Operation M.I.A: Missing in Action (IN NEED OF REVISING)

Chapter XXIII (TRIGGER WARNING)

Next, we come across a large, downward hill. Rather than run down it, we slide down. My butt is freezing from all of the snow, and snow constantly flies in my face, nearly blinding me. After we reach the bottom of the hill, we have to resort to walking slowly, wrapping our arms around ourselves because of the chilly air.

We don't have to walk very far, however, because pretty soon we come across a gap. And I mean a huge gap. The other side is barely visible from where we're standing, and there's not even a fog to limit our vision.

"There's no way we're gonna cross this fast enough," Heath moans.

Luke darts his head back and forth, and eventually spots a small black contraption hovering a few feet above the ground. Upon closer inspection, we find out that it's a zipline that stretches all the way to the other side of the gap.

"Everyone, grab on," Luke instructs. As our hands start reaching for the cable, I exclaim, "Luke! There's no way this can support all six of us!"

"Avery, it's the only way to cross fast enough," Luke tells me. With this information, I reach for the cable, but I'm still doubtful that this cable will hold our weight.

Luke starts counting down from three a lot quicker than he should. On "one", we all jump and let the zipline cable do the work. I shut my eyes tightly, preparing for the worst. At first, the line dips a little from our weight, but by some miracle, the cable holds. It manages to last us all the way to the other end of the line, at which point we all hop off and immediately go back to sprinting.

After running through a small clearing full of penguins, we come across a somewhat tall rock wall. We waste no time in climbing it. Heath and I are the first ones up, and we both help Skylar up. Elle makes it up and then helps Sam, and Luke makes it up on his own. Then, when all six of us stand back up, we take a look at what we're up against.

It's another large factory-looking building. Why it's like this, I have no idea. We scan the building for a few seconds to try and get our bearings, and Sam eventually looks to the side, points, and yells, "Look!"

Our eyes follow where he's pointing. Moving around a corner behind the building is a figure. I can only catch a glimpse of the figure, but I do see the clothing. It's exactly what Mia has been wearing all day, so it's got to be her.

We run along the left side of the building. After reaching the corner that Mia went behind, Sam, Heath, and Luke get their guns out and prepare for a surprise attack. They wait a couple seconds, then turn the corner, point their guns, and yell, "FREEZE!"

What we find is not what we expected to see. Our four friends are just walking behind the building. They all jump back in surprise when they see us.

"Where are your captors?" Heath asks, confused.

"Um, we escaped a few minutes ago. It wasn't really that difficult," Mia replies.

"Hey, I think I hear them outside!" a man's voice yells from inside the building. The two sides of the group look at each other, and Mackenzie then says, "Yeah, we should probably go."

All ten of us then start running back around the building. I raise my left hand and whistle to signal in the hovercraft, which is ready for us when we make it to the front of the building. Brielle's also on it, and she's ushering us in, yelling, "Come on! Hurry!"

Three armed men are right on our tails. Before we take off, they start firing their guns at us. The hovercraft's force field protects us from harm, and gives the other guys the opportunity to shoot the three men down, at which point we're able to leave.

---

Music: Internal from Gradius Gaiden

It's been a while since we've talked about Alexys, hasn't it?

Alexys has been spending the past day in the appropriately named "dungeon". The dungeon is basically where the traffickers send girls that they aren't planning on selling as sex objects (in other words, too young or too inattractive... whatever the hell their standards are). Alexys, being the "mascot" of the corporation, is a bit of an exception to this rule. She spends time down here either when she needs some alone time or when the Black Shadow decides he wants nothing to do with her for the time being.

Compared to most of the other captives, Alexys has it made here. She's been given a desk with a lamp and a journal to write in, and even a prison mate to keep her company. Her prison mate is currently asleep, and Alexys has already finished her entry for the day, so she decides to see how the rest are faring.

In the cell across from hers is a seven-year old who's been here for roughly a couple months now. She spends most of her time just pacing around and sighing to herself. Alexys can hardly remember being that age. After ten years of the same thing over and over again, her life has become one big, long blur.

One thing Alexys frequently notices with the prisoners is how starved they are. Almost all of the other girls, even her prison mate, have visible rib cages. Alexys pulls up her own shirt and just like always, her stomach looks as normal as ever. She silently curses the special treatment she receives that these poor, innocent girls don't get.

Neighboring Alexys is a mid-teen girl who just arrived here a couple of days ago. She's shown herself as a rowdy one, and as a result, is the only girl to have someone guarding her to make sure she doesn't attempt any shenanigans. She initially attempted escape upon arriving, but once they threw immense security on her, she just sharpens her nails with a small brick that fell from the ceiling and has already began counting the days she's been held here.

"You doing okay?" The voice from Kim takes Alexys by surprise, but she chooses not to express it.

"I mean, it's hard to say that I am," Alexys replies softly, her gaze never leaving the sights surrounding her. Kim has been her one person to go to for the past three years now. She's always willing to listen to Alexys whenever Alexys needs someone to talk to.

"Inmate fourteen has been confusing me these past few days. She just sits in a corner and mumbles to herself all day. Must not have anything to entertain her," Kim smirks.

"Yeah..."

Suddenly, screams start erupting from the other cell neighboring Alexys'. Alexys isn't able to get a good view, but the mid-teen solves the mystery for her. "Oh my god, she's trying to kill herself!"

The two guards in the room charge for the cell and force it open. Meanwhile, the Black Shadow enters the room and looks for Alexys. "Alexys? I need you back with me, please."

"Over here," Alexys sighs. Black Shadow walks over to her cage and unlocks it, making sure to lock it before Kim gets any ideas. On the way out, Alexys watches the two guards trying to hold a stool underneath her neighbor's feet. The girl keeps screaming and holding onto her noose like a prized possession. Right before Alexys leaves, they're able to get her down and onto her bed.

And as she starts walking back upstairs, the only remaining clue as to what's going on down there is more screaming.

A typical day in the dungeon.

Easily the most intense chapter by far. Now we're getting to the good stuff in the story. ;)