When I woke, I was in one of the cages. I was in an awkward position so I shifted around until I could at least feel my feet.
The cage was locked from the outside. I reached through the bars and pulled. It was a strong lock.
I reached up and felt around. But my screws were gone, my clips were gone.
I was trapped in a cage.
"No," I yelled, banging on the cage. "No!"
"What's gonna happened to us?" Harper asked. She was in the cage below me.
"They're gonna bleed us?" I whispered to myself, confused. We were doing what they wanted. We were giving them blood. If they waited another day, I could have convinced more people too.
"Why did they take us?"
"You were right there," I said with a shrug. I clenched my teeth. "And I trusted him," I hissed. "I trusted him," I repeated in a yell, banging on the cage again. "God, I'm gonna kill him," I breathed.
I shouldn't have trusted him. If I had just knocked him unconscious or at least watched him, I wouldn't be in this cage. Harper and I would be free. And we'd be fighting our way out of here.
For an hour or two, we just sat there. I tried to find a loose area but the cage was pretty strong.
I was going to get out of here. Somehow. I would not die in a cage.
"Oh," someone said.
I looked up to see the doctor standing in the doorway with Isaac behind her. They were both smiling.
"She's perfect," she said with a nod, stopping in front of my cage. "Nice and strong." She looked down at Harper. "Good, good."
"Let us out," I said, rattling the cage.
"We have a few things to set up first," the doctor said. "You so rudely interrupted the last set up."
She walked in and started messing with stuff by a chair near the corner. I hadn't paid it much attention until now. I don't think they were gonna bleed us, at least not in the typical way. So what were they going to do?
I glared at Isaac. "I'm going to kill you," I hissed. I rattled the cage.
"Oh I'm so scared," he said, rolling his eyes.
I just rattled the cage and glared. "Just you wait."
"Oh sweetheart," he said with a smirk, stepping closer. "You're stuck in a cage and in five minutes, you'll be stuck on that table."
"You're just lucky you took my screws," I said. "Otherwise you'd already be bleeding out on the ground."
"Big talk," he said with a laugh.
Another person walked in. He looked to be the muscle of the group. He was probably the one in charge of getting me out of the cage and onto the table.
"Get her out and put her in the chair," she said. "We'll start with the right hip."
The man moved towards the cage. I was right.
I prepared myself to kick out when he opened the cage.
I wasn't prepared for him to pull out a baton. He pushed it through the cage and touched my leg. It was a shock baton, like the ones from the Ark. Honestly, it probably was from the Ark.
"Cory," Harper yelled.
I tried to move but I couldn't force my body to move.
He unlocked the cage and I slowly pushed myself up. But I was shocked again.
I was completely limp as he pulled me out. Isaac came over and grabbed my feet. They practically threw me in the chair. It was reclined all the way flat and had a place for my head. They strapped me down and left me there for a while.
I squirmed, trying to get free. Obviously, that wasn't going to work.
I heard the door open. Someone walked over.
"Please," I whispered, a tear falling from my eye.
What was wrong with these people? Ask nicely and I'll donate. Lock me in a cage, forcibly extract it, and I'll kill you. As soon as I get out of here, I'm killing all four of them and anyone who tries to get in my way.
"Don't worry," the doctor said. "This won't hurt. The hip has the largest marrow pocket. We'll begin the aspiration there-"
"I don't need to know the details," the person who walked in said. "Just do it."
"Your father will come around, Cage."
"What if he doesn't?" Cage asked.
Then you idiots are going to be dead. Dante will do something and if he doesn't, I will.
"Please," I whispered again. "I just want to go home."
"I know," he said, kneeling in front of me. "So do we."
"I don't care you sick-"
A drill turned on behind me. My eyes widened and I stopped breathing. Pain shot through the back of my right hip. The pain was more or less manageable but knowing I was being drilled into, that was the really scary part.
I couldn't hold back the screams.
The extraction must have taken at least an hour. And it hurt.
She then moved onto the other hip and did the same.
She left me there for a little while. She talked with Cage and Isaac. Apparently this was going to be for guards first. Obviously Cage gets it as soon as it's been tested but he was not going to be a guinea pig.
The doctor left saying that she'd come back for Harper after lunch. Isaac and the guard unstrapped me and lifted me from the table.
That's when I leapt into action.
They had both grabbed an arm and were just going to drag me over to the cage. I head-butted Isaac, again hurt but had to be done. He let go and backed away. I punched the other guy in the throat once, knocking the breath from him. He fell back against the opposite cages and clutched his throat as he tried to breathe.
Isaac was up surprisingly fast. I ducked and grabbed the light. It was on a stand so that the doctor could move it to where she needed it. Well, I needed it to hit him in the face. And that's what happened.
He fell backwards, crashing into the cages behind him, nearly falling on the guard who was just starting to stand up.
I turned away from him, ready to grab something else to help me.
I was hit in the cheek with something hard. I don't know what it was but my head whipped to the side and I fell to the floor. I was still able to lash out, kicking at Cage's legs. He went down and I was scrambling up.
I turned because Cage was down for at least a few seconds. I had to assess the others.
Isaac was slowly getting up. He had blood streaming from his nose. I nearly smiled at that.
The guard was coming over to me with the shock baton out. I had to act quickly.
I started walking backwards, toward the back corner. I just needed to get away from them all for a second. I needed to think about how to get out of this. It was three on one, actually more like two and a half on one since Isaac didn't really count.
And then I saw it. The broomstick. This was going to be fun.
I grabbed that, broke off the bottom and twirled it. I looked at them with a smirk. Cage was closest to me. He looked mad. The guard had his baton out, ready to shock me as soon as I got within reach. Isaac just looked funny with all the blood coming from his nose.
I started by swinging the stick at the guard. I hit his side and knocked him to the side just a little bit. I spun and suddenly Cage was behind me. I pushed the stick back and hit him in the…somewhere. I didn't have time to look. The guard was still coming at me.
I spun the stick and slammed it onto his wrist. The baton fell from his hand and I spun again closer. I hit Cage as I spun and then slammed the end into the guard's stomach. I elbowed him in the face and pushed him away.
Cage was not giving up. He continued closer.
I shouldn't have underestimated Isaac. I was knocked unconscious. Great.
I woke hours later. It was dark in here. Everyone was gone.
I looked down to see Harper curled in a ball.
"Harper?" I whispered.
She slowly looked up at me. Her face and eyes were red. She'd been crying a lot.
"Are you okay?"
She shook her head. She sniffled.
"You?"
I sighed. I ached all over, mostly in the back of my hips and my head. Whatever Cage hit me with, it left a cut on my cheekbone. It wasn't bleeding anymore but I could tell it had been. I tried to find a comfortable position but really couldn't for two reasons. One, I had bone marrow taken and then I was in a fight. And two, I was in a cage.
I licked my lips. What could I even tell her to make her feel better? The only way to feel better would be if I could get her out of here. I'd already tried twice and failed both times.
"Why did you like Murphy?" she asked softly.
I breathed out a laugh, shaking my head. She was trying to distract us both from the pain. It sort of worked.
"He wasn't a jerk when he was with me. He was actually really nice. He was always so concerned whenever I put myself in any danger, like simply hunting. And he didn't care that I had a daughter or that our relationship wasn't going to be about sex. He just wanted to be with me."
I missed him. It's sad but I almost wish he was here with me. I don't think he'd just sit around. He'd get us out of here. Or he'd annoy them until they let him go. Either way is fine by me.
"We're thinking of the same guy, right?" She even laughed a little.
I laughed, wincing when it caused pain to shoot through my head and my back. "Yeah. He was just so different with me." I paused, my smile fading. "He said I made him want to be good."
"Did you meet him on the ground?"
"Before I was locked up, I remember I'd see him around and my best friend would always make fun of me for having such an awful crush on him. I had decided just an hour before I was locked up that I was gonna talk to him the next day. I wish I had."
And now I missed Tabs. Now I almost wish she was here. She'd talk her way out of this. Man could she talk.
"At least part of the reason he left was because of you," she said softly after a minute. "Bellamy wouldn't let anyone go out to look, saying it was dangerous. I mean it was. Murphy practically screamed at him, told him he was gonna find you himself."
I smiled at that. But he still left so the smile faded quickly.
"We'll get out of here, right?" she asked after a few minutes.
"Yeah," I said with a nod. "I am not going to die in here."
I was going to get out of here. Somehow.
When they came back, I would have to plan this. I would have to think it through before I acted. They would be ready for me now. I had to be creative.
I was going to get out of here. Somehow.
