Lean On Me

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Shiloh was about ready to kick herself. Her gut had been right. Something was very, very wrong in Mount Weather. But she hadn’t seen it in time, and now they were all stuck here. Like animals in a cage. She wasn’t panicking like some of the others though. Years of living with her father had given her a certain tolerance for stressful situations. And there were far better ways to spend her energy. Eventually the door would open, and they needed to be ready when it did. But there were already several heads bent together working on that problem on a nearby bed. So until inspiration struck, Shiloh was making herself useful elsewhere.

Harper was on her bunk looking very much worse for the wear as Shiloh climbed up to sit beside her. The other girl could probably use some company. Not that she and Shiloh were friends exactly. Their interaction up to this point had actually been pretty minimal. But everybody else seemed a little preoccupied at the moment. Besides, Shiloh might not have much medical experience (breaks, sprains and cuts mostly), but it was more than most of the others around her had. Might as well put it to use.

“Hey,” she said quietly. She directed a small smile at Harper before letting her eyes roam over the various bruises visible on Harper’s body. None of them looked too serious, thankfully. And there wasn’t any blood soaking through her clothes and bandages, so that was good. She had to be sore as hell from the drilling though. And scared. Just thinking about it made Shiloh angry. This was wrong. They had no right to be doing this. Especially not to children.

Her brow furrowed in concern as her eyes settled back on Harper’s face. “How’re you doing?” Seeing people in pain never sat well with Shiloh. It made her want to protect them. To fix things. And while she was pretty far out of her medical depth at this point, she could make a few educated guesses. Fever would be bad. Same with swelling and incessant bleeding. Without any real training or supplies though, probably the best she could do was just try to make Harper as comfortable as possible. That and let her know she wasn't alone. It wasn't much, but it would have to be enough.

@harpermcintyre

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This is my Fight Song --TAKE BACK MY LIFE SONG, PROVE I'M ALRIGHT SONG To say Harper was feeling bad would be a real understatement. The pain never seemed to stop, no matter how still she stayed, no matter what position she put herself in. It was constant and, to put it dumbly, it hurt. The pain had only managed to seep into her mood as well, to the point where she had argued with Monty about their lack of hope and even snapped at more than one person. It wasn't that she wanted to be grumpy, or wanted to be angry, it was honestly becoming more and more difficult to find any reason to be positive. Mr mastermind was probably working on a plan to save them all and if it was anything like the last plan they had put together, it would only end in pain for the person who got the short straw. Just like how Harper had gotten the short straw and ended up being on watch, only to be forced to basically sacrifice herself for the safety of the rest of them and for the success of the plan. Saying all this, Harper did appreciate the company some gave her. She had appreciated Monty putting up with her, bringing her water and just being there. Now that he was off helping with the plan and talking to others, she felt the weight of not having him there. At the sound of the bunk creaking, Harper's head turned to see Shiloh sitting down next to her. "Hey," Harper said, her voice still croaking. She was sure she would never take a clear voice and a healthy throat for granted ever again. She missed being able to talk with that strain. "Has something happened?" Harper asked, getting the question out quickly, worried that Shiloh might be there to warn or inform her of something. She could think of any other reason she would be there, since the two women didn't actually know each other well. They had always hung out with different people. A smile had been on Shiloh's face but Harper noticed as it dropped and she didn't bother to put a smile on her own face. It was too much effort and even though she was sort of happy that someone had come to talk to her, it wasn't enough to put her into a positive mood. Nothing could at that stage, except maybe seeing the doctor die...but that wasn't going to happen any time soon. "I'm sitting now," Harper said, with a shrug. It was better than earlier, where she hadn't had the strength to do anything but lay on the bed. She had even needed Monty to help her drink water. Sitting was a big improvement, if only the pain would improve as well. "How's everything? Any big plans yet?" @shiloh

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Shiloh quickly shook her head at Harper's question. “No. I just thought you might want some company. Whenever I-” She stopped herself short before the rest of that sentence could come out. This wasn’t the time to bring up her own baggage. So she tried again. “I’d want some if it was me.” People who found out about her father’s true nature always thought the pain had been the worst part. They were wrong. The worst thing had been the isolation. The feeling of being completely alone with her demons. Then again, Harper wasn’t Shiloh. Maybe she actually wanted some space. Shiloh pointed her thumb in the direction of her own bunk. “But I can go if you want.” Shiloh wasn’t the pushy sort. She wouldn’t force her company where it wasn’t wanted.

But maybe it was. Harper certainly didn’t seem in any rush to kick her off the bunk. Although it was a sad state of affairs when sitting up was an improvement. “Well, that’s a start. How’s the pain?” Shiloh certainly wasn’t a stranger to pain, but she’d never been through anything that intense. Managing it was probably taking some serious work. She just wished there was something she could do about it.

Like getting them out of here. She shook her head, glancing over to where Jasper and the others were gathered together whispering furiously before turning her attention back at Harper. “Nothing yet. Although it’s pretty clear we won’t be getting the door open on our own.” They just didn’t have the equipment for it. Shiloh’s gaze shifted over to the large offending object currently keeping them locked in. “That’s not even the real problem though. Sooner or later they’ll have to open it to get us out. Our best chance is probably to wait until then and fight our way through. Overwhelm them with numbers. But then there’s still a whole mountain between us and the exit. It’s not like they’ll just let us all walk out the door.” There would be a whole security force out to stop them, not to mention cameras watching their every move and doors that could be locked at the push of a button. All things considered, their chances of escape seemed pretty slim. And one look at the faces in the dorm made it clear they all knew it.

@harpermcintyre

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This is my Fight Song --TAKE BACK MY LIFE SONG, PROVE I'M ALRIGHT SONG Harper raised her eyebrows as Shiloh cut herself off, changing the way she said something. With how tired Harper was feeling, she didn't even think about asking or pushing Shiloh about was going to say but honestly, she probably wouldn't have even if she could spare the energy. Harper wasn't the type to push about those sort of things, and she didn't know Shiloh well enough to care too much. Everyone had so much baggage they were carrying around with them and Harper was beginning to realise that life just involved baggage and pain. But Harper was happy that Shiloh was offering company and not bringing news that was bad or involved her having to move. "I'd love some company," she said, giving Shiloh the best smile she could manage. It wasn't that good of a smile and it probably didn't look very genuine but it was something.  A start. That was about it. Sitting was a big improvement from where she had been at but there was still so far to go in Harper's recovery. There was still the question of if her recovering would even be worth it. If they all stayed in Mount Weather and got killed off, why did it matter if Harper felt in less pain before she died? That thought was one that she couldn't quite let go of and it left her feeling anything but hopeful. "Pain's...pain?" Harper honestly didn't want to talk about the pain or the fact that it never ceased and only managed to come back worse whenever she thought it might be getting better. "I can deal with it," she said, with a shrug. A very small shrug, not wanting to set anything off and make things worse for herself. "Is everyone else fine?" she then asked, knowing they didn't exactly have much with them in the room. It didn't surprised Harper at all that there wasn't a plan yet, that they still had no idea how they would get out of this situation. With how hopeless this felt, Harper almost wished to be back at the dropship, shooting grounders alongside Jasper. It was a lot better thing to be doing than sitting around waiting to be tortured and killed. "They've locked us in well," Harper muttered in reply to Shiloh mentioning they wouldn't be able to get the door open on their own. "It has to be possible, though, if Clarke managed to get out before. But then, they'd be on us with guns pointed before we could even think about how to get out." If only they had guns as well, then at least things would be a bit more even. Harper still wasn't completely comfortable shooting but she definitely missed the safety of having one. "Looking pretty hopeless?" @shiloh || Harper isn't the most positive of people rn.

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The subject of pain was apparently closed. Fair enough. Shiloh had been in that position before. If Harper preferred a distraction, she was happy to fill the role. “Physically, everyone’s okay. Mentally…” That sentence didn’t really need finishing. Shiloh glanced around the dorm as she tugged one foot up onto the bed and tucked it beneath her. “People are scared. I don’t blame them.” The only reason Shiloh’s own fear wasn’t visible was because she had grown used to it after so many years with her father. Apparently something useful had come out of that hell after all.

They were definitely locked in. Like rats in a cage, or so the saying went. Not that Shiloh had ever seen a rat. But the dorm had most definitely become a cage. “Clarke was one person. She could’ve exploited any number of holes in their security. But we need a hole big enough for forty-seven people.” If they had guns, maybe it would be different. They could try to fight their way to the exit. But even jumping the guards who came to let them out would only provide a few. Against all of Mount Weather’s security force, that was a slaughter waiting to happen. “What we need is a distraction. Something to make them look away long enough that we can make a break for it.” But for that they needed someone not trapped in this room.

Hopeless was a good word for it. But. “Hope is overrated.” Shiloh’s tone was flat, almost cynical. She shifted her weight so she could settle her back against the wall before seemingly changing the subject. “Up on the Ark, everyone thought my father was this great person.” Her eyes drifted down to her lap as she absently traced a long scar on the side of her hand. It was easier to explain without looking at Harper. “He wasn’t. He was a drunken asshole who liked to hit his wife. He hit me too, but I could live with that. It was when he would go after my mom that…” She was getting off track here. She swallowed and kept going. “One night he got completely wasted. He went at her even harder than usual, and I realized if I didn’t stop him, he was actually going to kill her this time. So I did. I got in the middle, we fought, I hit him in the head, and he didn’t get up.” Her voice stayed surprisingly level through that last sentence. Almost like it didn’t matter. Mostly because Shiloh didn’t dare let herself get bogged down in the emotion of that night. Besides, she was getting to a point here.

She turned her head to look over at Harper. “I didn’t stand up to him because I had hope. I didn’t. Not one single shred. Hadn’t for years. I did it because my mom’s life depended on it.” She resettled her head against the wall, letting her eyes roam around the dorm at all the scared faces. “My point is that people don’t need hope. They just need a reason to keep fighting, keep trying to find a way out. We have forty-seven in here. And yeah, maybe we’ll fail miserably and we’ll all die. But if we don’t try, we definitely will. So I saw we forget about the odds and keep thinking.” Not the best pep talk ever, but Shiloh had always been more of a realist than an optimist. Less disappointment that way.

@harpermcintyre

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This is my Fight Song --TAKE BACK MY LIFE SONG, PROVE I'M ALRIGHT SONG No surprise that people were cared and Harper had to add herself to the list of people feeling that way. With the situation they were in, Harper would be surprised if there were people who didn't feel scared. It was terrifying, being trapped in a room and never knowing when they would be taken to be killed or tortured. That any one of them could go through what Harper had been put through...that Harper could so easily be taken away again to go through it again. By this stage death sounded better than that. The situation just seemed even worse when the logic was added to it, the logic that Clarke was one person and that it would have been so much easier for her to get out than it would be for the rest of them to. There were too many people trapped in this room to really have much of a chance of sneaking out without being seen. Any sort of positive feeling that Harper may have gotten from earlier conversation with Monty was gone now, fully submerged into the realities and hopelessness. Although, according to Shiloh, hope was just overrated. Harper raised her eyebrow at that but honestly, she didn't think she wanted to argue against that point. It was overrated. What was the point in feeling hopeful about something when you could just be realistic about it instead? Maybe Harper would have said something like that but she was left silent as Shiloh began speaking again, seeming to suddenly feel the need to tell her story. Harper's mind when back to a little earlier in the conversation when Shiloh had stopped herself from saying something. Maybe she needed to get something out, and while Harper didn't really knew the girl that well, she could deal with that. If the situation were different, Harper knew she would actually care more than she did now. Harper listened to Shiloh's story, obviously the story of how she had gotten herself thrown into the skybox and eventually down to the ground with the rest of them. "Shitty parents," Harper said, her voice flat but meaning the words in a way of familiarity. Heck, Harper's parents hadn't been anything near abusive but they weren't Parents of the Year either. She knew what it was like to grow up knowing you weren't really loved by them. But her parents were honestly the last people that Harper wanted to think about right then. "Nice pep talk, must have taken some work to put together." As much as Harper didn't really get much from the talk, she was impressed with how Shiloh had put it together. Maybe it would be something to motivate the others with. Harper was well out of motivation then, running on fear and a need to be out of the pain she was in. "But it doesn't even seem thinking will help us. We can't chew our way out of this cage."  @shiloh || I don't like post-drilling Harper here.

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Shitty parents. That was certainly one way to put it. “You sound like you know something about that.” It was an opening if Harper felt up to talking, or it could simply be shrugged off as passing comment. Whatever made for a better distraction from their current predicament.

She hadn’t really meant to get all preachy. It had just felt right in the moment. Harper’s tone made it a little a hard to tell how she was taking it though. Shiloh shrugged. “Not really. It just sort of happens.” People always assumed because she was quiet she didn’t have anything to say. Really though she just didn’t feel like fighting to be heard. But when she had an audience, she could actually be quite eloquent. Assuming the audience was small. Crowds made her nervous. One person though, that she could handle. She looked over at Harper with a hint of a teasing smile. “I’ve got more if you need another one.” Anything to lighten the mood here. Hopeless wasn’t a good look for Harper. For any of them, really.

It was hard to argue with Harper’s logic. The human brain was an incredible thing, but it couldn’t burrow a tunnel out of this mountain. And if a rat couldn’t open the cage, then the only other option was… To let someone else do it. Someone who had already escaped. “So maybe we don’t.” Shiloh’s brow furrowed in thought as she explained. “Clarke escaped, right? If I know anything about Clarke, it’s that she doesn’t abandon people. She always fights her way back, even if it’s only for one person. With all of us trapped in here, there’s no way she won’t come back. If the Ark’s on the ground like Monty said, I bet you anything she’s already got them working on a way to get us out. We just have to figure out how to stay alive until she finds it.” Fighting their way out of this mountain might be beyond their capabilities. But fortifying a position inside… That just might be doable. Of course, then it became a question of how long that would take. They weren't exactly equipped for a siege down here.

@harpermcintyre