Raven laid frozen on the cave floor all night long, slipping in and out of consciousness. She didn't wake again until someone started jerking her side to side.
She groaned as cruel hands handled her body roughly. Her bloodied tank top was ripped over her head, eliciting a long shrill ear-splitting shriek from Raven.
See, the thing about leaving clothes pressed to a series of bloody wounds was that the dried liquids would fuse together and heal together. So when the garment was carelessly ripped from Raven's straining sensitive skin, the thousands of scabs, frayed nerve endings, and broken edges went right along with it.
The blood flowed freely again, the slashes raging with screams of their own. No matter how many times Raven's body endured this particular brutalization, she never got used to it.
"Shut the hell up and stop squirming. There's been a change in plans," came an agitated voice.
With deep, ragged breaths, Raven forced her eyes open to find Luna beside her.
She should have guessed.
Luna removed her long green top and began ripping it in pieces, tying them around Raven's various injuries. This was a strange turn of events.
"Just let me die," Raven croaked, only now realizing how dry and parched her throat was. "That's what you want, isn't it?"
Raven expected a smirk or Luna's evil cackle with an equally wicked quip, but only the serious, focused expression stayed in place.
"Of course, I want you to die. But I want something else more." Without further explanation, she effortlessly scooped Raven into a bridal style carry and exited the cave.
The sun peeked through the mass of trees surrounding them. Morning had come. Raven hadn't been sure she was going to live to see it again. And now that she had, it was underwhelming. But that could have been due to the blood loss and trauma of the past twenty-four hours.
A sudden wave of dizziness overwhelmed Raven then, causing her heavy head to plop over Luna's strong bare shoulder who didn't seem to mind. She cradled Raven like she was gold. Something must have happened. What event could have taken place that would change a madwoman's plans so drastically?
"Where are we going?" Raven asked weakly.
She was so thirsty. The dryness of her throat threatened to choke her all over again.
"Somewhere the others won't think to look for you. You're my bargaining chip now."
Raven shivered as Luna carried her through the woods. It was the first time in a few days she'd felt cold. She'd certainly lost a lot of blood. Her heart pulsed erratically, and it was still difficult to breathe. And her vision was starting to blur.
She was still able to recognize, however, a set of familiar train tracks. But they didn't go through the part that connected with the town. Luna merely carried Raven across them, leaving one forest and entering another on the other side.
"Grounders never cross here," Luna said as they entered the new thickness of trees. It was odd she offered any information without being asked. "Werewolves have an agreement with the city. As long as we keep to our borders, they will never hunt us and lock us away for experimentation."
Raven's forehead sunk deeper into the soft crest of Luna's neck. She couldn't help it. It was the only comfort she had, and the only way she could remain focused enough to communicate.
Uhhh, wait a minute. Did she just say werewolves?
"And why are we trespassing into the new spooky forest if you're not supposed to be here?"
Luna scoffed, and Raven couldn't see it, but she was pretty sure Luna rolled her eyes in amusement. "Because the others will never look for you here. There's a cave I keep secret from them where they will never find you. Where Anya will never think to look."
Raven sighed into Luna's neck. "I still don't understand you, loony tunes."
Luna grumbled but didn't seem all that offended. "I'm going to use you to bargain with the commander now. I need more people to join me if I'm going to start a new pack. So if you stop antagonizing me, you just might get to live after all. Probably not. But there's a chance."
"Oh," Raven rasped, not really sure how to respond to that. "Well, at least there's a chance now. That's something."
Luna snickered then, the first resemblance of the woman from the night before. "A minuscule-y small one."
OoOoO
Luna dropped a half-dead Raven carelessly onto the hard rock surface of a new cave sometime later. Raven couldn't be sure how long the walk had taken. It felt like hours, but every step had been agonizing against her sore body so she couldn't be sure.
"I need to check the area and lay more decoy trails before night falls. You three stay here," she pointed at Gaia, Lincoln, and the dark-haired girl from the day before. "The human is our token to our new family. Our new life. Guard her well. Don't forget to raise the signal if anyone shows up."
The trio nodded before Luna turned to Echo next, "Guard the entrance. I'll be back soon."
Echo gave a firm nod too before following Luna out and disappearing from view. The cave entrance stretched long and rounded off, so Raven couldn't see whether it was light or dark out. She must've passed out again on the journey.
Gaia was the first by Raven's side, carefully helping her to sit up with her back leaned against the cave's wall, a dark dirt ridden surface Raven desperately hoped no spiders were hanging out on at the moment.
Raven couldn't help but be surprised by Gaia's gentleness as she reworked Luna's garments around her wounds, making sure they were secure.
Raven concluded from the day before that Gaia and Lincoln were not, in fact, friends but foes. Though her theory quickly weakened with every kind gesture. Such as when Gaia reached into a bag to pull out a granola bar before handing it to Raven who was too weak to take it.
After seeing Raven struggle to lift her arms, Gaia tore open the wrapper with her teeth before bringing the chocolate chip granola-y goodness to Raven's mouth. She couldn't help the slight moan that escaped her as she savoured the treat. She felt as though she'd been starving for days.
"Don't waste our food on that thing!" the girl with midnight hair and dark eye makeup snarled. Her tone was sharp and angry like the rest of her. She seemed extremely displeased by Raven's presence.
Gaia turned her head in response, "Enough, Ontari! Luna said to keep her alive. If she doesn't eat, she could go into shock. Do you really want to risk Luna's wrath for such malfeasance?"
Ontari huffed and rolled her eyes before turning away.
Gaia broke another piece of the bar off and pressed it gently past Raven's bruised lips.
Raven accepted the morsel of food at first, she wanted to keep eating and swallow the whole bar. But instead, she decided Raven Reyes wasn't going to go down without causing as much grief as possible to her fellow captors.
The second Gaia glanced away, Raven spit the granola out as hard as she could into Gaia's face, "Fuck you!"
Ontari cackled from where she stood while Gaia took a deep breath and wiped her face. Lincoln remained stoic and motionless, only his eyes shifting between everyone.
"Ontari, why don't you keep a lookout at the entrance with Echo? Go a few meters out so you can spot anyone coming that shouldn't be. We don't want to get cornered in here."
Ontari didn't put up a fight. In fact, she looked relieved to get out of there.
Once alone, Gaia suddenly turned her intense gaze on Lincoln. "Lincoln, help me with Raven."
Lincoln's gaze shot to the exit before kneeling beside Raven and carefully helping her to a better sitting position. He then removed a canteen from his belt and held it out for Raven to drink."
"Drink, Raven. It's okay, me and Gaia will not hurt you."
His voice was a throaty whisper. She'd only heard Lincoln speak a handful of times. But this had to be the first full complete sentence.
She narrowed her gaze at him in distrust. This had to be a trick. But then Gaia nodded her head too, eyes full of nothing but concern.
What he's saying is true, Raven," her voice was barely above a whisper. "We are Lexa's spies. The commander has never completely trusted Luna. She knew this day would come."
Raven swallowed hard, a lump in her throat forming as she looked between the two, trying to decide whether she believed them or not. She couldn't think clearly. She was so lightheaded, her leg ached beyond measure, and the sharp cuts in her chest were burning again.
Her throat dry, she decided to take her chances and nodded toward the canteen. Lincoln lifted it gently so Raven could take a long swig, the liquid cool and refreshing.
Her sensitive taste buds picked up notes of dirt and earth. The canteen had certainly been refilled in a creek running through the woods. It was pleasant, she inhaled copious amounts of it, she was so thirsty. She didn't even care that the metallic taste of the flask had snuck onto her taste buds.
Gaia finished feeding Raven the granola bar next while she spoke. "We're going to get you out of here, Raven. We're going to get you home, to Anya."