This was another song I listened to a ridiculous amount when writing Faith, a very different vibe! XX Cc
Chapter Seventeen
"Maestro, get your ass out of bed!" A male voice screams at me jolting me from my uneasy sleep.
Bolting up I scramble out of bed and rapidly make the bed as the door slams open and someone comes and pushes me against the wall. A hand wraps itself around my throat and a red-faced man I don't recognize is two inches from me. His breath is rank, and I resist the urge to cringe further into the wall.
"I don't ever want to tell you to get up again, if I do, you won't eat for a week," he screams at me and my ears ring. I gasp for air and he lets me go and storms out of my cell.
I finish making the bed, tucking everything so that it is tight and taunt. I stand at attention as my sector's cell doors slide open. Walking out into the hallway I stand in line as they check everyone's beds. I feel a smack to the back of my head but don't move. The stares practically burn my neck, I can hear the heartbeats of quite a few familiar people, but many are new.
As we make our way towards the mess hall I am yanked out of line and shoved against the wall. They pat me down aggressively but don't find anything. Two people flank my side as we walk away from everyone else. The familiar high pitch noise continues to ring strongly as I am shoved into an all too familiar room.
A shiver goes down my spine as I am forced onto my knees. Nothing could ever prepare anyone for what happens in this room. My head is forced down and I hear each heavy thud of the boots, adrenaline courses through my veins and I can't keep control this time.
I have to protect her; she needs to stay strong, for them. The first blow feels as if it will cave in my ribcage, but I hold my body still. The second is to my temple, the third my chin. I take blow after blow, never once whimpering, speaking, or attempting to fight back. As another punch to my face sends me sprawled on the ground, I push myself back up into the position. Somebody grabs me by the hair, and I am pulled to my feet, a kick to each knee. Blow after blow I take before they drop me in a pool of my blood.
"Take her back to her cell, she's no used to anyone in this state," he says.
Somebody yanks to my feet and I stumble, another blow to my stomach. You will not break her, I will protect her, you have no clue what's coming to you.
"Take her to the doctor," a voice outside my cell says causing my body to jolt up.
Every part of my body screams at me for my sudden movements, one wave of pain is followed by a wave of anger. I hate these people so much; we are the shit on their shoes, the slaves, and their punching bags.
"Get up Maestro, you're going to see the Doc," the man says, and my one eye is so swollen shut I can't even see who it is.
This is exactly what I needed to happen if I am ever going to pull this plan off. Forcing myself slowly back to my feet, every inch of my skin feels blistered and torn open, but I just grit my teeth. Two rough hands grab each of my arms and drag me down the hallway, my knees give out, but they just carry me like a ragdoll. The whispering starts again as I am drug all through the corridors. I don't lift my head once.
Walking into an open door I am pushed into the inspection chair and then the guards leave. Closing my eyes, I try to have the thunderous pain in my body calm down for just a moment, but I flinch when I hear a women's voice.
"I never thought I would see your face again," her cold voice says. I feel an ice pack being put on my eye and stomach.
"Trust me, I'm not here willingly," I growl out annoyed.
"Is anyone?" She mumbles before starting to check my hearing device. I let her start the check-up and close the door before I decide to talk to her.
"I ended up in New York these past few months," I say, and her hands don't stall surprisingly. She doesn't respond to my comment either.
"I met some really interesting people while I was there," I continue.
"What, were you hanging out with some homeless people?"
"No, I was fostered by the Kerning family, who is friends with the Caspian family and relatives of the Winters," I say, and her hand does stall momentarily.
"I met this nice man named Alexander Caspian, and his appearance was so strikingly similar to yours it threw me into a tizzy," I say.
"Why are you telling me this?" She snaps, and I sit up and take the ice pack off of my face.
"Why would you fake your death, leave your family and career behind, to come and work for a place like this?" I ask her bluntly and I see the emotions rolling around in her eyes.
"I have no clue what you are talking about," she says in a monotone voice.
"Alexander knows that you're here, whether or not his brother and dad know, he never said," I say and her whole body tenses up.
"It wasn't my choice," she says softly.
"I didn't think it was, it certainly wasn't my choice to be here either," I say, and she still doesn't turn to look at me.
"If they know that I told you, we both could be killed," she says.
"I'm willing to take that chance, that wouldn't hurt you, just threaten you," I say.
"Why are you bringing this up, Faith?" She asks me, and my name sounds strange coming out of her mouth. She doesn't normally address us.
"I need you to do something," I say, and she spins around with anger in her eyes.
"Or rather, not do something," I say, and I can see the gears spinning in her head.
"The guards are going to break into a nasty brawl pretty soon, half-ass whatever medical care you would normally give them," I say.
"Why?" She asks me very skeptical.
"You don't want to know," I say laying back and putting the ice pack on my face.
"You're not planning to break out again, are you?" She asks me, and I hear how weary she is.
"Nope, not in the slightest," I say honestly.
"I want to put a new hearing device in for you, one that you can turn off when you use your supersonic screech. It will only be minor surgery," she says, and I just grunt.
"I have no say in the matter anyway, but thank you for the heads up," I say.
"Faith, I am asking you if you want it," she says and there is this edge to her voice that I can't figure out.
"I wouldn't mind," I say.
"Okay, I will set up the procedure for tomorrow, that will also give the rest of you time to heal," she says, and I just nod.
She checks on a few more things and switches out my ice packs eventually. I lay there dozing in and out of consciousness, the pain making it hard to fall asleep. Eventually, I do drift off only to be awoken by a banging on the door that jolts me awake and causes my whole body to throb.
"Come in," the Doc says in her normal cold tone.
"Is she good to go?"
"She's beaten up, her ribs are severely bruised, and I had to set her one wrist, it's not broken but heavily sprained. She's going to need at least a week to recuperate. I also want to change her earpiece, which is something I have discussed previously with the General. Have him visit me to discuss the details when he has a moment," she says to the guard.
"Fine, let's go, Maestro," he says, and I slowly push myself off the table.
I gasp in pain as lightning shoots through me and my body crumbles to the floor and I clench my teeth in pain. Two hands grab me and pull me up, one much rougher than the other. I am yanked out of the room and eventually thrown back into my cell.
The next morning, I am awoken before everyone else and taken back to the medical wing of the building. I doze in and out as I wait to be prepped for surgery. I'm not even fazed when I am pulled onto a bed and stabbed with a needle. Waking up later on my head feels numb on the sides and my hearing is quiet. The bright lights hurt my eyes and I go to cover them, but my arms are pinned down.
"Maestro?" A voice asks me, and I don't respond.
"Faith?" A softer voice asks me, and I pry my eyes open and see the Doc hovering over me.
"Ahhh," I mumble out trying to make a coherent sentence.
"Can you hear me?"
"Barely, why is everything so quiet?" I ask confused.
"Your new earpieces are turned off, when you are feeling better, we will turn it back on," she says.
I don't respond to her because I don't have anything to say. Everything for the next few days seems to pass in a blur and I slowly start losing track of time. I spend a lot of time sleeping because of the surgery but also because of the rest of the physical and emotional damage I have already endured since I have arrived. Orion's words keep slipping through my mind when I am awake, this is a goodbye, a goodbye to this Faith. Would I change that much? I probably would and that makes me uneasy but what did it matter in the grand scheme of things? I have one mission right now, to get these kids out of here and get them the help that they need.
By the time a week and a half have passed I am eating and sleeping normally again, and it is time to have my earpiece turned on and for me to go back to a normal routine. The doc comes into the room accompanied by multiple guards and I hide my unease behind a blank mask and keep my gaze across the room away from them. The Doc guides me in how to turn on my earpiece and I am shocked instantly at how loud everything becomes, but also how clear it is. I can hear every single person breathing so distinctly that it makes me annoyed at the sound.
"Is it working?" She asks me in her monotone voice.
"Yes, I can hear everything normally again, everything is clearer as well," I comment, and she nods and writes that down.
"We've gotten much better technology in the last five years," she says, and I shrug.
I am taken back to my cell by two guards and as they start leaving, I hear an ear-piercing shriek down the hall. I can't decipher the gender, but I know it is a child. My stomach churns violently as I stare at the open cell door, they rushed off so quickly they forgot to close it. Peering my head out I close my eyes and listen. There are two racing hearts and the sound of something being hit strikes me.
Stay in your cell Faith. Don't be the hero, it's not your job, you have a mission to keep with. But my body has a mind of it of its own and I am down the hall in an instant. My heart lurches into its throat as I see a little boy, no older than eleven years old, being beaten to a bloody pulp. Adrenaline pushes through my veins, but I calm my body as I turn off my earpiece and let out an unearthly screech. The boy is knocked out cold and so is everyone else. Faint trickles of blood trail from their ears but I just turn around and try to leave. As I am almost back to my cell, I see the General waiting for me.
"Oh Maestro, have you forgotten the number one rule of being in this camp?" He asks me and my jaw clenches.
"Every man for themselves," I seethe as my arms are pinned by my sides and I am forced to my knees.
"You should have just stayed put," the commander says with a wicked glint in his eye.
"Who broke you so badly that you destroy children for fun?" I spit out not able to control my tongue anymore.
"I am who I am, the reasons are none of your concern," he says.
"Let's remind Maestro of her place, but don't break her fingers, she needs to play for us tomorrow," he says, and the first blow is to my head.
You should have stayed in your damn cell, you idiot! We are just starting to heal, and you go and get yourself beaten into the next century again. How are we ever going to execute this damn plan of yours if you are always beaten and broken! You are such a dumbass sometimes and now I have to protect you.
Orion will be displeased with your reckless behavior, but you never cared for his opinion anyway because you know he loves you like the only family he has ever had. Can't you be more careful, for him? For Ruka and Dax that are looking for you as we speak? For all the friends you left behind? For your future?