Caution Is Calling
Causing A Scene.
There are some faces in this world that we will never forget. Maybe it was the face of the last person who smiled at us before the infection broke out, or maybe it was the joy in our bones when the news actually picked up when the world fell to shit.
For me, that face belonged to a woman around twenty-five, whose name I wasn't allowed to learn.
She had soft features. Ice-blue eyes that could either warm or freeze your soul and hair so bleached it was nearly white. Her skin was smooth, and pale, but she was well-groomed. She must've been a beautiful woman before she came here, now she just looked tired and forced.
We didn't speak to each other. I'd tried to explain to her earlier that I wasn't hungry and she shot me a warning glance. When her blue eyes flickered to the small, square glass mirror across the room, I knew she was telling me that I was being watched. If I wasn't a good girl, I'd die. Perhaps we both would.
From there on out, I ate my meal. It consisted of stale bread, pasta and a single chocolate chip cookie. The only thing they gave me to drink was a weaker, more disgusting version of kool aid. For fear that it was spiked with something to sedate me again, I only took a few sips. At least that seemed to satisfy the blonde.
I was put in a hot shower after that. So hot, in fact, that it scolded my skin. My flesh was pink by the time blue eyes finished scrubbing me off. It was awkard to say the least. It migh not have been so bad if I hadn't known that we were being watched, but because I did, it made my stomach churn to think that there were men getting their kicks out of watching this happen.
By the end of the day I was clean, sore and disgusted. My scalp was on fire from the woman spending nearly forty-five minutes trying to comb out the tangles. They hadn't allowed her to use conditioner on my hair.
"Come, look."
I could have sworn that my heart stopped. After spending so much time thinking that blue eyes couldn't speak, it took me by surprise to learn that she could. I obeyed, for fear of what would happen to the both of us if I didn't, and landed in front of a floor-length mirror. No one was on the other side of this one, I know because I picked it up and moved it away from the wall.
Why she wanted me to see myself like this, I don't know. But there I stood, holding a mirror and looking at my nude body. They must have shaved me last night, because my body was free of all hair expect for that on the top of my head. Even my eyebrows had been tamed. Living a life just to survive makes it hard for one to care about their looks.
Still, I was thin. I could count my ribs for fun if I got bored, but because of the fluids they kept in me over night I was less pale and less weak. My hips bones poked out as well, but I could see the muscles in my arms, legs and belly.
"Will I be given clothes?"
"They considered it," she murmured, stepping across the room to fetch a tooth brush, "to make you more interesting to your mate. They're concerned about the size of your breasts."
Frowning, I looked at myself again. Upon losing weight, I'd lost most of my curves, but my chest was not entirely flat and padding would only make me look awkward.
"Don't worry," she handed me the brush as she took the mirror, "they're not going to do it. I think you look lovely."
She allowed me to brush my teeth, and then brush them again. I knew we'd spent most of the day trying to fix me up and I was terrified that the sun may be setting in the sky at that very moment. That scared me. As if being forced to eat and prepare for the night complete nude, with strangers watching me from behind a glass wasn't bad enough, I was going to be forced into a room with someone who is like a brother to me, expected to create a child in front of hungry eyes.
"Come. If we wait too long they'll be angry."
With my entire body clean and tended to, I had to follow blue eyes out of the room, into a cold, concrete hallway. She didn't say a word as she showed me the way to my new room, which was off to the right and held nothing but a mattress and a pillow. I could only imagine how many times this room had been used and honestly it was making me sick. Everything about this place made me sick.
"You may take a seat."
I was going to oppose the offer, but blue eyes left the room before I could. With the door standing wide open, I felt more exposed now than ever. Soon enough, someone would bring Zack to this room and it was likely that he, too, would have no fabric covering his skin.
And he didn't.
Two men, with guns, rudely pushed him into the room with me. When his body came to a stop, he awkwardly shifted his legs so that his manhood was hidden from my sight. I was thankful for this and wished that I could cover my own body as easily as he could his.
"You're alive," I breathed, tears lingering in my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Zack!"
"Don't cry," Zack frowned, suddenly not caring about his naked body. He quickly moved towards me and wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me tightly in his grasp. "You didn't drink the stuff, did you?"
I kept my arms around him and lightly shook my head. His whisper wasn't loud enough for the guards to hear and my head didn't move quick enough for them to notice he'd even spoken. But while I was in his arms, I looked at the two - Who I assumed to be - Men. They were wearing black suits with gear covering their face, but it was their guns I was interested in. Between the two of us, Zack and I could easily take them out and use their guns to escape. It was just a matter of doing it without being shot first.
"How beautiful for the two of you to meet again," a voice echoed through the room and I instantly knew who it belonged to. It was the same man that had injected me on my first night here.
Though I couldn't see him, I easily located the speakers and assumed that there was a camera somewhere in the room. Disgusting. "As much as I enjoy seeing the connection you two share, we have a human race to save. Please, move to the bed."
I gulped, clinging to Zack as the fear rose in my gut. It was in that moment that I realized how cold the concrete floor was, how bare the walls were and how dangerous this place really was. Neither of us had a plan strong enough to prevent this from happening. The only thing I could do was allow Zack to slow move me to the mattress, where I mocked his pose as we sat, using my leg to keep my body away from thing.
"Very good. Now kiss."
It was a reaction to put my head down. Tears were forming in my eyes again and I couldn't shake the panic rising in my throat.
"I said kiss."
"N-No," I stuttered, speaking as loudly and as clearly as I could. "I won't do it."
"Darling, when I said you were a fighter," the man sighed into the speaker, "I didn't mean you couldn't be brought down. Guards?"
My eyes moved to meet the men who lingered by the door. My heart began to pound as I saw them ropes out of their suits. I wasn't sure exactly how it would work, but I didn't want my hands tied together.
Zack placed a strong hand on my shoulder as they moved towards me. He knew that I wouldn't let this happen without a fight and I knew he'd go down with me.
As they neared us, one of them extended their arms to me. At first, I thought he was going to pull me off of the mattress, but I quickly realized that he was going to push me back on it instead. Gasping, I leapt out of the way and ran back a few feet. There was nowhere else for me to go.
"The more you fight, the tigther the rope will be, darling."
"Fuck you," I spat, holding my arms up, ready to fight. I would be useless without the gun and I knew it. "I'm not a fucking lab rat!"
"I assure you, the only test we'll use on you is a pregnancy test. Please, stop fighting."
I shook my head, hoping that he could see it clearly.
One of the guards pointed his gun directly at my forehead while the other took a step forward. I sucked in a sharp breath and waited for either the bullet to hit me, or the rope to burn my flesh, but what happened next took me by surprise.
Zack jumped up from his place on the bed and used all of his strength to knock the man with the rope flat on his stomach. At this, I darted forward to snatch his gun from the ground. I knew without a doubt that the last standing gunman would shoot Zack first, so I placed my body firmly in front of his and pointed my gun in challenge.
"Well isn't this just darling, darling." A chuckle bounced through the room, making my ears hurt. "I warn you, my men are very well trained and equally as fearless. It would be in your best interested to hand your gun over and behave like a good girl."
"Kiss my ass," I growled, taking a step towards the door with Zack hot on my heels.
"I'm warning you-"
In a moment of anger, I quickly turned the gun and shot out the speaker.
Down the hall, I could hear footsteps moving our way. Zack and I backed against the wall so that no one could shoot us from behind. The guard smirked at me as more of his men came in through the door, two to be exact, one of which was guarding the voice that I had silenced moments ago.
"Surrender and we'll spare your lives."
As one of the men boldly moved beside me and placed his gun to Zack's forehead, I knew I had no other choice. I squeezed off a shot into the first guard's forehead and slid quickly out of the way as Zack's elbow collided with the gun held to his head. He caught it mid-air and landed beside me, both of us ready to shoot anyone who dared to take a step forward.
On top of being exposed and terrified, I felt guilt. I had killed a human being. This should be normal, in the world that we live in, but it stills breaks my heart every time I pull the trigger.
"That was unnecessary."
"I agree. If you didn't try to control people, your men might not have to risk their lives doing your dirty work."
"At least you got a lucky shot. Now I think it would be in your best interests to hand back the guns."
"I don't think so. I could easily put a bullet in your head. Don't test me."
"My dear, I would be surprised if you didn't. But no one leaves this place without permission. And those who do are tossed in a pit and burned like garbage. Are you suggesting your garbage?"
"No. But you might be."
"What I think she means," Zack quickly jumped in, more aware of the fact that we were screwed than I was, "is that you need us. I'm the strongest man you've got, from what I've seen, and even without training she's a perfect shot. We're not meant to create a child together.. But if you need protection, we're the best you've got."
He eyed us, but I kept my attention on the guns that were turned to us. In an instant, I'd be ready to shoot. Guilt of shooting a stranger would be nothing compared to the guilt of losing Zack because I'm a coward.
"Does it really look like I need protection?"
"How many people are you holding here?" I questioned. My voice came out softer than I intended it to. Honestly, it seemed tragic to hold more women and men against their will. They'd be happier out there with the infected. "If your mission is to save mankind, you must have dozens of people depending on you. Women and children alike."
"That's true. Yet it doesn't explain why I would have any reason to keep you alive after this stunt."
"Zack and I have been surviving, on our own, since this outbreak happened. If you don't want to waste another human life, put us on your team. Supply runs, shooting, we can do it all."
He stared at us for a while, his eyes burning holes through our exposed flesh. At the very least, I hoped he would offer us each a blanket to cover our skin.
After a few long moments, he cleared his throat and nodded his head, motioning for his men to back up.
"You will be heavily guarded until the next mission. Now please," he turned to his men, "get them out of my sight before I kill them myself."
For me, that face belonged to a woman around twenty-five, whose name I wasn't allowed to learn.
She had soft features. Ice-blue eyes that could either warm or freeze your soul and hair so bleached it was nearly white. Her skin was smooth, and pale, but she was well-groomed. She must've been a beautiful woman before she came here, now she just looked tired and forced.
We didn't speak to each other. I'd tried to explain to her earlier that I wasn't hungry and she shot me a warning glance. When her blue eyes flickered to the small, square glass mirror across the room, I knew she was telling me that I was being watched. If I wasn't a good girl, I'd die. Perhaps we both would.
From there on out, I ate my meal. It consisted of stale bread, pasta and a single chocolate chip cookie. The only thing they gave me to drink was a weaker, more disgusting version of kool aid. For fear that it was spiked with something to sedate me again, I only took a few sips. At least that seemed to satisfy the blonde.
I was put in a hot shower after that. So hot, in fact, that it scolded my skin. My flesh was pink by the time blue eyes finished scrubbing me off. It was awkard to say the least. It migh not have been so bad if I hadn't known that we were being watched, but because I did, it made my stomach churn to think that there were men getting their kicks out of watching this happen.
By the end of the day I was clean, sore and disgusted. My scalp was on fire from the woman spending nearly forty-five minutes trying to comb out the tangles. They hadn't allowed her to use conditioner on my hair.
"Come, look."
I could have sworn that my heart stopped. After spending so much time thinking that blue eyes couldn't speak, it took me by surprise to learn that she could. I obeyed, for fear of what would happen to the both of us if I didn't, and landed in front of a floor-length mirror. No one was on the other side of this one, I know because I picked it up and moved it away from the wall.
Why she wanted me to see myself like this, I don't know. But there I stood, holding a mirror and looking at my nude body. They must have shaved me last night, because my body was free of all hair expect for that on the top of my head. Even my eyebrows had been tamed. Living a life just to survive makes it hard for one to care about their looks.
Still, I was thin. I could count my ribs for fun if I got bored, but because of the fluids they kept in me over night I was less pale and less weak. My hips bones poked out as well, but I could see the muscles in my arms, legs and belly.
"Will I be given clothes?"
"They considered it," she murmured, stepping across the room to fetch a tooth brush, "to make you more interesting to your mate. They're concerned about the size of your breasts."
Frowning, I looked at myself again. Upon losing weight, I'd lost most of my curves, but my chest was not entirely flat and padding would only make me look awkward.
"Don't worry," she handed me the brush as she took the mirror, "they're not going to do it. I think you look lovely."
She allowed me to brush my teeth, and then brush them again. I knew we'd spent most of the day trying to fix me up and I was terrified that the sun may be setting in the sky at that very moment. That scared me. As if being forced to eat and prepare for the night complete nude, with strangers watching me from behind a glass wasn't bad enough, I was going to be forced into a room with someone who is like a brother to me, expected to create a child in front of hungry eyes.
"Come. If we wait too long they'll be angry."
With my entire body clean and tended to, I had to follow blue eyes out of the room, into a cold, concrete hallway. She didn't say a word as she showed me the way to my new room, which was off to the right and held nothing but a mattress and a pillow. I could only imagine how many times this room had been used and honestly it was making me sick. Everything about this place made me sick.
"You may take a seat."
I was going to oppose the offer, but blue eyes left the room before I could. With the door standing wide open, I felt more exposed now than ever. Soon enough, someone would bring Zack to this room and it was likely that he, too, would have no fabric covering his skin.
And he didn't.
Two men, with guns, rudely pushed him into the room with me. When his body came to a stop, he awkwardly shifted his legs so that his manhood was hidden from my sight. I was thankful for this and wished that I could cover my own body as easily as he could his.
"You're alive," I breathed, tears lingering in my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Zack!"
"Don't cry," Zack frowned, suddenly not caring about his naked body. He quickly moved towards me and wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me tightly in his grasp. "You didn't drink the stuff, did you?"
I kept my arms around him and lightly shook my head. His whisper wasn't loud enough for the guards to hear and my head didn't move quick enough for them to notice he'd even spoken. But while I was in his arms, I looked at the two - Who I assumed to be - Men. They were wearing black suits with gear covering their face, but it was their guns I was interested in. Between the two of us, Zack and I could easily take them out and use their guns to escape. It was just a matter of doing it without being shot first.
"How beautiful for the two of you to meet again," a voice echoed through the room and I instantly knew who it belonged to. It was the same man that had injected me on my first night here.
Though I couldn't see him, I easily located the speakers and assumed that there was a camera somewhere in the room. Disgusting. "As much as I enjoy seeing the connection you two share, we have a human race to save. Please, move to the bed."
I gulped, clinging to Zack as the fear rose in my gut. It was in that moment that I realized how cold the concrete floor was, how bare the walls were and how dangerous this place really was. Neither of us had a plan strong enough to prevent this from happening. The only thing I could do was allow Zack to slow move me to the mattress, where I mocked his pose as we sat, using my leg to keep my body away from thing.
"Very good. Now kiss."
It was a reaction to put my head down. Tears were forming in my eyes again and I couldn't shake the panic rising in my throat.
"I said kiss."
"N-No," I stuttered, speaking as loudly and as clearly as I could. "I won't do it."
"Darling, when I said you were a fighter," the man sighed into the speaker, "I didn't mean you couldn't be brought down. Guards?"
My eyes moved to meet the men who lingered by the door. My heart began to pound as I saw them ropes out of their suits. I wasn't sure exactly how it would work, but I didn't want my hands tied together.
Zack placed a strong hand on my shoulder as they moved towards me. He knew that I wouldn't let this happen without a fight and I knew he'd go down with me.
As they neared us, one of them extended their arms to me. At first, I thought he was going to pull me off of the mattress, but I quickly realized that he was going to push me back on it instead. Gasping, I leapt out of the way and ran back a few feet. There was nowhere else for me to go.
"The more you fight, the tigther the rope will be, darling."
"Fuck you," I spat, holding my arms up, ready to fight. I would be useless without the gun and I knew it. "I'm not a fucking lab rat!"
"I assure you, the only test we'll use on you is a pregnancy test. Please, stop fighting."
I shook my head, hoping that he could see it clearly.
One of the guards pointed his gun directly at my forehead while the other took a step forward. I sucked in a sharp breath and waited for either the bullet to hit me, or the rope to burn my flesh, but what happened next took me by surprise.
Zack jumped up from his place on the bed and used all of his strength to knock the man with the rope flat on his stomach. At this, I darted forward to snatch his gun from the ground. I knew without a doubt that the last standing gunman would shoot Zack first, so I placed my body firmly in front of his and pointed my gun in challenge.
"Well isn't this just darling, darling." A chuckle bounced through the room, making my ears hurt. "I warn you, my men are very well trained and equally as fearless. It would be in your best interested to hand your gun over and behave like a good girl."
"Kiss my ass," I growled, taking a step towards the door with Zack hot on my heels.
"I'm warning you-"
In a moment of anger, I quickly turned the gun and shot out the speaker.
Down the hall, I could hear footsteps moving our way. Zack and I backed against the wall so that no one could shoot us from behind. The guard smirked at me as more of his men came in through the door, two to be exact, one of which was guarding the voice that I had silenced moments ago.
"Surrender and we'll spare your lives."
As one of the men boldly moved beside me and placed his gun to Zack's forehead, I knew I had no other choice. I squeezed off a shot into the first guard's forehead and slid quickly out of the way as Zack's elbow collided with the gun held to his head. He caught it mid-air and landed beside me, both of us ready to shoot anyone who dared to take a step forward.
On top of being exposed and terrified, I felt guilt. I had killed a human being. This should be normal, in the world that we live in, but it stills breaks my heart every time I pull the trigger.
"That was unnecessary."
"I agree. If you didn't try to control people, your men might not have to risk their lives doing your dirty work."
"At least you got a lucky shot. Now I think it would be in your best interests to hand back the guns."
"I don't think so. I could easily put a bullet in your head. Don't test me."
"My dear, I would be surprised if you didn't. But no one leaves this place without permission. And those who do are tossed in a pit and burned like garbage. Are you suggesting your garbage?"
"No. But you might be."
"What I think she means," Zack quickly jumped in, more aware of the fact that we were screwed than I was, "is that you need us. I'm the strongest man you've got, from what I've seen, and even without training she's a perfect shot. We're not meant to create a child together.. But if you need protection, we're the best you've got."
He eyed us, but I kept my attention on the guns that were turned to us. In an instant, I'd be ready to shoot. Guilt of shooting a stranger would be nothing compared to the guilt of losing Zack because I'm a coward.
"Does it really look like I need protection?"
"How many people are you holding here?" I questioned. My voice came out softer than I intended it to. Honestly, it seemed tragic to hold more women and men against their will. They'd be happier out there with the infected. "If your mission is to save mankind, you must have dozens of people depending on you. Women and children alike."
"That's true. Yet it doesn't explain why I would have any reason to keep you alive after this stunt."
"Zack and I have been surviving, on our own, since this outbreak happened. If you don't want to waste another human life, put us on your team. Supply runs, shooting, we can do it all."
He stared at us for a while, his eyes burning holes through our exposed flesh. At the very least, I hoped he would offer us each a blanket to cover our skin.
After a few long moments, he cleared his throat and nodded his head, motioning for his men to back up.
"You will be heavily guarded until the next mission. Now please," he turned to his men, "get them out of my sight before I kill them myself."
Notes
I don't like this chapter so much, but you guys deserve and update. Mucho love! <3.
Update! I absolutely love this! :)
7/29/14