Caged No More: Chapter 41

Instructions

AUTHOR'S NOTE: this was written by me after eating sugar and feeling the blunt of the crash (and taking a tiny nap while writing XD) :CW/TW- Tr4uma, mentions of d3ath, tortur3, and !nsanity, minor cuss!ng | POV- Sable: We finish introducing ourselves, and Kai reveals stars actually a therian- harbor seal and red-tailed hawk. Paris, with the help of Kai's translating, tells us he's a feline cladotherian. Sky also tells us her types, which are polar bear, calico cat, and silver fox. "Alright," she says after a moment of awkward silence with all of us trying to decide what to say, "Do any of you have special gear to enhance senses or strength? Maybe even speed?" Kai nods. "Yep, I've got gear for all that, customized to my theriotypes. My Chrysaetian mentor made it all. Paris has the same stuff, too." 'Onyx and I have gear for our types, too,' I scrawl, 'and a Chrysaetian mentor. So I guess we're all gonna be fighting people, if we have that gear.' Sky shrugs. "I guess. It's funny how they literally are having teens fight actual adults. What if we get really badly hurt? Or lose?" Paris's eyes flash and they angrily sign something to Kai, who translates back, "He says we can't lose, because we have an advantage." "I agree with Sky," Onyx argues. "I'm not sure how this will work. They're trained, armed guards. Sable and I escaped through vents, not by fighting them." 'And the times we tried that, we failed miserably,' I write with a small sigh. Paris just rolls his eyes and signs something else. "He says: We have the enhancement gear, and over fifty allies. Plus, we've all been harmed by the lab's deeds somehow, and that gives us the strength, along with our animal spirits, to fight the workers and win." Kai crosses her arms. "I'm taking Paris's side. He's right, you know, and you guys are being so negative. Why doubt this? We've been training for a month, at the least. And I'm ready." Sky huffs. "That's true," she states. "We all have reasons to hurt anyone in the lab. Onyx and Sable were imprisoned and experimented on. My dad d!ed in the last attack. Kai, your siblings were t0rtur3d to the brink of insanity there, and Paris, wasn't the lab the reason you can't talk?" My heart pounds as I remember the blood drawing. The machines I was hooked up to. The brain scans. I was drugg3d and studied. Like a lab rat. I can feel my legs shaking and my palms getting sweaty as memories briefly flash- even memories that aren't mine, but are simulations of what Kai and Paris and Sky might have experienced. This trauma never affected me, but now it's resurfacing... Onyx grabs my hand, leaning in close to me. She glares at Sky. "We don't need a reminder of that, thanks." Across from me, I see Kai trembling with rage. "This battle is going to be unforgettable. Time for us to get revenge for every d4mn thing the lab has taken from us." ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ The bus is quiet as we all drive back to the apartment, not saying anything to each other, not because we're mad, but because there's nothing to say. Two goldbeasts in human form chat in the front seats in a language I don't understand, while ours drives. They're the mentors for Kai and Paris, and Sky. What feels like five hours later, we pull up to the apartment. Three rooms are booked: one for girls (Kai counts as one because that was stars gender at birth), one for (demi)boys, and one for the mentors. Paris and I find a whiteboard in the closet, and they use it to talk to me, writing down what they want to say, like I do. 'Should we just talk, or do you wanna play chess and discuss anything?' he writes. I haven't played chess in a long time, but I'll probably remember when we set up our stuff. We set it up successfully, and start to play. I move my pawn forward. 'This might be something sensitive,' I slowly write, 'but Sky said the lab's why you can't talk.' He takes one of his pawns out. 'Not really. I still have nightmares about what they did, though. It's been a year, but they come vivid as ever.' I feel a pang of sympathy. 'I'm sorry for that to happen to you. I still have nightmares about what they did, too.' His eyes fixate on my eye scar. 'Did they do that to you?' I shake my head. 'That's from a bear, after I escaped. They really did nothing to me other than the drugg1ng and tortur3...what'd they do to you?' He shudders. 'I'll tell you, but you've gotta give me details on what happened to you after.' He turns the board towards him, scribbling and erasing over and over. I wait, anticipating something horrid. And I'm not wrong. (ending lol bye)