Kane

*

You're dead to me... I'll kill you...

The words might very well have been a dagger right through his chest.

Still, he had a job to do. Gray had entrusted this task to him and he knew he couldn't let the Supreme Leader down. The fate of the entire city rested on him regaining Raven's trust.

Reintroducing her into tribe life.

Damn it all...

Turning, Kane regarded the empty hallway behind him with a frown.

Why does she have to make this so hard?

Shaking his head, Kane reached for his radio, tapping it on, thoughtful as he spoke.

"I'm going to need a strike team to the main complex," He spoke into the radio, "lock down the west wing, I repeat, lock down the west wing and do a thorough sweep of the building."

Switching off the radio, Kane moved off down the hall, thoughts tearing through his mind.

Could he distance himself from Raven and still convince her that she was safe here? That she could be happy here?

Who was he kidding, Raven had been right to stay away, to leave this life behind, and now he had brought her back here, to the place and people who had rejected her.

A crackle from the radio brought him out of his thoughts.

"Come in Kane."

"Go ahead." Kane said, already moving towards Raven's room.

"We have her," The person on the other side of the radio announced, "meet us there."

"Already there." Kane said, opening the door to Raven's room.

He had closed it after she left. The last thing he needed was her having a place to escape to, a place to hide away and plot misguided escape attempts.

Walking further into the room, Kane took a seat on the end of the bed, waiting.

The strike team arrived shortly after him, guiding a heavily drugged Raven into the room. She stared at him without really seeing him. Kane knew that somewhere inside her an angry spark was fighting its way to the surface of her mind, fighting for release.

Standing, Kane moved toward her, slowly at first and faster when she didn't react to his approach. Stopping in front of her, Kane looked her up and down, taking in her ragged appearance.

She fought them... I'm not surprised...

Stepping forward, Kane pulled her against him, holding her close like he had done what felt like a million years ago. Her breathing hitched, but before long she relaxed against him, eventually letting him guide her to the bed.

She had drifted away by the time they left. Kane hoped that she could find some happiness in her dreams at the very least.

Closing the door, Kane locked it and pocketed the key, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.

Raven

*

A faint light coming through from under the door to her room woke her up. A headache was gaining purchase in the back of her head, a faint pulse that grew as time went on.

Moving hurt like hell.

Still, Raven knew she couldn't stay in this room, in this prison. Pushing herself to a sitting position, she took in her immediate surroundings. She was alone in the dim light. Nothing in the room had changed, nothing that she could immediately see.

It was time to leave.

Standing, Raven struggled to gain her balance for a second, her body still numb from the drugs that were leaving her system.

Making it to the door, Raven jiggled the handle, growling in frustration as it refused to budge.

"HEY!" She snapped, "LET ME OUT!"

A voice from the other side spoke.

"Hush," The voice said, "he'll come get you when he's ready."

Groaning, Raven sank to the floor, pressing her back against the solidity of the door that separated her prison from the outside world.

"It shouldn't be long." The voice said in what she assumed was supposed to be an encouraging tone.

Raven debated flipping off whoever it was but decided against it.

The satisfaction would be minimal considering she didn't know who it was and they wouldn't see it.

Huffing a angry breath, Raven examined the room one more time, an idea forming in her mind when she saw a decorative vase sitting on her bedside table.

If she could convince whoever was on the other side of that door that she was injured they would come in to investigate... right?

Standing, she walked back to her bed, stretching her arms above her head with an exaggerated yawn. In the process of moving her body, the vase was "accidentally" upended, shattering on the sandstone floor just as she had hoped.

"Shit!" Raven hissed, moving some of the broken pieces in a way that suggested pained movement. "Ow!"

The person on the other side of the door knocked, trying to piece together what had just happen.

"What's going on in there?" The person questioned, a hint of worry in their voice.

"The vase fell," Raven replied, making just enough fuss to make the act convincing, "It cut my foot!"

Raven heard a muffled curse, retreating footsteps, then voices. The door opened and a young man got halfway through the door before Raven tackled him out of the way.

She got about three steps down the hall before she was grabbed from behind and shoved up against the wall, her front pressed against the sandstone.

"Nice try," Kane's voice hissed in her ear, "if you were so desperate to make an enemy out of me you could have just told me so."

"You were always the enemy!" Raven snarled, fighting his grip.

Kane tightened his hold, forcing the air from her lungs, the pressure tightening by the second until she had no room for movement.

Still, Raven struggled, fighting for air, for freedom.

"Submit." Kane breathed, his breath hot on the back of her neck.

"No!" Raven screamed, "let me go!"

Kane didn't budge, his frustration building with each of Raven's hopeless shoves.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

Kane turned at the voice just as the supreme leader entered the hall, releasing Raven who spun around, planted a well placed kick and tore away down the hall only to be snagged by Gray and pulled against him.

"Take it easy girl," Gray said, holding her until she relaxed, trembling in his embrace. "Kane I hope you have an explanation for this."

Kane coughed, still recovering from Raven's assault on his manhood, and stood as straight as he could.

"She tried to run." He said, voice strained, gaze serious.

Gray nodded, understanding in his eyes as he glanced between the two. Releasing Raven, the supreme leader stood back and spoke.

"Walk with me," He ordered, "both of you."

Gray

*

Seems things are getting interesting... Gray thought, keeping a watchful eye on the two former friends behind him.

"Keep up!" He barked, satisfied by the shuffling of feet from one of the two.

Gray stopped, Kane almost running into him when he turned to regard the traumatized young woman behind him.

"Where are you taking me?" She demanded, refusing to move.

Not us... me... Gray reflected.

"You're just going to have to trust me dear." He replied with a crooked smile.

Raven shook her head, hatred burning in her eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere with either of you." She said.

Gray cocked a brow, amused by her statement.

"Girl," He said, "I can be a lot like this one over here when I want to. Right now I'm playing nice but if you don't walk over here right now I will walk you over myself. Is that clear?"

Raven's hands curled into fists at her side when he tipped his head at Kane who stood beside him, her eyes a hard steel that dared him to come near her.

Guess the outlands toughened her up...

"I said is that clear?" Gray snapped, gaze hardening as he tested her challenge.

"Very. Clear." Raven bit.

She then drew a knife and threw it at him, a move that he should have seen coming in retrospect but one that he would pay with his life with.

The knife burned white hot for only a second before he crumpled to the floor, a steady pool of blood forming around him as he drew his last, ragged breath.

Dammit...