Played For A Fool

Puzzle Pieces

Scarlet laughed deliriously, shaking her head. "You say that as though it makes a difference."

Wolf hated himself, he hated his master, and he really hated his brother, Ran, as he chose that moment to walk through the door. Wolf growled, and Scarlet hunkered over her Grandmother as Ran walked into the cell.

"Well, well, well, you two just can't seem to stay away from each other." Ran chuckled, smiling with his bloody teeth. He walked over to Wolf and put one of his blood-caked hands on Wolf's shoulder and dug his nails into them.

"Leave." Wolf snarled. He had command over his brother, seeing how he was alpha of the pack, and Ran was only the omega. He had complete dominance over his brother, but he did not budge. "Leave right now." Wolf repeated.

Ran didn't move a muscle, but smiled instead. His sharp teeth were tainted pink, and Wolf felt sick just looking at him.

"I'm sorry, Alpha," Ran sneered, "but traitors don't hold any power here."

Ice seemed to run through Wolf's veins at those words. Why had he been so stupid? He knew that there were surveillance cameras everywhere. He knew what happened to traitors too, though that didn't seem as important. He didn't care what happened to him, so long as Scarlet got out safely. Just as long as he fixed his mistake.

Wolf prepared himself for a fight. He could easily take out Ran, no problem. But if his entire pack attacked him, he was dead.

Ran smirked at Wolf, and suddenly, he pulled out a gun. He fired, and a split second later Wolf felt a searing pain pierce his side as he fell to the ground. That was a dirty move, and Ran knew it. The Wolves never used guns, specializing in hand-to-hand combat with their massive bodies and sharp fangs and claw-like nails.

A scream rang through the air, though it wasn't Wolf's. Scarlet had yelled Wolf's name when he had been shot, and ran to his side. Two more Wolves came in and grabbed Wolf from either side. They were his own packmates, but Wolf had betrayed him. He deserved the consequences.

Wolf began to be dragged away, his blood spattering over the already blood soaked room. Scarlet yelled out at him again, and Wolf tried to shove away from the mutants that were holding him captive.

"Scarlet!" Wolf coughed, blood coming from his mouth. "Don't trust him! Don't trust the doctor!" Wolf felt himself falling. He felt himself fading from everything around him, knowing the last thing he would see would be those big brown eyes and scarlet hair.

"Don't trust Dmitri Erland." Wolf whispered. Then everything went black.

***

Thorne yawned and stretched out on the ground. He had lost track of time, seeing how there were no windows in the room and he had taken a nap. He had decided to just not worry about the situation until it became more serious, though it was still eating him from the inside.

Cinder. They wanted Cinder. He had tricked Cinder into trusting him, and now he was going to kill her. It was torture for Thorne to sit there and wait for Cinder to get there, because he knew that she would. He knew that she didn't have a clue, and Thorne would do nearly anything to tell her. To warn her. To save her.

Thorne loved Cinder more than almost anyone else. She was practically his sister, and was his best friend. He felt more protective over her than anyone else, and wanted only to see her happy and safe. But in the end, he wouldn't be able to protect her.

The door to Thorne's cell abruptly opened, causing him to jump. A girl with fiery red hair who was cursing rapidly in french was thrown onto the ground, before the door shut closed behind her.

Scarlet got up and pounded on the door, though it was to no avail. She called out for her grandmother and someone else, before falling back to the ground in a heap and let out a big sob.

Thorne sat up and called out, "Scarlet!" He crawled over to her side, and put his hand on her shoulder. Scarlet started, before laughing out loud and wrapping her arms around Thorne.

Both relief and panic swelled through Thorne. He was glad to not be alone anymore, though he was upset that Scarlet had been captured. If they had been able to take Scarlet, then who else had they taken?

Pulling Scarlet at arms length, Thorne began to question her. "Scarlet, how did you get here? Does he have Cinder too?"

Scarlet shook her head, though it was more from defeat than anything else. "I don't know." Scarlet cried. "All I know is that these men can't be trusted."

"What do you mean?" Thorne inquired, sensing that something dark was plaguing Scarlet's mind. "What happened to you? Why are you here?"

"My Grandmother is dead." Scarlet stated matter of factly, her voice coming out deadly. "Wolf tricked me into coming here to save her, but she was already dead. I don't know why they want me." Scarlet stared at the ground, and Thorne realized that she didn't know about Cinder. It wasn't his secret to tell, but Thorne knew that Scarlet deserved to know the reason why she was being held hostage.

Thorne shifted into a sitting position in front of Scarlet. "Scarlet," Thorne whispered, "There's something that you should know about Cinder."

Scarlet looked at him, her eyes asking him a question. Thorne wondered if he was about to make a huge mistake, but hardly hesitated a second.

Thorne spent the next few minutes explaining. He told Scarlet about how Cinder was actually Selene Blackburn, and how her family had been murdered. He told her how a man had been hunting Cinder down for years, and had finally found her and was keeping them hostage as bait for Cinder.

Scarlet listened intently, never interrupting. She showed no emotions as Thorne told her everything. Only when Thorne stopped talking did she finally speak up.

"Dmitri Erland."

"I beg your pardon?" Thorne said, not understanding why she would say such an ugly name. Who names their child Dmitri?

"Dmitri Erland," Scarlet repeated, "he's the one that did this to Cinder. Wolf warned me about him." Scarlet whispered Wolf's name in an intimate way that made Thorne curious, though he decided to wait until later to ask her about it.

"It's not Dmitri Erland that I'm worried about." Thorne said shaking his head, and recalling the face of the man who he had seen only a few hours ago.

Thorne had been shocked to see his face under that mask. He had sat there, fear coursing through him, before the rage had caught up. Thorne had yelled profanities at him until his voice grew hoarse, and even attempted to attack him, before his mutants slammed the door. He had wanted to kill him with his bare hands.

"But Thorne," Scarlet said, "Dmitri Erland is probably the guy that tried to kill Cinder."

Shaking his head, Thorne let out a low chuckle. "Dmitri Erland may be dangerous, I don't really know who he is, but someone else tried to kill Cinder." Thorne said.

Color drained from Scarlet's face. "Who?" She whispered, and Thorne wondered if she actually wanted to know, or was just asking. Her face was horrified, and Thorne felt a sense of defeat flew through him as he breathed the name.

"Dr. Sage Darnel."