Wait... what the hell is going on here? Why is there another chapter up like an hour or so after the last one? Because I'm unpredictable and keep you on your toes, that's why! Thanks to Michi-chii and KazzieLegran for reviewing, you guys are funny xD
~ CHAPTER 29 ~
Pulling the Woolbeast Over Their Eyes
Dwayne opened his green eyes, fully expecting to be in the dank pit of hell he'd been in only hours before. Instead it was the clean grey leather of the scuttlebuggy's interior. He couldn't help jumping anyway but the unconscious girl next to him and his friend's concerned faces calmed him down. Camila had tear tracks down her eyes but was still flying them proficiently, she was fairly clever to understand the controls so easily after only watching Wesley do it that one time over a week ago. The sun had almost set, violet and pink were scattered across the horizon and reflected in the clouds they passed. Dwayne must have been out for several hours. But he was safe. Safe. He had to keep repeating the word in his mind.
Dwayne didn't know what he was going to do, whether he was going to cry like Camila or start freaking out.
"You alright?" Wesley asked, his voice low. Those grey eyes surveyed him carefully. Dwayne merely sank back into his chair and gave a brief nod which was strange because he wasn't alright. None of them were. Staring down slowly he noticed his arm which had swollen up like a balloon. Fuck it hurt.
"Where are we going?"
"Back to the base?" Wesley answered, confused by the question.
"We need to go to a hospital!" Dwayne stated and Camila scoffed.
"Have you ever been to a hospital before Dwayne cause I haven't," their driver said "they'll take one look at your green blood and have you carted away to do experiments on."
Dwayne went quiet, unable to fault her logic. But his arm was fucking burning now, and he clenched his fingers and curled his toes. He leaned forward, wishing he was still unconscious. Willing himself not to start groaning in pain. Then he thought talking might distract him.
"So... what the heck happened?"
"Well..." Camila started "After you two were taken back to your cells, our wonderful host here came for another private conversation..." their was venom in her voice. "She slapped me around a bit, demanded to know information about my powers and how they worked... and then she held me down and" she stopped. "Well she wanted to find out where the mother grub was so she dug her nails in and even bit me... she tortured me for a bit and when that didn't work she injected me with something that'd get me to talk... and that worked."
"Oh my god Camila..." Dwayne breathed and then said "She drugged you? You got tortured and didn't say anything?"
"Well, I was a bit hysterical at the time," she replied softly and Dwayne remembered her blown eyes and the pale sweaty tinge to her skin, it still looked sickly between her hair and shoulder. "You know," she continued, her voice different "This is why I didn't want to go with you guys back then. I knew something bad would happen."
"I never thought something like this would happen," Wesley commented darkly and Dwayne couldn't even bring himself to agree. It was just that obvious.
"Anyway she dragged me back to my cell and after a while I was freaking out that she'd go after the mother grub and find the hive so I had to do something... I overplayed my drugged state and kept screaming out until a guard came to quiet me. I yelled at him, gave him everything I had while stumbling around the place. And eventually he came in... but with a knife. I had to get close to him so" she took the bandaged hand off the steering stick and held it out for me.
"He stabbed your hand?" Dwayne finished.
"I grabbed the knife. He put it right through. The most painful thing I've ever felt. But I could grab him with my other hand, I don't think he was expecting it. But thanks to that idiot we got free. I think he was probably a pervert who thought he could take advantage of a drugged up girl."
"Disgusting," Wesley spat and there was so much hate in his voice.
"And then?" Dwayne prompted.
"Then there was a lot of sneaking around at first, I got the first guy to attack a bunch of others while I got a few more under my control and got a few others to talk. It wasn't easy and some of them died. Then there was Wesley, who'd managed not to swallow the pills and resist the temptation even though it was just a slim chance I'd pull through. He actually laughed when he saw me show up."
"I'm surprised Reagan didn't tell them to be more careful around you," Dwayne commented.
"Well it didn't seem like most of her guys were mentally alright," Wesley suggested and Dwayne frowned. He then looked at the unconscious highblood.
"I was going to ask about Reagan..." he began "What did you do to her? She looks dead."
"She's just drugged," Wesley replied "We crushed up the Endone to spike a glass of water, worked surprisingly well."
"Are you sure she's not dead?"
"Well check her pulse if you want."
Dwayne hesitated, his stomach churning uncomfortably. He picked up one of her limp pale arms and detested the thrill that went through him from touching her. It made him decide against checking the pulse, she looked like her cheeks were flushed at least. A soft lavender colour. Moving his left arm back he grimaced from the pain the movement caused his right.
"You got the ship out of the crate before going back for me?"
"Well no," Wesley admitted "Maybe they were trying to fly off with it before we could, or move it or something? I only heard it was supposed to be in a crate."
"Hmm."
"And then we got out, got away" Camila started up again "You passed out and Wesley started laughing again, just like how people do whenever they escape life threatening situations in the movies. And for some reason I joined him. So there: we're all insane."
"Trolls are insane," Dwayne corrected, and then shot another glance at the unconscious beauty- psychopath.
"We had to get you last, Dwayne." Wesley brought up, a hint of that bizarre shame in his voice again "After the way you tried to appeal to Reagan's goodness... you were our last hope. If we got caught, like we should've been, then you were all that was left. If she could be convinced that you never lied or tried doing anything wrong... well, that was the real back-up plan. That you might have convinced her by being you."
"I don't think it would've worked," Dwayne admitted honestly "So it's a good thing your plan did, Camila."
She said nothing and her hands tightened around the steering stick. No one said anything after that. They were all quiet, still stuck in the horrors of what happened to them. It was behind them now, and Dwayne was quite contended to never visit Perth ever again. But how much had this changed? Everything. Dwayne still felt like he was in a trance. It was almost completely dark when they found the base, not long after Dwayne had woken up. Or so he thought. It should've been the greatest relief to see the metal oddly-shaped structure, but he still felt vacant. Was this real? Did everything they faced in the last twenty four hours even happen? No one said anything as the ceiling to the long garage opened to let them in. No one said anything as they slowly lowered the ship onto the platform in their injured and fatigued state.
No one said anything as Reagan quietly sat up, fully awake.
Wait what? Did the unpredictable writer strike again? What does this mean about everything that's just happened? Did I just turn your assumptions on their head?
