"Monty, be quiet," Jasper cut his friend off. "Why would they do that to you?" Jasper asked Maya, his voice echoing in the room.
"Because standard treatment sucks compared to you."
Standard treatment. Jasper and Monty gave each other a look. They asked the same question that anyone would that was clueless. They were in for a big surprise. Something that would change the whole game.
Maya nodded her head to the side, "Through there."
Jasper stayed grounded, but after a tug from Monty the duo shuffled cautiously through to the closed blinds of the side of the wall. A shadow of a fan was on the other side, spinning slowly. The smell of chemicals was now gone, replaced by the smell of body odour and grime.
They both leaned down to look through one of the slits on the blinds. Jasper placed his hands on the dusty metallic blind and lifted it up so he could get a better look. The two lost their breaths immediately at the sight.
Through the blinds was a large hallow descent of hallways and hanging hooks. Cages everywhere, filling the space tightly. It was inside the cages that shocked them, that made Monty feel disgusted just by wearing the clothing he was.
Grounders. They were taken hostage, in cages with barely anything to keep them warm. And it clicked for him, for Monty, for the reason why the Grounders were being locked up. They needed their blood, Mountain Men, to survive radiation outbreaks. They were standard treatment.
And then Monty felt a chill go up his spine, he turned away from the blinds and looked at Maya. "Why are you showing us this?"
"Because I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"That you're next." Maya's voice cracked with the tears streaming down her face. Pure fear. "They already started with your friend, the one that cant remember. She won't know what they did to her, but I saw it all happen. I'm so sorry."
"You mean, Blithe? That's her punishment for hurting those guards?" Monty exclaimed, unaware of how loud he was getting.
"Yes and no. She was with Clarke when she left. That's why the security has gotten so high. You can't leave, there's no way," Maya muttered, biting her bottom lip.
Monty clenched his fists, "Then what choice do we have?"
Jasper licked his lips, gulping uneasily at his idea, "We volunteer."
☣
I walked carefully, cautiously, painfully. Every inch of my body burned, and I hoped it was the medicine. Music played loudly from down the hall, laughter echoing along with it. My hair was brushed, I was in a fuzzy sweater and jeans, I don't know what my face looked like. I haven't seen a mirror in a while. I wasn't too sure I wanted to see what was reflected in the mirror either.
When I walked in the laughter stopped. The energetic music continued to play, but as far as I can remember it was never this loud before. I spotted Jasper and Monty hanging around a speaker with cards in their hands, Harper (who seemed distant) was there too.
Monty scrambled away from the card game and ran towards me, engulfing me in a hug. His soft presence made me sigh with a smile, I squeezed him back even though every inch of my body burned. I laughed slightly when he pulled away, and around me the chatter returned.
"Are you okay?" He asked, scanning my body for injuries that I didn't know I had.
"I think so," I mumbled, following him to Jasper and Harper.
I sat down with a ghost of a smile on my lips. Jasper handed me a few cards, telling me what game we were playing. Harper gave me a welcoming nod, I returned one. Miller joined us, patting my lightly on my back. That stung, for more reasons than I can tell.
Even though the smile on my face was genuine, I felt different. I felt out of place, like I was a tree surrounded by a meadow of flowers. I breathed deeply, looking over the cards that had been placed in my hand. I had no clue what game we were playing.
"Blithe," Monty muttered with a smile, but his tone said this was important. "We have news for you, and we need you to help."
"And what is it?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.
"But first, be careful what you say. They're listening."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Who's listening?" I ask, slightly louder than I wished it was.
