Squeezing in a chapter again before work. Tonight's inventory, so I'd love some reviews to cheer me up when I'm done. :) You get a little more information on the captors in this one, though not much. Also, no Neverland, but we'll visit them again next chapter. Hope you enjoy, and I can't wait to read your reviews!
David sighed heavily as he saw Regina wave her hand for about the fifth time since they'd woken up that morning. "You know that's not going to make a difference," he told her. "There's no magic outside of Storybrooke."
"You never know," she snapped at him. "It doesn't hurt to try. Just because they told us we're not in Storybrooke doesn't mean it's true. You should know better than anyone that people rarely tell the truth."
"Have you looked around recently?" David asked her, growing even more agitated. "Does this look like anything in Storybrooke to you? I may have been in a coma for twenty-eight years, but even I know that this looks like something out of a science fiction movie."
She rested her hand back at her side. "So what are you going to do? Just sit there and do nothing?"
"No, I'm going to wait until I know exactly what is going on, and then I'm going to figure out a way out of this situation."
"Good luck with that," she scoffed. She knew these people weren't going to give them anything to go on, and even if the security they'd seen yesterday was the only security in the building, they had very little chance of escaping without outside help.
"You know, we wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for you," he said harshly.
"Oh? And how do you figure that?"
"We wouldn't even be in this world if you hadn't cast your curse."
"Back to the curse again, are we? When are you people going to get over that?"
"Maybe when you stop trying to kill everyone!"
"Oh, that's rich! Especially right after I nearly died saving everyone!"
"From a device that you brought! One that you were intending on using eventually yourself."
She sat back heavily, pressing her weight into the wall behind her. He wasn't wrong, but she hated that he'd used that against her. In the end, she really had wanted to save everyone – not just for Henry, but for herself, as well. She hadn't wanted to die as the Evil Queen she'd become. Maybe a last-minute act of redemption could still save her. But it hadn't mattered, because she hadn't died, and now it seemed that her act of selflessness hadn't changed anything, anyway.
They both crossed their arms and David stared at her until she looked away. She was tired of seeing the judgment in his eyes.
Abby shivered and leaned back in her chair, holding her mug of coffee close as she kept her eyes on the screens in front of her.
"Cold?"
She looked over at Reid who was sitting in the chair next to her. "Yeah. I can't get used to it up here. I grew up in Southern California." She took a sip of the warm liquid and smiled lightly at the feeling. "What about you? Where are you from?"
"Not far from here, actually. Of course, I didn't know this place existed until I started working here. It was nice not to have to move around. I like being close to home."
"You have a family, right?"
"Wife and two kids," Reid smiled. "And now, I even get to see them on occasion."
Abby chuckled. She knew the hours here were pretty grueling, but for the most part, it was an easy job. They were both quiet again, attention fully back on the screens in front of them.
"They weren't like I thought they'd be," Abby said suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
"They just seem so…human."
"Well, they aren't."
"But aren't they? I mean…kind of. They're human, they're just from another world." She slapped at Reid when he started to laugh at her. "Shut up! You know what I mean. They're exactly the same as you and I in every way except that they have magic where they're from."
"Careful. You know they warned us not to think that way. That's exactly why they're so dangerous; they look just like us, but they have the ability to change the world as we know it. They could destroy everything we love."
Abby shook her head. "It just doesn't seem like that's their intention. Hey, wait a minute; they're talking again." She leaned forward in her chair to adjust the volume on the screens, turning it up so they could clearly hear the conversation taking place in the cell block. At least, what had started out as a conversation.
"Great! They're arguing again," Reid complained. They listened as the pair bickered back and forth about their current situation. He sat back in his chair. "And they're not giving us anything."
"Well, we know Regina is the one that brought everyone here."
"Yeah, but we knew that before. We need new information. The boss is going to be mad if we don't bring him anything to help us find Storybrooke. This is so stupid!" he cried in frustration, slamming a fist on the console and making Abby jump. "We had them, but then it disappeared! They never should have sent Greg; they should have figured out that he was too focused on revenge to care about helping our cause."
"Yeah, but he had Tamara with him," Abby tried.
"Didn't help much, did it? We were supposed to be taking people who could help us figure out how magic worked so we could eliminate it for good, but instead, we're stuck trying to figure out how to get back into Storybrooke all over again. It's put us way behind schedule."
Abby was quiet for a moment. "I'm sure they'll say something soon. We'll figure out how to get back there."
"Not if they keep this up," Reid scoffed. "It figures they'd pick the two people who hated each other the most. They're never going to have a civil conversation!"
"I wouldn't say that." Both Abby and Reid jumped at the voice coming from behind them; neither of them had heard him enter the room.
"Dr. Valery!" Reid exclaimed as both he and Abby stumbled to their feet. "Sir. We didn't hear you come in."
Dr. Valery gave them both an appraising look. "Yes, I don't like to alert people to my presence. I like to hear what they say when they think no one is listening." He gave them a smile that looked more like a threat to the two guards.
Abby hid another shiver, though this one wasn't from the cold. She hadn't trusted Dr. Valery since the moment she'd met him; no one did, really. He was apparently very valuable to the operation, but she wished she never had to deal with him. Fortunately, the area she was posted in meant very little interaction with the man.
"So our two prisoners aren't cooperating, you say?" he asked.
"No, sir," Reid was quick to answer. "They're too busy arguing to ever talk about anything that matters."
"Well, we'll just have to change that, won't we?" Without further conversation, Dr. Valery strode out of the room, leaving the two guards to stare after him, wondering what he was going to do.
Regina and David were still giving each other the silent treatment; David while he continued to stare angrily at her and Regina while she continued to avoid his gaze. They both straightened and watched in apprehensive curiosity as they heard footsteps and the short man from the first day came into view.
He looked at both of them in turn. "You're not making this very easy," he told them, but rather than sounding annoyed, he sounded amused; he was enjoying this. He waved a finger at Regina, beckoning her to walk toward him. When she did, her door slid open and she planted her feet, not moving any closer.
"Now, now," he scolded, still smiling, "you don't want to offend me. Come along, Regina. You're going to help me get what I want." She stared at him. "Don't make me wait," he warned in a dangerous tone when she still didn't move.
Regina finally stepped out of her cell. From the hallway, she could see the guard standing behind the short man. With a simple hand motion from the man, the guard moved forward and unceremoniously slapped handcuffs on her, attaching a chain that he used to pull her along behind him. As the trio moved toward the door, Regina met David's startled gaze, and she couldn't fully hide the fear in her own.
She watched him until she couldn't see him anymore, nearly stumbling with the effort of looking over her shoulder.
"Keep up!" the guard snapped, not bothering to look behind him as he yanked the chain.
Regina tripped, and hurried to fall into step behind the guard before he could complain again.
She struggled to put her stoic mask back into place; she wouldn't let these strangers see that she was afraid of them. But it wasn't easy. One question played over and over in her mind: what were they going to do to her?