KING, the hundred

fifty-four: learning how to die

"what you'll see is the worst me
i'm not the last of my kind"

muddy waters by LP

When Avery woke up, the room was brighter than usual. Her instincts screamed "the sun!" But logic said the light was too white to be natural.

She regained a little more consciousness and tried to crane her neck upward, her head lolling to the side. What the hell? There were restraints on her wrists. And her ankles. And her stomach. She was tied to a chair. Then she heard Miller's voice from beside her.

"Avery." Miller whispered helplessly. Avery sat forward and turned toward him, to see that his wrists were handcuffed to the rock wall of the room. Harper, Monroe, Sarah, and about ten others were also chained to the wall a few feet from him. They all faced Avery, their expressions fearful.

"W-where are we?" Avery groaned. The bruises covering her body were throbbing, as was the never-totally-healed arrow wound in her shoulder. Before Miller could answer, Cage Wallace stepped into the room.

"Avery King!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "So good of you to join us." He stepped closer to the delinquents tied to the walls, each of them staring back at him with anger in their eyes. "Comfortable?"

"Could be better." Avery said groggily. "Would be better if you took the handcuffs off." Avery rattled her hands and feet to make a point.

Cage just smirked. He took a step closer to Avery, looming over her as a show of force.

That was the moment Avery knew she was dead. Everything after it was time gained.

"Now," Cage started, turning toward the delinquents tied to the wall. Harper and Sarah unconsciously flinched back, the pain in their bones from the drilling flaring up. "There are more of you in this mountain, hiding. And I know some of you know where they are." He paused for dramatic effect. Avery sighed. "You're gonna tell me, or, I'm gonna get it out of her."

He pointed an angry finger at Avery. Instead of cowering in fear, Avery smiled. It was a small thing, barely enough for Cage to catch. But he did catch it. If it was possible, he got even angrier, stalking over to Avery like a really pissed off house cat stalking prey.

"What the hell is funny about this!?" He demanded. Avery made him wait a moment before she answered.

"You won't win."

"I'm using what you did against you, I'm using Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin against you. They'll do anything for you. Jasper would do anything for you. You know he told my father he thought of you as a sister. He and Monty were broken by your death."

Avery shook her head. Did he really think emotional blackmail was going to work on her?

"You won't win."

Cage snapped, reaching forward to lock a hand around Avery's throat. Avery flinched, the raw skin from the noose flaring up. She could feel the bruises under her skin. It hurt like hell, but Avery stared back at Cage unrelentingly as he raved.

"I'm gonna kill you. Turn you inside out so you bleed all over this floor while your family watches. You'll die first knowing they're gonna go next. And when I'm done with you I'll move on to the rest of them. Bellamy Blake will die the slowest. We have nearly enough bone marrow, more than half of our population is free to walk the ground. You lose, King."

Avery couldn't respond, her breath shallow as Cage pushed down on her throat. When he finally let go, Avery gasped loudly, trying to breathe as much oxygen in as possible. She could feel the blood pooling in the back of her mouth. That really wasn't a good sign. She rolled her head to the side, spitting blood out onto the concrete floor.