'I...Where...Raeden...' she thought. Raeden's name seemed to do the trick and she felt her eyes water as everything that happened earlier came flooding back at once like a dam breaking. And suddenly her heart ached once again. After a moment of swallowing hard and gritting her teeth to stop her tears she tried to focus on scoping out the area so she could figure out how to escape.
Her wrists were bound together behind her and a thick, scratchy, brown rope wound around her upper body from her shoulders to her waist making any arm movement impossible. If that wasn't enough her knees and hooves had also been bound as an extra precaution. She did another once over of where she was but it didn't seem to help much. 'I'm tied up...I'm leaning on a tree and there's trees everywhere...' she thought gloomily. Sayuri turned her head and rested it against the rough bark behind her. She breathed out slowly; her eyes closed and mind trying to hold herself together when she heard leaves rustling. Her body jerked a bit- surprised at the sudden noise and she held her breath as she waited for the visitor to come forth in viewing distance.
'Raeden...?' she thought before shaking her head at her childish hope. She saw what had happened to him. Raeden wouldn't be saving her. Not today. Not ever.
The rustling seemed to get closer and she stretched her neck in an attempt to look behind her and the tree. After a moment she saw two Syndicate members emerge from several large bushes. She swallowed and breathed out slowly; trying to keep her breathing calm. She didn't want to panic and keep herself on edge the entire time. The two Syndicates walked over to her; one a tan colored man with cropped blonde hair and the other a pale woman with blonde hair that was pulled back into a high pony tail. They both wore the typical Syndicate armor- black chest piece, pants, boots and a bright red mask over their faces. She didn't recall seeing these two earlier so she suspected there was a camp close by which only proceeded to frighten her at the thought. The man walked over to her, while the woman hung back towards the bushes; watching from the distance. He knelt down beside her and peered into her eyes. She wanted to look away; to just close her eyes and get this monster out of her sight but she didn't. Looking away was a sign of weakness; a sign that she was uncomfortable, scared, and upset. She might have felt that way inside but she didn't have to let him know so she returned his gaze and held it. She saw his eyes scrunch a little and figured that he was smiling behind his mask.
"Not scared are we?" he chortled.
Sayuri didn't say anything. She only gave a small shake of her head and continued staring at her captor.
"Hmm. You must want to see your friend," he mused. "Would you like that?" he asked.
Her heart gave a small leap and filled with a beam of hope at these words. She nodded at him; trying not to seem so eager at anything he said.
"Yea. I thought you would." he said in a soothing tone. "Darling, bring her friend here, would you?" he called to the blonde woman behind him.
She looked past the man and saw the woman disappear behind the bushes. The man continued staring at her; his gaze piercing her and making her nervous. She focused on her breathing; remembering to keep calm and not overreact to anything.
After several minutes had past she heard the familiar rustle of leaves and the bushes ahead of her shook a little. She leaned forward and waited; her breath caught in her throat. The woman finally emerged and what she saw tore her heart in half. She approached her; stopping several feet away and slammed a wooden pole into the ground. Atop the pole was the head of Raeden. Her eyes filled to the brim with tears and she turned away. She tried closing her eyes but could only see the horrific image that was in front of her right now.
"Awww... look what you did Kal, you've upset her!" the man exclaimed. The woman giggled at this; standing beside the wooden pole and looking down at Sayuri.
"Oh, boy. What's going on, hm?" he questioned. "This really upset you didn't it?"
She felt hot tears pour down her face and refused to look at either of them. Her breathing became rapid but she gave up trying to control it. She couldn't remain calm. Not after this. The reality of the situation hit her hard. This wasn't a game. She was in real trouble.
"You should be crying." he said. He leaned forward; his mouth inches away from her ear, "You killed him."
She shook her head again at these words and felt more tears rolling down her cheeks. Her eyes burnt and stung and her face felt hot.
"You did. Say you did."
"I won't." she said in a shaky voice.
"You will." he said; his tone suddenly getting very serious. "Say you killed him or your fate will not be much different from his own. Do you want that?" he asked her; pulling away from her face and returning to his kneeling position in front of her.
She didn't say anything; only stared past the man. He began to rummage in a side pocket on his chest piece and from the corner of her eye she saw a glimmer of light as he pulled out a dagger. Panic arose in her chest at the sight of this but it didn't register on her face to the disappointment of the Syndicate. He gripped the blade and brought it slowly up to her neck. She gave a small gasp as she felt cold steel on her neck.
"Say it or you die." he whispered.
"I won't." she said back.