Dominic
8 years ago
The rubber gloves hugged tightly on his hand swung hard against cheek, jolting my head violently to the side. "You're a son of a bitch, you know that kid?"
"If I wasn't a son of a bitch..." I panted, "...I'd be easy."
I smirked, slowly turning my head to center, but the cold leather hit my jaw again, thrusting my neck back. It stung a bit, but a hot burn on my cheek felt like a cool breeze compared to pain I've endured. Four years I've been here, and four years I haven't let my mind slip away. And sure as hell I wasn't about to let a brainless trooper with an attitude depose my pride.
I didn't do much really. I only snuck back into the cafeteria to steal some spare bread for Celeste and I to eat in our cells.We got hungry sometimes, so I decided to try and fix that. I didn't think it would get me tied up to a chair with a trooper slapping his hand across my cheek. That bread tasted like shit anyways.
Damn. I titled my head back, rolling it slowly around my neck to try and ease some pain, my sharp jaw pointed up towards the trooper.
"The disrespect you have boy! I'm watching that mouth of yours!"
I turned my head back to center and flaunted in a sarcastic tone, "If you like my mouth so much why don't you kiss it? Get a taste of what it's like to have a brain."
Obviously I felt the third burning sensation coming before he even struck my face again. This time, I watched crimson trickle from my lips and down my chin.
"Awe he bleeds."
"I'm still human."
"No you're not."
What I would do to rip my hands from the wire I was tied in, and dig my fists through the trooper's armor. I wondered if he'd bleed too. If these mighty soldiers were more than an artificial toy of Detras arch. Would his blood stain red like mine?
I hoped not. I hoped that if there was one person in this room who was human...it was me.
"You're nothing but a fault in the system." The trooper said, "A mistake."
I leaned forward in my seat, my eyes as cold as ever, "I'd rather be a mistake then a slave."
The trooper hesitated. They were not programmed to respond to a mouth like mine, so I enjoyed taking away their tongues when they tried to speak.
"Tell me..how does it feel? Like a pet? A dog? A clap of a hand, you do as you're told. A snap of a finger, you come running to your master as if they are waving a giant treat in your face. You'll do what it takes to get a lick, but only thing is...they never give you the treat. They wave it there so you sit like fool, senseless to your own corruption." I leaned closer, eyeing the trooper up, "Like a dog."
"You're worse than a dog, 2175..." It was as if I could see the trooper's evil eyes glaring at me right through his mask, "...you're a rat. And you know what we do to rats?"
He grabbed my arm tightly, and unhinged my body from the strapped chair. He marched straight in front of him, and my eyes lit in horror. I was being dragged to the laboratory. I yanked my hand trying to break from his grip, but he only squeezed his fingers tighter.
I can't go back there. Not again.
"I'm done all my tests this week!" My heart plunged against my chest, quickening with each step closer we took to the evil face of the lab.
"Not anymore you're not."
"This isn't fair!" I panted, grabbing the trooper's wrist, trying to pry it off my forearm.
"Give in and this will all be over."
"Over my dead body." I growled
"Then so be it..." He stepped up to the lab, punching numbers into a code as the shiny white doors slid open, painfully greeting me inside. "...Over your dead body." He released his grip and thrusted me inside. I tumbled over and a group of doctors swarmed around me, catching my fall. They grabbed a hold of my arms and shoulders, my body flailing to break free, but there were just too many.
"He's back?"
"He needs more tests. Stronger ones. He's been misbehaving."
My chest was heaved quickly with each rapid breath I sucked through my nostrils. My body, almost limp in the doctor's familiar grip, my neck falling forward so my dark hair dropped over my eyes, a pool of sweat on my brow.
"Remember what I said about rats?" The trooper slowly walked up to me, lifting my head up as he placed his gloved fingers on my chin. "...they're only a variable in an experiment. You were born so you could be manipulated."
The trooper dropped my chin. My mind fumed with anger...with how badly I wanted the trooper to pay...to feel the pain I felt. Worse if it was possible. I wanted to do something, but my limbs were immovable, held steady by the doctors. What could I even do? Then, as the trooper was moving his hand away, I eyed up his fingers, and did the only thing I could think of.
"Son of a bitch!" The trooper yelped in pain, with a wrenching scream that sounded like a wailing child. He grasped his finger with his opposite hand tightly, I could almost hear it throbbing from where I stood.
"That little bastard just bit me!"
The doctors around me gripped my limbs tighter. I couldn't help the small smirk that unfurled across my lips. I couldn't see his face, but I knew the trooper had a priceless look in his eyes. His childlike wail alone satisfied me enough. Could you blame me though? I just ripped the pride out of a mighty soldier by gnawing his finger. He said I was a rat right? And what else do rats do?
They bite.
"Wipe that goddamn smile off your face!" He roared in anger, snatching the rifle out his holster and plunging the butt of it into my stomach. I curled forward, the doctors barely stopping me from tumbling to my knees.
A wrenching pain rose in my lower body, like my insides were punching through the lines of my stomach. I could taste the shitty bread rising in my throat.
Swallow it back Dom.
I caught my breath and painfully stood up. My sharp eyes lit with a fire, a burning anger. I hoped they would pierce through the trooper's soul and rip out his heart. They seemed to have that effect on people.
Your eyes are so pale they could be white. My mother told me once. Is that a bad thing? I replied.
Not at all. Eyes like yours are the perfect deceivers. They come across as bright, almost transparent, like a glimmering ocean. The thing about the ocean is that the surface appears to be crisp, nothing more than what the eye sees. But the further down you go, the deeper things you discover.
Of course six year old me had no idea what she meant, I nodded pretending to understand. At sixteen though, my perspective on things had changed. I didn't know if the change was good or bad.
The only bad thing about your eyes, she laughed, is that you might not be able to look at the sun longer than a second.
"Take him away." The trooper shouted, still grasping his pointer is pain. The doctors moved, dragging me backwards into one of the lab rooms. I didn't fight, I didn't squeal, I didn't move. What was I to do anyways?
Of course I was nervous. Everytime I entered the lab a rush of anxiety swarmed my system.
I was nervous...but I wasn't afraid.
Evelyn
Present time
Celeste counted her knives one by one, making sure they were hidden good enough under her bulky suit that they couldn't be seen, but still in reach if she needed to grab them. I didn't know how she would be able to find her knives under that heavy armor, but Celeste is Celeste. She'd find a way.
Cassian tossed his bow and arrow over his back--beatrice I believe. Kyler, Lani and Dominic wandered into the woods so they could put their uniforms on too. We didn't have time to go back to the dorms, so they just changed right before we would cross the woods into Detras borders.
I sat down on a log next to Cassian. He picked an arrow out of his satchel and held it gently in his palms. "Isn't she so pretty Ev?"
The homemade blade gleamed in sunlight that shone through the trees towering above our heads. I looked to my right, the buildings of Detra were in my view, only about a quarter mile away. The building that caught my most attention, was the vass windowless dome, that even from a distance had an eerie touch. The Chamber.
Cassian caught my glance. "I'm nervous too. And I'm not even going inside."
"I'm more nervous for those kids more than anything else. What if it were too late? What if they had already tested on them?" I turned to Cassian
"Even if they were tested on, it's only been a few days. Their minds are still fresh and there's hope to save them."
I nodded and held my head down as Cassian laid his arrow head in my lap, "Do you know why I make my own arrows?" he said
"Why?"
"Because I can control how I want them to look. How I want them to feel in my hands, how sharp I want the blade. I like being in control. The ones I don't make, don't feel right for me. The artificial ones are nothing but a prop."
I smirked at Cassian lifting my brow, " Did you just imply a metaphor?"
"Damn, I think I did. Do I sound smart now? Maybe Kyler will finally like me." Me and Cassian giggled at each other, until our attentions were caught by a ruckus behind the trees.
"Son of a bitch!" a voice echoed so loud, it sent birds flying from the trees.
"Im gonna kill him." Celeste stood up instantly at the husky voice.
"Calm down Cel he's--"
"--If he's any louder the troopers will find us! Out of all the things he can do, he can't figure out how to strap a goddamn suit to his body!" She rolled her eyes, then turned her impatient face to me and Cassian. "Will someone go help him!"
Cassian and I exchanged awkward glances, "You know I would love to do that..." Cassian beamed, "...but he'd rip my throat out if I came near him."
Cassian and Celeste both shot their eyes at me. I huffed out a breath, "Fine." I slowly stood up and walked towards where I saw Dominic go, " But if I don't come back, make sure you dig me a pretty grave."
"Will do."
I krept through the woods, not too far back, but far enough that I was out of Celeste and Cassians view. I heard grunting along with a mumble of curse words behind me. I peered my head around a tree and walked closer.
Dominic stood in an open area, where the trees toppled over his head. He wore nothing but the trooper's bulky black pants, and he held up the armored top in his large hands, turning it around with a confused look on his face, studying its angles angrily like a piece of a puzzle that didn't quite fit. The sun peeked through the leaves, shining perfectly on his defined body, carving out every feature he had, from his sharp collar bone, down the line of his sculpted abdomen. It was like he was glowing.
I rested my hip against a tree, shamelessly giggling at his struggle to figure out the armor. He groaned, and tossed the suit onto the forest floor, the frustration in his body shooting through his veins like a bullet.
"Don't give up so easily." I lifted my brow. He snapped his head around to me, a look of shock filled his pale eyes, his chest rising as he tried to pace his breath. I could have sworn I saw his cheeks turn the tiniest bit of red. Is he embarrassed?
He rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through the damped waves of his floppy hair. " It's broken." He said glancing down at the armor.
"Dominic, a trooper suit can't be broken." I laughed, picking my hip from the tree and walking towards him.
"Well this ones broken." He crossed his arms over his bare chest.
"If you don't quiet your fit, they're going to find us before we even get to Detra."
"Sorry its just we don't have much time and I-"
"-You're rushing." I said, bending over to pick the suit up. He bent to pick it up at the same time, and our hands brushed over each other. As we slowly crept back up, our eyes met, and I watched his breath catch with each second more he glanced at me. He swallowed, and yanked the suit out of my grip.
"Look." He said, holding the black metaled suit up to his chest. "I can't figure out how to wear it. It's not right."
Yes, the suit did look funny, there was something definitely not right, but my eyes wandered further down his glowing body. The suit surely wasn't the only thing I was focused on when a body like his stood in front of me.
I snapped my attention back, Dominic still standing, gazing at the armor like an idiot.I studied it one more time. Oh my Gosh. I ripped the suit out of his hands, his eyes lit up with anger. "I don't need your help."
I laughed and flipped the suit around, "Maybe it doesn't look right..." I held it to his chest again, " Because it's upside down."
He glanced down as my hands pressed the cool metal to his body, and when he looked back up...I definitely saw red in his cheeks.
"I think you're going to need my help." I smirked, the moment felt like deja vu.
He grabbed the suit from my hands, and lifted his brow "You think you're very funny right now, huh?"
"No. Just ironic."
He rolled his eyes with a smirk, glancing to the side before tossing the armor over his arms. My heart jumped. He turned around, his back muscles extended as he lifted his arms up, sliping the armor onto his body. It was as if his every muscle was a statue carved from stone, defining effortlessly under his skin. The sun falling perfectly onto his back made his figure look like something out of a painting. His soft tanned skin collided with the pallet of the green trees and golden sun that surrounded him.
"Do you like what you see?" he glanced back, catching my stare.
"I've seen better."
"I doubt it." He turned back around,pulling the suit all the way down and brushing over it as it hugged his body.
Normally I would be hurt by a comment like that...but he wasn't wrong.
I shot my best eyeroll as he turned around. The pitch black suit fit him perfectly, hugging his muscles firmly as if his body was meant to be in it. He was about the same size as most troopers, maybe taller, so his build complimented the suit nicely. It made me feel uneasy, sending a shiver down my spine. It was perfect on him. And I didn't like it. My eyes filled with slight horror seeing him in it.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he eyed my stare
"It's nothing." I shook my head, walking over to him. I placed my hand on his chest against the cold armer, dusting over a spot that reflected the sun like a mirror. I felt his breath pick up under my touch. "It looks good." I forced a slight smile.
"No it doesn't." He turned his head to the side, his sharp jaw peering at the Chamber in the distance. " I never imagined liberating people from that place, dressed as what they fear the most."
"Did you fear the troopers when you were in the Chamber?" I looked up from my palms that laid on his chest. He faced me again, a cold expression in his eyes. His breath picked up once more. "No."
"Then maybe they don't fear them either."
"If they're lucky...they will fear them."
What does he mean?
He held his head down. Ashamed of himself for wearing the armor of such evilness. The armor of people who tried to destroy every once of strength he held. I saw a man in a black suit, he saw a monster.
I held my hand against his face. One hand on his warm cheek, his heat radiating on top of mine, the other pressed on the center of the cold armored suit, the cool metal chilling my touch like a dark shadow. He closed his eyes, letting himself feel comfort in my warmth, breathing in the clean forest air, his last bits of freedom before he entered the place where it had been demolished. I don't think even my warmth could have satisfied him in the moment.
He reached his arm up to his face and touched my hand, rubbing his fingers gently against my skin, eyes with a pain that longed for more but had to resist. "We need to go."
I nodded, and slowly took my hand off his cheek. We hesitated for a moment, our gazes locked with the pace of our breath. He bent down to meet my size, sofly grabbing my cheek and pulling my lips into his. Every moment of it felt like a breath of life. I reached my hands touched his face, our lips filled with passion. A warmness inside of me grew that made me feel comfort. Safety. It was nothing but a kiss, but it felt like much more. Like we were trying to tell each other it's going to be okay without actually saying the words.
We pulled away and I caught my breath. He cupped my face in his hand, brushing his fingers up and grazing them across my brown hair. His eyes traveled across my face like he had a thousand thoughts playing in his head. As if everything he ever wanted could be ripped away in seconds...again. I'd never had anyone look at me like that, to long for my presence. Grant wanted me, sure. But this...this was longing, not wanting.
I nodded to reassure him that we had to go, and his warm touch left my cheek. The cool breeze brushed against my face and we cut our way through the woods back to the gang.
"We go in, get to the cells, find the people, lead them down the hall to Cassian, and get them out. Simple enough." Kyler huddled us together, we traveled a bit father, just outside the woods where the Chamber stood.
"You make it sound simple." Cassian rolled his eyes
"Lani you stay with Cassian." Dominic said
"What!" her almond eyes lit up in shock.
"I don't trust him by himself."
"Um...right here." Cassian wailed his arms in Dominics face, but was ignored with an eyeroll.
"Also Lani, you're in armor. So if anything happens, act like you're on their side."
"Can't get enough of me Lan, huh?" Cassian smirked at her. She giggled, shaking her head and pushing her arm playfully into Cassian's shoulder.
Celeste peered over through the woods the best she could, making sure no one was there to watch us emerge. "All clear." She snapped her helmet over her and turned her head back to face us, "You ready?" Dominic and Kyler slid the black shielded helmet over their eyes too, nodding back at Celeste.
"See you soon." Celeste looked back at Lani and Cassian. Cassian pinched his fingers to his forehead and saluted us out, Lani waved with a nervous smile. I felt Domincs gloved hand grasp tightly onto my arm, I glanced up in surprise. Usually his touch was gentle...but here he was aggressive. Trying to find his blue eyes under the depths of the helmet shielding his face made him even more unrecognizable. Like one of them.
Celeste grabbed my other arm, Kyler walked in front, and we snuck out of the woods, entering the grounds of Detra. Now I really felt like a prisoner. The Chamber was even bigger than I expected in person. Its walls were a smooth matte grey, and its shape was like a giant shoebox, no roof nor windows, surrounded by two thick gates wrapped in barbed wire. The hairs on my neck rose at the sight. It looked more like hell than a prison.
We marched up to the first gate of the Chamber, two guards stood in front inspecting our ever move. "We have someone you may be looking for." Kyler said, his smooth accent muffled under the mask.
"Names?" demanded one of the guards.
"1495, 1345, and 1567." Kyler made sure to ask the troopers names before he knocked them out cold and stole their uniforms. He always was prepared.
"And the girl?" The guard gestured to me.
"Evelyn Kane."
My heart thudded against my chest at the sound of my name causing the guards to tense up and exchange glances at each other as if they could see through their masks. Why do they want me so bad?
"State your whereabouts."
"The forest watch team, quadril four along the east banking. Four O'clock at the east looking post when she was found." Kyler said sternly.
"What sector are you from?"
"We are all sector eight."
Thank god we picked Kyler to speak. He knows this stuff like the back of his hand.
The Guards hesitated for a moment, scanning up and down my body as I fell almost limp in Dominic and Celestes grasp. I wasn't afraid, but I forced my eyes to gleam with fear. I had to wear my mask too.
One of the guards pressed a chip that clung to the side of his helmet. "We got her." He whispered into the mic. The gate suddenly unhinged, and slowly opened up, greeting us in like a beggar with pockets full of money. And just like that...we passed the first gate. Dominics grip on my arm tightened with every step we took. I wanted to tell him to relax a bit, my arm was beginning to feel sore under his fingers. Though the harder he grasped, the more I didn't want him to let go.
My gaze shifted to my other arm. Celeste gripped gently, marching forwards with her shoulders back and chest up, a professional look for her. I hated not being able to see her face through that wicked helmet. I wanted to know how she was feeling. I could tell how Dominic felt by the grip of his fingers on my arm, though Celeste, I had no idea how she was feeling.
The building began to tower over us the closer we got, making even Dominic look insignificant beside it's vass walls. As we approached, Kyler pushed open the door and led us into a small enclosed white room with nothing but a single bench and two more troopers standing inside. One trooper had a notebook in their hand, the other a pile of white clothing.
As we walked in the room, the door slammed behind us, startling me. Dominic noticed me jump, and slowly rubbed his finger on my arm, trying to ease my nerves. I looked up at him, his gaze reminded in front.
One of the troopers moved close to me and began to speak, "Is this...?"
"...Evelyn Kane." Kyler added
Both troopers turned their heads to each other, the one then looking down at his notepad, jotting something down.
"Age?" The one with the notepad asked me.
"20." I glanced at my toes and replied quietly.
"Work placement?"
"Healthcare."
"Husband?"
"I don't have one." I looked up and said sternly
"Yes, you do sweetheart." The trooper shot a wicked laugh
"No." I glared into his black mask, my voice cold as ice "I don't."
"Sheesh." The one nudged the other's arm, " Don't waste your time to get it out of her, we know who he is anyways."
Fury rose in my eyes as I watched the troopers secretly converse to another. I wasn't married to that bastard, and I didn't want anyone to think I was.
"Alright Kane." The one with the pile of clothes nodded, "Change into this." He tossed the pile of clothes at my feet. It was a white long sleeved V neck top, and tight white pants. Detras signature style. I glanced down at the clothes, then back up in confusion. "You want me to change here?"
"Yes. Now hurry up."
" I'm not doing that."
The trooper marched up to me, grabbing his gun out of his holster on the way. As soon as he was close enough, he plunged to butt of the gun into my stomach and I collapsed to my knees, Dominic and Celeste tried to regain their grip. I heard the slight catch in Dominic and Celestes' breaths under their masks.
"You do whatever the fuck I tell you too. Change." The trooper kicked the clothes towards me as I knelt on the ground. I breathed hard through my nostrils, trying to forget about the burning pain turning in my stomach. I slowly wobbled to my feet, grabbing the clothes angrily off the ground on my way up. Celeste let go off my arm, then Dominic. Dominic hesitated for a moment, but when he finally let go, I knew it hurt him.
I wanted to change as quickly as I could. I did not want those two disgusting troopers looking at even an inch of my bare skin. As I began to slip my shirt over my shoulders, I noticed Dominic turn his head to the side, looking away from me. If he was going to see my skin...he didn't want it to be like this.
Meanwhile the troopers did the complete opposite. "No wonder he wanted her so much." The notepad trooper laughed, eyeing me up through his mask, "Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll share." They chuckled at another, my cheeks turning red with embarrassment as I quickly stuck my feet through the white pants. Dominics fist curled in his glove, his fingers tightening more with every laugh the troopers shot. Celeste noticed and placed her hand on top of his, reminding him to control his anger.
At the moment, It was hard for me to control my anger as well. It irked me inside not being able to snatch the gun out of the troopers belt and plunge it into their stomachs. But I had to keep cooperating if this plan was going to succeed.
When I finished, Celeste placed her hand back on my arm, Dominic following. The clothes fit me awkwardly, baggy at the top and bottom, the neckline a little too deep for my liking. The all white look made me want to puke itself.
The notepad trooper gestured to Kyler, "Take her to the cells. The special ones though."
Yes, exactly where we need to be.
Kyler nodded and pushed another door open. Celeste followed Kyler out and I trailed behind her in her grip. Before my feet could exit, the trooper received a call in his earpiece. He shot his hand out, halting my stop. I looked at him confused.
"Mhm." He talked into the piece, pressing his finger to the side of his helmet, "Right away sir."
"Is there a problem?" Kyler peeked his head back in the room.
"Don't take her to the Immune cells." My breath stiffened and my heart felt like it had stopped. I could feel the panic in Dominic and Celeste too. We needed to get to those cells.
"Why?" Kyler replied, his voice filled with caution.
"Because..." the trooper continued, "He wants to see her."