Spooky: This chappy is dedicated to Rhuinnes again! You're an awesome reviewer! hugs I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I sure had fun writing it!
The guards dumped Veronica on the floor of her cell. She landed on her face her cuffed hands under her.
"What the hell did they give her?" asked one of the guards.
"I don't know but she sure was limp," said the other one.
Veronica heard the door clank shut. "It could have…" Their voices grew faint as the walked away.
What had they given her? She had never felt so exhausted after a session. And some of them had been bad. Her body did ache, but that was already healing. But the grogginess and the exhaustion consumed her. She couldn't keep her mind on one thing. It just kept bouncing from one thing to the next. They must have put something in the food they had given her.
She tried to roll over onto her back and found that it took much more effort than she thought it would. Finally she made it onto her back. She lifted her hands to above her face, which took another great deal of effort. Mostly cause she couldn't keep her mind on what she was doing.
I wonder what Quatre's doing? I hope Pepper's okay. I wonder what snow would look like on Saturn? She shook her head at that last ridicules thought.
She fixed her concentration on the cuffs on her hands. One side clinked open and her arms fell to her sides. She concentrated and the other side unlatched and she moved her arm. She lay there on the floor letting her thoughts bounce around in her head.
After a while her thoughts calmed down. She let her mind empty and stared at the ceiling. A few minutes later the lights in the hall went out and she let the darkness engulf her.
Quatre tossed and turned through the night. Nightmares plagued him. Visions of Veronica being beaten and tortured while he stood by and watched overwhelmed him. He suddenly awoke, coated in a cold sweat. His breathing was ragged as he tried to forget the images. He looked out the window; the sun was just starting to rise. He knew he'd never get back to sleep. He really didn't want to go back to sleep. There were times when dreams were almost more painful than reality. But maybe it was worse for Veronica. Perhaps she was wanting for it all to stop. Waiting to find the sweet release of sleep. He put his head in his hands. How could he know anything for sure?
He threw the covers off and stood up and stretched. They were meeting with Valren again tomorrow. Quatre sincerely doubted that they would get anything from him. The best they could hope for was that Valren would slip and give them a hint. It was possible that she wasn't even there. They could have moved her to a different complex right after they caught her. She could be on one of the colonies for all her knew. But that didn't fit. If DC Corp's main HQ was in Colorado then they would most likely keep her there.
He sighed. There was no sense in assuming anything. They just had to concentrate on getting information. But he wouldn't stop until she was free.
Veronica woke up the next morning to the sound of the door creaking open. Footsteps came towards her and she opened her eyes. She immediately regretted it as fluorescent light poured through the door. She snapped her eyes shut. A foot nudged her shoulder. It had to be Bren.
"I see you didn't eat your dinner," said Bren in a condescending tone.
Veronica squinted at him and then twisted her head around to follow his gaze. There on the floor next to the bunk was a tray of uneaten food.
Ah shit, she thought. She turned her head back around and rubbed her eyes. "I didn't see it there last night," she said her voice thick and groggy.
"Hmm…I suppose that can be overlooked. But I suppose you're hungry now."
She squinted up at him. His head was cocked and he was watching her with mild curiosity.
"Yeah I am."
He nodded and extended his hand. Veronica ignored it and rolled over. She pushed herself up and then stood up. She suddenly regretted standing up as the world started spinning. Bren reached out to try and help her, but she shook his hand off. But that only made her loose her balance more and she ended up grabbing Bren's arm in order to steady herself. His hand on her elbow he helped steady her.
"Aren't you going to mock me for being weak?" she growled.
Bren looked down at her. "There's no point in it."
She looked up at him. This was not the Bren she knew. She let go of his arm and straightened up, still groggy and confused. Bren bent down and picked up the cuffs.
"Sorry, but it's protocol," he said.
She held her wrists out and he cuffed her again. He set his hand on her elbow again and guided her into the hall. She noticed that her legs were shaky and she was still slightly unbalanced. When they got into the hall she shook his hand off. He shrugged and walked up the hall. Shakily she followed him with two guards behind her. She followed him through the maze of corridors. Finally they came to a set of double doors on their right. Bren pushed one of the doors open and she walked in.
Veronica looked around. It was the cafeteria. On each side of the double doors stood an armed guard. There were roughly two hundred other kids and teens in the cafeteria along with a few DC Corp. personnel. She looked back over her shoulder. The guards that had escorted her here didn't come in, but simply continued down the hall. Bren entered the cafeteria and headed for a table. The door swung shut with a heavy thunk. Several of the kids in the front tables looked up and then began to whisper among themselves. She looked down and followed Bren. She was famous here. Famous for escaping when no one else could. Famous for blowing up compounds yet never killing anyone. Famous for having the most powerful psychic abilities.
She really didn't want any attention right now. It was bad enough she was captured again, but to then have most of the kids in the compound look up to her and expect her to get them out or escape again was almost too much. It didn't matter anyway. She had given up this time. She wasn't going home. She had gotten her parents out and now she had given herself up to DC Corp. She would be here forever.
Suddenly an image of Quatre's smiling face filled her mind. Seeing his face made her want to scream and smash things there in the compound. She clenched her fists. Life wasn't fair. She didn't want to put Quatre though this. Why, oh why did she have to confess her love to him? But then that wouldn't have matter, because he cared about her and would have worried even if he hadn't known she liked him.
They walked through the sea of people for what seemed like forever, until they came to the back. They sat down at a two-person table.
"So what the hell did you put in the food yesterday?" she asked casually.
"Ah yes, that was a newly developed drug. It is virtually undetectable by computers and psychic powers. It inhibits the thought process so much that it basically takes away the psychic powers," said Bren conversationally. "Though apparently you were still able to tap into them seeing as how your cuffs were off…"
Veronica gave him as much of a grin as she could in her still groggy state. "I'm tougher than you think."
"Well of course you are. And you've worked on developing your powers where the others haven't."
"So you tested this drug on the kids?"
"Yes, for quite awhile."
"Even before the last time I was captured?"
"Yes. If you remember you weren't here all that long that time."
"True."
Just then a server set a plate of food in front of her. The delicious smell of the food made her realize how hungry she really was. She grabbed the fork and was about to dig in when she realized she still had the cuffs on. She set the fork down and held her hands out to Bren.
"Do you mind?" she asked.
"I think you can do that your self," said Bren watching her carefully.
She lowered her hands and frowned. This was a test. A test to see how quickly her powers came back. She looked down at her cuffs and concentrated. Her mind was still foggy, but not like it had been the night before. There was a click and both cuffs came off at the same time and fell into her lap. She set them on the table.
"There."
Bren smirked. "Thata girl."
Veronica glared at him then dug into her food.
Spooky: whoo hoo Chapter 18! Things are getting interesting! I cannot WAIT to do the next like 5 chapters! I know, I know more stuff with Veronica. Don't worry! The next chapter will only be with the boys! (I hope ; ) Please keep reviewing! I love you all!
