Trapped

[Malia]

The air was stale and filled of fear. Hundreds of people from every Clan were kept as prisoners in Mount Weather for their blood. No one really knew exactly why, but everyone had their theories.

Malia slammed the palms of her hands against the wall of her cage on anger and frustration. The linked metal shook, but showed no sign of breaking. She didn't know how long she had been trapped here. Days? Months? She needed to get out of here. Her people needed her. How could they defend themselves without their leader? She hated being away for this long; hated the mountain men for keeping her here. No one else from Trishana was here, though. She was the only one. She was grateful for at least that.

The door to the cage room opened. A lady walk inside, followed by guards. She looked at the prisoners in their cages. She pointed at one, a frail girl who looked like she wouldn't survive the next blood harvest. "That one,"  the woman said, and the guards went to unlock her cage.

Malia didn't hesitate for a second. She slammed her hands against her cage even more forcefully than before. She wasn't going to let the poor girl suffer anymore, not if she could help it.

The guards went to her instead. They tended to go for the stronger ones. They unlocked her cages and jutted a light-stick at her. It burned, and her muscles spasmed. They stabbed her with a tube and everything went dark.

Tags: Bree

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[Bree]

Bree was just searching for the source of the sounds: the rattling metal, the deep grunts, and even a scream or two. What it led her to was too much for her to handle. All she could see in the dark room were bodies tucked far into cages, bloody hands shaking the metal bars, and glossy eyes staring right at her. They were grounders. And they looked more helpless than she could have ever imagined.

Immediately she knew she stumbled into something she wasn’t supposed to see. She wanted to turn around, go straight out the door, and never come back to this horrible room. And she would have - pretended it never happened - if it weren’t for the lifeless girl that hung in front of her: upside down, hooked up to machines, the color drained from her thin body. She could have sworn she saw the girl twitch.

For a minute, Bree debated running away back to her hospital room and forgetting all this existed. For all she knew, she could be messed up on pain pills. The idea comforted her. But she could not bring herself to abandon this girl hanging from the ceiling. She cursed under her breath, annoyed at herself for caring, before tiptoeing around to see her face. She had soft features, pale skin, and long hair that caressed the floor. She knelt down, cautious of her injured ankle, and pressed two fingers to the girls neck, checking for a pulse. Part of her wished there wouldn’t be one.


Malia

[Malia]

Malia was unconscious, lost in a dark swirl of darkness. She heard the screams of dying warriors and the clank of swords. She was dreaming. Malia unhooked her spear from her back and fell into a stance she lunged at the attacking force, driving away from Mia Te Mak, her village. Sweeping her spear point around, she sliced the kneecap of an enemy warrior before stabbing another. For a moment, it looked like Trishana was winning. Then they heard the war horn of another party. The enemy had allies coming to help them. Losing her Clanmates in a crowd of enemies, she fought her best and hoped that it would be enough.

Tags: Bree

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[Bree]

Bree paused at the discovery: the girl was alive, her pulse beating fast as her body hang limp, swaying gently. Bree snapped her hand back, unsure of what to do next, suddenly disturbed at the situation. Again, she looked up at the door - now closed - and could picture herself running out and never turning back. Just then, the girl’s eyelid barely twitched. Bree waited one painfully slow moment for the girl to wake up, but she never did. Glancing around, Bree noticed the monitors detecting her heartbeat and vitals. She wondered how long the girl had been down here, where she came from, and most importantly why? Across from the screens stood a wheeled metal table carrying various vials of medicines, needles, and antiseptic. Bree stood and examined the contents. Painkillers. She pocketed them. And a needle full of epinephrine. She rolled the cylinder around in her soft hands, wondering if it would be enough to jumpstart the girl’s conscious.

The vitals on the screen began to pick up speed. The girl was breathing harder, faster. With no more than a second of thought, Bree uncapped the pen, revealing the sharp needle. She walked over to the girl and aimed at her thigh, sending the needle into her leg like a dagger. The girl’s body shook awake. Immediately, Bree dropped the needle, letting it smash into the concrete floor, and knelt down to face the stranger.


Malia

[Malia]

Malia jerked away to find herself upside down, hanging from her feet. She started when she noticed a figure loomed crouched in front of her. By reflex, she shoved the person away. As her eyes began yo focus, she saw that it was a stranger, a girl...wearing odd clothes. Mountain man. Malia twisted around, trying to find a way to get down. What had happened to her? Then she remembered. She saw the tubes connecting her to machines. Malia tried to reach up towards her feet, but couldn't. She was too weak. Looking back at the girl, she noticed that she looked...startled. Afraid. She didn't look dangerous. But that didn't mean that she wasn't. It didn't mean that she was going to help her.

Malia writhed, trying to escape, but she couldn't. Her energy spent, she went limp and just hung there, looking at the girl.

Tags: Bree

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[Bree]

Bree shielded her face at the girl’s attempt to shove her away. “Calm down,” she ordered in annoyance more than reassurance. She understood it must be scary for the girl, seemingly confused about the situation, but so was Bree. “And before you get any ideas, I'm not here to help you.” Bree stood up and walked around the girl, examining her exhausted body. She had bruises and scars littered across her skin. She didn't go down without a fight.

“I need you to tell me what they're doing to you,” Bree whispered. From the moment she stepped into this room, she couldn't shake the feeling that the she herself was in danger. She always sensed something was off with the Mountain Men. They appeared too happy, too carefree, too trusting of the 48 to be considered normal. If Bree knew one thing, it's that nobody is nice without expecting something in return. “Start by telling me who did this to you.”

Malia
(Sorry for the formatting, I'm at work and on mobile! I'll fix it later.)

[Malia]

Malia watched the girl's motions, in case she moved suddenly.

She didn't know what her own people were doing? She must be lying. She said that she wasn't here to help her. Malia would have to find a way to escape herself, or some how force the girl to help her.

"Your people did this," she hissed, her voice slightly accented from speaking Trigedasleng all the time. "They take our blood for a sick reason that is unknown to us."

Her head felt hot and heavy. All her blood was gathering there, making her feel sick.

Tags: Bree

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[Bree]

“What the hell are you talking about?” Bree didn't care much for the girl to begin with, and her accusations weren't helping. She shook her head in confusion and stood to walk away, leaving this mess behind. It took her a moment before she realized she must have been mistaken for a Mount Weather citizen, looking down at her clean white clothes and neatly braided hair. Bree cursed to herself, owing the girl an apology but refusing to give one. She knelt back down.

“I'm from the Ark,” she assured the stranger. “If you even know what that means.” Bree felt a rare sense of fear pour over her body as the grounders continued to rattle in their cages behind her. She wanted out. “Look, just tell me everything you know. I have to get out of here before they notice I'm gone.”

[Malia]

Malia was confused. Ark? What was that? Wasn't she from the mountain?

There was no way Malia would be letting the girl leave without helping her. If she wanted information, she'd have to help Malia first.

"Get me down first. Then I'll tell you anything you need to know." Malia wasn't even sure if she'd have the answers to the girl's questions, but she needed to get down. And Malia couldn't do it herself.

Tags: Bree

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[Bree]

Bree couldn't help but laugh. “Have you seen this place? There's no way out.” Not only was she unsure of the stranger, but she was unsure of her own people. They didn't necessarily care for or need Bree. Why was she risking her safety in Mount Weather to save the others? As she pondered her next move, she couldn't help but notice how pale the girl had gotten. The monitor showed her slowing heartbeat and it gave Bree a headache to even imagine being hanged upside down for so long. With a deep exhale, and regret, she shut off the voice in her head and began ripping the tubes and wires that hang from the girls body. The monitors began to flatline and there was no turning back.

Bree struggled to unhinge the stranger’s feet from the rope above. The mental clock was ticking fast and she became hyperaware of every tiny noise. Once, she thought she heard footsteps near the door, but dismissed it as paranoia. After a while of fumbling with the ropes, the stranger fell to the floor.

Malia

[Malia]

Malia fell to the ground. Ouch. She lied there for a moment, catching her breath and waiting for her head to stop pounding. Then she forced herself up, every bone and muscle in her body groaning with protest. She stumbled while getting up, but steadied herself. She hadn't stood for a while, being cramped up in that cage. She looked at the girl, relieved that her ploy had worked.

There wasn't a way to escape from this place. That couldn't be true, could it?

"That doesn't matter. I have to try. I need to get back to my people----" Her stomach churned and she bent over, throwing up on the floor. It was only bile, as she hadn't eaten in a while. She placed a hand on the table to keep from collapsing.  A tremor rolled through her body for a moment before she gathered herself together.

She had to escape. And there had to be a way for her to be able to. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she straightened. She had a bad headache. It was stopping her from being able to assess the situation properly.

"There has to be a way out," she muttered, gripping the table to keep her balance.

Tags: Bree

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[Bree]

“As far as I know, the only exit is the entrance. And frankly, I’ve never seen it.” Bree tried to ignore the girl as she threw up, and brushed off the urge to join her. She couldn’t stand this room - the loud bangs, the deep growls, the screams, and the awful smells that lingered around them. She wanted to get out, especially now after seeing this torture chamber. Bree cringed at the possibility of getting caught then being forced to join the Grounders all caged up as punishment - a way to silence what she now knows about the Mountain Men.

“I don’t know how to get out of the mountain. All I know is how to navigate within it and even then, I don't know much.” Bree looked at the door she just entered through, imagining the small hallways that leads to her medical room. “I can get you out of this room and maybe to somewhere safe. Well, safe for now.”

Malia 

[Malia]

Malia was surprised that the girl was going to help her. She wanted to be anywhere but here, in this room. She nodded, showing that she wanted to go with her.

"What is your name?" Malia asked her.

Tags: Bree

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