Looking to the girl at my side I nod slightly, the cages were bigger although they weren’t the biggest I’d seen. “More workers for the mines,” I whisper back, “something must be happening, or about to happen.” We weren’t told much but I tried to find out what I could, without breaking the rules.
Noticing Zandra fiddling with her collar I shake my head, I knew exactly how she felt although I did a better job at masking my discomfort. I’d gotten used to living in difficult conditions after The Guardian had locked all the city leaders in a shipping crate and basically forgotten about us. Sure we were fed, but there wasn’t much in the way of personal space and comfort was definitely not an option.
It was during my time in the crate I’d realised where all my problems had started, it was simple really… it was the moment the Mall Rats had broken into my life. All of this, was their doing. Sighing quietly I glance back at Zandra, “who’s in charge today anyway? I haven’t seen the rota yet.”
Sitting at the sand I let my eyes wander around in the cage. Being stuck in one place is one thing I really do not like. The thoughts of being watched, not knowing what will happen, its nervewrecking. I push myself up from the ground before walking closer to the fence. Glancing down at my hand I see the mallrat mark glowing up towards me.
It is so tempting to take up a rock and dig it into the arm, to make the symbol more clear. The first few days I had stayed away from the fence, thought now I just wanted to get away, and well one cant get away if your stuck in the middle. Walking over to the fence I look out and see two guards walking past.
I stop walking seeing the black haired girl or lady. She was dead, it had been my fault. I had told them that the chosen were gone, I had helped Trudy, everything had gone down hill. Standing there staring at the two ladies, I try to open my mouth to speak but I can’t. It feels as if my lips wont spread, the voice has gone missing.
The island looked empty enough, and the building we found looked abandoned. So much of this was like the early days back then no one knew what to expect abandoned things were abandoned. I’d like to think we know better.
Now that we didn’t need to be so close to each other on the boat I wanted to go off and get some space and much needed alone time, but Trudy insisted we check out the building. Sometimes being the lockpick had its draw backs. At least it gets me away from Ram. Sure we’d gotten close in Liberty, but I wouldn’t call him a friend.
I make quick work of the rusty lock and the door creaks open. “Ladies first.” I motion as I hold the door open for Trudy.
Sweat continued to roll faster and faster down my face, slipping into my eyes and distorting the view of the solid steel bars and the blazing midday sun which hung threateningly overhead. I don’t bother to wipe it off, instead, I tilt my head back slightly, catching the rivets onto my heat-parched lips, painfully working moisture back into the cracks. The overseers of the island prison camp regularly punished the more outspoken prisoners, but the lack of water was a cause for serious concern. I can feel the onset of severe dehydration coming on. I can only hope that they will allow us some water very soon.
It feels like we have been in this battle for so long - this struggle fought over our mental states of mind - to crush any remaining fragments of hope or dreams. But I am not going to let them win! As long as I can breathe, I will continue to remain defiant. I can never give up … not if I am ever to see my sister, and my friends, again.
Bored…bored of being a prisoner and bored of being in this cage, I’m sure there are much better words I could use to describe the situation but the constant heat and the lack of water was making it hard to think.
I stretch my legs out in front of me and turn to look at Alice, I give her a half hearted smile. If we were in better conditions I would say it was nice to be back with a familiar face but the fact that we were both prisoners didn’t give me much hope.
I couldn’t remember the last time I wasn’t a prisoner or when I last saw a face of someone I cared about, it was moments like this I kinda missed being in virtual reality at least then I had some escape from the harsh reality of life even if it wasn’t real.
I pull my legs up to my chest and rest my head on my knees, getting lost in my own memories.
I started off in a cage with someone else, seeing a few of the Mallrats here and there but now…now I was alone. I had been for a while. At a cage far away from the others. I didn’t understand. Being alone was once one of my favorite things but after so many weeks…months, hell I didn’t know, of isolation I was losing myself. Actually, I was pretty sure I already had. I was first sent to a mine, when the the tribe in the sky first took me, that didn’t last long when they realized I wasn’t one for just doing as I was told.
After the mines I was sent to another facility, put into virtual reality and left there for Gods know how long. Eventually I must have reached my limit of usefulness and then I was sent to the cages to wait for whatever it was they planned on doing next.
Seeing KC and Alice had been good for me, I think, I don’t know, not sure I really remembered much of it. Once they realized I knew them they sent me off to be alone. Away from everyone to be left to my own devices, whatever those were these days. So now, here I was, completely alone. “It’s not so bad really.” I said to myself. “What do you mean it’s not so bad?” Yes, answering myself, that was a sign of insanity right? “Well, it could be worse…it could always be worse…” I shook my head, looking down at my dirty fingernails. “It could always be worse…”
I had never been so happy to see sand in all my life, I always hated how it seemed to get everywhere. Yet I find myself taking my shoes of to feel it’s warmth between my toes. It was even better to be able to get some personal space, we’d lived in each others pockets for so long now. I notice Trudy had gotten Lex straight on the case to check out the building. I decided I would linger on the sand for a bit that way if they needed me to check anything out I would be nearby.
I look around at the cage, in all honesty I really didn’t want to be here, I didn’t like seeing people locked up.
The whole slave thing scared me, and I hated it.
I turned to look at Danni again “Erm some guy… Parker? Or something I’m not sure, its someone we haven’t met before either way” I added with a shrug “I really don’t like it here Danni, seeing these people locked up isn’t right!” I whispered to her so the others wouldn’t hear.
Looking into the cage, I noticed a girl starring at Danni, it look a few moments for me to realise it was Patsy! She wasn’t a little girl anymore “Patsy?!” I said moving closer to the cage.
BASIC INFORMATION
BIRTH NAME: May Fletcher
DATE OF BIRTH:August 4 1998
AGE:18
AGE AT THE TIME OF VIRUS: 15
FAMILY (any siblings, cousins etc): Lisa, 2 year older sister and Lisa’s son. (if they are still alive)
HAIR COLOR: Black
EYE COLOR: Grey
TRIBE: Mallrats
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single
PAST RELATIONSHIPS: Flings
CHILDREN: None
PLAY-BY (your username here): Sheepleat
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
TALENTS: Stealing, flirting
HABITS: Drinking, flirting, can often be found adjusting cleavage
SECRET(S): Regrets not having been able to say goodbye to her parents when they died.
She pretends she doesn’t care about anything or anyone, but deep down she wants to be loved.
DISLIKES: Little children
FEARS: Death
STRENGTHS: Headstrong, survivalist
WEAKNESSES: Anyone finding out about her secrets.
PERSONALITY: Comes across as careless, loner, fearless, but underneath it all she wants to find a home and have someone to love and love her back.
BACKGROUND: See Pre-Tribe
Listening to Zandra I nod slightly, “it keeps changing, I don’t know why.” Normally there were a few ‘higher ups’ in charge that didn’t change but over the last couple of weeks more and more prisoners had been arriving, but with less guards. Hearing her next words I look around, “better to be on this side though…” No I didn’t like seeing people in cages, didn’t like thinking about what they were going to be made to do, but sometimes it was better to just not think.
As Zandra moves closer to the cages I catch her arm, “Zandra, stop.” I tell her quietly, “you know the rules.” I’d heard the name she’d murmured but I was doing my best not to put two and two together, my eyes staying away from the cage, “we should go and check the rota, make sure we aren’t meant to be somewhere.”
After being on the boat all together for so long I greatly enjoyed finally having some space again.
I sit alone in the sand watching Salene, Ruby and the kids from a distance, Sammy and Mouse appear to be having fun.
After watching them for a minute or so I move my gaze to the boat, some of the guys are working on it. Sigh “Finally off the boat but still living on it… I hope that building Lex and Trudy are checking out is still good to live in…”
I sigh once more then lay down on the sand staring at the clouds.
The lady Walking next to Danni says my name. The voice so familiar. I try to focus my eyes on her, on the lady that the voice belongs to. I bite my lip looking at the lady. It seems as if Danni is ignoring me. Or am i deadline? Danni is deadline the lady the voice belongs to is dead. Zandra. The lady who made my hair pretty on my birthday.
If im dead this sure must be down bellow. My mouth feels dry as I try to speak. “Zandra!” I say in a whisper.
I turn back to look at Danni as she grabs my arm to stop me moving closer “I’m not leaving her in there” I whisper back to Danni “Shes just a kid, she shouldn’t be in there” I look around and the few other guards that were around had moved away “No one’s paying attention to us” I added before moving towards the cage but not close enough in case one of the others did come by.
“Patsy what are doing in there?! Where are the others?” I question her, I can feel how pissed off Danni is, but in this moment I don’t care, she doesn’t know who Patsy is so why would she understand why I cant just walk away.
Blinking through the heat haze which seemed to shimmer before my eyes, I watch as KC glances over at me, attempting to summon a weak smile that was gone in an instant, as if I had imagined it. The poor kid - no, he wasn’t a kid any longer, he had grown so much during his time in captivity and was rapidly developing into a young man - had been through a lot. But his arrival was a balm to me, a reminder of who and what I was fighting for and why I should never give up.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t been the only familiar arrival. Anger and disgust rise up in me before I have a chance to get it under control. I glance at the other end of the cage, his mutters, which I had consciously muted in order to preserve my own sanity, now becoming more audible as soon as I locked eyes on his bedraggled form.
The Guardian.
I take a deep breath, but it wasn’t too hard to stamp down on mt anger. With no water, and barely enough food, I was just too weak to do anything but turn my back on him. The Guardian would pay. But now wasn’t the time. All my energy must be used in trying to get us out.
“Hold on, KC,” I whisper to him as I reach out to grab his hand. Maybe there wasn’t as much spirit behind those words as there usually would be, but maybe I had to convince myself as much as him. “Hold on. We’ll get out of here … somehow.”
I watch May walking, resting, walking arround and lay down again, i can feel her looks from time to time, i know she is a bit nervous. she doesn’t like to wait and not to know whats going on.
I hand Bray jr. over to Ruby, " excuse me for a moment " i tell her before i stand up, walk over to May and sit down next to her.
" waiting is the worst part, isn’t it ?" i say to to her while watching the waves
As I lay staring at the clouds I suddenly notice a figure approaching from the corner of my eye.
Salene comes walking over and sits down next to me, I sit up and look at her when she says waiting is the worst part.
I nod; “I hope that building is any good, I can’t live on this boat any longer…”
“You enjoy caring for Bray?” I then ask her. “I mean, considering the past?”
I turn to May a bit shocked and i swallow… " it is how it is, and we need to look forward right?" i answer and look down in the sand. For a momen i can see Ryan, Patsy, Cloe, the Choosen, Pride…
“yeah, looking forward…” i whisper again
Listening to Zandra I shake my head, but also look around to make sure we aren’t being watched, “yes she’s just a kid, but so are the majority of the people here.” I point out, watching as she moves closer to the cage. This wasn’t going to end well, but I couldn’t just walk away.
Hearing Zandras question I frown slightly, I hadn’t thought about the fact that Patsy being here could mean more Mall Rats were in the cages. “Zandra, think about this… even if there was a way to get her out, which there isn’t, what would you do with her? We share dorms so you can’t take here there, and there are patrols so even letting her run would mean she got caught.” I knew I sounded harsh, but these were the facts. I’d let my heart get in the way once before and that had ended perfectly, so I definitely wasn’t going to do that again… although the site of Patsy was making me question my own humanity.
Reaching into the holster on my leg I pull out a water bottle, normally it would hole the zapper but we didn’t tend to carry those on the island. Holding it to Zandra I sigh, “here, she needs water.”
Noticing Salenes reaction I apologize; “I’m sorry… I… I was just curious.”
I shuffle my feet a little then nod; “You’re right though about looking forward. I see reaching this island, alive and well, as a chance to… to start over. This person I was these past few months… years even… I don’t want to be that person anymore.”
I sigh as I lay my head back down in the sand.
I bite my lower lip watching Zandra, I still cant believe its her. How did I die and go to heaven or hell? I watch as she and Danni whispers. Yet again she seems so alive, they both do. Her questions to me, how am I supposed to answer them? Im not sure about what to tell her, it feels as i am shaking.
"I dont know where the others are, maybe they are still at the mall?"I say in a whisper. I havent seen them since the chosen. My head still can’t get around the fact that she’s alive. they said Amber was alive as well, so why am I surprised? Everyones nightmare had started just after Amber and Zandra had died on eagle mountain. I bite my lip harder till I can taste blood in my mouth.