She had been swallowed by a cave, everywhere she turned, everywhere she looked, all she saw were more long, dark, cold, stone corridors, no breeze, no trees, no life, just cold, hard stone. She shook her head, trying to remember which way she'd come from and trying to figure out which way they were going. He was so hard to keep track of, his skin so dark he would disappear whenever the lights did, sometimes only a sharp scrape of his boots or a tut the only way to know which way he had turned. Phoenix followed him, knowing she had to buy more time before she could slip out unnoticed, and she could smell a trick. Those other slaves were still here, some of them looking like they would rather just die, some of them thin and weak like they had not eaten properly in a long time. So why hadn't they just scaled the walls? They had those tables, they had the chairs, they had each other, surely there was something she was missing.
She kept her mouth shut when he stopped outside an open doorway, soft billows of warm, fragrant steam wafting from inside, four other slaves waiting for them by the door. They were not dressed the same as him, these slaves were smaller too, softer. They wore thin, pastel robes cut off at their knees, nothing like those thick, dark bundles they held in their hands or the ones Emery was wearing. The others were led inside, but a young girl stepped up to Phoenix, a soft smile on her lips, her head tilting to the side as she held out her bundle of clothes, nodding and adding a small comb on top.
"The Master wants you to look after your hair," she said.
Phoenix didn't know what to say then, there were a lot of things she wanted to, but nothing that would come out. She wanted to reach for her knife instead, to slice off her hair and hand it to the girl for her to give to her Master, but that would not help her sister, so she took that bundle of clothes, her hand keeping that comb from falling, the feel of it somehow burning her skin though it was only a comb. She had to remember that she would not be here long, that she had a plan, she just had to see it through, and then that girl smiled, clasping her hands together behind her back, and leading Phoenix into the room behind her. The walls were lined with tall, glass pods, small bamboo walls separating each one, some of them still wet and shining.
"This is the washroom," the girl said. "You can use it whenever you want, but you have to wash up after training. The Master doesn't like dirty slaves," she warned, turning to stare at Phoenix out of the corner of her eye, and then she stopped beside a pod, pointing to a shelf on the wall and nodding. "You put your dirty clothes there and there'll be clean ones waiting for you on the other shelf when you get out. Just put your hand on the screen in the back when you want it to start," she nodded again, her hands clasping behind her back again, that smile soft and expectant. Phoenix didn't know what to say, she didn't know what the girl was waiting for or if she would stay there and ruin everything. "Do you need anything else?" the girl asked.
Phoenix shook her head, clearing her throat before she said, "No."
The girl smiled again, giving Phoenix a slight bow before she left, and Phoenix let out a sigh. She reached a hand back down to that pocket above her knee, pulling out her toolkit and hiding it in her new clothes. She grabbed a few other things too, that grenade, her knife and a few orbs, stashing them in her clothes and her boots before she gave the washroom another quick look. She could hear other pods running, a mixture of boots and bare feet slapping on the stone floor, and she knew she had to wait. She slipped out of her suit, still somehow smelling like home, like sweat and like the hunt, and she stepped into the pod. The doors shut behind her, that panel in the back glowing with a dim light, and she let out a little gasp when she pressed it, a burst of soft, warm water hitting her and her aching muscles.
It had been a long day and it was only going to get longer. She watched the water pool under her, red for a moment while it washed the blood from her wrists before it finally ran clean. There was still so much to do, so much she had to figure out before this day was done, so much more she had to give before things were right again. She heard the panel in front of her beep, her eyes flicking up, a part of her sorry that it was over so soon, but her wristbands clamped together, jerking her hands up and that water turned to soap. She kicked and pulled, gritting her teeth as her wrists ran red again, but nothing worked. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she just wanted to have never been caught, but now she was here.
They did not let her go until those streams had turned from water to air, only her hair still wet and sticking to her back as she stumbled from the pod. She glared at it, her hands trembling as she reached for her new clothes, her breath shaking and stuttering as she pulled them on. It was only when her hands met the bare surface of the wooden stool she had left everything on, that her heart skipped a beat. She turned, her eyes big and wide, a chill running down her spine. She searched, not finding her suit, not finding anything she had stashed away before she'd climbed in the pod. Her eyes darted, her head sticking out from the bamboo partitions and still she could not see anyone. She shook her head, her hand clutching at the front of her new shirt, her chest heaving. They had to still be there, they had to. She turned again, lifting that stool, checking those shelves, and then she heard a beep. She looked down at her wristband, watching it blink red a few times, and then it started pulling.
"No, wait," she said, but it did not listen. "Wait," she said, her feet dragging on the floor as she tried to get back to the pod.
Her skin tore, her teeth grinding together, her feet scraping on the stone as she tried to fight, but she was already out of the room. She started walking then, her chest heaving, her eyes heavy and stinging with tears, and still that band pulled. It only stopped outside a door on a smaller corridor, her hand falling limply at her side, her chest still heaving. It was only a plain, wooden door, nothing special, a small, metal handle off to one side, five others just like it spaced evenly and split into three on either side of the corridor. She waited, listening to see what she could hear, her hand gripping the handle, her back pressed to the wall as she gave it a quick push and opened it. She waited again, hearing no one move inside, only seeing a light flicker on, and she stole a peak. It was only a room, a small bunk, a toilet with a sink on the top and a new pair of heavy, City boots. She stared at it a moment, not sure if she should go in, not wanting to. Those boots were not hers, that bunk, that room, no, it was only a prison cell.
She woke the next morning to her sensors ringing. She slipped under her bed, one hand already reaching for her stash of weapons, the other for her Radar, but then she froze, remembering where she was, and what she still had yet to do. She sighed, pressing her fingers to her eyes to stop herself from crying, and then she slid back out. She could hear people outside, talking, walking, their boots heavy on the stone floor. Whatever that sound was, it must not have been a warning. She pulled on her boots, rubbing her face one last time and staring at her wristband. She wasn't sure and she had to be before she risked it and lost everything.
She opened her door so slowly, peeking outside and down the corridor where it joined with a larger one. She could see so many faces, some of them laughing and talking, some of them stiff, with their heads bowed and their eyes down. It definitely wasn't a warning, that she now knew for sure, but she still did not know what it meant. She heard another door open, catching a glimpse of Mia's long, brown hair as she stuck her head out, and then she hid behind her door, her face pale, her eyes big and wide. She looked at Phoenix, shaking her head, her hand gripping the handle of her door so tightly her knuckles went white.
Phoenix didn't know what to do either, not saying a word as she watched the girl shaking, only turning when she heard another door across from hers open. Belfire looked at them both, his head tilting to the side as he stared down the corridor and he nodded, closing the door behind him, and sighing.
"Morning," he said, but she did not answer, her eyes flicking back to the large corridor to watch the others. There were fewer already, and far fewer of those ones who had smiled and laughed. "I think we should follow them," Belfire said.
She stared at him, knowing that he was probably right, a part of her only thinking it was a mistake. She watched Boris come out of his room, closing the door behind him and nodding to the others, but still she did not know what to do, and then she tapped her fingers on the handle behind her door, finally letting go and joining them outside. She had to know, she had to find out for sure, and the only way to do that was either to risk testing it herself or find someone who already knew the answer, but it was a lot harder than she'd thought it would be to walk towards that corridor, her stomach burning, her face stiff as she heard all those people. She was not supposed to gather, none of them were, and that was exactly what she was doing.
"I don't want to," Mia whispered.
Belfire sighed, nodding to her when he said, "I don't think we have a choice."
Phoenix did not think so either, her eyes flicking to him and studying him. His wrists were not cut like hers, maybe he had not fought when his band had brought him here, maybe he already thought the same thing she did. She could ask him, but he did not seem to know much more than her, and she needed to find someone who did.
"Let's stick together," Belfire nodded. "We can keep each other safe."
Phoenix doubted that, her eyes flicking back to the corridor, her shoulders growing stiffer, but it would be safer not to go alone, that much she was certain of, at least for someone like her who was easy to spot so she did not say anything when Mia nodded, closing her door behind her and looking up at Belfire. Boris and Belfire were strong, both of them with that steel in their eyes that Phoenix recognized, but Mia was a mistake. Phoenix would have to keep an eye on her, maybe even break away from this group when she was stronger and knew what she was facing.