Hexagon
Chapter 72: Plummet
What a strange chapter title. It makes sense to me :) Thank you to the following people for their wonderful reviews:
-xbloodywhalex
-A River Of Ink
-thee survivors
-Runereader of the Nightwings
-Guest
-HollyleafML (x3)
-Ivystormrandomness
-WildxPaws
-LionCinder
Thank you all! On with the fic!
Breezepelt's POV:
I watched from my spot behind the door as Dovewing fondled the bolt stunners and strolled out the door. I had to go after her. I looked down the hallway, and saw her amble casually over the dusty floor toward the inconspicuous little door that led to the second floor. My fingers clenched hungrily around the handle of the axe. I could do it. One fatal swing of the blade and Dovewing would never be able to hurt anyone again.
I could imagine it with frightening clarity. Dovewing, splayed out crookedly in a grisly pool of blood, her platinum hair forming a crimson-tainted halo around her face.
The door quietly clicked shut. She was gone.
I didn't think about what might be happening on the floor above me. The thought of Ivypool and Briarlight, drugged and unconscious was almost too much.
I took a deep breath, and slowly, I felt my rationale start to creep back. I couldn't go after them. That would be like announcing to the whole Dark Forest that I had turned traitor, and that information wasn't something I could afford to give up.
Feeling sick to my stomach, I sheathed the axe, and wandered off mindlessly in the direction of the southern corridors. I had barely stepped out onto the hallway when I heard it. Through the thin wooden floor, I heard the unmistakable noise of a bolt stunner firing. There were two thumps. The images flashed in front of my eyes like some macabre film reel. Ivypool, clutching at a blood-slicked hole in her arm, fighting to stay conscious as the drugs worked their way systematically through her body. Briarlight next to her was long gone, slumped face-first on the dusty floor, a small puddle of blood already forming underneath her.
No! My muscles seized and it felt like my body was trying to turn on its own, trying to move to the aid of the two girls. I let out a weak, shuddering exhale. "I….can't!", I snarled quietly under my breath, as if trying to scold myself. "If they find out I'm a traitor, then...then...we won't have any chance at escape."
I leaned against the nearest wall, seizing my head between my hands. I had to get it together. With Ivypool and Briarlight captured, I was our last shot at escape. I couldn't afford to go to pieces, not now, not in a moment like this. I had to keep calm!
"Oh, Breezepelt!", a faux-cheerful voice sing-songed called from the stairs. "I got them. Come help me carry! Ivypool's built like a boar, she's much too heavy for me."
I gnashed my teeth. Dovewing knew, she definitely knew. Otherwise, she wouldn't have made that jab at Ivypool. Nevertheless, I stalked up the stairs to find Dovewing waiting for me on the upstairs landing, carrying Briarlight like she was a sack of potatoes. The smile she gave me was sweet, almost charming, but it only served to set me off even more. "Bitch", I snarled angrily, and stomped up the stairs. She only smiled, then simpered in a disgustingly sweet voice, "C'mon Breezepelt, put those big strong muscles to use. Unless they're just for show?"
I wanted nothing more than to shove this bitch down the stairs with the hope that she'd break her neck. Glowering, I suppressed my fury and pushed past her into the storage area.
The sight that awaited me was freakishly similar to my earlier vision. Ivypool lay crumpled on the floor, covered in blood and her face frozen in an expression of terrified shock. I walked hastily over to her, then saw Dovewing's suspicious gaze out of the corner of my eye. It was with great regret that I slung her unceremoniously over my shoulder, holding her in a bruising fireman's carry.
We reached the sibling's cell way too quickly. I held out my hand, asking Dovewing for the key, but the platinum haired bitch just smiled patronizingly. "Oh no, that won't do. If we put them together, they'll just scheme. I think….I'll put Ivypool into my room. How's that?" I just stared, horrified, and Dovewing carried on, her toothy smile growing alarmingly wide. "And while we're at it, we can hand Lionblaze over to Heathertail! I think she'd enjoy that."
I'd never felt as much pity for my insufferable cousin as I did now.
Sure enough, Dovewing was already on her phone, no doubt contacting Heathertail and Brokenstar.
It only seemed to take minutes before Heathertail was flouncing down the hall, her long blond hair swishing ominously behind her. She was still wearing that disgusting outfit, her breasts spilling out of the latex-and-mesh halter top. Her corded leather skirt rode up her thighs with every high-heeled step, revealing far more ass cheek than was necessary. Trailing behind her were Ratscar and Crowfrost, the two grunts she constantly kept around.
"You there", Dovewing snapped, referring to Ratscar. "Take her", she gestured to Ivypool, "to my quarters. Make sure she's restrained." Ivypool gaze a shuddering twitch in her sleep, like she subconsciously knew her fate.
Ratscar lumbered toward me and yanked Ivypool off my shoulders. I could only watch in horror as he carried her, tucking her under one arm like how one would carry a barrel of fish or something similar. Once Ratscar was gone, Heathertail turned to Crowfrost and nodded at the door. Crowfrost grabbed the key off of Dovewing and went in.
I watched from behind the door as Crowfrost went for Lionblaze. Although significantly smaller, the strawberry blond wasn't having it, fighting the grunt tooth and nail despite being restrained. One fatal kick to the groin reduced Crowfrost to a moaning puddle on the floor, and even I felt a stab of sympathy for the Shadow grunt.
Heathertail turned to me, her smile tight. "Go take care of it", she intoned. I rolled my eyes. "Are you shitting me?", I snapped contemptuously, glaring at Crowfrost, who had limped back out. "He's handcuffed and blindfolded, how did you lose?" Crowfrost gave a miserable little shrug, making Heathertail and Dovewing snort disdainfully.
I made a show of scolding Crowfrost, then finally directed my attention to the cell. I stepped into it, and recoiled. The room smelled of vomit and body odor, the unmistakable stink of human suffering condensed into one room. I walked across the cold concrete. Hollyleaf hissed at me, fists clenched. Jayfeather said nothing, his mouth set into a grim line, his scarred blue eyes seeming to follow me around the room. He wasn't angry, remembering what had happened with Hawkfrost earlier, but suspicious and on guard.
Lionblaze had been backed into a corner. He stood trembling, supporting himself on the concrete wall. He kicked wildly at me, blond head thrashing from side to side as he tried to detect where I was coming from through the blindfold. He missed, by a lot. Random kicking might work on a grunt like Crowfrost, but not me.
I apprehended him with almost ridiculous ease, putting him in a loose sleeper hold. I made my message clear. Try anything, and I will choke you out. To my surprise, he didn't even try. It was upon closer inspection that I realized why.
He was sick. The sedatives, paired with his already nasty concussion and a great deal of exhaustion had reduced the usually prideful soccer captain to a trembling, sickly pale mess. His tan skin had gone pasty white, sweat pouring done his face in ridiculous amounts.
"Breezepelt", he groaned softly. "Why?"
I choked down the snappy response (I might not like him, but he was still my cousin and in a pretty terrible situation) and murmured quietly, "Heathertail asked for you."
I hadn't thought it possible, but he paled even more. Feeling I might as well offer him a little bit of comfort, I leaned close to him and said in a hushed tone, "Cinderheart and the others are okay."
With that, I handed him over to Heathertail. I watched, feeling my stomach lurch a bit, as my cousin was frogmarched down the hallway, Heathertail's gun pressed into the back of his head.
…
Fallen Leaves' POV:
The first thing I noticed about our cell was how ridiculously warm it was. It looked to be a storage room, filled with empty shelves. There were dark spots on the floor, indicating that something very heavy had sat there until recently. Most likely, it had been filled with items, which had then been removed as it was converted into a cell. Either way, it most certainly wasn't air conditioned, and the temperatures fluctuated depending on the weather outside.
When we had arrived, the room had broiled with midday heat, but as the sun began dipping under the horizon, the temperatures had dropped with it. Now it was freezing.
Half Moon gave a feeble cough, and burrowed deeper into her sweatshirt. Cinderheart was leaning into Half Moon's shoulder in an attempt to conserve body heat, her eyes closed. It wasn't a bad idea. Wordlessly, I slid closer to them.
I don't know how long we stayed like that. The temperatures seemed to be dropping faster and faster, and the dinky insulation in the warehouse did next to nothing to keep us warm.
"W-why…", Half Moon shivered. "Is it so cold? I thought this was a desert."
I rubbed at my runny nose. "Because there's so little water vapor in the air", I began with a shudder. "the land can't trap any heat. Once the sun goes down, it loses all the heat it gained over the day."
Half Moon gave a miserable little sneeze. "Thanks, brainiac", she said, somewhat sarcastically. "I should hang out with Hollyleaf more, her smartness seems to be rubbing off on you."
Cinderheart seemed to wake up a bit. "If that were the case, I wouldn't have failed my chemistry midterm", she remarked.
I snickered. It was nice to be speaking to them. It made me feel less lonely, and subsequently, less afraid.
Then there were footsteps outside, and any feeling of safety promptly evaporated. Cinderheart rose, and pressed her eye to the keyhole. I stood right beside her. Almost immediately, I could hear her breathing pick up with fear or anger. Which one it was, I couldn't tell.
"No….", she moaned fearfully. "What...what…"
Just then, I heard it too. The unmistakable clacking of stiletto high heels, paired with what sounded like a pair of shuffling male footsteps. Cinderheart tore herself away from the keyhole, looking sick to her stomach, then motioned for me to look. I did.
And my blood went cold. Lionblaze, dragging himself down the hall, a gun pressed to the back of his head.
"Why are they here?", I said, horrified. "And what happened to him?" Lionblaze looked awful, dark bags under his eyes, bronze skin pasty white. He looked like he would keel over any second.
"They must have followed us", Cinderheart said, the terrible realization dawning on her. "And got caught."
The reality sank in, making my stomach roil unpleasantly. Our last hope, our only shot out of this mess, had been captured along with our friends.
End Chapter 72
Oooooof. Poor Blaze. Drugged, concussed, and exhausted. Realistically, he would have lasting brain damage by now (let's ignore that for the sake of the story). Thanks for reading!
Reviews? :3
Azra out!
