Chapter 2
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"You already know that I had to choose other games
and that I played them seriously.
And I played hide-and-seek, for example.
and if they discovered you they would kill you..."
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A year before...
Nicky sat hunched by the far wall, her thin frame swallowed by the worn leather punching bag she leaned against. Her face, smeared with sweat and dirt, mirrored the desolation that covered the land beyond those concrete walls. Unlike Piper, whose body hummed with a desperate energy, Nicky seemed tied to the floor by an invisible weight, her spirit echoing the silence of a long wait.
The echo of a glancing blow reverberated through the gym. Red's eyes narrowed at Piper. "Faster, damn you! Is that all you've got left? Be more aggressive dolboyob! You think the enemy will play patty-cake with you on the battlefield?"
With calculated precision, Red unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks. They landed in rapid succession across Piper's ribs and face. Each blow stung like a hornet's sting, leaching the air from her lungs. Piper stumbled back, legs threatening to buckle, but Red was relentless. Another swift combination slammed into her, the world tilting sideways before the floor met her face.
"Get up!" Red roared, her voice like cracked ice. "You think lying there will bring them back? Your brothers, your mother, the ghosts that haunt you at night? Rise, chert poberi, and fight!"
Piper sputtered on the concrete, gasping for air, her vision blurring at the edges. Red loomed above; her dark silhouette backlit by the flickering generator. Again, she scrambled to her feet, only to be knocked down by a brutal kick to the stomach.
"Remember the stakes, Piper!" Red screamed, her voice hoarse with a fury that seemed to consume her. "This isn't some playground squabble! Out there, weakness gets you buried in the dirt, your name scratched on a rusty dog tag. Do you want Nicky to wear that tag?" She held Piper by the collar of her shirt and brought her fist back for another blow.
"Stop it! Ma!" Nicky lurched forward with terrified eyes. "Leave her alone!"
Red's hand slammed into Nicky's shoulder, pushing her back. "This," she spat, eyes blazing, "doesn't concern you, child. Stay out of it."
"I said that's enough!" Nicky yelled at Red, defiant. "Leave her alone. You've pushed her hard enough today."
Her defiance seemed to momentarily surprise Red. The older woman stared at Nicky, chest heaving, then with a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of a thousand battles, she let go of Piper. Her grip loosened, and Piper slid to the floor utterly exhausted.
Nicky rushed to her side, kneeling beside her. Piper leaned into the touch while she breathed heavily. Tears blurred her vision as she saw Nicky's face consumed by worry.
"Let's just lay here for a bit, eh Chapman?"
Piper nodded.
Nicky was her best friend, and the only family she had left after the war had started. They grew up together, living just a couple of houses from each other. Red was a trusted elder, experienced in combat and friend of the Revolution. She had rescued Nicky after the child's parents had died – hanged for criticizing the regime. Since then, the relentless Russian warrior had cared for Nicky as her own daughter.
Piper and Nicky grew up in heart of the insurgence. The people of Litchfield had grown impatient with the current government – they were restless. Threats of conflict rumbled underneath the surface. Eventually, as the Revolutionary embers gained more strength and the seeds of insurgence continued to grow, the state of affairs became unbearable.
The Cartel, ever vigilant, infiltrated Litchfield's clandestine meetings. Piper's father, sensing imminent danger, made a desperate attempt to escape. But the night he saddled their horses, the enemy struck.
Horrifying screams shattered the stillness as soldiers descended upon their home. In cold blood, they murdered Piper's mother and siblings. By a cruel twist of fate, Piper found refuge behind a broken wagon, and tearfully witnessed the horrific scene. As shadows danced and tears blurred her vision, she watched in horror as they slit her father's throat, leaving him lifeless in the darkness.
The day the people from The Cartel invaded the city, Red fled towards the woods, taking Nicky and Piper with them. At the beginning they sought refuge in nearby cities – hiding their identify from the masses. But no place felt safe. The Cartel made every possible effort to put out the flames of the revolution, using the cruelest intimidation tactics. Macabre deaths awaited to all sympathizers of the revolution - the citizens feared for their lives. They did not hesitate to hand over any relative or neighbor they considered suspicious into the hands of the enemy.
Red couldn't take any chances. She decided to escape to Drizera – a remote village where thieves and vandals were sent to, in an aim to maintain the peace in the cities. It had been seven years since they left Litchfield behind. Red risked her live every day to protect them. She took it upon herself to train Piper and Nicky for whatever would come.
The girls grew up with only each other. They were in this together, two sisters against the world, and even Red's harsh lessons couldn't break the bond that held them together.
Piper's breath rasped in her ears, each inhale a struggle against the phantom punches still stinging her ribs. She spat into the dust, and blood stained the sandbag as Nicky's concerned gaze held hers.
"This is getting out of hand," Nicky whispered, her voice tight with barely contained anger. "We were training, Ma… she didn't have to…"
Piper offered a grim nod, the taste of blood in her tongue. "It's never enough," she croaked, her voice raw. "No matter how hard I train, how much I push myself… it's never enough for her."
Nicky helped her to her feet, a steadying hand on her elbow. Piper swayed, the world tilting dangerously before Nicky's firm grip anchored her. Her head throbbed like a caged bird, and a dizzying nausea threatened to spill over.
In the distance, Red stood like a dark sentinel, her silhouette stark against the flickering red light. A flicker of something, perhaps akin to love, glinted in her hardened eyes, but it was quickly extinguished.
With a sigh that spoke of battles fought and scars earned, Red strode towards them. "Nicky," she barked, her voice a whipcrack. "Leave Piper alone."
Nicky's jaw clenched. "No. This is wrong! You've gone too far this time!"
Red's gaze cut her like a blade. "You have no idea, child," she snarled. "Piper needs to be ready. What awaits us beyond these walls… it's not like a practice spar."
Her hand gestured towards the jagged scar that crossed her face, a brutal reminder of past horrors. "This world," she growled, "doesn't play fair. It doesn't care about how hard you train, how well you fight. Out there, pain is a constant companion, and cruelty an art form."
Nicky opened her mouth to protest, but Red cut her off with a harsh laugh. "Enough training for today, is there? You think Kubra's men will give you a breather between blows? You think the scavengers will offer you tea and sympathy?"
She pointed a grim finger at Piper, who stood frozen, eyes wide with dawning dread. "Go. Ice chamber. Now."
Piper's breath hitched. The ice chamber. A desolate concrete box built by Red herself, where the temperature dipped below freezing, testing the limits of body and mind. She'd only been there once before, and the memory still sent shivers down her spine.
"No," she choked out, her voice barely a whisper. "Please…"
Red's eyes blazed with a fury that seemed to consume her. "I'm tired of your whining, Piper! Get yourself out there!"
Piper glared back, anger warring with exhaustion in her eyes. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but Red's steely gaze held her captive. Slowly, painfully, she turned and limped towards the ice chamber, a lone silhouette swallowed by the shadows.
Nicky spun towards Red, her fists clenched tight. "You said she's a good fighter! Why do you always push her so hard?"
Red stood silent for a moment, her face unreadable. Then, she spoke, her voice low and heavy. "They're coming for her, Nicky. Because of him."
Nicky knew who Red was talking about. Piper's father.
"They won't hesitate. And when they do," Red continued, her voice cracking, "I need to know… I need to know she's strong enough to survive. Not just the fighting, Nicky. Everything."
Tears welled up in her eyes, a rare vulnerability that shook Nicky to her core. This harsh, unyielding woman who had drilled them, pushed them to their limits, was driven by a fear beyond imagining.
Red wiped her eyes, her face hardening once more. "Go," she rasped. "Your turn."
Nicky stared at the retreating figure of her friend, a deep protectiveness welling up inside her.
Then she strapped her gloves on.
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In the infirmary, a makeshift room cobbled together from scavenged supplies, Nicky watched helplessly from beside Piper's bed. Every twitch, every whimper, scraped against her nerves. Piper's delirious whispers cut through the air like knives, her lips forming her older brother's name – Danny.
"Stay with me Chapman," Nicky pleaded, her voice hoarse from a week of sleepless nights, a week of Red's harsh pronouncements and her own gnawing fear. "You have to come back to me. We need you."
The door creaked open, and Red entered, her face a mask of grim determination. But Nicky saw past the facade, glimpsed the flicker of doubt in her steely eyes.
"She's going to die," Nicky spat, the accusation raw and desperate. "This is what your fucking 'training' does! You're breaking her, Ma! Is that what you want?"
Red stood unmoving, like a statue. "It's necessary, Nicky," she said, her voice low and heavy. "The Cartel… they don't show mercy. This…" she gestured towards Piper, "this is her only chance."
"Chance of what?" Nicky roared, tears blurring her vision. "Turning into you? A cold, emotionless shadow?"
The room crackled with tension. Red's jaw clenched, but her gaze never wavered.
Then, the silence broke. Red sighed, a weary resignation settling over her features. She sank onto the bed beside Piper, her calloused hand gently brushing away a stray strand of hair.
"Piper," she whispered, her voice soft, devoid of its usual harshness. "You are so strong. Stronger than you know. Don't give up, child. The storm is coming, but you… you can bear it. Soprotivlyat'sya. "
Piper lay still, her fevered breaths the only sign of life. Nicky watched, her anger replaced by a gnawing fear and protectiveness. Her gaze darted between her sister and Red.
In the hushed infirmary, with the faint rays of sunrise bleeding through the boarded windows, Nicky made a silent vow. She would stand by Piper, even if it meant defying Red, even if it meant facing the unknown together, shoulder to shoulder, sister to sister.
Piper was all she had left. And for Piper, she would move mountains.
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Piper winced as sunlight lanced through the cracked window, painting stripes of pain across her battered body. Nicky hovered beside her, concern etched on her face.
"You should see the other guy," Piper quipped, trying for a smile, but it came out more as a grimace. The throbbing in her temple seemed to vibrate in her bones, and her ribs felt like they'd been rearranged by a particularly vindictive puzzle master.
Nicky's smile was tight, a fragile line against the worry in her eyes. "There is no other guy, Chapman. Just Red, and… her deranged fear."
Silence settled between them, heavy with unspoken thoughts. Outside, the faint rumble of engines grew louder, a harbinger of the approaching storm.
"Do you ever... wonder what it's like out there?" Nicky asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Piper sighed, a wave of fatigue washing over her. "Sometimes," she admitted. "But what's the point? We have Red, we have this," she gestured around the dusty, makeshift gym. "It's not perfect, but it's safe."
"Safe?" Nicky scoffed. "This? This is a fucking cage, Chapman. We may be alive, but what kind of life is this? Training until our bones creak, waiting for some phantom enemy to snatch us away?"
Piper squeezed Nicky's hand. "Red's protecting us," she insisted, her voice losing its earlier conviction. "Don't you remember what these people did to our parents? They're monsters, Nicky. Worse than anything we can imagine. My father knew it from the beginning."
A bitter laugh escaped Nicky's lips. "Your father. Always your father. Do you ever wonder if everything that happened, is happening, is all about him? His secrets, his enemies… why do we have to bear the brunt of his choices?"
The question hung heavy in the air, a wound left raw by time and circumstance. Piper flinched, the guilt twisting in her gut. They both knew the answer: she, her daughter, bore the burden of her father's legacy, the shadow of his mistakes falling hard on her shoulders.
"It's not fair," Nicky whispered, her voice thick with tears. "It's not fair they took our parents, your siblings… and now, it feels like they're taking you too."
Piper placed her hand on top of Nicky's. "I'm here, aren't I?" she said, her voice rough with emotion. "Red may push me, may break me sometimes, but I'm still here. And I won't let them… I won't let them take you too."
The words hung heavy in the air, a silent promise whispered in the shadows. Nicky leaned into Piper's embrace, seeking comfort and offering it in return. The unspoken fear between them, the dread of the future, the uncertainty of tomorrow…
Nicky watched her best friend fall sleep, the moonlight illuminating the bruises that marred her face, a map of Red's brutal lessons. She didn't know what awaited them when they were finally strong enough to leave this makeshift haven, what horrors their parents had woven for them. But one thing was certain: she wouldn't let Piper face it alone.
The rusty bunker, with its cold concrete walls and flickering generator lights, had become more than just a training ground. It was a crucible, forging their resilience, whispering promises of a future they still dared to.
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Nicky thrashed in her cot, a whimper escaping her lips. Her hands were clenched into fists and sweat beaded on her brow, soaking into her sleep shirt. A choked sob tore from her throat, that soon morphed into a strangled scream, echoing through the dimly lit bunk.
"Piper!"
Jolted awake by the sound, Piper scrambled out of her bed. Her heart hammered against her ribs, the remnants of her fever still clinging to her like a shroud. She rushed to Nicky's side, frantically whispering her friend's name.
Nicky, lost in the clutches of the nightmare, didn't respond. Her face contorted in terror, her breath was shallow and ragged. Piper shook her, her voice rising in urgency.
"Nicky, wake up! It's just a dream, wake up!"
But Nicky remained adrift, her whimpers becoming pained cries. Panic clawed at Piper's throat, fear bitting on her skin. She remembered her own fevered delirium, the vivid images of torture and loss that had haunted her sleep. She knew the depths of Nicky's nightmare, the shadows it cast upon their fragile hope.
With a surge of desperate strength, Piper grabbed Nicky's shoulders and shook her harder. "Nicky! Wake up! It's me, Piper! We're safe!"
The force of the movement, the raw panic in Piper's voice, finally pierced through the veil of Nicky's nightmare. Her eyes shot open, wide and terrified, reflecting the flickering lantern light. Tears streamed down her face, blending with the sweat.
Piper, her own fear momentarily forgotten, forced Nicky into her arms, holding her close. Nicky clung to her, her sobs muffled against Piper's shoulder. The warmth of Nicky's trembling body, the raw vulnerability in her cries, tore at Piper's heart.
For a long moment, they sat in silence, the only sound the ragged breaths escaping their lips and the rhythmic thump of their shared heartbeat.
"Nick" Piper whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears. "It was just a nightmare. We're okay."
Nicky pulled back, her eyes searching Piper's face. "Fuck. It felt so real. The whole place was surrounded by them. What if..."
Her voice trailed off, the unspoken fear hanging heavy in the air. Piper knew the question that haunted both of them: what if their training, their sacrifice, was in vain? What if The Cartel, with their cold steel, crushed their rebellion like a fragile glass?
She squeezed Nicky's hand. "We can't let fear break us, Nicky," she said, her voice firm despite the tremor in her heart. "We have to be strong, for each other, for your parents, for mine. For Red."
"I know," Nicky whispered, her voice trembling but resolute. "We're in this together Chapman".
Piper smiled, pulling Nicky close once more. "Always".
They were daughters of fire, forged in the crucible of hardship, and even Kubra and his men would tremble before the inferno they were destined to unleash.
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The pre-dawn light, pale and spectral, seeped through a crack in the ceiling. The silence in the bunker was heavy. Piper moved with practiced precision, her quick fingers strapping on armor, checking the weight of her blade.
Her gaze, though, seemed miles away, lost in the labyrinthine depths of her own thoughts.
Nicky hovered near her. She was clasping her black and trusted knife. Her eyes, wide and haunted, never left Piper, searching for flicker of doubt, fear, anything that mirrored the storm within her own heart.
Finally, their eyes met. Nicky reached out and squeezed Piper's hand. No words were needed. The raw worry, the desperate unspoken plea, hung heavy in the stale air.
Piper, meeting her gaze head-on, forced a smile that felt like grit on her teeth. "We must trust Red, Nicky," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "It's the only way."
Trust. The word tasted bitter on her tongue. Red, their stoic guardian, their formidable trainer. Not just a mentor, but a fate intertwined with their own. Trust her with their lives.
The silence persisted, until Red's voice, rasping and cold, pierced through the tension. "It's time."
They followed her, in a single file, down through a maze of cramped tunnels. The air felt thick with the smell of damp soil and forgotten things. Each turn, each twist, felt like a descent into darkness, a journey to an unknown abyss.
Finally, a glimmer of light. Piper blinked, squinting into the pale dawn, the world outside beaming at them with remainders of the current conflict. They emerged beside a rusted war tank long unused, beaten by the elements. It marked their return into the hostile world.
A long and dusty road stretched before them, a path that would take them to Sunstone, and then to Litchfield. Sunstone lay a day's walk ahead. The group marched in silence, thick and heavy silence. The atmosphere felt tense. Piper kept glancing around, waiting for the enemies to ambush them at any minute. She held her rifle close to her chest, at the ready. The world ahead seemed unrecognizable.
Drizera had been their haven for nearly two years, but it had become a cage. It had shielded them from The Cartel but at a cost. Theirs had been a life suspended, a waiting game played in the cold embrace of solitude.
With each step, the world unfolded around them, a tapestry woven with vibrant colors and forgotten sounds. It was a world they had almost forgotten, a world they were determined to reclaim.
Finally, after two days, they reached the outskirts of Sunstone just when the moon began to rise in the horizon. Litchfield was a days' walk ahead.
Red stood in silence, already facing away. "This is where we part," she said, her voice carrying on the thin wind. "You, North. I, South. Find the heart of Litchfield. Rekindle the fire. They are expecting you."
Her words hung in the air, heavy with finality. Nicky rushed towards Red and embraced her in a tight hug. "I love you Ma". She said, voice thick with unshed tears. "I love you" Red returned the hug, and her impenetrable façade finally showed the care and tenderness she too carried for her adoptive girls.
"We won't let you down Red". Piper managed, swallowing the lump on her throat.
Red nodded. "I know you won't. Be safe".
Red turned then, a figure fading into the dawn mist. With a final, fleeting glance back, she disappeared into the tall grass, a lone warrior swallowed by the unknown.
Piper and Nicky stood in silence for a moment. Nicky then turned to Piper.
"Let's get to Litchfield. Finish what your father started".
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The sun hammered down on them, baking the dusty road beneath their feet. Their borrowed peasant tunics, coarse and scratchy, clawed at their skin.
Piper led the way, her hood pulled low, eyes narrowed against the glare. Nicky followed close behind, her boots kicking up puffs of dust, a silent soldier guarding her friend's back.
Litchfield loomed on the horizon, a monstrous sprawl of smoke and grime. Its towers, once proud sentinels of freedom, now stood like jagged teeth in the throat of the land, monuments to The Cartel's iron grip.
People walked up and down the roads, carrying produce, tools and clothes.
They found the cabin tucked away in a forgotten corner of the city. It was just as Red had described: weathered, unassuming, with a chimney perpetually belching smoke.
An old woman, frail and stooped, answered their knock, her eyes reflecting the city's grime.
"Seeking shelter, are you?" she rasped, her voice a dry rustle of leaves.
Piper stepped forward, her voice low and practiced. "We'll share your air for a breath, then the wind will guide us onward."
The woman's gaze sharpened, a momentary flicker of something ancient and knowing in her eyes. "How many knives in your rucksack, my dear?" she croaked, her words laden with hidden meaning.
Piper's heart skipped a beat. The signal. Red's cryptic instruction echoed in her mind. "Three, but only two are sharpened." she replied, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands.
The woman's lips twisted in a humorless smile. "Then step inside, children of fire. The storm whispers your names."
The cabin, despite its unassuming exterior, held secrets within its worn wood. The woman, with surprising agility, pushed aside a bookcase, revealing a hidden passage that swallowed them whole. They descended, deeper into the belly of the city, away from the light and the noise, until they entered a hidden room, a haven carved from the shadows.
Oil lamps burned low, casting flickering shadows on the walls. Faces emerged from the gloom, weathered and scarred but resolute, eyes gleaming with the same embers of rebellion Piper felt burning within her own chest.
Here, in this hidden heart of the city, whispers became roars, defiance found its voice, and the daughters of fire found their allies.
The road outside might have blurred into a haze of heat and fear, but within these walls, hope blazed bright. The old woman, once a frail specter, stood tall, her voice filled with an ancient strength.
"Welcome, daughters of the revolution!" she boomed, her words echoing through the chamber. "The spark flickers, but the fire awaits your arrival. Let it begin."
And so, the storm that Red had set in motion, the storm that Piper and Nicky had walked into, found its center, its beating heart. They were just two drops in the rising tide, but in this hidden room, they were part of something larger, something unstoppable.
The ashes of their parent's dream stirred, the embers of rebellion fanned into flames, and the daughters of fire took their first steps towards igniting the revolution. The battle for their city, for their freedom, had only just begun.
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AN: This chapter intended to explore the bond between Piper and Nicky, their relationship to Red, and the circumstances in which they were raised. Also, the way they ended up back in Litchfield, at the heart of the revolution.
I'm just having fun with this story, exploring different topics.