"I am," she said, extending a hand to them. Her handshake was strong, and she beckoned them into the next room. "Come. We'll go into the parlor."
They entered the room, and she turned around quickly. There were grunts from the overseers as the guards stationed by the doors seized them, pinning their arms to their sides.
Francis lifted his hands on instinct, his expression angering a bit. "What's this? What are you doing?"
Poppy cried out next to him as another guard came up from behind her and pulled her back, his arms encircling her torso. Another set of arms quickly surrounded Francis, strong ones that tried to restrict his mobility. Miss Burgendy watched, not with a face of maliciousness but with an expression of interest, saying nothing.
His punch landed squarely on the face of his guard, and they dropped him. The remaining ones circled him, looking cautiously for a way in.
Francis tried not to let his guard down, but was feeling a bit overwhelmed. He threw a punch at one of them, momentarily letting his guard down.
One swept in from behind and jabbed him in the back, hitting a pressure point that momentarily incapacitated him. Two of the guards wrenched his arm behind his back and pulled him away from Miss Burgendy. Poppy glanced over at him with wide eyes, obviously afraid. Miss Burgendy studied them for a moment before moving her hand lazily in the air. "Take them to the cells," she said. She turned away, and the guards began to pull them back through the hallway, their actions rough and harsh.
Francis growled in anger, but didn't fight against the restraint this time, knowing that any resistance would be futile.
They came to a fork in the hallway, and the guards split. Francis and one overseer going down one hall, and Poppy and the other going down another. Poppy panicked glancing over at him as they were pulled apart. "Francis.." she said quietly, her voice rising in pitch, obviously scared. "Francis!"
He looked at her, his eyes filled with worry. "It will okay. I will be okay," he said, hoping his voice was loud enough for her to hear.
They disappeared from sight as the guards began to walk down the hallway. They arrived at the first cell, a small room with a toilet, a bench, and not much else. Francis was shoved in, and the door was shut behind him without another word.
He immediately turned, banging on the door. He kicked it angrily, mostly just doing it out of frustration and hatred.
(Insert shameful time skip here.) After a while, the cell door creaked open. Two guards stood silently, holding a pair of handcuffs. "Mr. Craw," one said in a deep voice. "We are to escort you to the experimentation room."
Francis looked up from the floor. After a bit of pointless attempts of destruction, he had sat down on the bench. At the sight of the guards he stood up quickly, a scowl forming on his face.
The guard raised an eyebrow. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," he said with an air of boredom.
