She just needed rest…Just an hour of sleep…
It was a mantra that her body repeated as minutes turned to hours and the sun crossed the horizon in its endless retreat from the night.
While the deputy experienced a change of scenery from the fire station, her situation had not improved in the least.
After the truck arrived at the new destination, she was dragged out of the vehicle and pulled along to a new cell. When her blindfolds were removed, she found herself in a matching cage situated on another parking lot pad. The difference was, she wasn't alone. In the cages on either side were feral wolves who were equally, if not more so, disgruntled over their situation.
During the first day outside the large hotel, and the second under the 'care' of the Peggies, the wolf on her left anxiously paced from one end to another, hardly sparing her a glance unless she moved. Its grey coat was grimy, and tuffs were sticking out on the back of its legs, clearly still shedding the last of its undercoat for the summer heat. Overall, it looked thin, and it didn't help that it was trotting around for hours on end. The wolf on the opposite side paced, but it was a slow movement, its gaze watching her and the other canid with intense scrutiny.
Avery wasn't sure if the second wolf was more speculative or if it felt it was guarding its territory. It rarely paced on the other side of the cage, choosing to track along the bars that shared the deputy's prison, clearly unafraid of the threat she may or may not pose. She didn't bother to creep any closer toward either side, not willing to test her luck; she was fond of her limbs, even if they ached from the strain of being electrocuted.
Maybe if she let a wolf take a leg or two, the guards would show her enough pity to let her sleep.
Yeah, right.
It was early afternoon on the third day, and she had, thus far, managed to stay safe from the hose which meant she was dry. It was surprising, especially when she wasn't interrupted by guards escorting her into the hotel for more trials. A small blessing, one would think. But on the contrary, it was torturous to have nothing to do except encourage herself to keep her eyes open. Walking did little to help her stay awake and it made the first wolf even more nervous. Finding herself feeling pity for the creature, she tried to stay in one spot to limit its anxiousness.
Whatever they were doing with the wolves, they weren't getting any better treatment than her.
One bowl of water and food in the evening for them, and a glass of water for her.
Was the water a gracious offering or a precursor to the trials lasting longer than she expected?
Water was the most important resource she needed to survive. Sleep was second. The more water they gave, the longer they would keep other necessities from her. And if she continued without sleep, Avery would hit that inevitable wall where she was completely and utterly at the Peggies' mercy.
As it happened now, they still treated her with apprehension and allowed no crucial opening for her to exploit. Even the new face of the man that operated the trials still held the same professionalism and minimal discussion with her. And the doctor was no different, despite the car ride together. He never spoke to her or made any reaction that he even heard the sarcastic comment she would occasionally make.
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Avery glanced to the sky where the wind ushered the clouds across the vast, endless blue. The deputy hated idleness, sitting around uselessly when she could be helping Pratt. Waiting until there was an opportunity, or for the sake of preserving energy, was a bore that did nothing to help her mentality stay alert.
In the past two days and nights, Avery's thought process had greatly slowed to a crawl, and a new experience-or better yet-level of disorientation began to fog her mind. She found herself thinking of one thing, like if anyone found her trusty truck high on the forest service road, and then the thought drifted involuntarily to her trying to recover it from an edge of a cliff, in the recesses of a dark cave she never been in.
There was no rhyme or reason to it. And frankly, no control. It didn't matter that she never lived that experience; her mind was conjuring false realities with a mix of memory and dream.
It frightened her to realize her handling of the one thing that should remain free from influence was straying from her. In patches, she would lose her trail of thought and when she realized her imagination was running away, she found it had weaved some unexplainable fiction.
Was she hallucinating or was it a form of conscious dreaming? Could one start to dream while still awake?
A worrisome notion that came to her was that she was experiencing small blackouts associated with lack of sleep. God, she hoped not. That was happening ahead of schedule if it was the case.
Avery huffed out a sigh as she felt her head droop forward. Her entire body ached and felt burdensome. It took a great effort from her to sit upright. Occasionally, she felt that she was running on will power alone and had no fuel to keep awake. But that wasn't the case, she knew that. That gave her hope that she had some fight still.
The change of location to the hotel, and the wolves were not the only changes that Avery had experienced. The trials were beginning to differ ever so slightly the more she went. At first, it had proceeded as it had the times before; a PowerPoint presentation followed by injection of Bliss, music box playing its tune, and the electrocution switching on.
Now, the presentation was rather short, and the leather straps were replaced by loosely wrapped duct tape. Not only that, but she was graced with a lower dosage of Bliss and a delayed start to the electrocution each time the music started. Her muscles still burned and screamed, but she would take the small mercies as they came; in whatever form it appeared in.
She hated that she felt grateful for the easing of torment they allowed. The Peggies' didn't deserve her appreciation-not that she ever voiced it. Hell would have to freeze over before she openly made a positive comment to any of them. Any miniscule improvement she pondered on was only to herself to feed that strained hope and overworked will power.
But thinking on the new phases and location, she had not been able to find where Pratt was, and she was yet confronted by Jacob Seed.
To make matters more concerning was what the guards told her when she decided to press for answers.
_The day prior_
"You're not fooling anyone, I know you hear me," she chided through the bars that made up her caged door. One hand gripped the steel structure while the other was stuffed into her pocket. Avery's weight pressed to the bars, half propping her up as she fixed her guards with an impatient stare. "I'll just continue to be obnoxious if you insist on ignoring me."
The closest Peggy only shot her a warning look. "I bet it won't last if we spray you with the hose."
Avery merely shrugged dispassionately. "You'll be doing me a favor. It's been days since I've showered."
The man pulled a face. "That's disgusting."
"Well, you guys are to blame. It's not like I'm neglecting my hygiene by choice."
Neither guard had anything witty to respond with, but a frown pulled when they opted to not speak at all.
"Where's your boss?"
"What boss?"
Avery rolled her eyes. "Jacob Seed. The Herald of the North. You're employer. Tall man, red hair, kind of grumpy…."
The second guard snorted, a hint of humor in his tone. "Don't let him hear you say that."
The first guard, who had done most of the talking, scowled at his companion's comment but didn't offer any further insight.
"Hard to do that when I haven't seen him in a solid two weeks," Avery continued. "Is he around?"
"Obviously not if he isn't here."
"How do I go about getting an audience with him?
"A…what?"
"A meeting, a discussion… You know, seeing him?"
"Why would you want that?"
"For starters, to know why I'm here and being tortured for no reason."
"Yeah," the first man drawled out slowly, "that's not what's happening here."
"Really? It sure seems like it. If it's not, then what is it?"
"… Are you dumb?" the guard questioned; distrust evident in his furrowed brows.
Not liking the way he sneered at her, or the implication that he may actually believe she was stupid, she was about to argue her point when the second guard surprised them both and intervened.
"She isn't from here, remember? I bet she genuinely doesn't know."
"Your buddy's right. I don't."
The first guard was hardly convinced, though responded, nonetheless. "These are obviously trials. Not mindless torture exercises."
The second guard snorted. "Ha, funny pun."
Avery was only more confused. "Right… But what are the trials exactly? I get what goes into it, but what's the point?"
Neither man answered, though the exchange in glances didn't hold hidden meaning; rather, it was more of a warning for the other to not say anything.
Sighing, Avery brought her other hand out of her pocket and gripped another bar to help hold her up. "Fine, I get it. You can't say. Then tell me where Jacob is. I figured he'd be here."
"You think he'd be here at the hotel? Your intel is worse than I thought."
The second guard chimed in once more, "Then again, it's Eli we're talking about. He doesn't know everything despite what his followers think."
"True," the first man chuckled. "He's an idiot for thinking he stands a chance against us. What's worse are the people who believe him."
"Alright, but I'm not with Eli," Avery explained, finding it curious they thought she was.
"That's a shocker. Figured he's the one that sent you in the first place."
"I only got here a week ago. To be honest, I think it's because it was only me and one other person that I was taken so easily…"
"It wasn't because you were outnumbered. You'd have been caught either way, if that's what Brother Jacob wanted."
"Evidently, I'm here so there's some truth to that… so where is he?"
"Just drop it, woman. You won't get your answers from us."
"Why?"
"Because if he wanted to see you, he would," the guard snapped, patience waning thin from her insistent inquisition.
Sensing she was pushing too hard, she tried to redirect her prodding for information to a less direct demand. On either side, her hands dragged down the bars and she turned so her shoulder leaned against the door. Avery could feel her head drop a little, so she eased her temple against the cool steel and her arms came up to cross over her chest.
Despite the conversation the guards humored her with, it did little to chase away her exhaustion. Each question and thought felt like it was an enormous effort to bind words together. Even enunciating the letters or speaking at a regular pace took immense concentration.
"When I came here," she began, not really having a point to her spewed speech aside from staying awake, "to Hope County with my team, we only came to arrest the Father."
When neither insults nor mocking followed, she resumed.
"Of course, we knew he had a devoted following, but the raging, pitchforked riot we were met with was unexpected. You guys should know, the way you acted was how I'd imagine a zombie apocalypse being. Completely out of control."
"Tsh you just learned the hard way not to mess with the Project. Bet you won't make that mistake again."
"Was it worth it?" Unphased by their bravado as if they were merely talking trash about another's favorite football team. Avery leveled them with an imploring gaze. "Were the lives that were lost when people jumped on the helicopter and died in the crash worth it, in the end? Especially, when the Officers you were trying to stop, all survived?"
The boldness emanating from the guards were dampened slightly, replaced by a rising defensive glare.
Sensing she was treading into waters that would turn them away, she looked elsewhere and half-shrugged. Despite wanting to have a philosophical debate over morals and beliefs, she wasn't interested in the guards shutting down the conversation entirely. She got the impression that they would not take kindly to someone questioning their stance.
"We never intended to have anyone get hurt," she persisted. "Sure, we were arresting Joseph, but I didn't expect the charges to stick for long. A man like that always has a loophole to worm his way through. Had the Project allowed us to take him in, I suspect he would have been back in the county before the week was through."
"And you're telling us this, why?"
"Partially, to just have a conversation. The other half, because I want you to understand that actions have consequences, no matter what side you're on."
"You're barking up the wrong tree with that nonsense. The followers that died that night were loyal and sacrificed themselves for the cause. It wasn't a waste or a consequence if it protected the Father."
Avery's eyes narrowed a fraction but she, otherwise, remained unmoved. The devotion to the cult was strong if they didn't consider needless deaths a consequence of rash actions.
"My argument still stands. We never asked to get involved to the degree we've been subjected to. Letting us leave would have resulted in your cult leader returning and no lives lost. Instead, your actions have caused death, not only on that night, but the months since."
The glare the first guard fixed her with was scorching, even under the summer rays that reflected from the blistering asphalt.
"Don't put that responsibility on us. That burden falls on your shoulders, Deputy," he spat out mockingly. "Serve and protect, my ass. You've killed the citizens you swore to keep safe, and instead of upholding the peace, you've nurtured war."
"I don't share that opinion…" she retorted as calmly as she could. While exhaustion weighed on her, there was a modest jump in energy levels from the indignation of his mocking. The unsavory insults in his response left her feeling attacked and ridiculed, especially as he laid all blame at her feet. "In fact, I'd say I did my damnedest to remain professional, but it was your cult that pushed me to a situation to take lives."
"Oh, so it was our fault? That's your story? Fucking ridiculous!"
"I just wanted my team back. I wasn't going out of my way to attack your buddies."
"Bull shit! You want to talk about actions having consequences and jumping the gun—well, look at your own shit before you tell us how ours stinks. You never once tried to listen to what our cause was about or gave us the freedom to practice and prepare like we're entitled to. Instead, you didn't agree, so instead of listening, you persecuted. All of you sinners chose your side and cried when you were treated justly. At least one of you were smart enough to see the truth and convert."
As the words landed their hits, the growing fury she felt was extinguished at his final blow. Blinking, she straightened her posture and faced him fully. "What do you mean 'one of us converted'?"
To her right, the second guard spoke up, still modulated and controlled throughout listening to the strife.
"Your fellow officer, Pratt. He saw the truth of what the Project is and has joined us."
The words struck her deep in her chest. The latent beating of her heart jolted hard enough to spark an unexpected pain through the center of the diaphragm at the implications she was hearing.
That could not be true. Staci Pratt cursed the Project vehemently for their crazed ideals and morbid practices. He was one of the last she expected to give in so willingly. Of the team that was fractured, Staci had the most positive outlook and was compassionate to those who needed help. She could remember the many times he stopped to help people with car problems on the side of the road, even when it was the end of his shift and he was supposed to report back. All those times when he shrugged at not getting paid overtime for it and said he was just doing his job.
For him to turn his back on his team and join a cult that harmed and killed and stole from innocent people in the county was not like him. It was not him.
"I didn't take you guys as blatant liars," Avery quipped, her glare still firm and unmoving at the audacity of the men before her. "Staci was imprisoned by Jacob and, if I had to bet, has been tortured since then."
The first man barked out a laugh in her face. "Pratt's not a victim. He's one of us. I can't believe you don't know your own teammate to realize he'd convert willingly to our cause."
"That's not true."
"Yes, it is, Deputy. Even if he wasn't, do you actually think anyone would survive the trials for months at a time? You're lucky if you make it through three weeks."
"He was tortured. If he says he's converted than it was just because of the pain being inflicted," she dimly defended, but still held firm internally that they were lying to her.
"He wasn't tortured. Punished occasionally, but never tortured. Not anything like what you're going through." The man grinned wickedly, savoring the anger and doubt that was rooting in Avery. "Do you want to know something else? He always follows Brother Jacob around, toiling over whatever tasks our boss tells him to do. Talk about devoted, that man makes sure jobs are done to standard. Sometimes makes the rest of us look bad."
Avery clenched her jaw, feeling the muscles bunch. She tried to let the words flow through her, living in denial that any of it could be true. In the off chance it was, they gave her a piece of vital information.
"Then where is he? If him and Jacob are around each other, then where are they?"
If she found Jacob, Pratt would be close by…
"No clue actually. Probably in the compound he's usually at."
"Which is where?"
The grinned only grew, making her wish she could reach through the bars and remove it.
"Not going to tell you."
Of course, he wouldn't. The guards weren't stupid, though she had hoped they'd be cocky enough to let more key information slip. Apparently, Jacob had instilled solid lessons in the common 'loose lip sink ships' mantra.
Fucking piece of shit—that brazen bastard, she cursed internally, feeling her eye twitch as she attempted to hide how bothered she was. But judging by the mocking humor that dripped from the guards' appearances, she knew her masque was nonexistent.
A pounding in her temple warned that her headache was well on its way to return. That promised further misery through the day between trials. Hopefully, it wouldn't morph to a migraine after the Bliss was injected into her system later.
Opting for one more attempt for answers, she took a breath and faced the pretentious man closest to her.
"You mentioned how I failed to listen to your cause and see your point of view. Well, help me with that. Let me hear what Jacob has to say to see if I can come to terms, as Staci has done."
The grin that shone through the man's stubble began to shrink as he mulled over her statement. Avery didn't let her expression change as she waited impatiently for him to decide on the validity of her words or the following steps. It was a solid contention, and she was surprised with herself to pluck out his argument and turn it back on him so cleanly in her current state.
It was a disguised olive-branch. A small conceding to the battle to earn entry to the enemy's general. A meeting, with the possibility of a victory to the man who held her life in his hands. It was appeasing, no doubt, to have the Deputy be willing to change loyalties after weeks of dispute—
"Not happening."
Avery blinked, not expecting the stark rejection.
"And why not?"
At the look of her bewilderment, he chuckled. "You're not done with your trials. Survive those, and then you'll get your chance."
"But I'm willing to discuss it now."
"You're still a liability. Once we get the safety net installed, you'll get your chance to convert."
_Present_
After the disheartening discussion, Avery could only feel her miniscule energy ebbing away. Especially, the longer she pondered on the haunting promise that Staci was not held against his will. Her anger had dwindled all too quickly, leaving her feeling hollow and cold despite the third day of summer sun beating down. Doubt spread contagiously through the hours, crippling her confidence a little more as each minute passed. It cunningly weaved new hallucinations of Staci showing up to guard her cell with the same cold indifference as all the others had been.
The following trials didn't help either. In fact, there was a strange shift once the music started, and her muscles instinctively tightened in anticipation of what was to come. But in the lull, between the music and electricity starting, in that pocket of delay, her vision began to turn red. She thought it was the lighting of the room that changed, and maybe it was. But what followed was this indescribable slipping of her consciousness, not like blacking out. It was as if her mind and body was beginning to split and her mental state was sinking into a dark abyss, while her piercing screams for help lodged in her throat.
Shaking her head, she guessed it had something to do with the lack of sleep. Perhaps her hallucinations were following her in the trials and the stress after hearing about Pratt amplified it. Hearing he had changed sides could have had some unforeseen side effects in her fatigued state.
What if it was true? What if he didn't want her to save him? What if he really had chosen to serve Jacob instead of coming back to her, Hudson, and Whitehorse?
If she got free, would she leave the region and return to her team? Would Whitehorse be able to honor Pratt's wishes and leave the county without him?
Would she be able to?
Relentlessly, the questions continued to bombard her, never giving way to the answer she sought. If what the guards said was true, then what Pastor Jerome, Dutch, and others had warned was proving valid. That she was too late. For the first time since she started her mission to retrieve her team, Avery felt completely and inescapably lost.
As Avery sat in the center of her cage, hands lifelessly in her lap, her slouched spine resting between the bars in the back as the only thing holding her up; she remained unmoving.
Her once iron-strong will felt fickle like granules of sand. The goliath, that the Project posed as, was unrelenting and brutal at every turn until they finally succeeded in taking away one of her trusted teammates.
As harsh as it sounded to her ears, the Seeds gaining Staci's loyalty was worse than if they had taken his life. At least then she could walk away with acceptance. But because they hadn't, there was a small victory that they would forever hold over the Deputy.
Even if she left with the remaining team and they called the National Guard or moved on from the events as if it never happened, it would eat at her for the rest of her life.
Once again, she lost a teammate.
She failed.
After all, that was what she did best. Failed to protect the people she cared about.
Hot tears burned the rims of her eyelids and the pounding in her temples only intensified, never easing since the conversation the day prior. The ache had extended into her neck and shoulders, leaving her to wallow in complete misery as her treacherous mind conjured memories of Michael and Tango.
After the three trials that followed that day, her emotions had remained numb as she processed the information. She had dissociated from the topic until it started to mount and build into the hard wall of truth that she mentally shied away from: That people close to her were taken away while she continued to survive.
What right did she have to still be here? What right did she have to keep fighting when she didn't even know what she was fighting for?
Tears streamed down her face. She didn't bother wiping them away. That took too much effort, mentally and physically. In her current crushed state, she couldn't even muster the strength to not give the Peggies the satisfaction of seeing her break down.
At least she wasn't sobbing.
Not that she had the energy.
Avery didn't know how long she sat there, wallowing in the possibility that the guards were telling the truth. Eventually, the tears stopped streaming but the pounding in her head remained. The sun was creeping lower in the sky, following its usual decent as it had the days prior.
To her left, the wolf had since stopped its unnerved pacing. Instead, he would sit at the back of the cage and watch. She could move a little more freely before the wolf started to grow uneasy, but overall, it was adapting to its situation. When it did start to pace, it was usually around dusk, when the guards would bring the bowl of food and water.
Avery tilted her head back against the bars, letting her gaze at the sky distract her.
She needed to get out and find her answers. She needed to find Pratt more than ever. Only then would she be capable of planning the next steps.
Silent promises were made, while her doubt morphed to determination. What the guards said didn't change anything. Only Staci refusing to come with her would, and she didn't believe that would be the case, even if he temporarily switched sides.
She could still save him. He wasn't gone like her other teammates… He was still alive.
The more she came to terms with her situation, the more weight lifted from her chest. Each breath brought with it the sense of calm and clarity that grounded her. Even as the guards checked their watches, and turned to unlock her door, she just stared at the clouds, wondering how much longer this would go on for before she could make her move.
Until then, she would continue to adapt.
0*0*0*0*
It was working.
After the careful planning, constant vigilance, and steady monitoring, the Deputy had started to show signs of the conditioning taking. Not only was it breaking her self-control down substantially quicker, but it proved that the process could be evolved to counter time. Not that he would ever need to repeat the method again, but it was a scientific breakthrough that he managed in the mountains of Montana.
Him, of all people.
And just in time, seeing as Eli was heading their way.
Currently taking place was the last trial he had scheduled for the day, and depending on how successful it was, he'd decide what would happen from there. It was looking like they were on track for Eli to come to her rescue, while remaining oblivious to his success of twisting the Deputy's will.
A triumphant grin split the auburn growth of his short beard.
Jacob stood in the shadows and watched his creation take form. The manager of the hotel compound was breezing through the slides effortlessly since their arrival. It was impressive how prepared he was to adjust to Jacob's requirements when they arrived unannounced in the early hours of dawn.
The doctor had remained diligent as ever, prepared to step in if she showed signs of shock. The handful of trials that day were more strenuous than they were previously. Avery's condition had maintained a steady decline until nearly 18 hours ago, when the guards noticed she was startling herself, jumping at shadows that only she could see.
One mentioned it was likely from the lack of rest, but Jacob knew it was combination of no food, minimal water, and no sleep that created a cascading effect on her physically. The cold nights, frigid water, and warmer days took a toll on her body as it wrung out fluids from her muscles and organs, while burned needless calories to keep her core temperature balanced. Avery's health was degrading rapidly as if everything simultaneously hit a wall.
That was all the more reason for him to ensure that the conditioning was infusing deep in her conscious before he could let up. If they stopped now, or if Eli came for her too early, then all the work could become unraveled. Jacob was on the cusp of success, and he'd be damned if he let something interfere.
In order to succeed, he had to meticulously balance each trial to gauge how hard to push and when to let up, so as not to break her delicate state-of-mind.
Consequently, his grin fell, and he refocused on the task at hand.
He couldn't afford to become distracted now.
From the shadows he hid in, the last of the slides flickered across the wall. During the session, Avery had remained uncharacteristically silent. No rude commentary, no challenge to the others, no distasteful insults, no demand to know where Jacob or Pratt were.
He had not expected that to bother him as much as it did.
It was then that Jacob was almost tempted to reveal himself, just to get some reaction from her. But he refrained, knowing that her staying naïve was important to the success of tricking Eli.
So, he remained where he was, even as he watched the follower orchestrating the trial pick up the music box and wind it up. Avery braced in the chair, an audible noise coming from her throat as she readied for the onslaught to come.
Jacob quietly unsheathed his knife as he carefully stepped to the back of her chair. The man in front of her never acknowledged him, as planned, even as he opened the wooden box and the familiar tune rang into the silence between them.
Avery jolted in the chair, her spine going rigid. Bringing the blade under the arms of the chair, he sliced the duct tape followed by the ones around her ankles and neck. She never even noticed. Taking the risk to look at her, he saw her eyes were clenched as she gritted her teeth against the onslaught of her control slipping.
The follower reached for the switch that operated the tazing unit, but halted when Jacob made a motion to wait. Both men turned their attention back to Avery who started to tremble as her body teetered on obedience. Whose obedience was not yet determined.
Perhaps, she needed a nudge.
As his gaze locked with the follower's, he nodded his head toward her. Understanding what was expected, the man was about to utter the order that acted as the trigger, when she suddenly stood to her feet.
Jacob took a half step back, prepared to lash out or retreat into the shadows to maintain his cover. But Avery only stumbled forward, as if drunk and disorientated, a hand going out to the side to catch the edge of the table for balance. The sudden movement caused her hand to hit the projector where it crashed to the ground, the light flipping right into her face, momentarily blinding her.
Avery brought an arm up to save her sight, but it was too late, and her control was partially nonexistent. Her body was almost moving on its own, like a puppet at the end of fishing lines. Eventually, it became too much, and she stumbled to her knees, panting as she battled for the power over her limbs before she succumbed to unconsciousness and crumpled in a heap.
Jacob was quickly at her side beating the doctor who knelt on the opposite side. Expertly, the doctor began searching for a pulse before dropping into routine of checking her vitals. As tension mounted in the ever-growing silence, the doctor met Jacob's inquiry with a reassuring nod.
"She's alright. Looks like the strain overwhelmed her. I suggest we ease up a little or this may become the closest we get to succeeding."
The follower approached cautiously, standing over Jacob who pondered what the doctor advised. Hesitantly, the follower questioned, "What was that? Was she trying to escape?"
"If I had to guess," the doctor answered, "the conditioning took hold, but she didn't have an order to complete."
"Why didn't she just stay seated then?"
"Because," Jacob started, "Mason's brain was trying to command her limbs while her mentality was fighting for control. One contradicted the other. I think if we had a trigger or order for her, she wouldn't have floundered." He looked to the doctor. "I'm pleased with this milestone. We'll hold off and see what happens tomorrow."
Motioning to the follower, he went out of the room and called for the guards to retrieve Avery. Both men entered soberly, probably hearing the crash and knowing that something happened for the session to end so abruptly. As each man grabbed her arms, Jacob stood to his full height and halted them before they could exit the room.
"The Deputy can get some rest for the night. Make sure her door is locked and have the usual evening patrol. The shifts can resume as scheduled tomorrow at 6am."
"Yes, sir."
"Understood."
The men continued out the door and the doctor began to gather his supplies.
"Should we put away the electricity machine?"
Jacob, who's attention was still on the door, smirked. "Yeah. I don't think we'll be needing it anymore."
0*0*0*0*
The first thing that Avery saw when she came to was the twinkling of stars between the bars of her cage. There were no clouds in sight, all blown away from the persistent wind that excited the trees around the compound.
Groaning, Avery rolled to the side before sitting up, a hand coming to cover her right eye. The ponding was unyielding, and a hiss escaped her when the movement only increased the agony.
"Son of a bitch," she cursed under her breath.
Movement across from her pulled her focus towards the blurs shifting beyond the door. Still holding her hand over her right eye, she blinked until her vision cleared and the blurs sharpened to reveal the guards. They were chatting animatedly to each other as one rolled the hose up, as if putting it to bed.
Then her gaze dropped to the ground where she saw the familiar glass of water waiting for her.
It seemed like miles away.
Swallowing took effort which only acted as motivation to make her way to the glass. Clambering to her feet, she faltered before catching herself. A wave of nausea washed over her, and she pitched forward as her hands landed on her knees. Gritting her teeth, Avery sucked in air, knowing that vomiting any fluids would cause more problems to her stressed body. She continued to remain where she was, gathering air into her lungs until the queasiness subsided.
What the hell was that?
Did that come from the trial or was her body reacting from being pushed too far?
Again, her gaze returned to the glass of water. The importance of that insignificant amount took on the form of a lifeline to her depleted mind. Gathering herself up, Avery carefully walked to the door until she reached her destination. Sinking to her knees, ignoring the pain that jolted from the impact, Avery picked up the glass with shaky hands and took two mouthfuls of water.
The cold liquid soothed her throat and she swore she felt the liquid hit her gut. It had a revitalizing power that she knew would be short-lived. Turning around, she kicked her feet out in front of her and propped herself against the bars.
The shuffling of the guards behind her was only white noise that she couldn't be bothered with.
What happened during the trial?
Recalling the events, she remembered sitting in the hotel room as the blond follower paced around in front and repeated his speech of culling the herd. It was the same spiel she heard before, the delivery falling flat to her ears. The gruesome pictures flickered from one image to another until he pulled out the music box. When the melody started to play, her vision became tainted as if someone threw on a red light to illuminate the room and her body braced for the pain. But…
She closed her eyes, trying to understand what followed.
Everything went black and the chorus of the song seemed frozen on a single note until… nothing.
A hand unconsciously came to her neck, not feeling any new pain. Did they inject the Bliss somewhere else?
"I must be losing it. I just need sleep…"
Behind her, the rearranging stopped and the discussions became mute. Turning her head to peer over her shoulder, she realized the guards were nowhere in sight. Strange…
What did that mean? Would she be able to sleep after all?
The wind rustled through the bars, brushing over her bare arms. A shiver racked her body and she curled her knees into her. For the next 20 minutes, Avery alternated between sipping water and huddling to keep warm. When the glass was long emptied, and the guards not yet returned, Avery gave in to the urge and laid on her side, making sure to put distance between her and the walls while she faced the door. Not that it would provide a benefit for her if someone did come in. She was in every sense of the word vulnerable whether awake or not.
Still, she curled into herself and felt her eyelids grow heavy until slow blinks resulted in her lashes finally resting against her cheeks. She was drifting into slumber, for once not caring for the consequences that would come. The guards were gone, the hose neatly stowed away. Her body was in dire need of some miniscule amount of sleep, regardless of when the guards returned.
Blank, emptiness feathered her mind until it finally consumed it.
That was, until something tickled her, just enough to stay off the welcoming slumber. She knew some amount of time had passed as she hadn't fully dipped into REM cycle. A weight covered her body, a scratchy wool prickling the dry skin of her arms. Thinking it was all a dream prevented her from opening her eyes. A hose did not offer that sort of comfort, so it couldn't be from reality.
But as the creaking of the cage door closed, it roused her enough to crack her eyes open. A blurry figured faced the door, locking it as they stared at her for a lingering few seconds. Then, the figure turned and walked away. Blinking slowly, her vision focused, just enough to make out a button up with folded sleeves, and denim pants rolled messily over and in the tops of coyote brown boots.
What a strange hallucination, Avery mused as her exposed hand burrowed into the blanket wrapped over her. I figured I'd imagine Staci before Jacob…
Then, for the first time in half a week, Avery dipped into slumber where dreams and hallucinations could not reach her.
0*0*0*0*
The next day came quickly. The vast darkness overhead was illuminating leisurely as the sun prepared to crest the mountain range. The compound was stirring awake as new shifts took over and tasks for the day started.
It was the birds that awoke Avery from her shortened sleep. Wrens and sparrows sang their morning rituals along the trees and shrubs nearby, inconsiderate of the grumbling Deputy who just wanted silence.
"Shut-up, damn birds," she complained, pulling the blanket over her head. Unfortunately, the act did the opposite of blocking out the world around her as she realized what was cocooning her.
Sitting up, Avery brought a hand to her face to wipe the sleep from the corner of her eyes before gazing at the blanket across her lap. The material was thick wool, mostly beige with bold stripes of different sizes of red, navy blue, and yellow stretching across it.
The blanket was real…
Bringing a hand to her temple, she tried to recall the person that brought it but even that was too hazy for her to recall. Whoever it was, she was grateful. So much so, that she would even say her thanks out loud.
Across from her, one new guard approached her cage, reflecting his evaluation on her as she did the same. Once he reached the door, he turned his back and sat on the stool.
Finding it odd that there was only one guard, Avery pondered if she would be allowed to go back to sleep. Her mind was feeling pleasantly sharper, despite the pain that still persisted in her temple.
"Are you not going to eat?" the guard questioned as he peered at her from over his shoulder.
Furrowing her brows, Avery wasn't sure if she heard right. "What?"
"Your food," he pointed to the side of the door where a plate sat untouched, "is going to get cold if you don't eat it."
Sure enough, near the feet of the bars was a paper plate filled with eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon. Next to it, even more surprising, if possible, was a glass of orange juice. Avery flipped the edge of the blanket off of her and stood to her feet. What she expected to feel was relief, but it was drowned out by a wave of suspicion.
Cautiously, half expecting it to be a dream instead of reality, she approached the plate. Shifting her gaze to the follower, he didn't seem offended by her hesitation. As she reached the food, her distrustful gaze remained as she toyed with the options of why there was a change in treatment.
While she expected the torture to give way eventually, she didn't figure it would be as drastic. Maybe a meal here, a few hours of sleep there. But it seemed she was getting some major improvements to her living arrangements if she was getting nearly a hotel meal.
Fucking 5-star treatment now.
But why?
Again, her thoughts drifted to the night prior, something screaming at her, telling her that she was overlooking an important detail. But the answer remained hidden, no matter how hard she shifted through the events, hoping that one would spark the trail to the evidence she craved.
The smell of the food was enticing and watching as the steam rose into the air made it all the more appealing. Yet, for some reason she got the impression it was offered as a last meal. Like someone on death row would be graced with before being strapped to a table and put to sleep like a dog.
"It's not poisoned," the guard reassured. "I'll take a bite if it makes you feel better."
Avery's suspicion turned onto him. The man looked to be near her age with cleanly groomed dusky hair and kind eyes. He didn't seem bothered by her apprehension and offered a careful smile.
"Why are you trying to be nice?"
"I'm not trying anything. I'm genuinely offering. Personally, I already had a big breakfast, but I'm willing to eat a little more if it eases your concerns."
"Did you prepare it?"
"Eh, no. I didn't."
"Then how do you know it's not laced with something?"
At that, he chuckled. "What would it be laced with that you haven't already experienced? If they were going to kill you, they'd had done it a long time ago."
Seeing as he had a point eased her worry, but only slightly. Looking back at the food made her realize that her stomach felt like it was touching her spine. Reluctantly, she gave in. What surprised both her and the guard though was that, instead of taking the food back to the center of the cage, she plopped down right there to eat.
"So, how does one go about pissing off the Seeds so bad that you're treated this way?" the guard teased as she took slow bites.
"Burn down a few facilities, break some of their toys, and burn down a 'YES' sign… Why do you ask?"
The man grinned. "To make sure I don't end up where you're at."
Despite her distrust, Avery smiled. The following ten minutes, she slowly ate the food, sticking to mostly the hashbrowns before picking at the eggs and bacon. She just wanted to eat enough that her body wouldn't reject the food and actually keep it down. She knew that too much protein would agitate her stomach and even make her sick.
After a while, the guard introduced himself as Marcus and went on to talk about the weather. He was a pleasant change from the others before. It turned out he was an avid birder as well, and was thrilled to name the different birds that chirped from the trees.
Unluckily for Avery, the refreshing change of pace gave way to routine as two new faces showed up, talking about it being time for her next trial.
After a brief scuttle of resistance, the men dragged her back into the hotel room where she was strapped down to the chair once more. It was then, as she looked toward the slideshow that Avery realized something was different. On either side of the projection were two other people, resistance members, who were bound to similar chairs. Unlike her, they had tape covering their mouths and mumbled incoherently at nothing but the wall they faced. Shortly after realizing the change, the familiar face of the blond came in and started to proceed through the presentation.
The slides were the same, so was the speech. But there was more that tugged at her worry than the presence of the two fellow prisoners. For starters, the electrocuting machine was not situated close by, and the doctor's usual gear was nowhere in sight.
Was the trial process evolving? Was she in for a different string of torture?
Soon enough, her questions were answered as the blond stepped to the table and turned on, not a music box, but a stereo. The click of the button was followed by the familiar music as the voice sang out "Only you" through the hollowed room.
Avery's body racked against the metal chair and, once more, everything bled red. The walls, the follower, the two tortured resilience members. Everything swathed in crimson until blackness consumed her, swallowing with it her entire being until only music echoed in the vast emptiness.
0*0*0*0*
She didn't know how long she drifted in the void. It seemed like ages. Significantly longer than her earlier sessions of blackouts and disorientation. The music continued as if forever on repeat, or maybe she was stuck in an infinite time loop.
The thought doused her with fear.
Whatever debilitating state she was in, Avery had enough awareness to urge herself awake.
I'm dreaming, it's not real. Just wake up.
Her body remained disobedient.
Avery wanted to scream. She had to get out—there had to be a way.
But the longer she floated aimlessly in darkness, the more concerned she grew. A haunting possibility whispered to her frazzled mind that she was bound to purgatory.
What a ridiculous thought. She wasn't dead.
Or at least, she hoped she wasn't.
Perhaps, she was in a coma. The strain was likely too much, and this was her body's way of shutting down until it recovered.
That likelihood didn't leave her any more relieved at her predicament.
Let me out!
The melody continued, uninterrupted or bothered by its belligerent host.
You know our heroes used to be Gods….
The foreign words, spoken from a voice that did not belong to the blond follower, pierced through the emptiness and music; echoing and reverberating off the unseen walls that surrounded her.
Avery felt something jolt through her, the way prey stills when it senses its being watched. The fear reeled and spiked as a shift in the darkness alerted her to a presence. Despite all of her will and strength that urged her to do something, she was rendered powerless. Like a declawed animal, muzzled and caged. All Avery could do was brace for the inevitable.
But just when she thought the being in the shadows would reveal itself, an invisible tug nudged her. More voices broke through the void atrium, echoing off the ceiling, at first mumbled and unclear. As she reached out to the sound, the darkness began to recede only to reveal a faint light.
Avery let out a shaky breath, every fiber of her being focusing on the light that threatened to be swallowed whole again.
More voices broke through, strengthening her grip until Avery realized she was no longer moving.
Instead, the white brightness filtered through her vision as a figure shifted their weight along the wall. Blinking, she realized she was awake, no longer bound to the recesses of unconsciousness. Her nightmarish dream was over.
Or was it?
As Avery's vision sharpened and the black splotches receded, she realized that she was not in the cage. The world was shifted on its side, as was apparent as two more men trotted into the room from the side. Avery swallowed her saliva, trying to blink away the confusion. The music still played from the stereo overhead.
"What a mess," a man observed, sickened by what he was seeing. Avery tried to place the voice, wondering if it was one of her guards who came to take her back. "Wheaty, check those chairs."
The first man that entered started to make his way to the table above her until he was out of her line of sight. "Jesus, the smell in here…"
The man who remained in front of her lowered his bow as he observed the room, keen eyes taking in the details and clues laid before him "They've been stewin' in their own filth for days, I bet. Walker, get some windows open."
"Y-y-y-yes, sir."
"And someone shut that music off."
What… who… Avery's mind sputtered, trying to understand what was happening. The clothes the strangers wore were missing the painted cross that followers wore and instead were mixed with drab colors ideal for blending into the environment.
Before she could make sense of her situation, a young man jumped in front of her. A pair of long dark braids draped over his shoulders as he wore a backwards ballcap. He looked like he was in his late teens or early twenties, the youngest next to Liam. The stranger's attention was not on her however, as he knelt down to a mass of clothes directly in front of her. As the kid turned the hat over, Avery realized the clothes clung to a corpse of a man. Blood streaked down his face, but he moved easily to the touch, telling her he hadn't been dead for long.
The music was shut off, making every sound the newcomers made loud and clear.
"Christ… It's Sully," the young man announced, disheartened. "When did they even get him?"
The older man that stood in the center of the room with his bow, didn't acknowledge that he heard. Instead, he approached a chair with a woman strapped to that had been tipped over. It was then that Avery was able to distinguish more details from the room.
It looked like a frantic battle took place. A few bodies, not in there before she lost consciousness, were strewn on the ground. Two others, aside from herself, were bound to chairs that had tipped over. Blood splattered across the floor caused by deep wounds instead of arterial splatter.
The young man in front of her jumped to his feet, obviously spooked at the carnage around him. "Why are we even bothering with this? They're all dead."
The man in charge reached down to check the woman's pulse before snapping at the kid. "Check them anyways. We have to be sure."
Pouting, the young man gathered his nerve, and spun to the next victim, ready to get it over with so he could leave. Not caring if his leader heard him, he grumbling insolently, "Why am I always stuck on corpse duty?"
It took a second for Avery to recognize that the next victim he chose to check was her. It wasn't until his feet stopped in front and he bent down to lift her chair up, that she realized she wasn't just some fly on the wall.
Blinking, she lifted her head enough to look at him, which she instantly regretted.
"Holy shit!" The kid released her chair, causing the collision back to the ground to send a jolt of pain down her neck. Avery groaned as the wind escaped her chest and barely registered that the kid had fallen over himself in shock.
The stunt instantly drew the attention of the two other men in the room and the one in charge started his way over. "What?"
"Oh, fuck," the kid managed, not able to form the words. Luckily, he didn't need to as the one in charge focused on her.
"Live one," he announced. He set his bow down and knelt down to grab her chair. "Walker! Go get the truck!"
"Y-y-yes, sir," Walker stuttered before he disappeared.
Avery worked to swallow, her mouth feeling extremely parched. The kid entered her line of sight and offered an apologetic grimace.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry…"
The boss lightly pushed him out of the way as he braced to lift her chair up. "Give me a hand, kid."
Together they righted her up, and she felt the blood rush through her head from sudden vertigo.
"Eli… is this…"
The man named Eli pulled out a blade, not at all surprised with what he saw.
"Yep," was his short reply.
Normally, Avery would have baulked at a stranger holding a knife while she was tied to a chair, but her only concern was if she heard correctly. Did he say 'Eli'?
"What the fuck is the Deputy doing here?" the kid asked, the panic in his voice doing little for Avery's frayed nerves.
Eli began to cut away her bindings. "Jacob took a shine to her, same as us."
She had so many questions, so many things she wanted to say. But the words couldn't form. Despite her being conscious, her energy levels felt like they were burning on fumes. That couldn't be right. She had a breakfast and a night of sleep… Just how long was she in that room?
Fatigue gnawed at her, and she recognized that any answers she sought would not be gained yet.
A firm, iron-like grip wrapped around her upper arm, stirring her focus back to Eli. "You're gonna be ok, Hero. Whitetail's got you now."
Both him and the kid hauled her out of the chair where she tried to gather her feet under her. But her strength was waning and control a fickle thing. She felt her body drop, though the two men braced against her collapse and readjusted their hold. She wanted to offer an apology, because a hero wouldn't be so useless. Sadly, the jokes would have to wait.
Together, the men carried her out the room, where the man, Walker, was waiting.
"We're bringing her back to the Wolf's Den?"
"Where else?" Eli replied. Avery's vision began to blur again, her body growing heavier at each step.
"Tammy's not going to like this…"
"Don't worry about Tammy. She'll be fine."
And shortly after she fell into silent unconsciousness.
Hi, my lovely readers!
Hope you're still tagging along for the adventure as things start to take a turn for the worse. Or better depending on what side you're on.
I'm hoping next chapter I can get to an official meeting between Avery and Jacob, but I don't want to rush into it either. Fortunately, if it isn't in the next chapter, then it will be the one after.
And what is happening? All these chapters coming out so quickly together? I'm a little proud of myself, I admit.
Thanks again for the follows and faves! They mean a lot, as do the comments!
Until next time, take care and hope the weather is nicer where you're at!