxious to hear once more, in spite of the fact that the majority of the group weren't as well acquainted with him as they'd have liked. Nevertheless, it was enough to feel a dull emptiness inside whilst the visible fatigue on Sarah's face, their subconsciously appointed leader, was more than enough to make them all feel hollow.
As the guards shackled everyone up, the angle at which they sat allowed them a better view of the screen. It was now blatantly obvious, if not by the sound, what the video consisted of that Sarah was so resistant to acknowledge.
The screen suddenly went blank, as the previous sound of Cal and Sarah discussing what to do for Kira's birthday, was replaced with one of a hissing static noise and oh what a pleasant surprise, it was Blake Emerson who walked through the doors next. He looked around at the family, all clearly frustrated with their uselessness, all frightened, however, when his gaze reached Sarah, hers was not a look of fear, more so, one of anger. He began his introduction to everyone else, "Hello everybody. Blake Emerson. I made acquaintances with Sarah over here earlier on today…" He gestured to Sarah who went back to her lying down position. Though her eyes were shut, it was clear to everyone that she was fully awake, just not wanting to be. He continued, "I'd like to explain to you all that I do not wish to hurt any of you." He then looked over to Sarah, "Unlike Thomas Frost's facilities, a day in our care, will not result with a drill in your shoulder…" He maintained his stare at Sarah, though her lack of interest in his presence, showed more than words could speak. He went on, "…or a broken nose, split lip and stitches just about everywhere." He let his statement sink in for a minute. Sarah snorted in response, eyes still closed and back still to the floor, "No, but it might just result with a bullet in your neck." Though she tried to hide it, her voice was shaky with emotion. Everyone had slightly forgotten about Frost's involvement in this entire shit show, all a little distracted by means of escaping. As well as a result of Sarah's callous remark, this triggered a collectively unintentional, sharp inhale from everyone at the forgotten suffering Sarah had still not mentioned, trying her best to avoid a pity party. Ignoring the passing comment, Blake nonchalantly resumed his speech, "Unfortunately, the pills are still at work in the girls' systems, so the emotion simulating procedure will go on as planned... However on the bright side, we only needed to keep the twins weak for this part of the experiment, so regular meals will be distributed to everyone in the cell, starting from tomorrow morning."
Everyone kept silent except for Sarah, who was sick of these repeating routines and muttered, "Gee thanks, you've really outdone yourself there mate." She sat up now and leant against the furthest wall from everyone, deliberately pulling herself out of anyone's reach. Blake sighed, as if in exasperation and left the cell. Shortly after, just like earlier in the day, the clips began to play again. Except, this time, it wasn't footage from the house.
On the screen, a more unfamiliar face popped up. Sarah knew him well, but the others didn't seem to recognise. He turned the camera to his face and began to shout over the loud music playing I the background, appearing as if in in a bar, "BEST NIGHT EEEEVVVVVVEEEEERRRRR! I CAN'T BELIEVE I NEARLY SKIPPED OUT ON THIS SHIT!" His distinct British accent indicated he was someone from Sarah's past. Felix quietly asked, "That Roy Cari?" Sarah nodded and kept watching. She didn't remember him filming this. She'd never even seen this video herself. The cell was quiet, attention on the screen. "MANNING COME 'ERE A SECOND!" The man was clearly high on all sorts of illegally bought merchandise, combining almost certainly with the influence of alcohol.
From his left side, came in a twenty-two year old Sarah. "EEEEEEYYYYYYYY!" She too was clearly dazed and completely smashed. The memories suddenly came flooding back. She remembered this night better than any other. Roy began, "Oi," He looked over to Sarah who had an arm slung around his shoulder, "You wanna make a bet?" Sarah laughed, "Depends on the bet." Roy replied with a mischievous grin and a, "Ok, so, I say, whoever one of us…" His words were slurred and difficult to understand, "…Snorts a line of coke, length of one metre, wins a dollar from the other." Sarah, took a moment to ponder then, clearly intrigued, responded with an extremely enthusiastic, "HELL YEAH. YOU'RE GOING DOWN CARI."
Present-time Sarah, buried her head in her knees and rubbed her cheeks with her fingers. She was tired. She didn't want to watch this crap. No, what she wanted was a normal life, outside of human trials, experiments and clones in general at this point, however, for now, she was stuck in a cell and her curious instincts forcefully willed her to look back up and keep watching, although she knew all too well where this was going. The video cut off there.
A later clip of the same night popped up onto the screen. Sarah was holding the camera this time, with a very wobbly grip on it. She slung her arm around Roy's neck, "Oi, Cari, how much do you think I'll get out of him?" She pointed to someone behind the camera as Roy responded in a definite, "You'd be lucky to get a tenner out of him. He's all looks and designer brands, but one visit to his house and you'll find he lives in a motel and all he spends his money on is designer brands rather than actual luxury. Smart tactic to lure chicks into his creepy voodoo trap, but not smart enough." Sarah gave him a baffled look, far too drunk to take in all that information. Roy's eyes suddenly lit up. "Ooh…. Miss Manning, I think I've found you a target." He pointed to behind the camera. "I reckon it's an easy 5k." He grinned a mischievous smile and turned to Sarah who was very focused on whoever she'd been pointed to. "Alright…" She muttered to herself, clearly enticed by her newest mark. Licking her lips subtly as if ready to devour a meal, Sarah asked with an impish laugh, "See ya in a few weeks then?" Roy then replied, "See ya in a few weeks then." He laughed loudly then smacked a kiss on her cheek. Good luck darling." Roy then took hold of the camera as Sarah dragged her arm off of his neck and walked out of the shot. Roy twisted the camera so that it was facing Sarah's back as she slipped her way through the crowd of other drunken people hoping to make something of their nights.
Cosima looked over to her sister, whose entire concentration was on the screen. Her unblinking eyes maintained their scowl on the video as her arms wrapped loosely around her knees, hung onto the sides of her legs. Cosima was never so desperate to give someone a hug. Sure, her fun-loving and goofy nature assured a caring side to her, but the urge to leap over to Sarah and console her in any way possible, grew inexplicably by the second, in direct proportion to the patent fatigue and anguish evident on her sister's face. Cosima had been in the cell herself for only about few days, already going mad so after the past few weeks of hell, she couldn't dream to imagine what sorts of horror her sister was put through, leave be, being forced to watch the murder of the only man she'd ever fallen in love with and the father of her daughter, then having the weight of the blame being forced upon her shoulders.
Felix watched the screen just as intently as everyone else. Unlike the rest of the family, he was the only person aside from S who knew just where this video was going. He didn't need to see Sarah's face, he didn't even need to be Sarah's foster brother, having spent his earlier 'formative years' with her, he just needed to know Roy Cari. Roy Cari was Sarah's best friend during high school. The pair were an abominable force of trouble when partnered up. They used to skip class together, get in trouble together, argue with their teachers together and eventually, drop out together. The fact that she'd found someone from London when she first moved away, was the first common similarity that the two shared and the first thing to intrigue a young and lost Sarah looking for a way back home.
From then on, the two wreaked havoc everywhere they went. Felix remembered when they were younger, around the time he was 15, Sarah and Roy would come crashing in at 5am, followed by S' yelling and scolding. Felix always suspected a romantic relationship between the two, but Sarah always denied it, claiming that the boy was like a brother more than anything else. Though she'd always loved Felix more than anyone she'd ever cared for, he always took that comment a little to heart. He was Sarah's brother, not this Cari tosser. Roy was a little over a year older than Sarah, but had done-over his year already, hence his classes with Sarah. Siobhan always called him a terrible influence on Sarah, whilst other students in school always insisted that the two were broken long before they met each other. Their meeting, simply ruined the pair of them further.
In the video, as Sarah shoved through the crowd, behind the camera, Roy decided he would commentate, "So," A mischievous chuckle shortly followed, "Ladies & Gentlemen, here we have, an extremely scheming and cunning Sarah Manning, in her natural habitat. This beautiful specimen of a woman is a street-wise hustler, capable of any bunco, gyp or swindle. Somehow Manning always makes it out alive." He snorts, "And drags the rest of us down below her. But I love 'er anyway." He began to laugh behind the camera, while present-time Sarah buried her head in her hands. S saw her daughter's dejected state and decided to be the first to speak out since the start of the video. "Chicken just don't watch it. Close your eyes and shut your ears." Siobhan's comment deflected everyone's attention off the screen and onto Sarah. She noticed all eyes on her and rubbed her eyes, then looked back up, ignoring her foster mother's comment. Unable to break her focus once again, she maintained her glare at the screen.
Roy continued, "So… as she shunts and jostles everyone out of her way, Manning approaches a species of man whose presence is not only outlandish, but resourceful too… especially for a couple of freeloaders like us who often take up residence in a shitty studio apartment or occasionally the local train station." Another chuckle came from behind the camera. Alison, Cosima and Helena had never known much about Sarah's past; only that it was troubled, however, this was an entirely new view of their clone's history.
Sarah was outside of the shot now so Roy took a few steps to his left to shoot at a better angle, and that's when everyone in the cell froze. Alison let out an unintentional gasp, which she quickly muted for her sister's sake.
There he was. There was Cal.
Felix let out an, "Oh shit", but was then pinched on the arm by Helena, quickly covering it up with an uncomfortable silence. S said nothing, she stayed silent instead, avoiding any reaction. Cosima, who was closest to Sarah looked over to her sister. There was a tear running slowly down Sarah's face. She scrunched up her nose a little and clenched her jaw in quick attempts to withhold her sniffles. Sarah murmured to herself whilst hastily wiping her tears, "Jesus", her thick British accent muttered. Cosima reached over and gently lifted Sarah's hand. She didn't know how to comfort her, but she tried her best with a soft tug of the hand to initiate eye-contact, then a silent, mouthed, "It's okay." She knew it really wasn't that okay, but she didn't know how to do any better. Sarah snatched her hand away, and shifted away from her sister so that she was no longer in her reach. Sarah wasn't stupid, she knew that wasn't true. She backed herself into the corner of the cell and leaned back into the wall, then continued to watch.
The video showed a clearly flirting and ready to seduce Sarah making her way over to a clearly drunk Cal shuffling around on the dance floor. They began to shout inaudible words to each other over the music, as Roy began to zoom in on the two. The footage showed the two getting considerably closer as Sarah whispered something into Cal's ear. He laughed. Although their conversation was soundless, Sarah could remember his quirky laugh that never failed to bring her own laugh out. Sarah smiled at the thought, just as she did in the video. Roy's voice intoned from behind the camera, "She's gonna drain him dry", quickly wiping the already weak smile off of present-time Sarah's face. They began to walk towards the back door together, when Cal put an arm around Sarah's waist. The camera caught Sarah's hand slipping into Cal's back pocket, swiftly pulling out, wallet in hand. She then slipped it into her own pocket and excused herself for a minute. She rushed back to Roy as Cal left to meet her outside. "Babes what you doing?" Roy's voice spoke out in confusion. She snatched the camera and then turned it so both of them were in it, then answered, "Here's a little temporary goodbye gift from me bubs." She smiled genuinely, handing him the wallet and blew a raspberry in his ear. He sounded sincerely touched, "Buubbbss," He looked as if he was about to cry, "You're only gonna be gone for a week or so." Sarah laughed a loud, quaking laugh, with a, "Part of the family." Roy then broke the lingering silence with a, "Well go on then! Your date's gonna bail if you don't show up soon!" Sarah laughed and left Roy with a tight hug. He turned the camera to her as she walked towards the door and yelled, close to the camera's microphone, "GREATEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD!" Sarah turned around in response to his shouting then yelled back from the opposite side of the club and extended , his arm to point back at him, with an inaudible, "GREATEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD!" Roy began to chuckle from behind the camera, then switched it off, breaking everyone's focus from the screen which consequently turned to blue, hissing once again.
At least it was over for now, Sarah thought to herself, at least it was over for a little while. Sarah laid her head back then lowered herself to rest on her side, lying on the rough ground. She turned to face the wall so that she wouldn't face anyone else's attempts at comfort. She was never one to beg for a pity party and she wasn't going to start now. Instead, her renowned method of simply pushing people away, seemed to do the trick just as well. She shut her eyes, trying to send herself to sleep, but of course, the overwhelming silence of eyes staring at her, was too much to bear. Though her eyes remained shut, the glares and subtle looks to each other from behind her back were almost impossible to miss.
After a while, everyone decided to go to sleep themselves, still contemplating on how to get out of this dismal hellhole. For now however, their thought trains were at a halt and as hard as they tried, no one could get them to start moving again.
