Hey everybody!
Guess what? It was my birthday (18th February) yesterday! LOL so please review since that would be the best present ever :D
So long time, no update aye? If you had read my email that I sent to everyone who had TYGA on story alert or favourites, I hope you saw my note and headed for my profile for reasoning and understood why I hadn't updated in AGES. If you haven't- go check now please(:
I hope everyone's been safe and well! Missed you guys!
Oh and thanks for all the reviews and messages that lecture me to update! If it weren't for you guys, I'd still be procrastinating!
Enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW if you want this to be continued. Troop eps aren't showing anymore so I'm feeling a little uninspired ):
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DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Troop.
SYNOPSIS: After Hayley's heart is broken, there's no better thing to do but to immerse herself in monster hunting; especially when there's a rare but vicious monster on the loose. But what happens when she finds herself falling for someone she'd never expect?
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Chapter 13: Poison
Waking up, abandoned and scared, in a dark, cold room was something I never thought would've happened to me- especially considering the fact that I felt groggy and weak; my hair damp from whatever was dripping on me at this very second and that being alone right now didn't feel like I was independent and strong because instead, it made me feel vulnerable.
I tried to move aside so the drips of liquid wouldn't hit me and send chills all over my body. I frowned a little; from pain and discomfort at staying in one awkward position for too long and then noticed that there was a weak light bulb flickering above me. Akira's aunty's dress- the bright fuchsia one with the shoulder pads was dirty and had rips in it and Akira didn't kill me first...well, if I didn't die here first anyway. Shifting a little, a sharp sting raced through my leg and I groaned in pain.
"Hayley? Are you awake?"
My head jolted upwards at the well-acquainted voice; but as I racked my brain for who had said it, it throbbed too and I felt an ache coming on. I held my head as it flopped down onto my hands; feeling terribly useless at that moment. I opened my mouth in an attempt to speak but found myself unable to do so. My voice was too dry to speak.
"Oh right, your throat probably hurts," the boy's voice laughed, "Drink the dripping water- it's the only thing we can drink since we get one cup of water per day. Don't worry, Hayley, it's fresh water, so it's all good,"
Being desperate at this point since my mouth yearned with thirst, I disregarded all the danger signs in the voice's advice and turned my head to the left to meet with the drips of liquid. When they hit the insides of mouth, I could instantly feel myself as more awake and less drowsy. I stayed there for a few more seconds and let a sigh of satisfaction as I moved back to my original spot.
"Who are you?" I demanded; my voice cracking from all the hidden emotions bottled up inside.
"I'm very hurt you forgot me!" a genuinely shocked voice gasped, "Hayley...did you hit you head or something?"
"I guess," I mumbled as I subconsciously rubbed my sore head, "But really, who are you? I've had enough drama and trauma today to deal with-"
"Hayley...it's me, Felix,"
My bloodshot eyes widened as I realised Felix was indeed alive and well. I scanned the dimly lit room for him but was unsuccessfully. Luckily, I had my voice to reply on, though I was well aware this could've been a hallucination or dream; or worse- a trap.
"Felix..." I whispered; the name feeling very warm and familiar as it rolled off my tongue, "How did we get here?"
"You tell me!" he laughed lightly, "I think I've been here for about 12 hours now, though I can't be sure since they took my Troop watch. After the attack at the Great North Shore, I was taken here by something I couldn't identify. I was completely taken out and powerless- I thought I was going to die,"
"I'm so sorry we let you down and couldn't save you," I sobbed, "We tried- we really did!"
"I believe you, Hayley," he smiled quietly, "But I believe it's too late now. The Vortex has taken over by eliminating a third of the trip. I can only pray everyone will be alright; including Yuki,"
"There's always hope, Felix- and there always will be; even in the darkest situations..." I said reassuringly, "And I'm sure the others will be fine. They will find us because I'm certain that Akira, Jake, Keiko and Yuki won't rest til they rescue us,"
"You're probably right..." Felix sighed as we both heard a violent knock on the door, "Don't speak, ok Hayley? That's probably the Master right now and he doesn't like communication,"
I wanted to protest and ask him who was this Master that Gavin had talked about before he had done whatever he had done to get me here. I blinked twice before understanding Felix as the door knob squeaked; turning and revealing a dark figure at the doorway.
"Hello, my prisoners," a voice that belonged to a woman bellowed, "I see that we have a new prisoner to join you, Felix and I see she is awake. I am under the impression that you know Miss Hayley Steele?"
"Yes, Madame," Felix nodded, "I do know Hayley,"
"I see you've learnt if I can detect a lie or not," she cackled darkly, "Good, good. I was expecting you to pick it up much faster; being the smart one in the Troop and all,"
"Hey, lady!" I screamed before I could shut my mouth, "No one talks to my friend like that! I don't know who you are what the hell you want but Felix is the most intelligent and nicest boy I've ever met. Nothing you say can change that, got it?"
I felt self-pride overcome me and I started to grin at the realisation that the old Hayley was back- the one that never backed down from a fight; the one that always protected her friends; the one that would argue for what she believed in.
"Oh, they did say you were a feisty one," she observed dryly, "Now Hayley, no need to be defensive. I was just reminiscing a fond memory between Felix and I,"
"Stay away from her, Poison!" Felix protested as I felt myself being yanked my the front of my dress.
"Listen, sweetheart, if you want to stay alive when your friends find you, I suggest you stick to my rules and obey my instructions; got it?" she seethed; mocking what I had said to her.
When I didn't reply to her, she tugged on the dress tighter; making fearful of it ripping. The material started to rub harshly against my skin and I whimpered in pain. I looked up at her; my eyes in slits and saw the venom and danger in her piercing blue eyes- the same colour of Gus and Gavin's. I shuddered slightly and she, sadistically, grabbed my hair that was out of its bun with her bony han; making me cry with excruciating agony.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you," Poison giggled evilly.
"Yes," I agreed as she let me go so I fell down onto the dirty floor with a thud.
"Just leave her alone, Poison!" Felix commanded, "You want me to tell you where the treasure is, don't you?"
"That was the plan," she sneered rudely, "But your nosy friends had to piss me off. I knew something had to be done,"
"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" I shouted frustratedly; almost in despair, "It's like you two are speaking a different language to me. I can't see anything; let alone understand anything. So tell me, who the hell is Poison and what the hell she wants!"
"I have no time for this," Poison rolled her eyes as she threw a rock that fell into my lap, "See you in a few hours- maybe by then you'll crack,"
Poison left the room; her heels clacking as she walked out and shut the door firmly. I heard some shuffling in front of me and I was quite terrified it was rats or something gross like that. I tried to look for Felix again but was unsuccessful. Hearing a switch go off, I looked up and the prison cell lit up- brighter than before but still not completely bright. Fortunately, I could now see Felix's form; hovering in the corner next to a button for the lights. I picked up the object on my lap which was actually a bread roll. Being starving, I took a small bite and found it very hard and distasteful.
"Felix!" I grinned as I got up from my position and limped over to him.
I wrapped my dirty arms around his warm form. Immediately, his arms wrapped around my waist and I felt safe; unlike the danger and fear I felt before.
"I'm glad you're alright, Hayley," Felix smiled at me; black smudges and bruises on his face, "Though the dress Akira's aunty let you borrow seems to be quite dead,"
"Yeah, I know. He's probably going to kill me...if we don't die here first,"
"Nonsense; Poison wouldn't kill us," Felix replied, "This has all been part of her plan,"
"Please expand," I sighed, "I'm horribly lost,"
"Well I have a theory about the Vortex, Poison and Gus and everything weird that's been happening since we got to Japan," Felix began, "My suspicious arose after your little incident with Gus. Why target you- I mean, he goes to school with Akira, Yuki and Keiko and could've hurt them at any time? You guys might've been friends, sure, but still- I didn't believe that was a strong enough motive to want to kill you. I concluded that there must've been another source either controlling him or blackmailing him to do such a thing,"
I nibbled on my bread as Felix took off his glasses and wiped it with his nearly-grey polo that used to be white. I pointed it out and Felix and I found it funny at how unhygienic the conditions we had been through were.
"I was attacked by Gavin after you went missing," I murmured, "Akira got a tip to go to Leanne's stupid party and then...it all happened so fast! I knew I should've listened to Jake, dammit!"
"Oh god, Gavin's in on this?" Felix said; clearly devastated.
"I think it was the same monster that pretended to be Gus," I explained, "He did the same thing as Gus did- I felt this pressure on my top lip and before I knew it, I was unconscious,"
"Sounds very strange..." Felix sighed, "But this makes my assumptions even more similar to the truth. I agree that the thing that possessed Gus is probably the same as whoever possessed Gavin but it still doesn't make sense. Gus and Gavin? If they really wanted to fool us into someone they trusted, why not our school friends or family?"
"Maybe they couldn't have gotten their DNA in time?" I proposed as Felix rose a confused eyebrow at me, "I was at a 'Young Doctors and Scientists of Today' convention last month and they were talking about the possibility of cloning things. I was thinking that though whoever controlling the monster could've just researched for our identity, they didn't because they knew they couldn't have obtained a sample of their DNA to clone them. Gus and Gavin were both in Japan when we were here and since they both had some connection with us in the first place, the person controlling them must've thought that it wouldn't have been too suspicious to attack us coz we knew them,"
"Valid point, Hayley!" Felix beamed, "That could very well explain why Gus and Gavin were the ones that attacked you. So what does the Vortex have to do with this?"
"I have no idea about that one..." I answered.
"Although it seems like the Vortex has had nearly anything to do with this case, I think it's a hoax," Felix suggested, "We came here to defeat the Vortex and return it to the monster world without causing too much havoc and destruction- but for this whole time, we haven't ever seen it. Statistically speaking, Vortexes are incredibly rare and to find one in the middle of busy Tokyo city seems rather bizarre- don't you think?"
"But I thought you said you saw the Vortex when it spat bomballs at Keiko, Yuki and I?"
"We...well, sort of lied," he admitted cowardly, "We just wanted to impress you girls. In reality though, we heard loud thuds and assumed it was the Vortex. But before we could've checked out what it was, we saw bomballs come out of no where and attach themselves into the vehicle all of you were in,"
"Where does that leave us, Felix?"
"That leaves us with choices that are endless and decisions that need to be made," Felix said truthfully, "But the most important thing right now is that we find a way out of here,"
"I completely agree with you there, Felix!" I exclaimed; tossing the bread roll away, "That bread tasted disgusting! I need real food or my stomach will die!"
"Very funny, Hayley," he smiled, "Poison isn't that mean to her prisoners,"
"Please don't tell me you're developing a crush for the psycho who locked us in here!" I screamed furiously at him as he just shrugged with a smirk on his face- a smirk that looked too familiar to Jake's.
"I'm kidding, Hayley; lighten up will you?" Felix grinned.
"Alright, alright," I chuckled softly, "Oh and Felix- do you have any idea why we're Poison's prisoners in the first place?"
"Poison's some some of genetic mutation scientist, I think," Felix replied, "She created the monster that attacked us on the shore. I had never seen that monster before so I knew someone was altering monster DNA to create a new one. You obviously can't just play with genetics and hope something happens; it takes years of experience, research and practice. I believe Poison over here has gone a little crazy with the possibilities of combinations for new monsters,"
"Do you think she's responsible for all the monsters that have been going around Japan lately?"
"Either that or she's controlling the Vortex somehow," he thought, "There's not really any other explanation, is there?"
"Guess so," I reasoned as I hugged Felix once again, "Thankyou Felix. I have no idea what I would do if you weren't here with me,"
For the next hour or so, Felix and I just talked about general things. We re-evaluated our lives as we had finally lived life on the edge- and it was scary and thrilling at the same time, but mostly scary. Felix made jokes about how much school we had missed out on and everything we'd have to say when we got back to safe Lakewood. Our families were all at home; probably thinking we'd be fine when in fact, we were the complete opposite.
"Do you really believe the others are coming?" Felix asked honestly as we lay down on the floor together; staring at the ceiling in boredom.
"Yeah Felix," I yawned, "I believe they will,"
Sleep soon conquered the both of us. Felix had fallen asleep first; obviously from all the thinking and emotions that we had both gone through together today from being kidnapped. I had dreamt of a very muscular Jake Collins barging in through the door with a huge gun; ready to shoot Poison and rescue Felix and I out of here, though unfortunately, that never happened. I wondered what was happening with Akira, Keiko, Yuki and Jake right now. Were they trying to find us? Or had they already given up on the possibility of us being alive?
Soon enough, I was being shaken awake by a better-looking Felix. It seemed like he had washed off the black smudges on his face to reveal a few bruises and scratches. His eyes were clear and bright and I groggily got up to see why he had woken me up.
"What, Felix?" I said exasperatedly; desperately wanting to go back to sleep.
"Sorry Hayley, I didn't mean to disturb your sleep," Felix apologised as he gestured to the door, "I thought you might want some an actual meal for the morning,"
My stomach gave me away as I sat up excitedly and looked a little too eagerly for food. Glancing around, I saw our dimly and dirty room that had windows at the very tops of the room- small ones with big metal railings so we couldn't even see outside, even if we tried standing one the other person's back to gain height. I turned my head and was honestly a little shocked to see someone who looked like a pizza delivery man standing at the door. He had a beige T-shirt on with an unrecognisable pink logo and matching beige slacks. Felix and I couldn't see the man's face as his pink hat was covering it.
"Breakfast for Felix and Hayley?"
A vaguely familiar voice said as he took in a tray of boxed goods. The scent of bacon and egg wafted throughout the room and my stomach grumbled loudly again. Felix laughed as the man set the tray on a crooked wooden table in the middle of the room.
"Thanks man, you have no idea how long we haven't eaten," Felix said humourously; patting the man on the back.
"Very well then," the mysterious man brushed off formally as he walked through the door, "I have some drinks in my truck for you. Poison told me to ask you what drinks you would like for your breakfast today. She wants you to be well and healthy for today- I've heard she has big plans,"
I gulped audibly in fear of what Poison had in store for us today. Usually, psychos didn't give their victims food unless they wanted to eat them! Or maybe in this case, torture them. Felix put a relaxed arm around my shoulder; secretly telling me everything would be alright and there was nothing to be scared of. My heart beat at an extremely intense rate- I was petrified with what Poison might do to us and the possibility of actually dying here didn't make me feel any better.
"I think we both need coffee," Felix joked, "We don't get enough sleep around here. Thanks man,"
The man nodded; still shielding his face as he left through the door. Felix anxiously turned around to me- the completely opposite of his attitude towards the delivery man.
"Is it just me or is there something really...strange about that guy?" Felix mumbled; struggling to find the right word to describe him.
"I thought his voice sounded familiar," I agreed, "But I couldn't make out who it was,"
Before Felix could speak again, the man came in with two large cups of coffee.
"One for the man- with milk, no sugar and one for the lady- with sugar and extra milk," the man stated as he handed it over to us.
"How do you know how we take our coffees?" I asked in alarm.
The man took off his hat and grinned at us victoriously. Felix and I almost dropped our coffees at the realisation of who was standing in front of us. Suddenly, I felt at peace with everything that had happened because I knew that it was all going to be fine and maybe, just maybe, Felix and I wouldn't have to perish in such disgusting circumstances.
"Mr Stockley?" Felix blurted out, "What are you-"
But he was soon cut off when Mr Stockley grabbed our heads into a massive, bone-crushing, bear hug.
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Hope this clears up any confusion in previous chapters! This story is meant to have many twists and turns and be a little stereotypical but with my own unique spin on it! I hope you're liking my story so far :D
Sorry this chapter was a little short; it was mainly for revision purposes since many of you probably forgot this story ):
Again, PLEASE REVIEW so I can update ASAP! Remember, your review counts towards the next (and hopefully, soon) chapter of There You Go Again!
inspire-the-writer-x3