Brigitte entered the room with the food in her arms to see Skarloey looked down to see Peter yawning as he leaned against Falcons shoulder. She set down the food on the coffee table and threw the apple in her brothers direction. She presented the food and let them take what they'd want.
But to both her surprise and expectations, they made no move for it. Skarloey eyed it but other than that made no motion. So she took initiative and took a small pack of boxes filled with juice and stepped forward to hand it to him. It was late and she assumed they hadn't eaten for a while.
Maybe she was too hasty, but the other engines flinched hard when she stepped in a foot to close. Duncan practically growled, Rust visibly tensed while Renneas hand balled into a fist. What surprised her the most was Skarloeys reaction, he'd gone for one of his pockets and looked like he was going to pull something on her.
She suspected that the girl had given it to them to defend themselves. But that didn't stop her shock as she dropped one of the boxes. "Sorry, sorry, I'll- I can back of."
And she did, intentionally very slowly with her hands raised to show she wasn't a threat. Her eyes darted between their faces and Skarloeys hand. It didn't move from the pocket. Stephen noticed this as well.
"Hey, me and sis can sleep upstairs." He said. "You can take whatever you want, just call if you need anything. Bathrooms down by the front."
This time, Brigitte didn't argue. She just nodded and helped sling her brothers arm over her shoulder as he sat up. She tried to give the boys a sincere smile. "Please, you can relax. Your all safe, I promise we can tell you more in the morning but it's late, we should all get some rest."
"What, pray tell, implies that we are safe here?" Rusty asked. His tone was inquisitive, but there was a nervous edge to it as well.
Brigitte didn't really know what to say, it took her a moment to think of anything substantial. "Well, it's because we promise not to sell you boys out. Believe me, we hate those men as much as you do."
It certainly wasn't a lie. She and and Steppen left their father for a reason. It was the least they could to to offer them shelter, she doubted there was anywhere else they could go and it's wasn't like they'd make it far anyways.
As she and her brother walked upstairs to their separate rooms, the brothers were left in the living room by themselves. Skarloey had already noticed that Peter had begun to doze of along with Falcon. Though the latter made an effort to keep his eyes open.
"I'll keep watch." He stated. " If anything happens I'll wake you all up." He left out the unspoken promise. 'I'll hold them of long enough for you to escape.'
"Then I'm stayin' up too." Duncan affirmed. Rusty and Renneas followed in suit, each promising to take up guard once the other had slept.
"Thank you. Now, please at least try to rest." Skarloey asked. The others shrugged but closed their eyes. He didn't think they were actually sleeping.
He noticed that none of them made a move for the food. None of them were hungry anyways, and they didn't feel or want to take a strangers food. Shale was different though, she had Edwards trust and by connection, had the others. But these were true strangers, it'd take more than goodwill for them to gain it.
He glanced down to Edwards leg, the steril white contrasting the ash grey. Hopefully, Edward would be fixed soon. Then they could go find Shale, wherever she was.
::::
Shakes eyes blinked wearily. Everything felt sore, she gingerly stretched out her fingers and felt the chill of metal under her. Her eyes burst open and she jumped up but whatever cage she was held in was so small she couldn't stand so she ended up hitting her head. The shock was hard but she just fell to a knee and tried not to scream as she looked around.
The room she was kept in was small and dark, but from what she could see there were several cages close by just out of arm's reach. Once her eyes adjusted she could see that there was a door a few feet away. Dull metal, likely locked.
Her jacket and other clothes had been stripped of as well, leaving her in a sterile light blue hospital gown and not much else. The implications made her squirm and being disarmed and without a weapon made her anxiety spike.
That's when she heard something behind her crash, followed by the sounds of ragged screams. Animalistic and raw screams. And when her head snapped in that direction, she was close to screaming herself. It was another humanized engine. This one had the same black hair but it fell past their shoulders and almost down to their hips.
The lights suddenly flashed on and Shale slapped a hand over her eyes. Shale dropped to the ground and pretended to still be unconscious. She was blinded, but could hear the loud sound of a door swinging opens and boots marching through. She couldn't make out the faces, the cage was to low. But she could still hear them.
She saw a sterile white boot kick the bars of the cage, rattling them and causing the person inside to wail harder. "Subject FQC1! Shut the hell up or you'll be sent to the Dissection Labs this moment!"
Shale saw her move a hand towards her mouth. She wasn't sure, but she thought she was biting her hand to keep herself from screaming. The scientists didn't seem to care and he pulled out a small notepad and took down a note before he began to walk away. But something seemed to tip him of that she was awake.
He ducked down fast and Shale jumped back, pressing herself against the bars. Though she held eyes contact. It went against most if not everything that Pick told her - that being not to draw attention - but that implies cowardice, and she was anything but that. And this way, the attention would be brought onto her instead of the others.
"Looks like your awake." He sneered. "Finally. Can't believe your the breakthrough we've been looking for."
He gave the cage a good shake effort leaving. She glared as he turned his back. "I'm not a toy, you bastard. So don't expect me to act like one."
He paused his steps, but said nothing. He didn't even turn or give any indication of having heard her. She waited a few more minutes after he left before checking the lock to her cage. It seemed to just be a combination lock, harder to crack than a key-based one.
She glanced around, getting a clearer look at the room since the lights went on. There were several more cages, but only two of them had people in them. One was the aforementioned engine, and the other was pressed into the corner of their cage. Though what surprised her was that it was another human, as shown by their pale skin and blond hair that fell in waves.
They were probably another capture experiment. She didn't put to much thought into it, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She gave of the dementor of someone who wasn't as good as masking emotions, something Pick hammered into her. Though she herself was obviously scared, but she was just better at hiding it.
The door then slammed open and Shale nearly jumped again. This time along with a scientist followed by three guards armed with guns and some type of armour. She expected them to go for the engine but instead she found her own cage opened and being dragged out after having handcuffs slapped on.
She put up a fight as they practically dragged her out of the room. "The hell is going on here! What'd ya bastards want with me?"
Her answer was the but of a gun being slammed into the back of her skull. On top of the pain she already felt. Her vision blurred but they pushed her forward anyways. Duly hearing them command her to keep moving.
They wrestled her into a new room, clinical white with a table with straps. She fought even harder and even managed to knock of one of the guards until one of the white coats stabbed her neck with some sort of needle that left her feeling numb.
She could faintly feel them strap her down, her eyes unfocused. People with ice blue face masks leaned over her and shined a light in her eye. One had a notepad and scribbled something down while another strapped a gag over her mouth.
There was a squeak of wheels and a slight rattle of metal, she tilted her head to the side to find a table being pushed in. Her mind told her to move, yell, scream. Anything to resist.
But none of her limbs responded, she felt something cold applied to her right and left arm. Then something sharp cutting into her skin. The pain was dull but that didn't make it feel any less terrifying along with the fact she was practically immobile made it worse.
They peeled back her skin and tugged at her muscles, making other parts of her body twitch. They recorded each motion and observed her insides move. Then she felt the hospital dress pushed up and the same cold solution applied to her legs before cutting them open.
It was cold and it burned all at once, the pain now back at full force but she couldn't do anything except scream into the gag. But even through all of this, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. So she just screamed and bit down on the worn leather.
::::
Skarloey and Edward were the first to wake, even the Sun was yet to rise. The others were sound asleep, though they both noticed that some of the others had shifted in their sleep. Peters head was now set in Falcons lap while Rusty and Duncan was slouched back against the side and front of the couch respectively.
He glanced back down Edwards leg. A black spot had begun to form over where the bullet hit. Looking back up to Edward, he didn't see any change in his expression or any sign of discomfort.
The other engine seemed to sense his concern. "I'm fine, old friend."
"Are you certain? Do you think you could walk?" Skarloey asked.
He just shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not." His expression turned downcast. "It's my fault, if I didn't get shot we wouldn't be stuck here. Maybe I could've caught up with them and Shale would still be here."
"Edward." He tried to meet the others gaze. "Please, that wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself again, it wasn't your fault that human shot at you. Shale would've said the same."
"How do you know for sure?"
He didn't know what to say to that. "I-I don't, but I… feel like that she say that. But am certain that she wouldn't want you to blame yourself. And neither do I."
Edward didn't say anything to that, he just pulled up his other knee and hugged it. Hiccuping softly. Skarloey reached out and pulled him into a hug, gently stroking a hand through his long hair.
Neither noticed Brigitte was silent watching from the stairs. Hand cupped over her mouth while the other clenched with anger. She didn't think he'd go that far, to kidnap someone. She turned and coughed, alerting them to her presence.
The others woke soon after, turning to the hallway. Brigitte was dressed in a loose cotton shirt and pants coloured a mint green. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and gave a tired smile.
"Hey, you lot are up early. You want me to make somethin for you to eat?"
"Oh, no thank you." Skarloey said. "I'm sorry for disturbing you and your brother."
She just shrugged and stepped into the kitchen anyways, starting to boil a pot of coffee as she mull d over how to approach the boys. Bridgette didn't want to scare them, and how could she say 'hey, I want to help' without making each of them uncomfortable.
The brunette also suspected that they'd try to leave some time soon, or at least once Edward had healed. She'd have to convince them to stay and let her and Stephen help. She poured her cup but then after a beat, began fishing out a pack of coco powder.
Skarloey and Edward looked back when Brigitte stepped back into the living room, now carrying two steaming cups of hot chocolate. "You didn't say anything about a drink. Bottoms up, boys."
She plonked herself down on the opposite arm chair and blew at her mug before taking small sips. Both brothers glanced at each other before grabbing at the mugs, feeling comforted by the leached heat. They gulped down a mouthful and we're pleasantly surprised by the sensation, like having a fire set in their smoke box.
Brigitte's eyes widened at the sight. "Woah, slow down or you'll burn your tongue. Wait a minute and don't take big gulps."
"Oh, sorry. My apologies." Skarloey muttered.
An awkward silence stretched on for a few minutes, until Renneas spoke up. "Why are you helping us? For the true reason."
The brunette sighed and set down her mug, folding her hands. "Okay, I won't lie to you. But I want you two to promise me something first."
"What?" They asked in unison.
"Please stay with us until Edward is fully healed. And please, please trust us. Even though you can hate me and my brother for what our father did to you, please don't hate us."
That's when it clicked. An old memory surfacing, their old controller standing at a platform with his Cheshire-Cat smile. But by his knees were two children with genuine grins, both with dark brown hair and eyes.
Skarloey was the first to find his voice."You're Sir Topham children."
She swallowed and nodded bitterly. "Yes, we are."
Both brothers glanced at each other again. Brigitte didn't bother trying to meet their gazes.
"Then why would we blame either of you?"
She snapped up, shock plain on her face. Both of their faces were passive, but there was no sign of anger or resentment. Though they'd moved to grip each other's hands while the others were spread over the others protectively.
"Brigitte." Skarloey started. "You and Stephen were children, neither of you could've done anything. You couldn't change anything, you may not have even been aware of this until we showed up on your doorstep. Neither of us are angry with you."
"But we could have!" She insisted, voice raised. She took a deep breath to try and compose herself. "When we turned of age, we could've investigated what our father was doing. I could've found proof of what he did, not only to you but to the other workers."
"Wait, like what?" Renneas asked.
"Minimum wage, lack of proper safety protocols and medical care, no proper compensation if they ever left the railroad." She listed of. "Father only ever valued efficiency, whether or not it was legal was an afterthought."
"So you decided to leave."
They all turned to Edward, who had been awake for most of the conversation. Brigitte stumbled over her words as she tried to explain herself. "I-I was going to tell you, but not as a group. I wanted to be gradual so you all didn't freak out or-"
"I'm not angry either." He said plainly. "My stance is the same as Skarloey and Renneas. You aren't your father, you were some of the only humans who were nice to us."
At this, Brigitte clapped a hand over her mouth. Muffling her sobs, she never expected them to forgive her so easily. It'd taken her and her brother months to just get over what they believed was abandoning the engines. Skarloey sat up and knelt by her side. Hands folded in his lap.
"Brigitte, please. We forgive you, you've already proved yourself by helping us and giving us shelter." He explained. "I admit that I am a little… wary now, but that's only because of this talk of your father and… well, you know why."
She just nodded. Whipping her tears away. "Right, thank you. You boys are better than most humans these days. Your too good for us."
The three of them went quiet, part of them felt she was right. But they still knew that there were still good people in this world. If her and her brother were any proof of that. "For what it's worth, I think your a good human too." Edward voiced.
Brigitte sat up and gave him a small smile. "Thank you, but this isn't all I have to say. I think it'd be good if you sat down for the next part."
Skarloey went back to his seat and Brigitte reached over to one of the bookshelves. She pulled one of the thicker tomes out and opened it to reveal it was hollowed and inside were yellowed sheets of paper. "Me and Stephen have been collecting evidence, we started a few years back. That's why we were in the library."
She pulled out some papers and smoothed it over the table. It listed the wages of several workers, almost all of them were far below minimum wage. Others were accident complaints and demands for compensation for the days they couldn't work due to their injuries. But many of them were pictures of a laboratory, lists of experiments and formulas.
"Most of the police turned a blind eye to his activities - bribes mainly - but now that he's having finance problems, his control over them has begun to slip. I know a man at the station, he's a honest man and friends with the higher ups. If we get him this, he can arrest Topham on the spot."
"But what about Shale?" Edward asked urgently. "We need to find her and break her out of wherever they're holding her."
"See, that's the problem." Brigitte sighed. "Most of the stuff her have here is old news and most of the drivers are long gone. Not to mention there isn't any sort of justice system for living machines. So we'll need something more recent to make a solid case. And there's only one place we know that's got that kind of info."
She passed them another picture. It was a blurry black and white polaroid taken from within the forest. The picture being that of a large, cube shaped facility. "I found this out by the woods."
All three of the engines swallowed hard, Edward himself began shaking. Renneas ran a hand down his back as he tried to smooth him.
"I have no right to ask you to do this and I'm sure you know how dangerous this is. But if everything goes to plan, we'll get Shale out of there and we can finally stop everything our fathers done, we can finally bring him to justice."
Skarloey nodded. "If it means bringing back Shale, then I'll help in any way I can. Though I won't speak for the others. Renneas?"
"I don't like this plan either." He mumbled. "But I agree, if this will save the remainder of our friends then I'll do it."
Edward had his lips pursed hard and eyes squeezed closed. But he eventually nodded. "I just want everyone to be safe, I'll stand with you."
None of them like their predicament at all, but they'd keep their friends safe. No matter what and no matter who they'd face.
