Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! And please review. I like the feedback!
It had been so long since she had seen sunlight. She could feel her skin begging for it, but she couldn't satisfy it. She knew she wasn't doing too well, but nobody was. A lot of time had passed; she only knew this because her hair managed to grow down to her lower back. She braided it just like Elphaba did, and she realized that her green friend was right about the braid being a convenient way to keep it out of her face. She had ripped the bottom of her dress off to tie the braid in place.
Glinda hadn't known it at first, but as time went on, she realized that she had initially been right about the depths of Southstairs. Turned out, she had been accepted by Tate into the most dangerous people down there. Tate himself had been locked up because he murdered fifty men. Glinda wouldn't ask why he did it; that would be too risky. But he made sure she was safe, and she hadn't been hurt at all since she stayed by his side.
Next was Tate's Gorilla friend, Kellen, who had also murdered. She didn't ask how many people he had killed. It wasn't worth the risk, either. However, Kellen was ten years older than her, she found out. It was nice to have someone who was relatively her age. Most young people-especially women- were killed within the first few days. Only the strong survived. Kellen would let the petite woman snuggle close up to him at night for warmth. This also assured that she wouldn't be kidnapped and hurt while they slept.
The third member of the group was a Tiger named Tadeo. Glinda wasn't sure what he was down there for, but she'd never ask. After all, it wasn't her business. She always commented on his beautiful fur coat though, and he'd always tell her how fabulous and beautiful she was.
The three men in the group weren't afraid to kill if someone hurt them. Glinda was surprised she was also able to kill without a second thought. Her first tormentor had found her one day while she was getting the water for the group. When he approached her, she easily stabbed him repeatedly with a fifteen inch nail that Tadeo had given her for safety. In total, Glinda had killed five men. After the fifth, most people heard about the fearless blonde who had learned from the Gorilla, Tiger, and most wanted serial killer in all of Oz.
"Glinda, read to us," Tadeo demanded, but nicely, and handed the blonde the only book that was probably in Southstairs. She smiled, accepting the book. It was eight hundred pages long. It was about a girl who mastered magical illusions. The illustrations in the book were absolutely terrifying because the girl always casted awful images. But the story itself was very good and she had probably read the entire book at least twenty times.
"Of course," Glinda smiled as she put the book in her lap when she sat down. She read and read until she finished fifty pages. She closed the book and memorized the page number for the next time. It was amazing how much a single book could mean so much to her and even the three men who couldn't read. She placed the book in its hiding spot before Tadeo asking her to go for a walk. Tate mentioned that walking would keep their muscles in use so that they wouldn't completely waste away. So, the blonde always went on walks with the men. It was unusual, however, that Tadeo wanted to go for a walk before bed.
"Don't keep her out too late, you hear?" Tate warned. He had turned into a father figure for her which she embraced. She missed her own father and mother dearly, but what could she do? Did they even know she was rotting away in Southstairs? She decided not to dwell on it; those thoughts always brought tears to her eyes.
"Got it, boss. Just a quick stroll," Tadeo promised before taking her hand in his paw and leading her off. Glinda never protested. She did whatever it was she was asked to do in fear of something terrible happening if she didn't. Sure, the men were generally nice to her, but there was this feeling in her gut that warned her not to mess with them in any way.
"Is something wrong?" she asked the Tiger when they were far enough away. They continued to hold hands. For Glinda, it was safer that way.
"I feel like you need to know about me, Kellen, and Tate."
"What is it?" her heart began to beat in her chest. She had to hide her shallow, quick breathing to conceal her nervousness and uncertainty.
"The three of us were part of the Resistance. We aren't bad people, Glinda. I want you to know that," he explained. "You see," the Tiger began talking again when the blonde said nothing. "Tate was one of the earlier members. He murdered, yes, but it was to save the Animals who were being forced out of their homes. They were Gale Force members he killed. Same with Kellen, but he was arrested after Tate."
"I understand. You had to do what you had to do," Glinda replied.
"Oh, I never murdered a soul. Tate, he'd go into Gale Force members' homes and kill them in their sleep so other Animals couldn't get pulled out of their homes. Kellen did it because he had no choice or he'd be dead himself."
"Why are you down here?" Glinda questioned.
"I was one of the people who worked in the office. I filed paperwork and things of that sort. They just put me down here because they could," Tadeo explained honestly.
"Why didn't you tell me all of this before?" she asked.
"Not really sure, to be honest," the Tiger said. The blonde smiled up at him, even though it was too dark down there for anyone to see. They weren't anywhere near a light source. "Is there someone you really miss?" Tadeo asked the blonde. "Like the one person you wish that you could see again, even if it was just for five minutes?"
"You're probably thinking I'd choose my parents, or maybe my boyfriend to be all cliché. But I'd rather see Elphie again." Tadeo and the others knew about Elphaba and how the Wizard had locked Glinda up for being associated with her. Word had gotten out about the Wicked Witch of the West, even in Southstairs, and Glinda wished it wasn't true. She didn't know much about what Elphaba was doing, but she did know that she was being called the Wicked Witch of the West. "I just…want to run up into her arms. And I want her to tell me everything will be okay." Tears began to well up in Glinda's eyes. "Even if it won't be." Her voice was shaking as she spoke and a few tears fell down her cheeks. "I just need her to be there…I miss her so much."
"I understand," Tadeo said and squeezed her hand briefly. "I want my boyfriend, myself. I'll be all cliché, here," he chuckled sadly. Glinda could tell he was crying by the sniffle. "Joining the Resistance was the biggest mistake of my life. If I hadn't joined…I'd just be living in a forest somewhere, probably. Sure, I would have lost my house, but anything is better than this."
"My biggest regret is not going with Elphie when she asked me to join her when she defied the Wizard," Glinda said as she let herself lean against the warm fur. Tadeo put an arm around her and they helped each other walk.
"I'm surprised you aren't talking about your boyfriend like this," Tadeo commented.
"A man is a man," Glinda said. "But you can never replace a girl's best friend."