/\/\/
/\/\/
Byrd leant against the back of her cage, her eyes set on the bodies hanging from the roof. No one had touched her since they had thrown her in there, Dr Tsing doing nothing but smiling cynically at her whenever she walked by. She hadn't seen Lincoln and was coming to believe her decision to talk to him was going to haunted her for the rest of her life.
She kicked at her cage door, trying to break the lock that held her in. She had been stripped of all her clothes, leaving her in nothing a bra and underpants. She still laid covered in her own blood, staining her skin dark red. She had hidden the keys under her cage, only hoping Lorelei wouldn't find them. The girl rested her head against the wall of her cage, the grounder next to her playing with her hair; tugging at it lightly.
'Get them down,' Lorelei called as she entered the room with two guards.
'Yes, ma'am,' The men stated.
'I want her next.'
'Yes, ma'am.'
Byrd glared at the men as they approached her cage, sitting herself up properly.
'Touch me, you die,' She sneered.
They didn't reply as they opened the door, earning a kick to the face. She scrambled out on her hands and knees, reaching for the gun in their belt. But she was lifted up, an animalistic yell leaving her mouth as she fought against the doctor. She threw her head back, nailing her in the nose before she dropped to the floor. The grounders all sat at the front of their cages, yelling and screeching at the sight of the fight.
'Strap her to the table,' Dr Tsing cried; 'Now!'
Byrd struggled against the men as they lifted her from the floor, carrying her toward the table. They strapped her down, dealing with her hits and kicks. But they were all quick to still when sirens began to blared, orange lights flashing.
'Tie her down, then move,' Lorelei called as she raced for the door.
The Delani girl laid strapped to the table, tugging at the cuffs around her wrists and ankles.
'Fuck,' She yelled.
/\/\/
'Have you heard anything about Byrd?' Jasper as Monty as he lay in the hospital bed.
'No,' Monty shook his head; 'None of the others have seen her and there's no new artworks in the dorm.'
'Maybe she went to find Clarke?'
'So, she found a way out?' Maya asked.
'Obviously,' Monty stated; 'She said she knew where Clarke was.'
'Are you sure she's not in medical? She was pretty beat up last time we saw her.'
'She would't let them help her. She doesn't trust easy.'
The trio went silent, before Jasper spoke up; 'What if I ask Dante? He told me about Clarke, maybe he'll tell me about Byrd, too.'
'It's worth a shot,' Maya shrugged.
'But what if he's lying? No one likes her,' Monty retorted; 'What if some guards have her locked up somewhere?'
'Then this place would be burnt down by now,' Jasper replied; 'It's only been a day, maybe she's just hiding out somewhere. I'll ask Dante if he's seen her. It'll be fine.'
Monty nodded slowly, looking down at his hands. There had been no murmurs of trouble from anyone, not even a whisper of someone stealing food. It worried him. Because if there wasn't any trouble, there wasn't a troublemaker; which meant no Byrd.
/\/\/
She felt dizzy, tubes coming out of her as blood was pulled from her body. But it hadn't come without a fight, and maybe a little bit of anaesthesia. Byrd felt weak, and she hated it. She could hear the faint mutters around her, but it hardly made any sense in her mind.
'It was incredible to watch,' Lorelei spoke to a man; 'She was healed in almost half the time.'
'That is why we are using her?' The man replied.
'Yes. But we can only take so much every time until we get more volunteers.'
'How much longer must she be like this?'
'A possible five minutes.'
He nodded, looking over the pale girl; her face a sickly white compared to the rest of her body. Byrd blinked as she tried to keep herself awake, slowly moving her fingers and toes. She glared at the woman when she appeared above her, beginning to pull out the needle from her arm.
'Quiet, are you?' The woman chuckled.
'Fuck you,' She spat.
Lorelei's face fell as her words, causing the girl to smirk. She unstrapped the girl, pulling her up by her arm. Byrd's knees gave way the moment her feet hit the ground, her shins colliding with the concrete.
'Get up,' The woman growled as she yanked her up.
The girl merely smirked, 'So I can beat you down?'
She was shoved forward, her feet sliding over the floor. She collapsed into her cage, her eyes shutting as her head fell back heavily to lean against the cage.
'You know, I hope one day, very soon, you feel every ounce of pain you cause these people,' She drawled.
'But not for your pain?' The doctor queried.
'What pain?'
She smirked lazily, flipping the woman off before she turned and marched off. She felt nauseous, but she had to get out. She had to stay strong. Byrd let her eyes fall shut, her guard falling away, but her senses remained on high alert as she came to sleep.
/\/\/
Byrd didn't know how long she'd been locked up in a cage, but it was beginning to drive her insane. She had another round on blood taken some time ago, leaving her nauseous and weak once more. But after testing every key in the lock on her door, she found none of them fit. Though she wasn't going to throw them away.
She kicked at the cage door, sending it rattling for a few seconds. She continued to kick at it, causing a riot amongst the grounders. Her body ached, her head screamed out in pain. She used what little strength she had to kick at the door, yelling out as her legs burned. But no one heard her scream.
Back in the dorm, Jasper stood before all of his friends; trying to convince them to volunteer their blood. They all looked at him as though he had two heads, no one willing to help his cause. He looked over all of their faces as he spoke, begging them with his eyes.
'Guys, think about everything they've done for us. I mean, they gave us shelter, clean clothes. They kept us safe from the Grounders,' He tried before sighing; 'Miller? They saved your life, right?'
'Dude, you puked for three days,' Miller retorted.
'That was different. The normal treatments wouldn't be as bad.'
'So they say,' Monty stated.
'So what, then? Only puking for one day?' Miller shook his head; 'Nah. I'm out.'
'Sorry, Jasper. I'm out, too,' Harper added as the group began to disperse.
'Come on. They gave us cake! I got a sign-up sheet. If you'd-' Jasper tried one last time.
'Dude. What are you doing?' Monty asked once the room cleared.
'What?'
'When did you start working for them? You know what? Never mind. Now that you're better, I'm going after Clarke.'
The boy's face fell when Maya came into view as she strode into the room with a smile on his face, his eyes glaring up at his best friend.
'Of course. Right on time,' He muttered.
'Hey, guys,' Maya chirped as she showed them a note written on her notepad that she held close to her chest; 'Jasper. I'm so glad to see you're feeling better.'
The boys read the note, confusion on their faces before they tried to hide it. Act Normal. They're Listening, it read.
'Thanks. I am,' Jasper stammered before reading the next note.
The breach wasn't an accident. Follow me, it read.
'You look, um, rested,' Jasper stated.
'Hey, it's pizza day,' Maya forced a short laugh; 'Who's hungry?'
The boys nodded slowly, following after her after looking at one another. They followed her through the halls, trying to keep up with her quick pace. The girl lead them into a dark room, Monty pulling the heavy door shut behind them.
'We don't have much time, but we can talk freely here,' Maya gushed.
'What the hell is going on?' Jasper asked, watching as her face crumbled; 'Maya?'
'I'm sorry.'
'About what? What do you mean, it wasn't an accident?'
'She means they exposed her to radiation on purpose,' Monty stated as he stepped forward; 'I'm betting it was to get you to agree to be her blood brother.'
Maya nodded with her gaze low, tears sitting heavy in her eyes.
'I knew it,' Monty snapped; 'Clarke was right.'
'Monty, be quiet,' Jasper whispered; 'Did you know about this?'
'No,' Maya choked out.
'And why would they do that to you?'
'Because the standard treatment sucks compared to you.'
'That's what Dante said.'
'What's the standard treatment?' Monty asked.
'Through there,' Maya motioned over her shoulder.
She rounded the shelving behind her, leading them to a air vent toward the back of the room. She didn't look toward it as she motioned for them to look, both the boys walking forward cautiously. Jasper pulled one of the vents up from its angled position, ducking down with Monty to look through. Both their jaws fell as they gasped at what they saw, cages hanging from the roof everywhere.
'Oh, my God,' Jasper muttered; 'Are those all Grounders?'
'Wait a second,' Monty stepped back; 'Why are you showing us this?'
'Because I'm afraid,' Maya looked up at them.
'Of what?' Jasper asked.
'That you're next.'
They both looked back out through the vent, listening to the soft groans of the weak grounders.
'Who else knows about this?' Jasper asked.
'Everyone, but nobody talks about it,' Maya replied slowly; 'We learn not to ask questions... Look, without the treatments, we'd die. What are we supposed to do?'
'Die,' Monty stated; 'We have to get out of here. Dante said we could leave, right?'
'He was lying,' Jasper scoffed as he came to realise the truth; 'He knew I'd be too scared to leave, just like he knew I'd do what had to be done to save Maya.'
'So we don't ask. If Clarke and Byrd got out, we can, too.'
'You'll never make it. Ever since Clarke and Byrd disappeared, security all around the mountain has been increased.'
'We have to try.'
The trio paused when a yell echoed from down below, Monty and Jasper looking toward vent. They raced forward to peek through the vent, trying to spot the girl they had been looking for all week. Byrd's yell sounded again before the banging and rattling of a cage, they could hear her muttering loud and clear.
'Hey, psycho bitch,' The Delani girl drawled; 'When're you gonna bring me some food? Maybe a little water? I'm hungry.'
'We're not leaving,' Jasper stated firmly as he turned away; 'I won't leave the others behind. That means they end up in there. I won't leave Byrd in there.'
'What choice do we have?' Monty asked.
'We volunteer.'
/\/\/
Byrd lay strapped to the bed once more, her whole body taunt as she tried to move away from the six inch needle that was aimed toward her. She pulled against her restraints, glaring up at the doctor as she stood over her.
'You know, your friends are in the next room doing this exact thing,' Dr Tsing stated with a smug smirk; 'Giving their blood for the good of humanity. And I don't think any of them struggled this much.'
'Maybe, because they're all stupid,' She sneered in reply; 'They don't know the truth.'
'And they never will.'
'Oh, you just wait, bitch.'
She clenched her teeth as the needle was shoved into her neck, her glare never wavering.
'I'll get out of here, and I'll warn them then kill you,' She snapped; 'You'll die a painful death at my hands.'
'Am I supposed to be scared?' The woman replied with arched brows.
'Oh, you should be.'