A/N: Hidee-ho, readers! I'm so dreadfully sorry for the lack of updates in the past few months! There are no excuses, but I tried to explain myself in my recent update of my story 'Every Inch' if you are curious as to where I hopped off to.
This chapter is rather different than my other updates. I've never written anything quite like this before, so bear with me on this one! I hope you enjoy, regardless. It is a bit dark and a bit heavy, but it was also a bit necessary. Off we go!
Disclaimer: This emotional train-wreck of a TV show isn't mine.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Cold. That was the first thing she noticed as she felt herself slowly slipping back into consciousness. Everything was cold, from the air around her, to her skin and whatever she was touching, everything was cold.
Pain. That was the second. Pain shooting through her body from multiple sources. Most significantly, her wrists, where a sharp sensation was obvious. Secondly, the back of her head, where a dull, throbbing ache was making itself known.
Damp. That was the third thing she keyed into as she became more and more aware of herself. She could feel the dampness against the skin of her back; whether it was from sweat, water, or even blood, she didn't know.
Chains. Those came next. Her eyes were still closed but she had begun to regain some of her senses. She could feel the chill of the metal cuffs clasped all too tight around her wrists and noticed the lack of effort she was exerting while still appearing to be on her feet, so she assumed she was being held in place by heavy-duty chains.
Dark. As she slowly opened her eyes, this became apparent. It wasn't so dark that she couldn't see at all, but it was dark enough to make seeing a chore.
Wet. This followed suit. She shivered at the feeling of water running in droplets down her face and neck. She cringed inwardly at the repetitive drip, drip, drip that came from the drops hitting what she assumed to be a stone floor beneath her.
Groan. She wasn't alone. She tried desperately to lift her head, fighting through the avid stiffness and excruciating pain to do just that. She strained her eyes against the darkness to scan the surroundings. She was right in her assumption that the floor was stone; as were the walls. There was a single barred window at the top of the wall to her right, letting in just enough blue moonlight to cast shadows across the small room in which she was held. Looking just below the window, she could barely make out the shape of someone she knew. The figure was tall but hunched over, dangling from the wall, feet barely grazing the ground, just as she was. Locks of long, flowing silver hair shined in the dull light from the window fell around her head, creating a wall that blocked her face. Her bare arms were battered and bruised with smudges of crimson staining her fair skin. Her left leg was contorted in a way that was downright unnatural with a prominent piece of bone jutting out of the side of her shredded black pants. Her feet were bare as they hung lifelessly atop the cold floor. Aloysia. She tried to call out to her but her voice would not comply. She was left to merely stare helplessly at the girl beneath the window.
"Aly?" Lauren. Her eyes searched the blackness to the wall directly opposite of herself. She felt her stomach clench at the state the human was in, hanging from the same chains as herself and the girl to her right. A large gash was visible across her right shoulder. Her left eye was visibly swollen to the size of a golf-ball and its skin was stained purple, black, and blue. The doctor's half-lidded eyes were glued to the limp body of her companion, no more than ten feet away from her own weak form as she called out desperately to the Nixie, unable to tear her eyes away. Again, she wished she could say something, utter some words to make herself known, but nothing came out.
Drip. Drip. Drip. It was then that she realized that the incessant sound was not water. She glanced at the ground beneath her own bare feet at the puddle of red pooling around her toes. No, the dripping wasn't water at all, but fresh blood seeping from various wounds on her body.
Sigh. She couldn't even manage that. Instead, she moved her gaze further around the room, landing on the wall to her left. Her heart convulsed as she regretfully took in the sickening sight. She tried with all she had left to cry out to the woman she loved, hanging like all the rest by her wrists from those cold, metal chains. Her head was hanging down, her hair falling around her face so the damage to it was indiscernible. What could be seen was the frightening tear into her right thigh and the clumps of blood matted into the hair on the back of her head. It appeared that they had all been ultimately taken out by the same injury: a significant blow to the head. She could see her lover's shoulders moving gently up and down, up and down; a comforting sign that she was still alive, even if unconscious.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Bang! A heavy, metal door on the wall that the doctor was chained to was forcefully shoved open, crashing against the wall in the process. Two burly, white-clad men entered the room, followed by a looming man with dark hair and a long, dark coat. He walked with confidence, holding his hands behind his own back as he strode in behind the two brutes. Each of the oversized men carried two buckets, one in each hand. The looming man nodded once, a short, direct nod that was apparently an order of some sort because, as he did so, one of the men walked obediently to the right wall where Aloysia was chained. Upon reaching her tattered body, he grinned disgustingly and threw the contents of one of the buckets directly into her face.
Gasp. The Nixie's head shot up immediately. After coming to her senses, the water fae began wailing obscenities at the men. The one in front of her looked to the man presumably in charge as if waiting for an order. The man nodded again. Whatever this order was, it brought them all apparent joy as malicious smirks crossed all three of their faces. The first brute turned back to the writhing, cursing Nixie and gave her a swift, hard kick to her injured leg. She let out an ear-splitting cry as his heavy foot made contact with the broken appendage.
Nod. He did it again, this time to the other bucket-barer. This time, the man wandered to Lauren and repeated the actions of the first, emptying the water bucket onto the doctor. She began to cough and screamed that she was already awake and that what he did was really unnecessary. At least she still has it in her to argue; some things never change. Aloysia noticed the man standing before Lauren and began screeching at him to back away. It soon became apparent that her powers were not functioning properly. Panic filled her face. Knowing the cause of her anxiety, the man in charge let rip a hearty, blood-curdling laugh, clearly enjoying her distress.
"The others." Shit. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what that meant. The two brutes brought their remaining two buckets to the remaining two figures. She held her breath as much as she could as she felt the cold, suffocating liquid entering her nasal passages and drenching whatever dry area of clothing and skin that she had left. She heard herself cough as she choked on the water now flowing freely through her airways. She looked up just in time to see her partner get soaked with the agonizing fluid. The other woman let out a pain-filled moan as she raised her head.
"Good, you're all awake," said the man in charge as he began a wide circle around the room. "I'll explain the circumstances to you now since your consciousness will more than likely be gone momentarily." He stopped in front of Aloysia, glaring at him through tears threatening to fall free, the red rims of her irises now almost completely overtaking the usual icy-blue color of her eyes.
"Tell me where the girl is," he said, his tone arrogant as he continued his way around the room, "and you can all go free. It's as simple as that, really." The two men in white picked up their buckets and exited the room, their 'boss' not far behind them.
"And if we don't?" Her head moved slowly to look at her companion as she heard her broken voice.
"You will," the man in black said sharply as he pulled the heavy, metal door closed once again behind him, leaving the small room in its familiar blanket of darkness.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
A/N: Well, on that note. I know this chapter was a little different than my usual posts but I wanted you guys to be more in touch with the characters, if that makes sense?
What do you think? Was it Tamsin or Bo that was helplessly watching everyone suffer? I want to know if you can guess it right! I tried to make it as unbiased as possible when it came to 'her' so let me know who you guys think she was, I'm curious as to what you guys picked up on. I'll tell you who it was in the author's note of the next chapter!
Again, sorry for taking so long with this! I'm trying to pick up the pace on these things but I just get too distracted. Thanks so much to everyone who has kept up with this story, you guys are unbelievable and I can only hope that my wimpy little updates are enough to keep you interested! Also, thanks to those who have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. Your reviews are super important to me and they really help me in knowing how to write each chapter!
xRiver