Blight: The Catalyst

Chapter Seven: Dog Eat Dog

The echo-y scream of a woman jolts me awake and I instantly double over in pain. The side of my head – the same one I had smashed in a tree a couple days ago – aches more than ever and everything is dark. My hands are bound behind my back and I'm sitting on something cold and vaguely moist.

Concrete maybe?

Something is leaned against my back and shifts tensely. My eyes slowly adjust to the darkness and I can make out frightened silhouettes of other people slumped around me.

"C-Cass?" A familiar voice croaks behind me, the weight against my back moving to one side as they turn to try and look at me.

"Octavia?" I murmur, my head aching.

"Oh thank God!" She sighs.

"Where are we? What happened?" I groan.

"A man knocked you out and some others grabbed us." She quivers.

"What happened to Felix?"

She's quiet for a few seconds and my body stiffens.

"I-I don't know. More people came to get us, but they put a bag over my head. I-I couldn't see anything. Cass, I'm sorry-"

"Don't be, it's okay. We're gonna get out of here and find him, and the others." I assure her, leaning my head back against hers in an attempt to calm her down.

I glance around, finally able to see what we have to work with.

There's a couple dozen people in here, all of which look worse for wear. Many of them are missing limbs, bloody bandaged stumps lying lamely at their sides or in front of them. I can't tell from all of them, but they all seem to be still alive, whimpering and moaning softly, shifting uncomfortably. Many of the ones missing limbs are tied to other people instead of being bound, unable to walk or fight back.

A woman to my left is missing both of her legs from the thigh down and staring blankly at the ground.

A young man, maybe late-teens, sits closest to my sister and I, his hands bound as well with all of his limbs intact.

"Hey," I mutter to him, but he doesn't move. "Hey, you."

He moans and lifts his head slightly to look at me, a bloody eyepatch covering his left eye.

"What's going on? Where are we?" I ask him and he stares blankly at me for a moment, blinking his good eye.

"We're gonna die here," he mumbles, hanging his head.

"No, we're not. Please, you have to tell us what's going on." I beg. He's silent for several seconds and I'm convinced he's trying to ignore me when he takes a breath to speak again.

"You should stay quiet. They'll be back soon to choose." He sighs.

"Choose? What are you talking about?" Octavia pleads.

"If you stay quiet and don't make eye contact, you have a chance of living a little longer." The man croaks.

I don't have time to ask what he means before classical music begins to play loudly from a room next door and the people whimper louder. The man stiffens and his breath hitches.

"Dinner time..." He grumbles, his head drooping to his chin.

"Wha-" The heavy metal door swings open and light floods in, the door squealing loudly on its hinges and everyone goes dead silent.

"You all know what time it is, little morsels!" A man exclaims excitedly, stepping into the large room.

"Enough with the fright fest, Devin, just pick a few." Another man grumbles from behind the first, his hands in the pockets of a bloody apron.