Chapter 3
Things went rather smoothly for the next two weeks for Piper, and to have the room all to herself to start off with made the time here on Litchfield Island a little more bearable than she had previously thought.
Stretching her legs over the mat, Piper sulked at the thought of her roommate returning tomorrow. She was in a yoga class with a few dozen other residents. Instructor Yoga Jones was in her late forties, skinny, with short, silver hair, and a pair of kind eyes.
The day had progressed ordinarily. They would have yoga, or meditation sessions in the morning, and then 'powers' trainings after lunch. It was a course for residents to learn how to channel their powers. Residents who had nonviolent powers would be grouped together, separated from dangerous ones. The training would start at 2:30 P.M. So far, so good. Piper surprised herself that she had done quite well in trainings, finding and feeling her powers much easier now. She was much more in tune with herself, or perhaps she just felt safer that there were others just like her here.
When Yoga Jones dismissed the class, Piper rolled up her mat just like everyone else.
"Hey, doing anything tonight?"
Piper looked up at Nicky. "Nothing. It's not like I can leave the island even if I wanted to."
"Come on. You don't want to leave." Nicky winked, and Piper just smiled.
Nicky had kept her company while Polly was gone. They always had meals together. The Fantastic Four, AKA Jessica Wedge gang, would not sit with Piper again after that first day with Nicky, but she had no objections about it. She was rather happy that the blondes left her alone. But what Nicky did at night, Piper had never been a part of it. She just assumed that Nicky frequented the South a lot.
"There's a game tonight. They hold it every other week, trying to be discreet and all."
"A game? What kind of game?" Keeping her voice low, Piper watched as other residents began to leave the room. She had always been discreet, a proper girl her father always wanted her to be.
"It's like a fight club thing. People need something, but they can't always afford it. So a pair will fight it out. The winner can ask for a favor, or something similar, and the loser will have to oblige to it."
Piper raised her brows. "Fight with what? Our powers? But that's not allowed outside of class."
Nicky rolled her eyes. "Have you been listening at all?"
"Won't that be dangerous, considering that we can actually—accidentally kill each other with our powers?"
"Oh, yes, it can get pretty rough, and that's why we only allow a pair of fighters at each game. We can't afford to kill too many of us." Nicky darkly chuckled. "Hey, don't worry. Usually when someone knows that they will lose, they will just surrender. Very few actually put their lives at stake."
Piper nodded. "You can teleport. That's a tricky power. Have you ever fought?"
"Tricky." Nicky sounded amused.
"Yeah, rapid, counter attacks. It'll be useful."
Nicky's eyes went wide. "Well, thank you, teacher. I'll keep that in mind. Seriously, I've never thought of that. I never fought in the ring before. It's just not my thing, but I like to watch."
"Like betting who will win?" Piper stood up, holding the rolled up mat in her arm. "That, I think, is the whole point of it, to see if you're right or not, but without getting yourself hurt. Maybe only your purse."
Nicky got up and followed her out of the room. "So is it a date?"
Piper laughed, pushing the door open for both of them. "I thought you already have a girlfriend."
They strode through the long, busy corridor. Lunch would be in an hour.
Nicky mildly shrugged, her voice sounding a little sad when she said, "She's still hung up over that guy, Christopher. Always has. Always will be."
Piper couldn't have cared less. "Chris? Who?"
"The rich guy in the room opposite to yours. Tall. Handsome. Broad shoulderes. How can you not notice him?" Nicky actually sounded frustrated and upset. "Have you seen him around? Has he been talking and manipulating Morello? I think he's up to something." She growled. "He only sees her as a plaything. I told her that he'd never get serious with her, but she wouldn't listen."
Nicky sounded desperate for once, and Piper decided to rage through her memories for bits of Christopher. She hadn't paid attention to many people, or much of the surroundings. Even the outside world was slowly lost to her now. She daily made two phone calls to Larry, and one to her family member, but it all had quickly become just that, a routine. It had been only two weeks, and yet she felt she was already a world away from them. They would never understand what it felt like to be here. They would never understand what it felt like to have all these unique, special powers in their hands, and still hated every single moment of it. That hurt. That pain. Only the people here would understand it.
"I've met Christopher twice. He seemed proper," Piper finally said. "He seemed kind. He offered me a box of orange juice when I tried to find something to eat at night. It was my second night here, and I wasn't expecting that there wouldn't be any local convenient stores on the island."
Nicky grumbled. "He better treats her nice, or else I—"
"I'd like to go to the game tonight. It should be fun." Piper smiled at Nicky. At best, she wanted to ease that anger in Nicky's heart. Whatever Christopher and Lorna were now, what mattered was to get Nicky out of this messy triangle.
"So it's a date." Nicky grinned.
After dinner, Piper followed Nicky out of the mansion. She was in a green sweater and a pair of khakis. They were being discreet, or Piper asked Nicky to be. She just didn't want Jessica or anyone to make a big deal out of it. As far as she knew, the general opinion of the North residents was to stay clear from the dangerous South. They would offer helps when they were asked. Pitying the poor was part of the job, but the two tribes were never really brothers and sisters. Even when they were stuck on an island together, shunned and disgusted from the outside world, they were still divided amongst themselves.
Piper and Nicky walked across the big yard that separated the North and the South. The Study building, where yoga and other light sessions were held, was on the east, while the Zone, a much larger building for powers trainings, located on the west. Tonight would be the first time Piper would get to see the South Mansion. She could hear noises already, shouts and music growing louder as she neared the building. It excited and scared her at the same time. At least it gave a sign of life on this isolated island, exactly what she needed at the moment.
The South was much bigger than Piper had originally thought. It was also a three-story building but with much wider front, accommodating many more rooms than the North. It was already nine o'clock, and most of the North residents would have retired to their rooms, or kept their quiet activities within the safe walls of the mansion. But it was a totally different scene with the South. Many residents were hanging out by the garden near its east wing. Some were playing basketball, the others holding a soccer match. It was busy and crowded that nobody paid attention as Nicky and Piper arrived.
"Stay close to me. Don't get lost. They don't like newts here, especially one from the North," Nicky said.
"Newts?" Piper suddenly felt unsure, glancing around. "Well, thanks for telling me now. Should I go back?"
Nicky laughed. "Where's the fun in that? Let's go get some drink."
Piper groaned. Maybe it was a really bad idea to follow Nicky here. She could get into troubles and Howard would frown upon her. He might take the opportunity to tell Larry of her misbehaviors and there would soon be trouble in their paradise. Before her mind would get more of the funny ideas, a red cup was shoved into her hand. Piper raised it up to get a better look. A beer was nice. It should calm her a bit.
"Thanks," Piper said. For a short while, they were hanging around the entrance of the mansion. People were passing, chatting and laughing. "Do they party every day? You said they don't have much money."
"You know how some rather spend money on booze than actual food? Molly was right. They aren't your kind of people."
"It's Polly. And you think these people are your kind?" Piper smirked.
Nicky grinned. "Kind of. I'm in the North with you, thanks to my mom's boyfriend's money. But this is where I truly belong. Anyway the game will start soon. Come on."
They pushed their way around the building, heading towards the backyard.
Under a tall, rusty streetlamp, two men were standing, facing each other. They were surrounded by at least a hundred bystanders. Seeing how many people just on the outside of the mansion, Piper mused about the real number of the South residents. It must be overly crowded here, unlike the spacious rooms that were reserved for the better half of the 'gifted' population.
"The shorter, a bit bulky guy, his name is John Bennett. He's a real nice guy. He gets challenged a lot, because he often loses the game," Nicky explained, while tiptoeing to get a better view of the fight ring.
Piper stood languidly, being almost a head taller than most girls there. "Why? He looks quite strong. But can't he refuse to participate if he doesn't want to?"
"That's exactly why they love to challenge him. Bennett is too nice to fight nasty, or too nice to say no. They can get help from him easier than the others. Plus, he has super strength. Pretty useful in petty thefts. Poor man can't really leave the island for long. The police are looking for him, and it's not even his own shits that got him into trouble." Nicky scratched her nose as she droned on and on. "He used to be a cop, you know. Long story."
Long story. Don't we all have one... Piper stared ahead, watching as the fight began.
Bennett dodged his opponent's attacks quite easily for the first ten minutes, but things got intense when the first punch landed fully at his right side of his face, cutting his cheek with a four-inch gash. Blood streamed down his cheek, down to his neck and chest. The cut seemed quite drastic, and Piper squinted to see what the opponent was holding. It wasn't a weapon, but his own blade fingers. She squirmed at the sight.
"That looks nasty," Piper commented. "He could have seriously injured someone with those. It looks like he already has."
Nicky chuckled, softly punching Piper's shoulder. "Get used to it, Chapman. Aren't you quite a perilous one yourself?" She looked at her watch and groaned a bit. "Damn. That woman is late again. How predictable."
Piper decided not to respond to Nicky's comment on her powers. "Who are you waiting for?"
"An old friend of mine… A trouble." Nicky finished her drink, and shook the empty cup at Piper. "Want another one?"
" Sure." Piper followed Nicky into the mansion, heading towards the white, twin tables, where they were serving drinks. The walls, floor and sets of furniture were worn and torn, much older than the ones in the North. It smelled damp and unclean in the hall, too. The windows were murky, and the lights were dimmed. The place was being uncared for. Amazingly, it was another world altogether by just crossing the yard.
"If they found out that you're from the North, they'll make you pay for the drinks," Nicky joked as she handed the second cup to Piper.
Piper took it, smiling. "I'll pay. I feel bad already that I came uninvited."
"Shut up, Nicky. You're scaring your friend away. A newbie?" A low, husky voice came behind Piper, and Piper froze. The cup dropped to the floor, some of the cold drink splashed onto her pants and shoes.
That voice. That unique, soothing voice that Piper would never mistake it for someone else's. That voice that had haunted her for years. The voice she had thought that she would never get to hear it again.
Piper wanted to turn to face her nightmare. This was just a nightmare. She would be brave and just chase it away like she had imagined a thousand times before. But her body failed to move. Her heart beat so fast against her ribs. Her blood boiled. Her mind hazy.
"You're back, and you're late… Again!" Nicky greeted the tall woman in black, who had just walked past Piper, with a bear hug. "Look, Vause, this is Piper Chapman. New and North. Her first night in the South." Nicky grinned as she proudly presented her blonde acquaintance to her dark-haired friend.
Alex Vause. It wasn't a unique name, but it couldn't have been anyone else. Not with that voice. Not with those eyes, and the sickly pale skin.
The same, pale-green gaze Piper still saw in her dreams eventually gazed up, its sole attention stopping on Piper. And it felt right then that her world had stopped. It must be her mind tricking, or someone in this hall possessed such ability to stop time, for Alex had frozen upon seeing her as well. Alex became as still as a statue, and Piper couldn't help but take this opportunity to study her. It'd been four years since they last saw each other, and the wild, mysterious blue streaks had vanished from Alex's raven tresses. The smug smile Piper had seen earlier disappeared too, leaving the porcelain face as cold and ashen as a ghost scared of its own past.
Piper only broke out of her trance when someone yelled at the spilled beer. Then someone else responded by exposing her as a North resident. From the anger in their voices, Piper doubted that they just wanted her to pay for her beer, but something else entirely, which Nicky had failed to mention.
Nicky was quick to act. She slung one arm around Piper's waist. "Hey it's alright. She's with me."
"She isn't Lorna. You both are from the North! You have no business here!" One of the guys shouted from across the hall.
Alex turned to Piper again, lifting her black-rimmed glasses over her head. A habit when she was actually speaking the truth, which wasn't that often since she probably only did it once or twice a day. "Maybe this is a bad time to say hi."
Piper loved that voice, and she hated that she loved it. "No shit," she said, her voice cold.
Screams erupted, and Piper was sure that they weren't hers. Alex was sent flying backwards across the room, crashing through the glass windows and landing hard on the grass outside. Alex rolled unceremoniously into the middle of the fight ring, causing the game to stop and spectators scattered in all directions, yelling.
Bennett bent to get a better view of the crawling woman at his feet. "Vause?" He then smiled in relief, his face was all bloodied. "Welcome back, Vause! I thought that I'd never see you again!"
"Ye...yeah..." Alex tried to speak, but coughed out her lungs instead. The impact had her on all fours, terribly shaken. There were some nasty tears on her black leather jacket as far as she could see. Her left forehead and left forearm were bleeding. "F-" But Alex wasn't allowed a moment to swear. She was once again sent crashing against the lone streetlamp in the backyard, electric bolts flashed for a few, furious seconds before the whole South Mansion sank into sudden blackness. Alex, too, was sunken fast into oblivion.
Screams exploded as people stampeded through the backyard, and in and out of the mansion in panic.
This time Alex didn't even try to get up. Her head was spinning, and the pain on her right shoulder was screaming for murder. She glanced up a bit. Fuck. My glasses fell off... Her eyes narrowed in the dark, and she saw that Piper was climbing out through one of the broken windows. The blonde was fiercer than she had ever expected. Over the years, something had changed in Piper. Something that Alex didn't particularly like. Or, someone.
Lying flat on her stomach, Alex was convinced now that Piper truly meant to kill her tonight. I'm fucked...
"Jesus, Vause! Are you all right?!" Nicky ran towards Alex, knelt down beside her and grabbed her arms. "Hold on tight!"
Alex paused. She took a moment to think what Nicky had implied. "Oh... no...no, not that—"
"We gotta go! Incoming!"
At Nicky's last word, Alex felt fierce wind and turbulences around her. It was as if she was flying high into the sky and diving low into the ocean floor at a breakneck speed. She had no control over her flailing body, or its direction at all. She couldn't even open her eyes due to vicious velocity, and the pains weren't helping any. The swirling darkness continued for what seemed like forever, and for a moment there she thought that maybe she was already dead, and that's she was spiraling down to hell.
"Thank God! We made it!" Nicky announced, and the enthusiasm in her voice pulled Alex out of the slumber she was in.
Her eyelids heavy, Alex opened her eyes again to see that she was still in the backyard of the South Mansion. But the people were gone, and the whole area was still dark. Still pained, she slowly got up, but didn't get very far before she threw up her dinner. She was sure that it was a combination of both her friend's awesome teleporting moves, and her former lover's major kicks in her ass.
Nicky shook her head, arms across her chest. "You look like shit, Vause. Damn. It must be one hell of a love affair to get such violent reactions from an ex. What the fuck happened?"
"Things—" Alex spat out some blood, and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. "...and stuff..." Shakily, she stood up, but bent forwards a little as pain shot through her ribs. She didn't want to imagine the pain she'd be feeling tomorrow. Joy. "Why are we... why are we still here?"
"I hid you somewhere in the woods for about two hours. You know I can't take you back to the North. They'd kick you out for sure, not to mention Chapman would be there, too. More drama. So I had to wait and made sure that she already left the South before I brought you back here." Nicky patted Alex on the shoulder. "Your old room was already taken, but I'll ask Morello if she can take you in tonight." She looked up at the sky and frowned. "By the way, where's your flying girlfriend?"
"She… she was just here to drop me off." Alex grumbled as she tiredly moved towards the broken windows. Her black boots stepped onto the pieces of broken glass. She needed to find her glasses. "What happened to my stuff?"
"Packed. In my room. You didn't have much..." Nicky followed to stand next to Alex. "Hey, Vause."
Alex gradually looked up, puzzled at the soft tone from Nicky.
"I'm glad you're back."
Alex carefully straightened up. She managed only a small smirk since her face was hurt with cuts and bruises. "Yeah, it's good to be back."