"Is it... is it abandoned?" Lucy asked cautiously. * * * Aisling was walking through the woods, her eyes alert as she brushed her fingers against the bark. She hummed under her breath, enjoying the feeling of moss under her fingertips. She was comfortable here. She was home. There was a cracking of a branch behind her, and she whirled around, pulling her gun out. Her dark eyes scanned the forest before she felt a sharp pain in her back. She gasped, turning and immediately shooting a plaguer in the chest. Dark blood blossomed from his chest as she watched as he staggered back, falling to the ground in death. She took a step forward but seemed unable to stand. She looked over her shoulder and saw a silver knife in her back. She stared at it, unable to process before falling to her knees, the trembling set in as she laid on her stomach, taking a deep breath before starting to crawl towards the camp.
Jaz nodded. "People would be out here if it weren't." Rory opened the door either way, the hinges squeaking from the lack of use. Inside it was a giant room, similar to that of a gladiators arena, but smaller and dirtier, seats around a circle of empty space, the floor dirt. On each side was more closed doors, supposedly where each 'challenger' would enter from. *** Dion was at camp. He waiting for Aislings return, but was not yet worried.
Lucy's eyes were wide as she stepped forward, moving towards the ring. "Jesus..." Emerson frowned, taking Rory's hand gently. "Are you guys okay? We can head back." * * * It took almost an hour for her to get back to the camp. She broke through the foliage, still crawling on her hands and knees, trembling terribly, unable to stand. Her face had gone completely white and she was struggling to breathe.
Rory shook her head, moving forward into the ring, looking around. The flooring was a mixture of sand and dirt with lots of footprints and something dark that had been long dried. Jaz frowned, looking around as memories flashed past his eyes. *** He looked over, noticing the figure and approaching slowly. It took him a moment to realize and he rushed over, panic spreading across his face. "Aisling! Help! Someone!"
They were silent for a moment, each of them holding their significant other's hand. Lucy spoke after a moment. "What... what are you two hoping to find here?" * * * She looked at him, struggling to speak as she fell to the ground, collapsing, her head resting against the grass as her whole body trembled. Ellis approached, looking confused for a moment before looking terrified. "*squee!*. Aisling? Aisling, what happened? "Plaguer," she managed after a moment. "Dead now." "Okay, okay, okay. Okay. Here, get on my back, okay? Just like old times. Dion, can you help her?"
Rory looked over at Jaz, her brows furrowed slightly. "Well.." he said, "there are files I'd like to see. About us. Our families, of sorts.." Rory when over to the doors in the ring, pushing it open into another hallway, leading to a smaller room filled with what was glorified cages, a few pads as bedding in each. *** He nodded, moving quickly to help her, obviously quite worried.
Emerson frowned deeply, leaning over and kissing Rory's temple. "Where would the files be?" he asked, raising one eyebrow. * * * She wrapped her arms around Ellis' neck as tightly as she could, barely able to grab her own hands from the trembling. The dagger in her back shifted and she whimpered, a terrifying sound. Aisling didn't whimper. They hurried to the infirmary and Ellis kissed her temple distractedly before setting her down on the bed. "This is okay," he told her gently. "There's been worse than this, you know? We've survived worse." She turned her head on the pillow, looking up at him. "Willows," she managed. He nodded, giving her an encouraging smile. "Yeah, that's right, Ash. Willows."
"Not in here," she said slowly, starting in the room. She knew where she was going. Jaz frowned and looked at Lucy. "Let's look this way." *** Dion watched them, his brows furrowed as he stood by.
Emerson followed her, folding his arms. "Are you sure you want to do this, Rory?" * * * Lucy nodded slowly, looking concerned. "Okay. If you say so." * * * He brushed her hair back gently before going to work on her back. He untied the intricate knots of her outer wrappings easily before speaking to Dion. "Can you come over here? Talk to her?" "He... he shouldn't see me like this..." Aisling managed weakly. Ellis looked down at her with one brow raised. "Ash, I hate to break it to you, but this is going to hurt. A lot. You need to hold his hand so you don't punch me."
She looked up at him. "I'm alright," she told him, stopping in front of one of the cages. She seemed hesitant to enter, simply looking at it. *** He nodded, starting out of the ring and into the stands, climbing up towards what looked like an announcers booth. *** He got in front of her and offered his hand quietly.
He hesitated, looking at it too. "Was this...?" * * * She followed him, frowning deeply. "God, Jaz. I'm so sorry." * * * She laced her fingers with his, looking up at him weakly. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this," she said tiredly. Ellis ripped the back of her shirt to gain access to the wound, revealing tattoos that swirled around her ribcage and back. She seemed vaguely uncomfortable about this exposure, frowning.
"Yes," she said hastily. "..Yes." She frowned, stepping it and going to the back corner. She got onto her knees and brushed away the dust, revealing a list of names including hers and Jaz's, crudely carved in with the rest. They were listed as: Mallory R. and Jaz. S. *** He looked back at her gently. "You don't have to apologize." *** He squeezed her hand gently. "It's alright, Aisling. I just want you to be okay."
He knelt down next to her, squinting at the names. "What is that?" * * * She looked over at him, her brows furrowed. "I love you so much," she said, shaking her head. "It makes me so furious that this happened." * * * Ellis took a deep breath, taking the hilt of the dagger. "Okay, Ash. Here we go. Hold on tight. 3...2...1..." He pulled the dagger from her back and she cried out in pain, tears springing to her eyes as she squeezed Dion's hand as hard as she could. She was trembling terribly, her eyes shut.
She pointed at their names, her finger moving past hers first. "Number seven." Then Jaz's. "Number eight. That's us." *** He paused to kiss her cheek. "That's all done now." *** He inhaled sharply, but didn't say anything, holding her hand.
He looked over at her for a moment before kissing her forehead. "R... what does the 'R' stand for?' * * * She shook her head, her arm slipping around his waist. "Still. I love you." * * * Ellis began working as quickly as he could to patch her up, his brow furrowed in concentration. "The important thing is that it didn't seem to puncture anything important, Aisling," he told her. "Your spine is good, no vital organs were hurt. It's just blood loss we're worried about here." She opened her eyes, looking utterly exhausted, the dark circles under her eyes accentuated by the paleness of her complexion. She loosened her grip on Dion's hand, looking up apologetically. "Sorry," she mumbled.
She sighed. "I think that's my last name." *** "I love you too," he said gently, before entering the room and looking through the file cabinets. *** He kissed her hand. "That's alright. Don't worry about it."
"But... do you know what it is?" he asked, raising one eyebrow thoughtfully. * * * She opened another drawer too, flipping through them uncertainly. "Am I just looking for your name? Or Rory's?" * * * Ellis began to sew up the wound quickly, but Aisling didn't even seem to notice, closing her eyes again as he worked. "You're going to have to not scout for at least a week," Ellis told her as he tied off the last line. Aisling's eyes flew open and she struggled to sit up, almost like a caged animal. "What? No, I have to scout."
She frowned, staring at the name. "No." *** He paused, picking up a folder. "I'm looking for both." He opened it, tilting his head. He went quiet, looking at the paper. *** Dion rested his hands on her shoulders gently. "Careful! Just relax.."
He looked down at her before offering her his hand. "We'll find out." * * * She noticed, coming over to him and looking over his shoulder. "What is it?" * * * She looked up at him with wide eyes as she was gently pushed back down to the bed. "Dion, please. Please, don't let him tell me I need to stay in here. I can't do it. You know I can't do it. Please tell him." Ellis huffed, crossing his arms. "I can hear you." "Yeah, but you won't listen to me. Dion gets it. Right, Di? You won't let him keep me in here for that long."
