Taken Chapter.2

When you finally think it's over, you find that it's only just begun. The code of conduct for this hell hole? Stay to yourself and stay alive. To bad so many have to die for someone else's mistakes.

Chapter 2

I absentmindedly picked at a hole in the wall next to my bed, which was no more than a scratchy blanket on a concrete floor, accompanied by a flimsy excuse for a pillow, blood stains on it from past punishments I’d been through. The door to the room creaked open as my three other roommates stepped in, the Keeper that escorted them quickly shutting the door and locking it behind them.

I didn’t even look up as they shuffled past me and to their spots on the floor which were, unfortunately, composed of the same sad material as my sorry bed. I kept my back to them as they stripped off their day uniforms in exchange for the thin, bed sheet clothing they make us wear at night.

When I felt a soft kick on my back I slowly turned over, only to find that my roommates and friends were in a more sorry condition than I was. Rina was supporting what looked like a sprained wrist and a black eye while Daniel nursed a bloody nose and dislocated knee cap. It only took me a moment to understand what had happened to them.

I sighed quietly and slid next to Rina, gingerly touching her wrist to confirm that it was indeed sprained. She winced slightly when I preceded to tear a piece of my own night gown off and wrap it carefully around the swollen area.

“Vaylah...” She whispered tearfully.

I shushed her and looked over her eye, inspecting the worst of the black areas. “Go over to the water pail, take my ration and rub it sparingly on both your arm and your eye. Be careful not to strain your wrist so it can heal.” I said firmly.

She looked at me through teary eyes. “But Vaylah...” 

I shushed her again and sent her off to the corner of the room, moving on to Daniel, who was beginning to turn a little pale the cloth he was using began turning crimson. I carefully touched the areas around his nose, my fingers barely touching his skin for fear of hurting him more than he was. 

“Scoot back so your back is against the wall. Lean forward slightly and pinch the bridge of your nose, don’t move and give the blood time to clot.” I instructed.

He gave me a sparing look and did as I told him. I glanced around before ultimately deciding to use my pillow as a towel. I stood and took a few tentative steps forward, my eyes scanning the ground for the rock we used when we needed something sharp. When I finally spotted my target I scooped it up, hurrying back over to my pillow and giving Daniel a restless nod before hacking through the thin cloth and stuffing that passed as a pillow here. Daniel made to move towards me but gave a low groan as his knee cap was jolted, I gave him a worried look and ran over with the shredded remains of what little pillow I had. 

I carefully took the blood soaked cloth from him and put it to the side. Immediately, like a faucet being turned on, the blood poured from his nose. I heard Rina squeak as I pressed the pillow to his nose and made him lean forward.

“Rina, do what I said with the water.” I said as Daniel took the cloth and stuffing from me and held it himself.

“But...Vay...If I do that...You won’t have anymore water for 3 days...” She said quietly.

I waved a hand at her, “Do as I say Rina. I will decide what I want to do with my water and when.” I said chastely.

I heard water being sloshed about as I turned my attention to Daniels knee cap, which was swollen to at least twice the size it should’ve been, not to mention the huge purple and black bruise that the wound was creating. I sighed and began to inspect and assess the damage. It didn’t look to bad...Nothing beyond a major sprain at least...It looked fixable, but it would cause him a great deal of pain to put it back in place. 

“Hurry it up Vay. I can’t wait here all night. I have night duty soon.” Dan said through the pillow.

I stared at him, wondering vaguely where he got all his wits. “No you don’t. I’m taking your place. You can’t do anything with a sprain of this magnitude. You do realize I’m going to have to pop it back in right?” I said leisurely.

He glared at me but nodded as I readied his leg. Before I moved I made eye contact with him and nodded, pushing roughly against his swollen knee. He let out a strangled cry when his knee gave a loud crack followed by a small pop, Rina squeaked quietly from her corner. I bent down and inspected my work. It looked in place, just a lot of swelling. 

“It might take a while to heal entirely...But for now you should be alright.” I said as I stood up and brushed the dirt of my gown.

A low groan was his only reply. I took a few seconds to slide back over to my blanket before sitting and studying the two of them closely. 

“Well are you going to stare at us all day or are you going to speak? Your beginning to scare me.” Dan said weakly as Rina walked over and sat between us, her face and wrist glistening with the water she put on her wounds.

“I want to know how you got these wounds and I want to know now.” I said, trying to make my words as cold as possible.

“Well I mouthed off to a Keeper. I don’t care what you think anyways Vay.” Dan said casually.

I gave him a brief look and turned my attention to Rina, who looked as though she had just been sentenced to death, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Rina....” I began.

She cut me off with a choked off sob that echoed throughout the room around us.

“Vay! They beat me because I wasn’t standing up straight! They said it wasn’t proper for a girl to be hunched over but I...I was so tired and...My back h-hurt so much!!” She wailed as she jumped into my arms.

I kept my arms stiff at my side as she clutched my neck and sobbed. I lowered my voice to a whisper.

“Stop. Let me go. They’ll give you night duty.”

She gave a terrified squeal before slowly releasing me from her grip. She gulped a few times before finally letting out a shaky sigh and wiping her eyes. 

“I..I know...But..I,” She stood up and put on a brave face. “I don’t care anymore! They can’t get the best of me by using fear!” 

I was quiet as I stood up and put a firm hand on her shoulder, “Sit.” I commanded. She stared at me with an intense look in her eyes and slapped my hand away. 

“NO! I’m sick of being told what to do, how to live, and what to be afraid of!” She yelled.

I clenched my fists and felt myself tremble slightly with anger.

“And you know what Vay?! They don’t even know what their doing! I mean, why is there a need to control us when we’re just kids?! I mean-”

I cut her off, the side of my fist colliding roughly with her temple, I lowered my fist to my side and turned around as she hit the concrete floor with a loud thud. There was a deadly silence as what I just did sunk in.

“Vay...What...I..What was that?!” Dan spluttered, his words filled with rage.

I was quiet as Rina began to sob on the floor, her words mingling with her cries, making her sound as thought she did not know human speech.

“VAYLAH! Tell me what that was about!” Dan roared, only causing Rina to sob louder.

“She deserved it.” I muttered through my anger.

“No one deserves that!” He yelled.

“V...Vay..” Rina choked out.

Image after image ran through my brain. A boy getting executed for having his uniform clean, a 4-year old girl being called in the middle of class and her teary sister who had to watch her go, and of Terena, the girl who used to sit next to me in first class. She was called last week.

“Are you stupid Rina? Why would you say those things? I know you have a terrible past and had a terrible day, but why, why would you put your life at risk, our lives at risk, just for words? Words that could get us all killed. If your going to speak that rashly then you might as well hand yourself over to the Keepers.” I snarled.

She gave another choked off sob and scurried into the corner, her palms covering her ears as she muttered words of apology over and over. I heard Dan’s muffled groan of pain as he slid over to her side to comfort her, his words of consolation mingling with her rapid apologies as he tried to calm her down. I ground my teeth as silent tears streaked down my face. Neglecting my blanket, which wouldn’t have given me even a little warmth, I made my way into a corner, far away from either of them. There I sat down, my back to the wall and my arm to the steel door that kept us confined in these torture chambers. Miserably, I brought my knees up to my chest and hugged them weakly, chuckling manically before burying my face in my knees, trying to float into a sleep that I knew I wouldn’t achieve.

They’re tearing us apart, from the inside out, any thread of hope was cut today, no, any thread of anything was cut. We are nothing now. Just empty husks, doomed to walk around in pain throughout the rest of our lives. How are we even supposed to stay alive, if we can’t even trust ourselves?

Author's Note

This stories really going good :3 I like how I'm putting this out so far...FEEDBACK APPRECIATED! XD