Disclaimer: You know the rules.
AN: This is a sequel to xTallyxPennyx's story 'Your Star'
AN2: The girls are around sixteen in that fic for reasons that will become clear.
It had been five days. Five days of waiting. Five days of desperately trying to find weaknesses in their cells. Five days of trying to find a secret way out. Five days of planning. Five days of trying to avoid losing hope.
And five days since their former leader Will had informed them of their fate.
A sense of despondency had settled over the prison and the four girls sentenced to death. Irma slept and dreamt of better times, Taranee paced like a caged animal, Cornelia railed against the world, screaming and shouting for as long as she could and Hay Lin drew with a listlessness that her friends on Earth would hardly credit.
"Who do you think she'll kill first?" Irma asked as she woke up from her latest nap and Taranee glared at her, while Hay Lin simply looked sick.
"She's not going to kill us!" Taranee snapped. "We're going to get out of here. Together!"
There was a mocking laughter from the guards and one of them leaned forward.
"You aren't going anywhere little girl," one of them said mockingly and he leered at Taranee. "But you can always put on a show."
"Put on a show?" Taranee asked puzzled and a look of realization crossed Cornelia's face.
"He wants us to do a strip show," she said with a look of contempt, before pulling herself up to her full height. "I don't know who you think you're dealing with, but I am Cornelia Hale and I'm better than that."
"That's disgusting!" Taranee exclaimed. "What do you think we are?"
"What do I think you are?" the guard replied with a smirk. "I think you're a yapping little prisoner who's going to die. Painfully. But perhaps you could persuade us to make your final days a bit easier."
"I see the quality of Phobos's guards is obviously low. You must be a very sexually frustrated bunch," Irma added sardonically and the guard coloured.
"How dare you? I hope you take your time dying!" he snapped and began to turn away when Hay Lin finally spoke.
"Wait!" she called out and the guard stopped. Hay Lin swallowed and licked her lips momentarily. She wasn't particularly adept at lying and she really hoped the others would follow her lead without question. "Wait. My friend simply meant that we don't perform just strip shows when you could have a better show. A much better show."
The guard looked at her curiously and she was sure that some of the others were giving her odd looks as well. Hay Lin pressed on, ignoring their looks. If this worked, it would give them time together. It hurt being so close to her friends and yet kept so far.
"I mean, why settle for just a strip show when you can watch something far better? Something like…" she paused for a moment, her eyes glittering. It was a bit like persuading people to come to the restaurant really. She just had to sell the idea. "Something like four girls working one another? Together?"
The effect on the guards was impressive. At least two were drooling. They were clearly tempted and Hay Lin made a mental note to thank the internet for some of it's more…explicit suggestions.
"We really shouldn't let you out of your cell…" began one of the guards uncertainly, but Irma cut in with a smirk.
"Sounds to me like he isn't man enough for our specialty," Irma said with a smirk and the guard frowned.
"Phobos and Lady Vandom would have our balls if we did this without their express permission!" he said quickly and Irma gave him a smile.
"What Phobos and Will don't know can't hurt you," she countered and a look of hesitation crossed his face. He was nearing breaking point and Taranee decided to help out.
"I don't think they'd ever know. I mean, what can we do from behind bars like these?" Taranee said with a smirk. "And who would tell? Not you, Phobos and Will would hurt you for not stopping it and we're going to be dead by this time next week."
"Please, we don't want to die without..." Hay Lin paused. "Without doing…" she let her words trail off and Irma was looking at her with admiration. The guards were muttering to one another. Clearly at least some of them wanted to let them do what Hay Lin was proposing.
"Well we really shouldn't…" began one of the guards as he slowly reached over to the control panel for the cell doors.
"If you shouldn't do it, then you would be wise not to," a cold, imperious voice cut across the prison and the guards suddenly jumped to attention as Will walked down the prison towards them. The guards simply stood their, sweating nervously, but she ignored them all and instead brought her gaze to Hay Lin.
"So what are you planning little Hay-Hay?" Will asked in a cold voice. "Were you hoping to tempt guards into letting you out?
"I just want to talk to my friends one last time before you execute us," Hay Lin replied as she gave Will a hard stare. "My REAL friends. The ones who didn't betray us."
Will looked around at her former friends, the former Guardians and soon to be executed prisoners. There was an almost universal consensus in the prisoners, looks of pure venom and hatred. She laughed.
"If I let you talk, I have no doubt you would find a way out. Or at least try," she said with a smirk. "Do you really think that I am that stupid?"
"Well you did side with the most evil man in existence, so…" Irma countered with a smirk and Will scowled angrily at her.
"Ah yes, Irma. I had missed your sense of humour," Will said slowly. "Perhaps it will keep you comfortable as you slowly drown. Or perhaps," she reached into the brown cloth bag she was carrying a swiftly threw out Caleb's head and there was a brief squeak of surprise from Cornelia and Hay Lin alike. "Perhaps he could find your jokes funny in a way that he didn't when he was alive, but I doubt it." She looked around at the four girls, confident in her authority. "There is nobody left to save you. Nobody at all," she said, reaching into the bag and removing more heads. "They tried to rescue you and failed miserably," Will continued as the heads of Aldarn and Vathek rolled to a halt outside the cells of the girls. "They didn't even pass through the gates before they were spotted," she continued as she threw out the head of Orube and Irma looked like she was going to be sick. "And you will not escape. There is nothing left for you to escape to and no means of being helped to escape. You are going to die and there is nothing you can do to change that."
"I know," Hay Lin replied sadly, having regained her composure somewhat. Her tone was that of utter defeat and she looked so downcast that there was no doubt as to her certainty. "We all know. All I want now is to talk to my friends one last time before…" her voice drifted away, Will looked at her curiously.
"You really have given up, haven't you?" she asked in disbelief. "Little Hay Lin, the most optimistic and energetic of us all and you've given up."
"Please Will…" there were tears in Hay Lin's eyes and she was obviously finding it difficult to speak. "I just want…" she stopped, suddenly overcome with tears and Will gave her a smirk.
"Oh you'll have your opportunity soon enough," Will said, continuing to smirk. "You can spend your last day together. Well, half a day for one of you."
"What do you mean?" Taranee asked. Hay Lin wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer.
"Well you'll get to say your final goodbyes before you die of course," Will said with a chuckle of amusement. She turned and left as the girl's focused on their own thoughts and feelings.
WITCHWITCHWITCHWITCH
It didn't take long for Taranee to start tapping out a message on the bars of her cell to Hay Lin. In fact, Hay Lin was surprised she actually waited until the lights had gone out.
Bang!
The prison rang with the sound of Taranee bashing her bars. It was such a regular occurrence that the guards had long since ceased paying any attention to it. Even Will was forced to admit that there was nothing being said with Taranee's actions.
"The frustrated cries of a trapped animal," she had finally said dismissively, before giving Taranee a contemptuous look. "I had expected better of you."
Taranee had merely scowled in reply, but Will hadn't realised was that it was a victory for Taranee in a way she didn't realise.
The noise wasn't intended to communicate anything.
It was what she did with the tiny slither of reflective material and the moonlight that mattered. The noise was just a diversion.
Dot-dash-dash. Space. Dot-dash. Space. Dash. Space. Dot-dash-dot. Space. Dot-dot-dash. Space. Dot-dash-dash-dot. Space. Dot-dash-dot-dot. Space. Dot-dash. Space. Dash-dot. Space. Dot-dot. Space. Dash-dot. Space. Dash-dash-dot.
Morse code. As a means of communicating, Hay Lin and Taranee had learnt it together when they first began to suspect that there was a traitor in their midst. Of course, they had never suspected that it was Will, but it was a skill they had kept to themselves and now it was paying off.
W-a-t r u p-l-a-n-i-n-g?
Hay Lin chuckled quietly at Taranee's spelling. Text speak was easier for this, but she could imagine how much it irritated Taranee to write like that. Grabbing her own reflective surface, she began to talk back.
Dot. Space. Dot-dot-dot. Space. Dash-dot-dash-dot. Space. Dot-dash. Space. Dot-dash-dash-dot. Space. Dot-dash-dash-dot. Space. Dash-dash-dash. Space. Dot-dot-dot.
E-s-c-a-p p-o-s she flashed, her light source being a conveniently placed lamp. She just hoped that Taranee would understand her message of escape possible. Fortunately, Taranee seemed to understand and she responded quickly.
Dot-dot-dot-dot. Space. Dash-dash-dash. Space. Dot-dash-dash
H-o-w?
Hay Lin swallowed and a look of unhappiness crossed her face. She knew Taranee was not going to like what she was going to suggest. It felt a lot like giving up entirely, but Hay Lin could see no other way. But as it would take too long to say by morse, she decided to simply sent a different message.
W Dot-dash-dash. Space. I Dot-dot. Space. L Dot-dash-dot-dot. Space. T Dash. Space. E Dot. Space. L Dot-dash-dot-dot. Space. U Dot-dot-dash. Space. L Dot-dash-dot-dot. 8Dash-dash-dash-dot-dot. Space. R Dot-dash-dot.
Taranee let out a slight huff of annoyance and Hay Lin couldn't really blame her. T-e-l u l-8-r was hardly an inspiring message and Hay Lin felt a stab of guilt at giving her friend this small glimmer of hope. She flashed over one final message.
Dash. Space. Dot-dash-dot. Space. Dot-dot-dash. Space. Dot-dot-dot. Space. Dash. Space. Dash-dash. Space. Dot
T-r-u-s-t m-e might not have been the inspirational message she wished she could send, but it would have to do. But before she turned away, Taranee flashed one final message back.
I Dot-dot. Space. D Dash-dot-dot. Space. O Dash-dash-dash.
I d-o. With a smile on her face and a surprisingly warm feeling in her stomach despite everything, Hay Lin rolled onto her bed and went to sleep. It was a shame, she thought to herself as she slowly slipped into sleep, that her plan wasn't so hopeful and warm.