Caged, Chapter 11: Alpha and Omega

"Well?" Jesse pressed impatiently, barely waiting for the door to close behind me. "What happened?"

I pursed my lips and shrugged indifferently. "He'll send a message when they're ready,"

"A message?" Sasuke arched a brow. "How the hell is he supposed-"

"I don't know the details, okay?" I cut him off, my voice sharper than I anticipated; something about this place was making me uneasy. I took a breath to even it back out. "All I know is that he'll send a message when they're ready. Can we please leave now?"

"Yeah, we'd better go before the night guards come back around," Shawn agreed.

As we headed back toward the stairwell, I couldn't stop myself from glancing back over my shoulder. Even though I knew it was impossible, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were somehow being watched. It was almost like the building itself was monitoring our every move, sensing our every step, hearing our every breath; I suddenly felt like a lead weight was placed on my chest, cracking each individual rib like a twig and deflating my lungs like balloons. I collapsed to my knees and clutched my chest; it was nearly impossible to catch my breath.

"Guys, stop!" Sasuke called out ahead of us. He dropped to his knees beside me. "Shi, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

I tried desperately to speak, but nothing would come out. All that escaped my lips was a horendous gasp that sounded like I was choking on sand. "S-Sas-"

"Oh, shit," Jesse gasped. He was suddenly beside me as well, hauling me back to my feet. "We need to get her out of here - now."

"Wait, what's going on? What's wrong with her?" Sasuke asked, panic beginning to seep into his voice.

"I'll explain later," Jesse replied quickly. "Take her other side, we gotta move. Shawn, go ahead and make sure we're clear."

"Got it!" Shawn immediately complied, disappearing into the darkness.

Sasuke slung my right arm over his shoulder and helped Jesse drag me into the emergency stairwell. I attempted to get my body to move, to do something, but it wouldn't budge. I'd lost total control of myself, I couldn't even breathe on my own anymore; something was very wrong with this place and if I didn't know that before, I definitely knew now.

"Shawn, how's it look out there?" Jesse called up the staircase, his voice bouncing off the walls and making my ears ring.

"All good,"

"Alright, let's go."

My vision quickly began to blur and the ringing in my ears was growing unbearably loud. I remembered my ninth grade science teacher telling us that the human body could go two minutes without air, five days without water, and four weeks without food. They carried me this far in less than two minutes?

"Shi, are you still with us?"

The only reply my body would allow was an extremely dry cough and a weak nod.

"Good. We're almost there, just hang on a bit longer."

I nodded again. "S-Sas-uke,"

"I'm here, just hang on," I could hear the concern in his tone; it was painfully obvious. "Just hang on."

What felt like an eternity passed before I could tell that we'd stopped moving. My back was suddenly against something very cold and my breathing was finally beginning to even out.

"Shi, are you okay?"

I smiled the best I could and peeled my lids open just enough to see Sasuke peering down at me. His eyes that were so often filled with loathing when they looked at me were completely different now. Now, they were oozing with a mixture of worry and relief; it was strange considering I didn't even know Sasuke was capable of any emotion other than hatred or anger. An awkward sort of giggle bubbled from my throat.

"Are you laughing?"

I nodded. "You're worried about me,"

"You're damn right I'm worried," He replied. "You could've died back there. Why wouldn't I be worried?"

"Because you hate me, remember?"

A veil of silence fell over us. "That doesn't mean I want you to die," he murmured under his breath before turning his attention to Jesse. "Now, do you want to tell me what the fuck just happened?"

"There's this sort of gas that the counselors use, mainly for the solitary confinement freaks, that tap dances on a very fine line between knocking someone out and killing them." Jesse explained in a rush while peeking out into the hallway. I guessed he was waiting for the signal from Shawn who was somewhere further down the hall. "Whenever they get a little too rowdy or the counselors just don't want to deal with them, all they have to do is flip a switch and this gas leaks out from the vents in the cells. I guess Shi was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got a taste of it. We're just lucky we got her out of there in time or we would've been seriously screwed."

"So, I got poisoned is what you're saying?" I asked, leaning up on my elbows. I was finally getting control of my body again, but I still felt woozy and disoriented.

"Basically,"

"Awesome,"

It was silent for a moment as Jesse slipped out into the dark hall. "We'd better get moving."

...

"Awh, there's our little kitten," Gwen cooed as I sat down the next day at lunch. "We were beginning to think you'd ran away on us."

"Gwen, stop it." Lucy nudged her before turning her attention to me. "So, how was the mission, Shi?"

I shrugged, attempting to calm the festering pool of annoyance and anger that boiled in the pit of my stomach. "Fine, I guess. Roman said he'd send a message when everything was ready."

"Did he, now?" Gwen raised an intense eyebrow. "And what did this Roman kid look like, hm?"

"He's locked away in a metal box with a window the size of your fist in it," I fired back. "It's not like we met for coffee and had a nice chat."

"So, you don't know?"

"That's what I just said,"

"Interesting," she pursed her lips. "So, what else did he say?"

"Nothing really," I narrowed my eyes at her. What's she getting at? "Just that he could make them and that he'd send a message when they were ready."

"What kind of message?" she asked quickly. "Like you said, he's locked up in a box. How's he supposed to get you anything?"

"I don't know, Gwen," I ground my teeth together in frustration. She was really starting to piss me off. "What exactly are you getting at?"

"Me?" she gasped in mock surprise, her mouth gaping open for emphasis. "I'm not getting at anything. I'm just wondering what happened in there just like the rest of us."

"Really? Because you're the only one who's asking about it," I spat hotly. "Everyone else seems to actually trust me and if you don't, then you can leave."

Gwen's whole expression immediately shifted from utterly fake to undeniably combative; she was preparing to strike back. "I can leave? You should be the one leaving! This group needs a strong leader and you're the complete opposite! I should be the one leading this half of the opperation! You've done nothing but-"

"Risk her life for our cause?" Sasuke jumped in, his face the definition of pissed off. "And tell me, Gwen, what have you done for this opperation that makes you think that you should be alpha female, hm?"

"I'm the muscle behind this half of the opperation!" she retorted. "Without me, we'd have an imbalance between the two sides and these three would be even weaker than they already are!"

"It's true, you are very strong and an amazing ally, but it's not like you're irreplacable." Sasuke shrugged indifferently. "And these three are anything but weak."

"Oh, really?" Gwen grabbed a fist full of Reina's hazelnut tresses and yanked her head back so all of us could see her face. "And tell me, what has this one done for the good of our cause? I haven't heard her say a single word since we've been planning this whole thing!"

Sasuke whipped out a memo pad and slammed it down on the table in front of Gwen with a more than audible slap. "She's our mastermind behind this entire opperation. Reina's been plotting out a map of the entire building and planning our best escape routes for when we're on the offensive. Now, if you want that hand, I suggest you let her go."

"Ugh!" she let out a frustrated roar before ripping her hand out of Reina's hair.

"Listen here, Gwen. You have two options," Sasuke continued calmly. "You either fall in line with the others and look at everyone as your equal, or you leave. Your choice."

"Fine," Gwen spat, standing from the table. "Just try and replace me."

"Don't worry, we will."

I could feel Gwen's gaze burning holes in the back of my head as she leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Don't play with fire, little girl."

I sucked in a shallow breath and ignored the icy shiver that rolled up my spine like a tidal wave, not bothering to give her the satisfaction of a reply.

"Just wait until your guard dog's not around," she added before finally walking away, flipping her fiery curls over her shoulders.

The rest of lunch was completely silent, at least until the end.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked as everyone threw out the remnants of their lunches.

"I'm fine," I replied. "and I don't need you to protect me. I can handle myself."

"I was just trying to-"

"Well, don't," I interrupted him icily. "I can stand on my own two feet."

"Alright," he nodded in understanding. "I won't protect you anymore."

"Good," I returned the nod before heading out with the rest of the girls.

...

I laid in bed that night unable to even fathom the prospect of sleep. I rolled over in bed so that I was facing the wall. Listen to the walls. They will tell you all you need to know. Yeah right. I rolled my eyes and sighed. How am I supposed to listen to the damn walls? I pursed my lips in thought. The first thing I could think of was literally listening to the walls, so I sat up in bed and pressed my ear to the dry wall, hearing nothing but the hum of the air conditioning system. I sighed again and thought harder. What now? I sat in the perpetual darkness for an immeasurable amount of time, still unable to hear anything but the beating of my heart. Then, an idea came to me. Almost as if it was a instinct, I reached out in front of me until my fingertips were firmly pressed against the wall. Maybe if I...

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, breathing evenly as if I was meditating. Behind my lids, a beautiful girl appeared. She was devoid of all color, even her skin was pure white, and had flowing locks that nearly reached the floor. Her eyes were shut and an innocent smile played with her lips as her hands came together in front of her, almost as if she were praying. Listen carefully, child. My heart fluttered restlessly as she spoke; this had to be a figment of my imagination. I am aware of your predicament and have come to a conclusion: I shall give you a gift. If you should decide to misuse this devine gift, then I shall reclaim it. But, if I must revoke this gift, then I will be forced to reclaim your soul as well. Use it wisely, child. With that, she faded away into whichever facet of my imagination she originated from, leaving me alone once again in the darkness of my room.