I hear a slight beeping sound grow louder and I move around, but it feels like something is restricting me. I force my eyes to open to see it's just the sheet around me. I sit up, pushing it back to see I'm on a bed in an unfamiliar room, wearing what looks like hospital issued pj's. A heap of IV's are are inserted in my arms. I look around, my vision blurry to see a calendar on the wall and the days marked off... Wait... Have I been out for 8 days?
I look at the IV, unsure what is going into me and I rip them out despite the pain, not trusting what could be inside them, contents of them slowly dripping onto the floor. I swing my feet the floor, holding onto the bed so I don't fall as I'm standing upright. I take a few steps and stop , seeing another bed like the one I was on, sheets messed up, but tubes empty and a heart monitor. It shows a 'flat-line' symbol...
That makes me nervous! I need to go out of here! I walk to the door and put my hand on the door handle, praying that it's not locked and to my surprise, it swings open. Great! I start bolting the corridor, desperate to get out of wherever here is! I need to find my friends!
Soon enough, I leave behind the cold, white starkness and end up back within the normal hallway that Rain once led me down when we shared a "moment" together over food and drink. So, I'm in the leaders home. I pick up the pace and run across the doorway of the kitchen, seeing the exit door.
"Stop!"
I flinch, freezing hearing a voice and slowly look back "R-Rain...?"
"I see you're awake. You can go. I really don't care, you little shit. All the trouble you caused us to find you and your friends out there in that wasteland. I honestly don't know if was even worth it, but my Husband insisted that we freaking looking for you. He claimed you were worth it and I sure as hell, hope you are worth it, because if turns out you aren't Valerie, well! When I'm done with you, you will wish that you hadn't wished for someone, us to save your sorry ass.
Now leave and go back to the city if you so desire. When I see Sebastian, I will tell him you left and didn't want anymore healthcare." She snaps and saying in an annoyed tone, then taking a sip of something in a coffee cup, still rugged up warmly.
I nod and press the door so I can leave, heading out back into the cold, but safety of the village.
---
I walk for a little while heading back into the city centre. I need to change because it's cold! Take a quick detour to my sleeping quarters, I gulp when I go in, seeing the beds are stripped of blankets and pillows that only the mattress' are left behind. I check the beside tables seeing our few things that belong to us is gone and I pull open the cupboard relieved to see a few changes of clothes are left.
The leaders must have had the guards clear most of our stuff out, thinking that we wouldn't be coming back at all or if we did, it would be in a body bag... I wonder if Samantha's room is the same?
Shrugging and taking a spare set of clothes to change into and folding the hospital gown up, I close the door, head out to go to the cafeteria. I stumble though halfway through the hall, needing to steady myself.
I feel dizzy... But I push myself on and see the world glitch out again. What's going on?! When I arrive at the cafeteria I see other members eating and the Guards are actually on their feet, cooking. Why does it feel like the room has a different vibe than usual?
"Valerie!"
I turn my head to see who called my name. The two Guys from Samantha team is at my table and Louis is there, waving. "Louis" I scream running over and he leaps to his feet to meet me half-way.
"I was so worried about you!" I cry. "And I am so glad to see you are okay!" He responds back and we embrace, his holds me tight then I hear audibly gasp.
He looks panic stricken and I see the hues and ghostly image a blue butterfly right over his chest. It fades a moment later.
"Louis?" I whisper. He is looking at me intensely despite his wide eyed glossy look on his face. "Are you okay?" I ask.
"Uh... Yeah. I'm... Just so glad to have you back!" He finally speaks after a minute. Taking my hand, he helps me to the table and I sit down, leaning on him and he wraps his arms around me holding me really close as if his afraid I'll melt.
"So, what happened?" I ask then I see the world around me glitch again and his expression looks ever more panicked now for some reason. If I told anyone about the world around me glitching, I wouldn't be believed... I'd be written off as crazy.
"I spent a few days in recovery with these guys and then I was just sent back to the city. We've been staying in a spare room somewhere else as our room and Sam's teams rooms have been stripped. Sebastian did come and taunt us saying they found you, Avery, Kelsey and Cloud, but I wasn't sure if it was true.
Ah, I'm so glad you are okay, Valerie!"123Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MtMJ268Yy
But the way he says it feels off and his breathing heavily as if his trying to catch his breath. It's like his not meaning what he says, but I push my feelings aside.
"I was too. I was worried about you, Lukas. Where's Sam and everyone else?"
"You haven't seen them? Oh, geez...This doesn't look good. As for Sam? She was taken for surgery/ I think? I'm not sure.
While I was in a drug induced sleep, I heard yelling about someone going into cardiac arrest, but the Guys were in the room with me so it wasn't them.
T-that's all I know, sorry. Look, we will find the rest of our friends, uh, okay? I promise. I just need... Time to come to terms with all this." He finishes with, hugging me. "This?" I ask, but he shrugs, looking around the room.
One of the Guys standing up walking over to near the guards. "D-do you t-think we c-c have f-food? P-please?"
I see Ricky there who is spinning a loaf of bread around, fresh out the oven. "F-fine, short-stack." He smirks.
"Surprised you're alive, Valerie. Was hoping I wouldn't have to see you again, but here you are and I will destroy you when I get the chance, our name leaders backs turned. You made Emily go out into the snow. She was dear to me and now I don't even know how she is now!" He yells putting the bread and several soup bowls out.
"Help yourselves." He grumbles, walking away and the Guy grabs the food, bringing them to us and we all dig in. After eating for a while, were full and Louis hands me a spare key, telling me where our new shared room is and then I depart to head there while they stay behind to socialize.
After walking for a little bit... I begin to feel lightheaded and I realize that I've sort of just been staggering about, my head is pounding and there is like a fog over my mind and I end up walking into some portal for I don't know what reason. I just know I'm not thinking straight, but my brain doesn't match up with my body.
"Hey, are you okay?"
...
"Hello? Anybody in there?"
I wake up sometime later, dazed and disoriented to see that I'm lying on a single bed in what looks like a shared dorm. I turn my head to see a guy with dark toned skin and brown hair with piercing green eyes who is wearing wearing clothes.
"W-who a-are y-you?" I choke out. He takes a seat on the bed, propping his leg up in his other. "What are you doing here? You're a member from the City. You shouldn't be here unless you made Sebastian mad...
This isn't jail, but this part of the city is typically for exiled people... But people they don't want to let go or lock up."
"I-I don't understand. My head- I feel- I feel..."
"Woah, okay, relax buddy." He says helping me to lie down again and I feel him place a damp cloth on my head. "You're running a fever. What happened to you?" He asks me.
"I went o-out into the c-cold." I choke out. "You went out into the Frozen Wasteland? Wow, you're brave! Let me guess. Did Sebastian drag you back?"
I nod slow and painfully. "I'm sorry this is happening to you. To all the people trapped here. I know Sebastian well because of an incident many years ago.
All of this stuff happening to us is horrible and it will come back to bite him in the rear end hopefully in the future." He says sighing and placing his face in his hands.
"What's wrong?" I ask, leaning forward. "No, don't worry. It's just something from years ago. I haven't seen her in forever and not a day goes by where I don't think of her, worrying about her and if she's okay. I worry that Sebastian hurt her." He says and then he explains a long, complicated story about meeting a girl who was knew to a town and that was really intelligent, then about a android hologram that passed the turing test, a house party with something about strong punch and it took over his home and two mysterious people saved them all from the control of it and then took away someone he loved and he went after them to get her back, then Sebastian had him sent to the poorer districts of this city when they initially asked him to leave and he refused to leave.
"That's an unbelievable story." I tell him. "I know it is. I wish I could see her again. She means the world to me." He explains. "What does she look like? Maybe I've seen her?" I respond and he describes her.
"That sounds just like Harriet!" I tell him, standing up and he jumps up from sitting beside me on the bed I'm in, shaking me. "Y-you've seen her?!" He cries. I nod. "Where is she?! Take me to her! I gotta get her out of here!" He cries.
"D-don't worry, I'll help you." I smile, taking his hand. We head to the edge of the exiled district and see no Guards around. I must have been feeling really off to sleep-walk here or whatever it is I did and I poke my head through, carefully. "It's clear." I whisper and I sneak him over to the boarding house and unlock the room with the key that Louis gave me and looking for and giving him a change of clothes, scarf and a hat so his less recognizable.
"Thanks, uh... Your name?"
"It's Valerie. And you?" I ask. He looks away. "Don't worry about it." I say.
"Thanks. I'm glad you understand." He responds. "So where is she?" He asks. "In the Leaders house, I think." I respond. We head there and it is surprisingly easy to sneak in. Security really is down in this place at the moment.
We head past the kitchen and I stop slowly seeing Rain's back to us. She's cooking something in a fry pan.
"Is that bacon and egg? Damn, I could really go for a good home-cooked meal at the moment." The Guy behind me asks. I give him a slight slap and and just grab his wrist, heading past Rain as she's distracted. I have him hide and I search all the rooms, getting lucky on one of the last ones. Harriet is inside, doing nothing in particular. She looks sad.
I signal to him and he walks up to me. "You ready?" I ask him. He shakes his head, stepping back. "Hey, come on. We came this far. Go talk to her."
"Valerie, I-I can't!"
"Sure, you can. Just go talk to her."
But he shakes his head and I sigh. "Fine, hide and I'll go talk to Her. She doesn't seem hot-headed like Rain or Sebastian, although she is responsible for us ending up here...."
IHe goes to hide while I place my hand on the door handle, looking back to see him nod. Here I go... And push the door open again and sliding in, closing the door behind me.
"Y-you! You should not be in here!"
I flinch at her sudden anger when she has just been sitting on her bed, starring blankly at the wall. "Hi..." I trail off. "What are you doing in here, Valerie? Be honest with me and I'll let you go and if you don't, I will scream and 'Mum' will come running."
She looks awfully serious. "I-I'm helping someone out." I whisper. "Who?" She says skeptically.
"A guy, he wanted to see you."
I watch Harriet slide off her bed and pull on a sweater along with snow boots and her head-scarf. She looks a bit drugged out. "Is his name, Ethan?" She asks me. I shake my head. "He didn't say. I don't think He trusts me." I respond.
She looks sad. "Why? What's wrong?" I ask, sitting down next to her and gently wrapping my arm around her. She relaxes under my hold and sits down again.
"What's your story, Harriet?" I ask. "Valerie... I... I am so sorry that I pushed you and your friends into this world. I condemned you Guys to this suffering at the hands of Sebastian I regret doing it." She whispers, tears forming.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm here... to be a hero, a savior if I can be." I smile.
She wipes her eyes with her sleeve, slowly nodding. "I've always asked myself why I wasn't like other girls. I wasn't into fashion or makeup or even talking about boys and I don't always see eye to eye on decision making with Owen, Mum & Dad.
I was into Gaming, Technology. Cliche I know as that is like the number one thing, a girl does when she rebels, but it was me. I had another friend. We got on great, but I slowly ruined it and was horrible to her, but I did because I was dealing with my own demons and I had no way to express the feelings I internally bottled up.
After that, I pretty much just turned to technology as it was something to do and explore compared too what I was going through. I wanted social contact, but something more... I ran away and Dad brought me back 'Home.'
Dad was always so horrible to me and whatever I did was never good enough for him. I tried to assist him, but I was never fast enough or some other arbitrary reason. I tried to be better, but all I did was 'fail' and disappoint him to no end. He hated me and even hurt me. Not just emotionally... I soon grew to learn what he did and he experimented on me once to teach me a lesson do I wouldn't step out of line again and to teach me a lesson.
I'd love nothing more than to leave this place again and never look back with him. Truth is I was in love with him! He was my best friend and maybe he was even more than that?" She says, her face lighting up.
"Harriet..." I whisper not wanting to speak and ruin her train of thought. "Why don't you?"
"What?"
"He's outside, waiting for you, Harriet."
"Y-you mean I c-can s-see him? We can b-be together?!"
I nod, slowly and her face lights up. "Security is low in this place right now and Dad won't expect me to run. W-we can be together and g-go anywhere, together. We can travel and see the w-world! We can go where he will never find us! There are so many worlds out there Valerie each of their own beauty to see."
I watch her grab a small bag, packing stuff like her wallet, a phone, a few clothes, some books and she pulls out a circuit board and some other, but it looks damaged. She fits it in.
"W-what is that?" I ask. "A Friend. She was human despite what she looks like. What happened was an accident, but there's always a chance I can fix her and help Her to better than she was. She wanted the same thing as us! Not to be lonely anymore."
She follows me out the room and when she sees him and he sees her, they embrace and hold each-other, him gently kissing her under the eye. It's beautiful!
"Thank you for everything you have done for me, Valerie. I won't forget this and I know you will be free one day, but right now you will have a fight on your hands. Good luck!" She smiles and then opens her mouth again to speak.
"Come on, let's go!" Harriet says inserting the computer stuff she has into a small looking box and I see a green hologram appear, a girl. She has long green hair, pale skin, dark green eyes, a dark green, somewhat black strapless dress and dark green/black flats. "Harriet, Ethan?" The hologram asks, voice scratchy and slow, albeit confused.
"We'll explain everything later. Just get us out of here right now! Take us anywhere!" Harriet begs and the girl hugs her and Ethan, able to place her arms around them despite being a hologram and they both giggle slightly from her touch. Green electricity all around them and then they are gone, leaving me alone.
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