Rory had been staring at this dust filled floor for so long if he wanted to he could've counted each particle, maybe even twice. The drugs had worn off hours ago and his shoulders were starting to scream in pain.
Not the kind of pain Cash was in, but still pain in the end.
Once waking up Cash had screamed and jangled his chains for hours to make himself as much of a burden as possible before a girl Rory didn't recognize stomped down the stairs and dug a knife threw his hand to keep it still against the wall.
Safe to say, this new group they had stumbled across was not afraid to punish them.
On the bright side, they weren't going to kill them. At least, not yet. They had already came down the stairs and fed them grits that didn't really taste that bad. Which meant starvation was not their goal.
The door upstairs creaked loudly causing both of the boys next to him to lift their heads. It was more than just one person going down the old stairs, one of them struggling to find their feet.
"Finn!"
Tabb yelled the name worriedly causing Rory to glance up at the state their friend was in.
She had a bloody white gauze wrapped around her leg, blood staining her bluejeans, and a giant bruising knot her forehead.
The red headed girl, who's hand dug into Finn's shoulder, slowly led her to the chains across from Rory, letting her take her time with her new injury.
"Are the others okay?"
Cash asked without a second thought. Rory scoffed in his head. Yeah, bright idea Cash. Make sure Red knew there were more of us, that way she didn't have to interrogate you for the information.
Finn didn't answer, in fact, she stared at the ground with wide eyes and an agape mouth. She looked almost... traumatized...
"Finn!"
Cash yelled her name a little louder, causing the brunette to jump and Red to glare in his direction.
"Hands up."
Finn did as she was told and her wrists were chained to the wall just like the other three.
"J-Jude..."
Rory's head jerked up at the name Finn attempted to stutter out.
"What about Jude?"
His chains clanked as he struggled to keep Finn's attention. The girl seemed to be going in and out of consciousness, not a good sign for what might've happened to Jude.
"Jude was with us... I-I don't know where they took him. I couldn't see anything."
"Shut up."
Red warned in a stern tone as she moved to the end of the room and grabbed a bucket, dragging it over and setting Finn's hurt leg over it with ungentle hands. She hissed at the contact, her mouth quickly snapping shut. Red looked around at the four prisoners with hatred in her eyes.
"If I have to come down here to shut you up again, I will."
Her words were threatening but it only made Rory growl in anger. Without another word she stomped up the stairs. As soon as the door's lock clicked Rory was yelling at the girl across from him.
"What do you think they did with him?!"
"I-I don't know. He didn't resist. His stitches, th-they opened in the water. He passed out and I didn't know how to help him..."
Finn's voice became panicked as the realization of what they might've done with the smaller boy crossed her mind.
"I tried to carry him when I ran... I-I tried to help him but they shot me..."
Rory looked down at her leg, blood still dripping down her pants leg and into the bucket below.
"They took me and Xzavier somewhere and shoved a needle in my arm... I don't.. I don't remember anything after that."
"THINK!"
The command came out much louder and much more aggressive than he meant for it to be. The words echoing off the walls of the small dungeon like room.
"I-I-"
"Rory."
Tabb interrupted.
"Yelling isn't going to make her suddenly remember-"
"Shut up, Tabb!"
He growled in the blonde's direction before turning back to Finn's terrified expression.
"Did they kill him?!"
The door upstairs slammed open forcefully,
"Now you've done it."
Cash sighed tiredly.
The same girl who had come down to shove the knife threw Cash's hand stopped in front of Rory. Her short hair was curled around a bloody surgical mask covering her plump lips. Her hands, along with the pair of pliers they held, where drenched in the blood of the unknown.
"You just interrupted a very important surgery."
Rory attempted to hide his confusion, instead trying to intimidate the girl with a dangerous glare. She sighed,
"If you don't learn how to be quiet..."
She stepped towards him, taking his cheeks between her fingers and smushing them together to open his mouth.
"We're going to have to teach you how."
Her voice was gentle and smooth, as if she was talking to a baby rather than a prisoner.
"Stop!"
Cash pleaded in a respectful tone.
"He'll be quiet. I won't let him talk-"
The dark haired man was interrupted as she yanked the knife from his hand causing him to yelp in agony.
"Hey!"
Rory and Tabb's yells were ignored as she pulled a long strand of gauze from her pocket and wrapped it around his hand. He bit his lip as she finished it off with a tight knot, an unwelcome whimper escaping his throat.
"Now, shut up or you'll be next."
She walked back to Rory, a calm demeanor radiating from her bright eyes as she once again forced his jaw open.
She shoved the large pliers into his mouth, gripping onto one of his molars and yanking the long tooth out with one quick and terrifying pull. He screamed in pain as blood spewed from his fresh wound and into, who he could only guess was their doctor's, face. She didn't seem fazed one bit by the blood bath.
"Now. Stay quiet or you'll loose a couple more. Got it?"
He nodded his head quickly, whimpers of pain involuntarily coming from his lips. She turned to leave.
"When I find a way out of here I'm going to kill you."
Cash growled, causing the girl to laugh quietly.
"You'll be lucky if you live through the month."
***
Kyle paced back and forth across the bridge while her younger brother and Dax watched with bored expressions. They just wanted to find somewhere to sleep before the sun went down but Kyle had already made it clear that was the last option on her mind.
"They're not coming Kyle."
Ollie stated in a sad tone, "at least not tonight."
The disappointed look on his face didn't go unnoticed by the bigger man standing next to him. Kyle, on the other hand, continued to ignore them.
They would be here. Any minute now Ezra and Jude and Rory and the rest of the group would walk out of the woods to her right and onto the bridge, prepared to find their way out the forest and back on track.
Dax's eyes moved back and forth between the worried siblings, an annoyed yet sympathetic sigh leaving his lips.
"Kyle."
Dax attempted to get her attention with no avail.
"Can we please find some shelter before we die of unnatural causes?"
"No."
Was all the red head had to say, earning a groan from both the boys.
"Something must've happened."
She whispered anxiously to herself as she paced one way.
"They should be here by now."
She rubbed her hands together in attempt to calm herself as he turned and walked the other way. Dax's irritation was interrupted by Ollie's elbow shoving him to get his attention. When Dax turned to him with a yell on the tip of his tongue the shorter boy nodded his head in Kyle's direction. Dax's face scrunched in distaste. Why did he have to be the one to comfort Kyle?
"You're her brother."
Dax argued in a hushed tone. Ollie gave a death glare that left no room for excuses.
"Fine."
He groaned as he stepped towards the woman worrying her lip so hard blood was starting to surface.
"Kyle, come on."
He dropped a gentle hand on the redhead's shoulder, forcing her to stop her pacing in its tracks.
"So they're not coming tonight. That doesn't mean something bad happened."
Kyle ignored Dax's effort to soothe her, instead looking back and forth at either side of the water for bodies.
"You know Ezra and the others."
He sighed,
"As much as I hate to say it, they're more capable of taking care of themselves than any of us three."
This statement got Kyle's attention and emerald eyes finally met a soft brown and blue. Had Dax Murphy just admitted that someone else was better than him?
"I'm sure they just got lost or held up, but they wouldn't want us to wait out here all night in the middle of this dark, unsafe, nightmare of a forest. We can come back tomorrow and I'm sure they'll be here."
Dax's eyes widened in horror as Kyle began to tear up. He went over exactly what he had just said out loud in his head over and over, trying to find what he had said to trigger Kyle.
"I promised I would look for him."
Kyle suddenly spoke up, her voice cracking. She looked over to her younger brother who watched her with an intense stare and then at Dax who did the same. She sighed, turning away from both of them and quickly wiping her eyes.
"I can't just leave him."
She crossed her arms with a shake of her head.
"What if something bad happened?"
Dax's jaw tightened, anger filling his chest unwillingly. How dare Ezra put that on Kyle. He knew the risks of going down the river and he knew how this fucked up world worked. If you couldn't find a comrade then they were dead, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. They could be stuck here forever looking for a dead body or a zombie just so Kyle could be a little more traumatized.
Dax swallowed his frustration, his grip on Kyle's shoulder tightened just enough for her to feel it.
"Ezra would want you to be inside with some food in your stomach and a good nights sleep before you go rushing to play hero."
Kyle's jaw tightened, her eyes following the river as she contemplated Dax's words.
"...Okay."
She gave in tiredly.
"You're right... Besides,"
She turned to meet Ollie's eyes,
"I've got someone else I need to care of."
Dax smiled softly, proud of himself for talking the stubborn redhead out of her ridiculous plan of searching all night so easily.
"Lead the way."