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Soon after Gabe and the girl was sitting in a cafeteria eating a sandwich. The girl barely ate as she glanced around, observing the way people acted.
~'This place is weird... People aren't holding scary things to my head.'~
~'No. Stand your ground. Don't be fooled. I must escape.'~
~'They can't be trusted'~
"Hm?" she shuddered.
"You must really like that food to not hear me." Gabe flashed a soft smile and laughed, "I asked if the food was good, but I guess I'm already got my answer."
The girl looked up at Gabe, embarrassed, not sure what to say. She wasn't focused enough on her food to even eat, but Gabe caught the girl's gaze.
He looked intently in her soft brown eyes while she noticed something in his eyes that she didn't realize before.
Grey.
A soft grey highlighted his bright ocean eyes making his look more intense, but gently. His eyes looked as fierce as an oceans storm crashing into a rock but as soft as a drifting wave.
The more and more she looked into his eyes the more the waves began to crash over her, but she didn't feel like she was drowning.
She felt calmer.
The more she looked into his eyes she realized she was staring at him.
She quickly reverted her eyes back down from his, even though the view was pleasant, and looked at her food.
"I-it's fine..." the girl answered his question at the note of a whisper, trying to avoid eye contact.
She was still worried about what might happen if she trusted these people.
But.
She wants to know more.
The girl was deeply confused. So many questions struck her mind. She wanted to ask more questions.
She needed to know.
She needed answers.
She needed help.
Wither she liked it or not.
Just as she was about to ask him something, the group of kids with Gabe the night they found her sat down right at her table.
Natalie nodded her head at the girl, her way of saying 'hey', as she slipped down into her seat.
"What's up, guys," Marly said grabbing Gabe's apple.
The kids sat down with there plates and began to eat; trying their best not to stare at the girl or question her.
But Izon leaned close into Gabe's ear and whispered, "Isn't she that strange girl we found a few days ago?"
"Yeah." the girl announced, unsure of their response.
"H- how did you hear me?"
"Oh," Her tongue was left dry, unsure of what to say.
"Not even I could hear him and I- ouch!"
"Gabe..." Marly snarled his name between her clenched teeth, "you just kicked me."
Gabe shot a scowl towards Marly and silence embroidery itself at their table for several seconds while they ate their food.
But the girl still had too many questions and not enough answers. Not knowing anything again made her mouth dry.
She thirsts for knowledge.
She thirsts for justice.
And finally...
She thirsts for an explanation.
Something she knew she couldn't get. Even if she tried.
The thought that she may never receive it made her heart jerk and her stomach violently turn inside.
Her fear couldn't clench all the storm inside of her. So she had to speak. And in her surprise, she did.
"H-hey, uh-" She remembered how she didn't know his name and she immediately became fearful. Before, if she got anything wrong or forgot anything, she would be punished.
"Gabe, " Gabe finished her sentence with a smile of understanding.
"-Gabe, " she added, and continued her thought.
He turned his attention towards her while taking another bite of his sandwich.
"W-well, I have a question..."
"Okay."
"Um, who are you people... how did you find me that night? And please... no secrets." she asked gently.
"That's two questions." Gabe snickered poking his food with his fork. "But I'll answer them both."
For a split second his expression was bold. He pondered deeply on the right words to say.
Then he began, "We are apart of RGST, and we normally don't leave here, but that night we just wanted to get some fresh air."
The girl tried to respond but was cut off. "My turn." he provoked with a smile, "Why were those people chasing you, and why were you in the woods as well?"
Loss of words hung in her mouth while fear gripped her tongue.
No way out now. It was her turn to answer. The girl didn't want to but fear of disappointment struck her making her panic. She felt awful inside. Gabe gave her what she wanted.
Answers.
Even though it didn't help her case, it's what she wanted.
But for some reason, she couldn't do the same. Which made her feel guilty especially since it's Gabe who she is disappointing. So she finally chocked something out.
"I-I kinda...did something... that they didn't really...agree with." fear broke her words as she remembered what happened only a while ago...
"I... was in the woods... because where I live is near it." the girl's voice and eyes steered away.
"I thought you said 'no secrets'?"
"Yeah, I did... but... it seems like there's a lot your hiding from me too..." She quivered as she gave a sharp look to Marly, and silence hit them again.
"Okay, fair enough." Gabe sipped his drink, "But I'm adding my own rule too. No lies. So from now on, no secrets and no lies. Okay?"
The girl nodded in agreement as did everyone else at the table.
More questions wanted to be answered. Not just from the girl, but the other kids in the group.
"How could you hear me earlier?" Izon spoke up.
"And also, how did you almost completely recover from your bullet wound?" Marly chipped in.
The strange girl looked down in fear.
~'I just...can't. They could be one of Them...I can't hurt any more people... just like...They did'~
So in response, the girl shrugged and lowered her head.
"What's RGST?" the girl breathed lightly, unsure if she said it right or not.
"I asked first," Izon instigated.
Glancing at him, she looked away and at her fingers as she fiddled with the long sleeves of her shirt.
"What? Huh? Now you don't wanna talk? You can't trust us?" Marly snarled in frustration."Do you think that we trust you? No. The feeling is mutual."
One after another, Natalie, Izon, and Marly began to spit out questions.
"Tell us who you really are?"
She looked away.
"Are you a spy? If you tell us now and you'll save yourself!"
She shuddered not sure if it was a threat or not.
"Why won't you answer us?!"
The girl attempted to talk, "I- don't know w-what to s-say..."
"Well, do you plan on killing us? Or are you just the distraction?!"
"U-um-" she was abruptly cut off again.
"I bet she works for WWIDI! Don't you??"
"Don't you??" They shouted again.
"N-no-"
"Okay, well, did you come from WWIDI??"
"W-Well-" she was at WWIDI, but she wouldn't work for them. At least not by choice.
"So she DOES work for WWIDI!"
The girl didn't know what to say. So she just shrugged and stuttered.
"So tell us."
"C'mon we already know you didn't come here on good terms, so just tell us now!"
Completely engulfed in fear, the girl's head stooped low while her shoulders pressed in.
She flinched every time the kids raised their voice higher or hit the table. She began to shake all around in fear while goosebumps pricked her skin.
Her hands began to shake. ~'Oh, no. Oh, no. Stop it! Don't!'~ She yelled at herself in her mind.
She watched as the veins in her hand turned red and purple. A thick hue of energy began to form around her fingers. Ryela held back a gasp as she felt a sharp pain in her hands. It felt as if her energy was being pulled from her body.
Slowly, the things on her plate began to shake. Surprisingly, Group A2 was too heated in yelling at her to notice.
She begged in her mind for them to stop so she can while grasping her arms for support.
She turned her head and clenched her eyes shut even more. ~'Please stop. Please stop!'~ but it only seemed to make it worse.
Their voices started to match familiar ones from her past making her twitch a bit in fear.
Tears ripped its way through the wall she put up and slid down her cheeks.
Gabe sat back awkwardly while looking at his food, waiting for his friends to be done. He finally glanced over at the girl.
His eyes got snatched by the tears going down her face and he immediately flared his eyebrows. Guilt hit him hard.
He was pushing this girl to her limits without knowing the outcome if she were to blow.
He then noticed how the room seemed to have gotten hotter. And how there was a slight clinking of the plates.
That's when we realized, it was the girl.
~'So she does have abilities..?'~ the realization made his heart stop for only a moment. His eyes widened, "Oh, shit." He mumbled
"Hey guys, " he cut in trying to stop them. "That's enough."
But they didn't seem to hear him.
"Guys, that's enough!" He barked at his friends.
"This isn't how we treat people! Especially if they did come from WWIDI. She's probably gone through a lot so we shouldn't be making this harder." They all blushed in embarrassment at his correction.
Gabe looked at the girl, "I'm sorry-"
"Everything all right?" questioned one of the guards coming to there table with his hand steady on his weapon.
The Gabe nodded, "Yes, sir. Everything is under control." He looked at the girl, hoping she will agree for her own sake.
"Y-yeah, I was just leaving..." her voice shaking like a tremor, she slowly turned around.
She looked like she just saw a ghost.
Face pale, cheeks puffy, body shaking, skin ice-cold, and muscle fatigue.
Her hair fell by her face, making it hard to see her expression, but the group already knew what it was.
They could feel it.
They could feel her fear. And they immediately regretted what they did.
"Excuse me?" Gilly stopped her, "no one is ever going to hear you if all you do is mumble." His words were like a pickaxe into Ryela's heart; just digging deeper into her until she exploded which would give him a bigger reason to lock her away.
"Speak up." He commanded.
"I-I'll leave...now." She forced her voice to be louder.
"Oh, is that so?" Gilly smirked under his breath.
"Gilly." Gabe knew what Gilly was doing. He did it with all people he was uneasy with. He would push them to their limits till they couldn't handle it anymore, attempted to stop.
Gilly ignored the boy and continued, "Well, actually, there is a slight change of plans."
"You'll be staying with us for a few days," Gilly announced as he reached for the girl's arm.
.
.
.
"No! Stop! Please!" Young Ryela jerked away from a group of guards coming her way.
"Y-you said no more!! Sir said no more i-injections...p-please!!" They snatched her by the hair, causing her to squeal, and yanked her up to grab her arm.
"Please!! No more!" She sobbed and screamed, "They hurt, please!!"
"Hurry up and take her to a Restricted O.R room stat!!" The chief guard barked his orders and proceeded to walk away. "And make her shut the hell up before I do!" He commanded before he left.
Follow his commands, a guard harshly back handed Ryela across the face, causing her to softly wimper instead of yelling, as two guards continued to drag her backwards by her arms to the Restricted O.R Room.
.
.
.
The frightened girl's eyes widen in terror as she pulled away.
"S-stop-" she yelled as they grabbed her away. "You said you-"
"You said-"
"you said you would help me..." she screamed with her voice bold and clear.
"And we are. We are helping you to a nice closed room where we can have a little chat," a grimace spread on Gilly's lips while escorting her away.
Not hearing his comment she still cried and begged.
She jerked her body away harshly, causing her to trip and slam against the cold tile ground.
"No! Please, please, I'm sorry! Please, don't hurt me! I'm sorry! Pl-"
"PLEASE!" she screeched and begged for help as the guards yanked her off the ground by her arms and dragged her away.
She kept begging and saying she's sorry hoping they would let her go. But from her experience with WWIDI, they never did. So why would people like these do it now?
Desperation stained her eyes as they locked on Gabe's eyes. Staring him dead in the eyes she whispered one last thing.
"Please..."
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{Word Count: 2165}