…
…
"…that's it. Nice and easy, people! We wouldn't want to break our two new toys when we just got them, am I right?"
"How much longer are we supposed to keep living like this, Trace? I mean, no offense, but we're living in a shit-hole in the middle of nowhere! You said we'd be living the good life by now!"
"Oh Josh, when will you ever learn?" Tracy responds in a sarcastic manner; waking me up as she puts a firm hand underneath my leg. "I don't have all the answers, but we make do with what the situation asks of us, no? And these two right here are gonna be our ticket to a new home – that grocery store will just be stop number one on our long road to survival."
I feel myself being lifted up by at least three different people, but for some reason I'm lacking the strength to try and get away. Am I even awake right now? Or am I just trapped in between the realms of dreams and consciousness?
Well, whatever it is, it certainly feels real. I can scarcely remember how it is that I actually got here in the first place.
But wait… did she say two people? Who else is in this limbo with me?
"Set 'em down in the holding cells," Tracy tells her crew, making me question where exactly it is that we are right now. Holding cell? Oh god, please don't tell me this is another prison or some shit… I can't deal with that again!
I can feel some kind of flesh wound on my forearm as it hangs lazily at my side, but where did that come from again? Hmm… I remember standing outside somewhere, minding my own business… and then suddenly, James and I started…
…fuck, that's right. We fought each other and then I… wait, then that means…?
"Rise and shine, sweet thing!" Tracy chirps with a smirk, causing my eyes to flutter open as all the colours in the room start to rapidly appear. Feeling myself being placed down onto the floor, I cringe as I'm kicked in the abdomen and brushed up against the wall; unable to move.
"Ughhh…"
"Aww, don't mope! You should be thrilled right now!" she gloats, bending down on one knee in front of me as I lay face-down on the dirty floor. "You've just won an all-inclusive stay at our camp! You get the full treatment – your own room, some nice bloody walls to look at, and all the air you can breathe in. I hope you enjoy your stay here, we'll be back to collect you before you know it."
Fucking hell… this isn't a dream! This is my nightmare coming to life! As I slowly lift my face off of the floor after hearing the door slam shut behind Tracy, I cough a few times as the dirt and grime fills my lungs. I feel like I've been stabbed with a fork right through the lungs – weird, I know.
Damn it all… where the fuck am I, anyways? There's nothing in here but broken computer monitors, an office chair and an old, dust-covered desk with a busted coffee mug.
As one of the screens suddenly come to life, I jump back in surprise as it fizzles and whizzes; slowly revealing the image. On the screen is… wait a minute, is that Bo?! Did they take the both of us?
"She got it working, then," somebody remarks, startling me as I hear their voice. But where the hell is it coming from? "It's the only electricity we could get to run in the whole place… funny thing, huh? It's not as if it's really useful or anything… After all, what the hell's so good about a security camera when there's nothing really to see?"
"The fuck…?" I ask, totally confused on so many levels. Who's talking, why am I here, why is Bo there, where the fuck are Jane and Clem?
Hearing nothing but white noise for a few seconds or so, the voice reappears as I stay on high alert.
"Turn around – to the left," the voice commands me, so I slowly do as the person asks. I'm cautious and concerned as to why there's a walkie-talkie in here with me. "Pick it up and hold the button on the side… don't be paranoid, it's not a fucking bomb remote or anything."
Bomb?! I immediately think on instinct, now more concerned than ever before as I eye the object wearily. I wasn't thinking that it could be some kind of weapon before, but now that he's brought it up… what if he's lying?
…god, I've gotta stop with this kind of bullshit…
"Who is this?" I ask, thankfully not having blown anything or anyone up in the process. "Where am I, and why am I here?! Tell me!"
"Chill out a little bit, you're gonna be fine," he eases, but clearly having no idea what it's like to be in my shoes right now. Getting taken away and stuffed into a locked room isn't my definition of fine. "The name's Alden, you're at our camp in the security office, and… well, I can't answer your third question. Tracy's got no idea that I slipped this into your room before you got here. She'd skin me alive if she found out I was doing this…"
There seems to be a big glass window behind me, but I can't even see out of it when I put my face right up against it. It's like one of those windows that you'd see on the crime shows where they take the suspect in for questioning – if there's one thing I learned from watching those, it's that you can't see anyone from in here, but they can see you from the other side.
That little thought unnerves me quite a bit.
Glancing back at the security camera, I press the button on the walkie-talkie again to ask Alden a question. "Why would you even bother leaving this on? What are you people trying to do?"
Hearing the guy take a deep breath and sigh on the other end of the line, he tells me that he has to go before I hear the device get switched off, leaving me figuratively in the dark as I sit in the office chair; still puzzled as to why they would take the two of us away. I can't figure out for the life of me why they would do such a thing – we've got no connection to these people, and absolutely nothing in common with them. I've never met any of them before in my entire life, so what could they be planning here?
I continue to question that as I watch a couple of people suddenly burst into Bo's room and start to beat on him – I have no idea why they're doing this, but to me, it just looks as though they're looking for somebody to hit. Fucking assholes…
But the more that I think of what's been going on recently, am I really any better?
"STOP!" I bellow into the walkie-talkie, pressing my thumb so hard against the plastic that it hurts my hand. "FUCK, STOP THIS! THEY'RE GONNA KILL HIM! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH! STOP IT RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"
When they actually do cease beating on Bo, and I watch as they leave the poor guy on the floor (not moving around at all), I stare at this stupid thing in shock. Huh, I honestly didn't think that would work! I thought for sure that this Alden guy, whoever he is, would just sit back and do nothing to stop the violence from occurring in there.
Well, perhaps I have some force and command for respect left in me after all…
"…so, this is what you were hiding from all of us, eh Alden?" Tracy's voice crackles to life as I immediately toss the device into the corner. Doesn't keep me from hearing all that she's saying, however. "Couldn't handle not owning a cellphone anymore, so this is the closest thing you could find. Is that why you disobeyed a direct order?"
Well, so much for having mind control powers or anything cool like that. I can't hear any response because Tracy's obviously got the walkie talkie in her possession, but I'd imagine that Alden's trying to come up with the best excuse that he can manage. I hope it's something clever, and not something completely idiotic like he felt like making a new friend or wanting me to be comfortable. You know, any of those bullshit lines that people come up with under pressure.
"Shush, shush, shush! I don't wanna hear it, Ald! Jesus, you're making this so much harder for me, you know that?" she comments as I hear a sigh on the other end of the line. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do with ya now! I mean, hell, the only thing I can think of is to make you and Kazuki end up looking like twins – no offense, kiddo. Kazuki…? Alright, where the fuck did she go?"
Not knowing who this girl is, I slowly walk back towards the table and lean stiffly up against it; trying to prepare myself for whatever comes next. This woman's freaking me out more with every sentence she speaks, and seeing Bo still sprawled out on the floor like that reminds me of just how much control she must have around here. These people are practically her mind-controlled robot slaves.
"…hmm, I see… Joshua, do you mind if I ask you one tiny, little question, hon? HOW THE FLYING FUCK DID KAZUKI GET LEFT BEHIND?!" she roars as I try to get rid of the ringing in my ears when the walkie-talkie crackles. Man, is she loud or what? "God damn it! God motherfucking damn it! This isn't an ideal situation, fellas! Not one. Fucking. Bit. Sigh… I suppose you know what has to happen now, don't you?"
Steeling my nerves, I elicit a small growl from the back of my throat as a bunch of these people stroll into my solitary confinement; not looking too happy as Tracy steps out from the pack.
"We're gonna need some answers, and right now," she says coolly while running her fingers along a metal rod, "you're our most reliable source. So, if you'd rather not end up like your friend over there, then you'd better start talking. Quickly."
…
Clem's POV
"I'm not going to be so nice this time," Jane remarks; straddling the table with her hands and looming dangerously in front of the little informant. "Now tell me – where's your base, why have they taken Lilly, and what the fuck do you people want from us? Answer me, right now."
"…I don't know, I haven't been with them for very long…"
"That's the same ridiculous answer you've been giving me for the past ten minutes!"
"Then maybe you should take the hint…" she murmurs cockily as Jane breathes sharply out her nose; taking out her knife and casually twirling it around. The prisoner's face whitens a little bit as the light from the room glints off the sharp object.
"You think I'm playing here? Do you honestly think I'm in the mood for any of your bullshit?!" she demands, glaring a hole through the scared kid. "Your life is in my hands now, got that? Now you better tell me what I want to know or else… well, you know what happens next."
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I try to prevent a headache from forming as I see Jane holding the knife at her side. Under normal circumstances, I'm almost certain that the woman that I look up to so much would just be bluffing; doing this all for show and dramatic effect. However, I'm not so sure that that's the case this time around.
Jane's on the warpath, and I don't know if I can take her off.
"She's a real charmer, isn't she?" Emily comments, standing beside me as we watch the scene unfold.
"She's just… stressed," I try to excuse for her as I knock on the window and shake my head at Jane. She doesn't seem to get the message though. "Besides me, Lilly's really all she has that she knows. Jane's just worried about something happening to her that none of us are gonna like."
This has been a pattern that's gone on for quite a while now. I almost always have to try and explain that Jane and Lilly aren't just raging, crazy people that want to burn everything around them until they get what they want. I swear, how do they even get by on their own anymore? Their hot-headedness has gotten them into trouble more than once beforehand, but it seems lately that any small thing has been enough to set them off.
Noticing Emily's eyes lingering over at me, I turn to her and glance curiously.
"What?"
"How old are you actually?"
Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I answer with "twelve" before folding my arms across my chest. We all know where this is going…
"Twelve… wow," she breathes out, running a hand through her hair as Racheal passes behind us. I still don't know what her deal is – why does she always stare at me like I'm gonna be some kind of problem? "And you're making the decisions for your whole group? You? At twelve years old?"
"Yes, I am," I retort sharply, feeling slightly insulted as I stand there stewing. I'm so tired of everybody judging me because of my age – what the hell do they know about me?! "Honestly, I could probably deal with stuff that people twice my age couldn't do."
"Maybe," she shrugs, probably sensing the growing tension as the conversation goes forward. "But I've seen kids like you go through this kind of thing before. Like Zayne, for instance. We picked him up on the side of the road; completely surrounded by a whole pack of roamers. When we asked him what the hell he was thinking, trying to take them all on himself, he said that it was a hell of a lot easier than dealing with the assholes he was with before."
"How does this have anything to do with me?"
Slightly off-put by how blunt I'm being, Emily shakes it off as she spots Elliot and Nikita walking towards her. "Despite how capable you might be," she remarks, "there's almost always gonna be somebody waiting there, looking to take advantage of you. I just hope that it doesn't happen to you."
Feeling slightly confident that I won't have to worry about that, I turn my head to the side with indignity. Nearly every single person that I've come across underestimates me – none of them truly understand…
You have to MAKE them see, sweet pea, Lee tells me as I slowly shut my eyes, thankfully not having had an episode since Riley… yeah. Those scars still haven't properly healed just yet.
Can't even imagine what Ellie must be going through right now.
"Better get in there before we have to mop up a puddle of blood," Emily mentions as Jane's grip on her knife becomes even more intense. Not wanting to take a chance, I jog over to the door and step inside; shutting it softly closed behind me as I feel the chill prickle at my arms. No more getting rid of coats – that should be a resolution for me.
Gulping, I try craning my neck to look around Jane as she continues to belittle the kid with fire spewing from her lips. I've gotta say, she's getting pretty good at this whole threatening act.
"Jane?" I try getting her attention as I put my hands in my jean pockets. "Why don't I try taking over for a little while? You look like you could use a break."
Gritting her teeth together, Jane snarls at our captive as she holds out the knife closer to the kid's neck. Alarms go off in my head as I try to keep her from doing something she'll undoubtedly regret.
"I'll fucking slice you like a watermelon if you don't tell me something useful right this damn second!" she warns, getting a dangerous glint in her eyes that reminds me of our encounter with Arvo on the observation deck. Gripping the collar of her shirt, Jane pulls her closer as I pleadingly tug on her arm. "Where?! WHERE?!"
"Jane, stop! She's just a kid!" I plead, despite what I just said about being a kid to Emily a few seconds ago. I'm not a hypocrite, I swear! "You don't have to do this, okay?! Jesus, Jane – leave her alone! You're better than this!"
As if finally noticing that I'm here, Jane drops the knife to the floor uselessly as she widens her eyes in shock at what she was about to do. It's easy to forget how much more physical strength she has than I do, but Lilly's even stronger than her. I could only imagine what it'd be like if she was here and Jane was being held captive… clean-up aisle four, most likely.
And no, it wouldn't be for spilled tomato sauce.
"Won't kill… not again…" she mutters to herself, confusing the hell out of me as she firmly shuts her eyes and shakes her head violently. Trying to collect herself, Jane puts her knife back into its holster before locking eyes with me. "You'd better get her to talk… I'm not waiting around anymore."
"Just… just let me handle it, alright? Go walk it off for a little bit," I tell her firmly, feeling slightly scared of how pissed off she's become. When she kicks the door wide open in frustration and nearly rams into Zayne, I sigh as she groans and storms out of the grocery store.
I think their traits are starting to rub off on each other – hers and Lilly's, I mean.
Picking up the chair that Jane had bowled over beforehand, I set it upright as I slowly sit down at the table and fold my hands together. The kid looks terrified, as if she just went through the most traumatic thing in her life, but I can't feel sorry for her very much. After all, Lilly's one of my closest friends as well, so any sympathy I may have had for this girl is overshadowed. Her group has definitely crossed the line.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep her from coming back in here and killing you – for real this time," I tell her with a cold expression. When she says nothing and continues to glare at the wooden table, I lightly tap her cheek to get her attention. "Eyes front, got it? Paying attention right now might just save your life. How about… how about we start with a name? You got one of those?"
"…Kazuki…" she mumbles, just barely loud enough for me to hear as I nod.
"Well, alright, Kazuki," I comment, glad to see that we're maybe starting to get somewhere. I'm pretty sure that this is already farther than Jane got with her. When I notice the thing stretched across her eye, I gulp before asking this next question. "So, umm… how did you get the… you know..."
To my surprise (and slight disgust), Kazuki lifts the eye patch completely off and tosses it onto the table. The wound seems pretty old and there doesn't seem to be any blood smears around, but the eye is completely destroyed and there's a deep, gross-looking cut that's gouged out the eye socket almost completely. That wound won't heal properly for as long as she lives.
"This happened last year," she explains with a deep frown, as if even talking about it is a trigger for past demons. "I stole a bunch of supplies with my Mom… but we got caught. They shot her right in front of me… and then he grabbed a pair of scissors and… and…"
"…was this the group that you're in now?" I ask pensively, trying to remain neutral but finding it really hard not to feel bad for this girl.
Shaking her head, Kazuki straps the patch back across her eye with a wince as she relays the short form of what happened. "I stayed for a few months, but left as soon as the time was right. I was with this woman named Katie Green for a while, but we got separated after they started chasing us. I found Tracy and Joshua a few miles later after running away, and that was it. I never heard from them ever again."
Biting my tongue for a moment, I try to relay this story over in my head; trying to pick it apart and see if there aren't any pieces that don't make sense. I find it hard to believe that she'd just willingly stay there for months before leaving with this Katie woman, whoever she is, but what concerns me more is the group that she's in right now.
"Why would they kidnap my friend?" I ask, wanting to get to the bottom of this already so that we can set about on finding her. "We didn't do anything to you guys, so – "
"What do you mean you didn't do anything?! Of course you did!" she snaps at me angrily, causing me to furrow my brow in confusion. "You assholes took Zayne away from us! He belonged in our group, not yours! And you bastards just took him anyway!"
"Zayne?" I question, looking out the window for a brief moment as I see him sitting alone; keeping to himself as he watches the flames dance over the pit. When he sees me glancing over at him, he frowns slightly before standing up to go find another place to sit where he won't be disturbed. "But… that doesn't make sense. Emily just told me that…"
"NIKITA! NOOOOO!"
Alarmed, I quickly stand up and turn to see what all the ruckus is about; shouting at Kazuki to stay put as I make sure to lock the door behind me. Can't take any chances with her trying to escape.
"What the hell is going on?!" I ask as Zayne rushes past me in all of the chaos.
Shrugging his shoulders, the boy points out to the front as I jog alongside him. "I think that was Elliot yelling!" he tells me, and something in the pit of my stomach prays that this doesn't have anything to do with Jane. "Out the front, come on! Let's… Holy shit…"
Elliot's bent down beside Nikita – or what used to be her – as he holds one of her hands in hers. There's no waking her up from this, however, as a crossbow bolt sticks right out of her eye socket and sends crimson blood to flow down her face. It's truly a grizzly scene – the arrow must've gone straight through to her brain.
It doesn't take a genius to know who's responsible for this – and no, it's not Jane this time.
"Oh my god… Nikita, no… this can't be happening…" Elliot whimpers, widening his eyes in sadness and disgust as he glances upon her face. "Those fuckers… God damn it, this is… Fuck!"
Picking the guy up off the ground, Emily's hand is swatted away as Elliot marches off on his own; needing some space as he screeches out that he'll be perfectly fine. Everybody knows that that's not the case right now, however, as Jane yanks the arrow out of Nikita's eye. I almost lose my lunch as the entire eyeball comes out along with it.
What makes Jane's ears blow out steam, though, is the little note attached to the arrow… and a few strands of brown hair tied around it.
Jane snaps the arrow in half as she reads the note.
"Pack up and get out – leave all the supplies behind, or she's next…" Jane reads, scrunching up the paper in her fists as I glance over at Racheal.
Taking one look over at her, my heart drops as I realize what her answer is.
"Not happening…" Racheal disagrees firmly. "You do what you want, but we're not budging an inch. I'll die before I let that happen."
Better people have regretted those words, I think to myself, preparing for the ensuing boiled argument that's bound to happen any second now.