Dusk's Story

Carmine

"I don't know enough about torture to decide. Whatever it is, I want it to kill her in the end, but not before she suffers and reveals everything she knows. She lied to me. She must have. I used to know her…" She raised an eyebrow at the comment. So the two know each other, this could be more useful. She liked the way his words came out, so dark and ready to draw pain. But there was a pain behind them, something she would have to get rid of.

"Nathan I didn't…They did it. They changed me. I didn-" She frowned, spun on her heel and slapped the girl. She could see the instant red hand print on the girl’s cheek and the quickly forming bruise. ”Quiet!! I shouldn’t hear words out of your mouth unless they are answers to my questions. I doubt Nathan wants to hear more lies come from you anyway.” She didn’t particularly care if the girl told Nathan lies or truths, but she was going to make sure that they all sounded like lies to him anyway.

She had noticed the dried blood on the side of the ruined dress and figured that she had been hurt there before. She swiftly drug the knife down the girl’s side, slicing into the wounded flesh and bringing out a good blood flow but not enough for the girl to start feeling light headed. She then slammed the knife down through the girl’s hand; Carmine knew enough about anatomy to make sure that the knife didn’t severe anything important, or even cut through any major veins. Blood dripped from the edges of the knife but for the most part, the main pint of the action was to bring pain. She strode over to the shelf, picking out a few more knives. ”Now for the questions. Which I expect to be answered truthfully and quickly. Or there will be punishment for it.”

She strode over and point the hilt ends towards Nathan. ”You can deal out punishment if her answers aren’t quick enough or if they show any hint of being untruthful.” She turned from the boy, leaving him with the freshly sharpened knife, and one in her own hand. She looked down at the girl, the tips of her hair brushing against the blood on the table from the side wound. ”Who else escaped with you? We know there are others so you can’t say there wasn’t anyone else.”

Eriyk

He walked down the hall towards the healer’s quarters. It was a separate section almost separate from the rest. He hated the damn healers but he knew they were necessary. Most of the healers hated the treatment they gave the mutants, mainly because the ones they brought to them were almost dead and the guards that went in only had small scratches and cuts to get bandaged. But their pay checks kept them coming back and working, and as long as the mutants were kept alive and in some shape or form, useful, they would continue to get paid.

He walked into the large room; a few scientists were walking to the different mutants, each one strapped down on a bed, an IV in one arm, the ones who were awake either didn’t dare make a sound or were whimpering softly to themselves. Healers were bustling around, checking wounds, getting bandages, rushing for needles and pain killers. Granted Carmine gave them a limited supply of those, they used them as much as could on the worse of mutants. He noticed that the two he had brought in were already there, strapped down on beds next to each other, a single healer working on the two of them.

He went and sat down in the chair one of the assistance had directed him to, while another checked out his arm. He rolled up his sleeve, which caused the scabbed over claw marks to start bleeding again and the healer ran for bandages. He honestly sat there completely bored. He had seen this before, had been in here multiple times and each time it never got any more interesting for him. He felt the Lab could do without a healer’s quarters and should just let the weak mutants die. If they could stay alive on their own they shouldn’t live. He waited for the assistant to tie off his arm and quickly left. He would rather be in a training room instead and headed in that direction.

Dusk


Dusk's sentence was interrupted abruptly as she got a hefty slap from the female. She let out a gasp, as a rush of pain filled her head and she forced to remain silent. The side of her face was inflamed and she could already feel the deep bruising.
”Quiet!! I shouldn’t hear words out of your mouth unless they are answers to my questions. I doubt Nathan wants to hear more lies come from you anyway.”
Obliging Dusk remained quiet. Tremors ran down her slender form as a mixture of terror and heartache effected her. She glanced up at Nathan's face, but there was no comfort there. His face was dark and anger flashed in his eyes. She wondered exactly what had made him so different, and why on earth would he work at the lab.
Suddenly a knife pierced her injured side and she barely managed to hold in a shriek as the blade slid down her damaged flesh. She could feel a sufficient amount of blood pool down her side, but to her dismay there was nothing to help her sink into unconsciousness. She distracted by the pain, and didn't notice as Carmine lifted the knife again. Swiftly is was brought down straight through her hand. She let out a uncontrolled cry of pain before clamping her mouth shut. She drew in a hasty breath through clenched teeth as her eyes rolled back somewhat, trying to deal with the pain.
”Now for the questions. Which I expect to be answered truthfully and quickly. Or there will be punishment for it.”
She shut her eyes instinctively, blocking out the white lights and both her interrogators dark faces. She purposefully gave no sign that she had heard Carmine, however her white face gave her away.
”You can deal out punishment if her answers aren’t quick enough or if they show any hint of being untruthful.”
Again Dusk forced herself to remain motionless, though her heart rate quickened. She kept her eyes firmly shut, her lips tightly pressed together.
”Who else escaped with you? We know there are others so you can’t say there wasn’t anyone else.”
She stiffened at the question. She would answer questions related to herself and that wouldn't hurt anyone else. She stayed silent before a knife pressed it's point into the sole of bare foot. It started to go in slowly, increasing the pain until she forced herself to answer.
"Just...just two. Just the one's you have" Her voice was strained, and rose in pitch as she struggled to stop herself from screaming. The blade stopped going in, but was not removed.


Nathan Darga


Nathan watched Sasha with a blank expression. He forced himself to hide his emotions, though there was no longer any regret. His anger had taken over that. He ignored her response claiming that the institution had transformed her. No one would create something that hideous. She was born that way, and she had lied to him.
He watched as one might observe a scene from behind a piece of glass as Carmine dug her knife into Sasha's side. The girl remained silent, though her face was strained and the clenching of her jaw betrayed the pain. His placid expression shifted slightly as Carmine drove her knife through the mutants hand causing her to cry out. He flinched a little, his smooth surfaced expression rippled slightly as a still water ripples as a pebble is thrown in. He quickly mastered himself as Carmine passed him a knife. He gripped the handle so tightly the veins in his hands stood out and his knuckles became white and bloodless. He used the blades handle as a tangible way of keeping a grip on himself.

As Carmine questioned Sasha, the girl remained motionless and silent. She was being stupid. Carmine would get the answers out of her soon enough. Who cared about the others anyway? They were also just scum waiting before they could have their last breath. His irritation grew. He gripped the knife tighter before pushing the blade slowly into Sasha's foot. Right in the middle was wear it was most painful, and he purposefully took a long time pushing the blade in slowly increasing the pain. As soon as she answered Nathan stopped pushing it in. He was unsure of whether this was the right answer as he was in the dark of the circumstances surrounding Sasha's recapture. As a result he kept the blade in, neither increasing nor decreasing the pain. He waited for Carmine to respond.

Carmine

She was a little disappointed that the girl didn’t answer her question right away when she said that she wanted answers right away. She glanced at Nathan and noticed he was already pressing the knife she gave him, into the sole of the girl’s foot. She nodded with approval; the spot would bring out the most pain with the least amount of damage. ”Just…just two. Just the one’s you have.” Carmine liked the way the girl’s voice rose and was strained to keep from screaming. She shook her head, she didn’t understand why the mutants bothered to try and save the others, it just caused more pain for themselves. Granted she wouldn’t lessen up on the pain either way. ”Don’t lie to me child. Why would you be here if those two were the only ones?” She glanced at Nathan, giving him a slight nod to continue with the punishment he was giving.

She turned, going back over to her rack of toys and waiting until she heard the mutant’s screams. When she didn’t hear any words from the girl’s mouth she glanced over the items on the rack before turning around. ”I’ll ask again. Who else escaped?”

Nathan Darga


As Carmine nodded to him, Nathan dug in the knife even further. Suddenly it hit something hard. Bone. Immediately he wrenched it out, covered in her dark blood, before pushing it into the other foot. His anger leant him adrenaline, and he wanted nothing more than to watch Carmine teach her a lesson.
All the guilt he had felt over her vanished, and he felt as though he avenged himself for the wrong she had committed him. He twisted the knife in his grasp, causing deeper and more painful wounds to the soles of her feet. No doubt it would take her a while to walk on them again without pain.
He looked down at her form, and even in his fervoured state, he still felt a little tenderness for her, though the anger far outweighed it. They could have been together if she had been honest. At this thought the knife went further still.
Carmine requested a response again as Sasha desperately tried to keep her silence. He gave her a hardened look, warning her not to deny Carmine the answer. Then again, he half wanted her to keep silent to watch Carmine at work.


Dusk


”Don’t lie to me child. Why would you be here if those two were the only ones?”
Dusk let out a weak groan as the knife suddenly hit bone, then it was wrenched out, taking more flesh with it. Her eyes flew open and she let out an ear-piercing shriek as it was buried into the next foot. The pain intensified, and she desperately tried to pull her legs out of the bounds that held them in place, this only succeeded in cutting her feet more. The knife suddenly twisted, and she could no longer hold in a bone chilling scream.
Her hands clenched into fists, aggravating her left hand which had been stabbed right though. Still she forced herself to reveal nothing.
”I’ll ask again. Who else escaped?”
"Please…" she let out a strangled gasp. "I can't tell you"
Her voice rose to another scream as the knife was pulled out of left foot. The slight reprieve was sure to be over soon, as Carmine examined her other tools.
"Nathan…" her voice was barely over a whisper "If you want to kill me kill me now...don't let her find out...I can't tell her"
Dusk's voice was hoarse and her eyes were glazed over, as she struggled to compose herself enough to speak. Her chest heaved in an attempt to get enough oxygen to keep her alive. Half of her wanted to desperately to tell Carmine, to stop the pain. But deep down she knew that revealing anything was not going to stop it. She couldn't let the others down, if she only had too, as far as it was up to Dusk, Carmine would stay with just two besides herself. She was at a disadvantage not knowing who the two were, if Carmine asked for a description she would have to keep quiet. The others had gone through far worse she would stay silent. For all of them, for as long as she could. She didn't over estimate her strength, she would tell eventually...but not now, just not now....

Carmine

”Please…I can’t tell you.” The girl’s voice came out in gasps. And she watched as Nathan pulled the knife out and the girl screamed. She tilted her head a little, wondering you he had stopped. Maybe she should show him how to continue. "Nathan…If you want to kill me kill me now...don't let her find out...I can't tell her" She frowned, The little kitten thinks she can get out the easy way. She strode over, a new set of knives in her hand and slammed one in the girl’s other hand, and one in each of her ankles. Again, she made sure she barely cut any veins, limiting the blood flow and bringing out the most pain without severely damaging the girl. ”Now kitten, no one is going to die or be killed. Not yet, for a long time if I have anything to do about it.” She went back over to her rack and pulled down something that looked like a glove. It looked like a series of knives just stitched together in the shape of a hand. That was partially true, but it was stitched just right so that the inside was smooth and silky. The outside was freshly sharpened after every use and cut through any type of skin like butter. ”I’m done being nice now. I want answers.” She strode over to the girl, seeing her obvious fear of the weapon carmine had over her hand. ”Who? How many, and what can they do” She waited for the girl’s answer, ready to bring her glove down on the girl’s stomach if she didn’t answer once again.

Dusk


Suddenly Carmine came over with three knives. Dusk stiffened before one was driven though her right hand. She yelled out in pain, her eyes rolling into head, only to have her scream as the other two found their places through her ankles. Her back arched in pain, rising it above the bench before her bonds forced her down again. The movement did nothing to ease her, as even the slightest move pushed her ankles into the blades, cutting them even more.
”Now kitten, no one is going to die or be killed. Not yet, for a long time if I have anything to do about it.”
Dusk let out a crumpled moan through clenched teeth at her words. Her helplessness only intensified as Carmine went back over to her rack of knives and Dusk was forced to lie still and endure. It was really the only thing left for her to do, that and scream...or as Carmine wished and talk. The pain was making her ears ring and she could barely focus her eyes as a red mist seemed to cover them each time another punishment was delivered. Suddenly Carmine returned, her face dark and angry.
”I’m done being nice now. I want answers.”
That was when Dusk saw the glove. Blades were positioned all over it, each one glistened and she could not draw her eyes away from the torture device they beheld. Each one was sharpened to perfection, and through the pain in both hands and feet, Dusk stiffened as she realised how much more pain she could be in.
”Who? How many, and what can they do”
The evil looking glove lowered to just above Dusks thin frame, over her stomach. Her whole body trembled as she tried to summon the will to defy Carmine. The glittering metal decided along with her bleeding hands, feet and side.
"Eight" Her voice was barely audible "...eight."
A soft sigh escaped her lips. Then she remembered the next question. What can they do? Fear showed itself in her eyes as she realised how close she was to telling Carmine. She couldn't give that much away...but the glove. It sickened her to see it so close to her stomach. The pain was weakening her and consequently the barrier blocking everyone else's emotions was thin. At this thought she remembered her power. In desperation she felt every ounce of pain and gathered the emotion strongly into a mind missile. At once she released it straight into both Carmines and Nathan's mind allowing them to feel every ounce of pain and terror.
At once her energy poured into the probes dug into the two's mind. She kept up a thin stream of energy hoping to send so much it would kill her. What would be the point of living anymore? Even if she escaped she would be hunted. And then there was Amp. Either captured or lost. She shuddered involuntarily as she felt fatigue come over her. If she was given more time, she would be dead in a quarter of an hour, her life energy completely drained.


Nathan Darga


Nathan watched each knife go into Sasha as his anger wavered. He was starting to feel sick. Suddenly Sasha revealed part of the information. Finally she was seeing the light, Carmine would stop if she revealed everything...wouldn't she? But she's a mutant! The dark side told him, she deserves to die anyway…
Suddenly a harsh burst of extreme pain hit him. His hands, feet and side were on fire, and the pain was startling. His head hurt also as he felt the pain pushed in through his mind into other parts of his body. He let out a pain filled yell of agony, finding himself on the floor, curled up into a ball.

"Make it stop!" he yelled through gritted teeth, unknowing that Dusk was the cause of it.

~Carmine~

She smiled as she heard Dusk’s voice weakly tell her that there were eight of them who got out. She was missing five, she would have to get them back and ask Eriyk why he didn’t capture the other five. She glanced down at Dusk. ”What can they do little kitten?” She could tell that Dusk was weak and fading fast. She would have to get the answers soon, this one was much weaker than she expected. Suddenly she felt pain, intense pain in her hands and ankles. Her legs trembled at the sudden pain and her hand clenched, the blades on her glove slicing through Dusk’s dress but not the skin, exposing the flesh of her torso. She felt a dull flame sprout along her side and she heard a scream of agony. It didn’t come from where she expected and she glanced back at Nathan, curled on the floor. ”Make it stop!”

She sighed a little; she would need to increase his pain tolerance if he was going to be working around mutants. She had been through much worse, if you planned on causing pain you needed to know what it felt like. She turned back to Dusk, her eyes if they could, were darker and she brought the glove down and across her stomach. She felt glee at the scream that came from her lips as her skin was peeled off. Strips of Dusk’s skin fell to the floor, and blood started to drip from the wounds. Carmine didn’t dig in far; just enough so that she would start bleeding, possibly get a little light headed but not enough for unconsciousness. She wouldn’t grant that kind of relief. ”You’re only hurting yourself. You don’t answer my question the pain will get worse.” She dragged the glove across Dusk’s non wounded side so now both were bleeding. ”Tell me what they can do.”

Dusk


Dusk felt a small glow of triumph as she felt both Carmine and Nathan's pain, perhaps she could escape. Her energy was draining fast, a little more time and she could escape into the void. Her face whitened further as her energy was depleted. So close...Carmines gloved hand clenched and Dusk stiffened but retained focus as her corset was ripped revealing the bare flesh of her stomach. She continued to pour out her energy, when the glove came down on her stomach.
She let out a horrible scream, and all of her focus was depleted, at once realising both Carmine and Nathan of pain. She continued to scream, unable to stop, as pieces of flesh were torn off her stomach causing her deep red blood to seep through the wounds. The peeling stopped, as Carmine held the dripping glove over her right side, and Dusk was left panting on the bench. Desperate she tried to recall her probe, but her exhausted and pain filled mind blocked the power efficiently.
”You’re only hurting yourself. You don’t answer my question the pain will get worse.”
The glove was dragged down her right side and Dusk shrieked in response. By now there was barely a place on her body which did not sent fiery pain through it.
”Tell me what they can do.”
Her spirit had almost been broken.
"One is a scorpion" she gasped, before starting to cough. Each one racked her whole body, and only bought more pain. She forced herself to stop before she rasped on "Two have...wings"
She stopped her eyes rolling back into her head, she couldn't...she couldn't bare to give them away, but the pain in her side forced her to continue, though now a hopeful idea filled her thoughts. "Another has the powers of a volcano"
Her eyes brightened with tears as she thought of the volcano boy who had been killed when the lab exploded. "Another is part wolf…" She tried to think of others she'd seen in the lab, those that hadn't made it, but ended up creating her own, unable to think of any others in the current situation "one can control water, a girl controls fire" she winced as she realised Matt controlled fire, hopefully the image of a girl would protect him there "and the last I am unsure of" she managed to groan before falling silent. Her head spun and her vision was altered with pain. An image of Amp rose unbidden in her mind, and then each one of her friends. She prayed she'd keep them safe, beside the two that the lab already had. The thought gave her a shock of fear. For now they might believe her but the two captured, if they had gifts different to what she'd mentioned, she'd be bought straight back here. Nonetheless that might give her time to recuperate. Eight...a sense of shame washed over her, she'd given away the number, making sure the lab would always look for them, her pain didn't help and she found tears start to form and slowly drop down her face.
I am so sorry…


Nathan Darga


The pain abruptly stopped, leaving only an aching jaw from where he'd clenched it so hard. His silence was broken by the most pain filled scream he'd heard, followed by a shriek. Carmine repeated her question. He heard Sasha's words and he couldn't help feeling relieved finally she'd revealed something! Maybe now Carmine would ease up a little. His head ached a little where the pain had abruptly come and ceased. He grimaced as he stood, before whitening slightly at the sight of Sasha's middle. It was covered in small gashes on the side, and in the middle long strips of skin had been peeled off, no wonder she had decided to talk. He forced himself to remain passive, though now his good side had the upper hand. That wasn't right no matter what the girl was. Even though she lied? He gritted his teeth again, before realising how tender it was from before and loosening it, forcing himself to appear calm.
Sasha's faces was ashen from pain, and her eyes filled with tears that appeared to be from shame of revealing too much. Why she'd care about other mutations was beyond him, but his memories of them together still made his heart ache a little. An overwhelming sense of guilt washed over him as he saw the holes he had made in her feet, and he leaned against the wall, struggling to keep his unfeeling mask in place.

~Carmine~

She nodded as Dusk finally gave up the information. She pulled the glove off, letting drop to the ground with a soft clang, the blades dripping what blood they had on them to the floor. She walked around dusk slowly, pulling out the knives she had in her hands and ankles and also dropping them to the floor for the janitor to come clean up later, but leaving the restraints on her in case she had any type of strength left to move. ”See how easy that was? Now if you had only said as much in the beginning, things wouldn’t have been so bad.”

She turned to leave and noticed Nathan. He was slumped against the wall, his face white and she could see some emotions pass through his eyes that he kept hidden on his face. She frowned a little; she would have to get rid of any pity he felt for the mutants, regret and guilt were too hard to push away unless they were never felt. She grabbed his shoulder, pushing him out of the room with her. ”Don’t feel sorry for her. She brought it on herself remember? She could have answered the questions right away and lessened her punishment.” She shut the door behind her and headed down the hall so she could wash off the blood she had on her hands. ”The screams and pain you felt and heard. They might not even be real. Some here can’t feel pain, yet they still scream in order to get pity out of you. Don’t fall into it, it’s not real, they don’t deserve pity.”

~Carmine~

She headed down the hall, somewhat knowing that her words to Nathan would have some effect. She had cut off Dusk from speaking and slightly twisted the truth. This would most likely bring her the desire she wanted form the boy, he would come to distrust the mutants, ignore any feelings he had for them and therefore be more loyal to the Lab. She would just have to teach him proper torture methods, best ways to bring out answers and have a good outlet for anger.

She stopped at a sink and put her bloody hands under the stream of water. [i]”What are you going to do with the mutant?”[i][u] She glanced at Nathan through her black hair then focused on getting the blood from under her nails. [b]”For now the healers will come for her. When they say she won’t die then she’ll be put in a cell. Then testing after that. We have to find out what she can do, and by looks of it, she has a way with emotions. She’ll be able to manipulate them, make you feel things you wouldn’t normally feel and force pain on you like she did in there.” She shook her hands to dry them and tossed her hair over her shoulder. ”We’ll see if we can get anything from the other new ones. They looked pretty beat up already, so I don’t know if we’ll get to play with them today.” She laughed a little then headed down the hall towards the healers quarters.

~Carmine~

She walked swiftly down the hall and up several flights of stairs to get to the Healer’s part of the building. All the people she passed she didn’t even give a second glance, she didn’t even know if the boy, Nathan was fallowing her or not. She didn’t really mind if he did or not, he could fallow and learn from her if he wanted to, as long as he didn’t get in the way.

Upon getting to the long hallway that had the individual rooms she starting seeing the Healers. The large room was a head but she didn’t feel like going in there at the moment. She stopped the first Healer she came to, grabbing the small woman’s arm, stopping her in her tracks. ”There’s another in the Interrogation Room. Get her cleaned up and patched up then in a cell when she is well enough.” The woman nodded quickly and scurried down hall, stopping a few others to help her. Carmine nodded and head down another hallway towards her office.

Healers

The three of them headed down the many flights of stairs to the basements with not so much as a word. Each of the Healers had to do this at the least twice and some more than others. The oldest of the women, a small lady with her long graying hair in a ponytail, entered the room first and a frown set on her face. The other two, one with short cropped blonde hair that clung around her face and a tall woman with red brown hair pulled in a braided bun, fallowed in behind. The older woman clicked her tongue and went forward, immediately checking over the girl’s wounds. The woman with her hair in a bun strode forward and untied the straps holding down the girl’s limbs, pointing out the wounds at her ankles and hands. The third woman, with short blonde hair helped the older woman to stop the bleeding. The two of them pulled strips off the girl’s dress, which was ruined anyway and used those to tie around her hands and ankles. ”She will need more care in the Healer’s quarters.” The older woman stated, already lifting the girl despite her small size. The woman with her hair in a bun scurried around the table and helped the older woman and glanced back at the last one. ”You will have to find someone to clean the room. And some new clothes for the girl.” The blonde haired woman nodded and rushed down the hall to get her tasks done while the other two carried Dusk up to the Healer’s part of the building.

Dusk


Dusk lay for a few minutes in silence, her body was just starting to relax, when three woman rushed into the room. She stiffened instinctively as they came closer, ready for a further interrogation, before one of them released the straps holding her in place. She felt the older woman's eyes examining her, before she heard the ripping of fabric. Strips of cloth were wrapped hastily around both her wrists and ankles, stemming to flow of blood.
”She will need more care in the Healer’s quarters.”
Dusk looked over at her in confusion. Since she had not been at the lab before, she was unused to the treatments. She was expecting a cell and then testing, she hadn't heard of the healing halls. She wanted to think positively, but the sensible side of her warned it was probably only so she'd live long enough to be useful.
Suddenly the older woman leant over her and picked her delicate frame up off the bench. Dusk let out a moan as the deeper wounds of her side, and skinned stomach flared up.
”You will have to find someone to clean the room. And some new clothes for the girl.”
At least it seemed she would be cleaned up for a while. She leaned her head gently against the woman's shoulder, gritting her teeth as each movement aggravated her wounds.
She felt herself carried slowly down a hallway. She wondered briefly about the two that the lab had also managed to capture.
"Do you know of any newer ones bought in with me?" she asked in a low gasp, her voice scratchy and haggard. "I want to see them…" She had no idea where the others were, but she needed to see them. Half of her was longing to see their familiar faces, yet the other side reminded her that it would be better if they were not here.


Nathan Darga


Nathan watched as Carmine walked down the hallway. Unsure of what to do with himself, he followed her slowly at a distance. Finding that she seemed unbothered with his presence he continued to follow her hoping to learn a little more about his job. His hands were actually shaking from the ordeal in the interrogation room, and his mind was a mess trying to get a grip on what to believe. For now his anger was winning out, but he feared if he went home that his sympathetic side might get hold of him. So he continued to follow Carmine, stoking his anger and frustration.
He watched as Carmine instructed a healer to go and tend to Sasha, and he couldn't help feeling a little relieved. Even if she deserved it, he still wanted her alive...he couldn't quite cope if he had helped kill someone.
After the encounter with the healer, Carmine moved nearer her office. Nathan dropped back a bit, unsure of whether Carmine wanted him around any longer.

Healers

The older woman glanced down as she heard the girl talking. "Do you know of any newer ones bought in with me? I want to see them…" The woman laughed, this girl was obviously a newbie and hadn’t learned much about her time here. ”No, I don’t know if any were brought with you and if you had any brains inside that head of yours, I would keep quiet. Speak when they ask you to and keep quiet the other times and hopefully none of us will have to see you very often. Got that?” The woman set Dusk down on one of the cots they had in the Healer’s quarters and immediately left her there to get some proper bandages.

The small blonde haired woman came back, with a set of standard grey linen that all the mutants had to wear, as the older woman was coming over with the bandages. The blonde woman closed the curtain that separated the cot dusk was on from the cots around her. Together the older woman and the blonde haired lady put the fresh bandages on Dusk, and dressed her in the scratchy grey linen. The blonde woman left to go check on the other mutants in the room. ”I trust you will stay on this cot?” The older woman gave Dusk a stern look that said, ”Stay or there will be consequences.”

Eriyk

He was slicing up a dummy in the training room with one of the long swords when he paused at the voices of the men across the room. They were talking of some new people they had found and brought in. One was a boy that might make it through one of the experiments and the other was a girl that may or may not make it through them. Either way they were witnesses or family to a witness and needed to become property of the Lab. He finished with the last strike to the dummy, cutting the solid wooden frame in half and put the long word away, heading down the hall to where they brought in fresh specimens

He walked down the hall to where the two children were tied up. The older boy had white hair and fierce determined green eyes. While the girl had long brown hair and observant brown eyes. The boy was either furious or very cautious, as he seemed to just want to know what was going on. The girl’s reaction was more like the ones he had seen more often. She looked frightened and scared and was whimpering something that he couldn’t hear. He glanced at the guards that seemed to just be waiting for orders. Why they couldn’t just do what they had done with all the others he did not know. ”Get these two into cells! Now!” He barked the orders out sharply and the guards immediately near him jumped then scurried to do what he had ordered. They hauled the two children to their feet and pushed them down the hall ways towards the stairs. Two guards stopped with the girl only a few flights down and lead her down the hall. The others went down a few more flights of stairs before stopping and going down the hall with the boy.

Dusk


”No, I don’t know if any were brought with you and if you had any brains inside that head of yours, I would keep quiet. Speak when they ask you to and keep quiet the other times and hopefully none of us will have to see you very often. Got that?”
Dusk shut up pretty quickly. It was obvious this woman was not on her side, whether she helped the healing process or not. She was put in some sort of cot, which in other circumstances would have been a little humiliating, however considering how beat up she was, Dusk allowed herself to settle a little. The woman left and a little while later another took her place.
A curtain was drawn around them, and the older lady came back and both began to dress her wounds. Dusk kept her mouth clamped shut as each bandage touched the tender areas of her damaged flesh. Then she was forced to wear some type of scratchy clothing. Even in her current state, Dusk felt embarrassed and patronised by the fact that they dressed her, however seeing as they neither were worried about it or cared, Dusk refrained from rebelling. Finally she was dressed in the grey clothing, which was like a shapeless nighty. Dusk fervently wished her previous clothing hadn't been damaged. The corset was by far more appealing then this scrap cloth, not that she would complain. Seeing as this was the lab, she didn't suppose it would bother her much later. Her wounds kept up a constant throb, but she tried to think about other things, such as her irritation at the clothing rather than the pain and fear of what would soon happen.
”I trust you will stay on this cot?”
Dusk gave her a brisk nod. She was too tired to do anything else. Her whole body ached, and the constant fear of a repeat of the interrogation wore her down. Later. Later she would force herself up and try and figure away out. From Amp's description and what she had seen previously, she was sure she would be killed if she stayed for too long. A sudden memory of Blast revealing the Arena came to her.
"Well it's a little self-explanatory being called he Arena. It's more like a large pit in the ground with stands all around where the guards watch from...It's a place where we all fight....to the death."
Dusk shuddered at the memory. She could even hear her own reply, claiming she would rather die than kill another. She still felt the same way, but the knowledge that it would be the end of her sent a sense of urgency into getting away.
She would wait till the nurses leave. Sleep a little in order to survive, and hope that she was not moved. If she woke up still here, she was going to find the other two and get out. Dusk refused to think about her damaged ankles, middle and hands. To think of them was to give up most notions of escape.

Dusk


Dusk awoke finding herself staring up at the white, unforgiving white ceiling of the healing rooms. She was shocked at how quickly she had fallen asleep. The next thought made her hurry to carry out her plan. How long had she been here? The longer she waited, the more likely she would be dragged down to a cell and experimented on. She forced herself to sit up, letting out a sharp cry as her middle sent tongues of fire through her whole body. The wound had scabbed over, but every movement cracked and broke them a little more. She slowly moved her feet to the side of the bed, lowering them gently to the floor.
She braced herself before putting pressure on her feet. She let out an uncontrolled yell, as both her ankles flared up where the knives had gone right through them. Her outburst froze her as it cut through the silence. There was no way she could stay here any longer, she would have to move. She stood and fell towards the door leaning against it and desperately tried to keep breathing, as the pain intensified. She took in a breath with a shallow gasp, as her vision flickered slightly. Even so she had to keep moving. She was certain she would be killed if she stayed...or if I'm caught. The thought was unwanted, so she shoved it away, as she tried to take a few steps. In her desperation, the pain was bearable, if only just. She kept her back, which was currently uninjured firmly against the wall in order to keep as much weight off her injured feet.
She continued to make her way along the wall, trying to pick up the pace as the blood seeped through the bandages, leaving smudges of red on the cold concrete floor. She turned the corner before stopping unable to move herself. She remained balanced between leaning on the wall and on her feet before two patients in the beds caught her attention.
Nudge and Faith.
She forced herself forward, finally falling to her knees near the two beds. She was oblivious to anyone else in the room but the two of them.
Nudge seemed to be struggling with something, and a quick release of her barrier bought a quick on rush of pain. He was taking Faiths pain. She could tell using her empathy, that this would kill him, if someone couldn't stop him. She immediately created her own block and forced it on Nudges mind, blocking him from Faiths pain. Hopefully the block would hold until she had controlled Faiths pain as well. Faiths was not taken from another mind, meaning it would have to be taken from someone else. Dusk gritted her teeth before forcing herself to shield the other girl from the pain. She let out a moan as it hit her, but it was far better that she took it for now, after a slight rest, then the two of them who would surely kill themselves trying to ward it off.
"Nudge...we have to get out" her voice came out in a strange, strained tone before she started to shake. Small tremor's ran through her body as she tried to cope with her own physical pain, and the strain from trying to keep the emotional block on Nudges mind, and the shield on Faiths.



(I hope I didn't go to far, moving Dusk, just needed her to have something to do, and thought it would help Beka's block ;), if it's a problem happy to change it)

Kyra
Kyra didn't where she was. All she did was follow Kishan and ended up... Here in front of a building. They had traveled for sometime which meant they had travaled for about three or two hours for a human, but they weren't entirely human so it took an hour or so. She didn't mind running but running behind a fuming mad person? It wasn't at all a nice experience. She didn't know how mad he was, but everything within a mile radius of them was probably dead from his sucking their heads clean. That was something Kyra was never really good at. Sucking someone's head clean meant taking a creature's energy until nothing is left, leaving only a dying person.

Anyways, returning to the man topic, Kyra, still in her tiger form stared at the building, studying it's structure and angles. The building seem to just be a soda can that was ready to burst, holding in a bunch of sorrow, pain, desperation, hatred and anger. So much evil feelings bottled up inside, she was suprised it actually looked like an average building. Then again, thats how humans were. Wear a mask or disguise, pretend to be something better just to hide the secrets and lies they wish lay unseen. She shook herself, barely realizing that Kishan had already shifted into his human form.

"Come on, bilauta." Kishan scowled which made him look... like a pirate. Kyra morphed back into her human form, which seemed to make him stare. "What?" She looked around her then returned her gaze on him. "What are you looking at?"


Kishan
Kishan was... distracted. He was watching Kyra. She was in a crouch, her left hand on the ground while holding the Jackal knife in her right. Her brown hair and the icey blue eyes. His Kyra. She will be his Kyra from now on, and no one else's. She was his beautiful Kyra. He diverted his gaze then remembered his objective: Warn Carmine. He nodded, turned and strode up to the door with Kyra silently following. He didn't care who got in his way, but they would die with one swift blow or a good mind sucking. Practically throwing open the doors, he stalked into the building ignoring any stares that were directed his way. He wasn't good at sending thoughts to others but he was good at sucking them clean and location people. Right now he was searching for Carmine.

It was a good thing he had taken the life energy of the forest creatures because this would take alot of energy. For Kyra it would probably be an easy task. He thought bitterly of how strong Kyra was mentally... And physically. He growled then tried to focus but it was hard, for he could feel Kyra's silent presence behind him, following him.


Kyra
Kyra turned her head to look inside some rooms, but after looking into the first one... she didn't like it. So she kept to watching Kishan's back and occasionally sparing some strangers a few glances. Just like Kishan she was using telepathy to search the minds of the people here. Like a elastic band she stared from one wing, finding some tortured souls then going into another where some scientists were. But.... Then she felt some other minds. Minds that were familiar. So familiar. Dusk. Nudge. Faith.

Like a beacon calling out a distress, Kyra stopped following Kishan and started her way toward their location. She felt angry, and... Something else she could not name. Within two minutes she came to some weird door. A door. They were behind it. She tried the handle. It was locked. Her jackal knife was in her hand. It wouldn't work on this so... But... No... They were the enemy... Enemy, not friends... What was a friend? She couldn't think straight. Her memories told her they were bad and... the opposite of what the scientists and gaurds were.

Kyra tried the handle again, but this time she broke it. She paused... She wanted to rush inside and tear them to shreds... But another part of her... Wanted to rush inside and... Protect them. She didn't know what to do.

Maya

"Got it.", Maya said with a nod, then glanced over to thwhere the people were. Not a complete match, but it would do. Then again, her wild red curls were pretty hard to replicate. Still, it was better than nothing she supposed. Now to figure out how to get their uniforms off them...as cliche as that plan was, it seemed to be the only thing either of them could think of.
"So...how we doin' this then?"


Nudge

Nudge suddenly felt the pain recede, and although he was still sore, it was only from the after-effects, and from his own injuries. That he could cope with. Just.
But how...? He had been trying to make it easier for Faith to cope...so why did he sense another barrier? Who...? The mind was familier, but in Nudge's weakened state he couldn't put a name to it. That was when the voice drifted in,

"Nudge...we have to get out", the female (that was about all Nudge could tell, since he was about two seconds away from passing out), sounded weak, and in a much pain as he himself was in. That was nothig unusual, for another mutant to be in pain.

He could feel that the straps around his wrists and ankles had been loosened at some point. That helped, it meant that if he could just get his body to move...and he did, sort of. Well, if trying to sit up and ending up tumbling to the floor counted as moving. He landed on his arm, which had been removed from the cast at some point, probably so it could be replaced later. The impact hurt a lot more than it should have, but he couldn't do anything to relieve that pain. He bit down hard on his lip, an instinctive reaction, supposed to stop a scream. A scream that Nudge couldn't produce, so all the action did was add to the pain, as well as drawing blood from his bottom lip.

Dusk


Dusk watched through a red haze of pain as Nudge fell to the floor. Her despair washed over her as she realised there was no way they were going to get out in this condition. She felt herself fall against the wall, as stars sparked in her vision, yet unconsciousness avoided her. The blood was soaking through her bandaged feet and the pressure on them caused a mind numbing amount of pain. She slid down the wall, trying to keep from screaming as her stomach muscles were ignited. Her eyes glazed over in a mixture of pain and fear. She had no idea when the nurses would be back...before she was punished for getting out. There was no option of returning, as she physically wouldn't make it. Her face whitened as she thought of Carmine finding out about her lie. She couldn't cope with more, yet she knew she had had an easy exposure to torture. Once Carmine found out...her mind collapsed on the thought. Refusing to think of it. Her head rested against the wall as a sense of shame washed over her. If only she hadn't told her the number.
"I'm sorry Nudge" she managed to whisper "She knows...she knows how many there are"
Her pain filled mind was not concerned with the fact that Nudge wouldn't know details. She gave up trying to speak, laying against the wall, all her energy drained. Escape was impossible.
At least the others were free. Her features contorted into a frown. The man who had brought her here had said he would bring Amp, yet there were only two with her, Faith and Nudge. Maybe he'd escaped? The thought cheered her up somewhat as she lay bleeding against the wall waiting for her rediscovery.



(Sorry it's so short, wasn't sure what else to write)

Nudge

Once he had blocked the pain enough to function a bit better, Nudge uncurled from the ball that his injury had forced him into, catching sight of Dusk over by the wall.

Dusk? Why here?, he asked, his head tilting to the side a little in confusion. Then he saw all the blood.
Dusk okay? No, Nudge stupid, Dusk not okay. Dusk hurt. Need make Dusk not hurt., not caring or even realising that he was rambling, he dragged himself over to her, almost collapsing against her when he got near enough. Even moving those few feet had been painful and exhausting. He forced himself to stay awake though. It seemed he was the only one that could move, even just a bit. Faith seemed to be unconscious. In a way, that was good, if she was asleep she wouldn't be in as much pain. But at the same time, Nudge knew that it was sometimes a bad idea to sleep when you were badly hurt.

Maybe Dusk was going to go to sleep? That was bad, and would be worse if she did.

Dusk no sleep. Stay awake. Nudge need Dusk no sleep., he pleaded with her, using his good hand to shake her shoulder a little, to keep her awake.

Maya

Maya nodded, and started to move backwards, further into the bushes. Her small frame was good for something, it seemed, as her movements were quieter than they would be if she were taller.
Once she was a bit further back, she motioned for Daren to follow as best he could. She had come through this way to get here, and had a knack for remembering routes and such like. She couldn't help but think that it had been bad luck for Daren's phone to die. But on the other hand, it had been damn good timing.

Dusk


Dusk? Why here?
"They found me" she managed to gasp out "At the hospital, they wanted information"
He moved over to her and almost fell against her side. She let out a small gasp, as instinctively her body recoiled to avoid being hurt.
Dusk okay? No, Nudge stupid, Dusk not okay. Dusk hurt. Need make Dusk not hurt.
She gave him a weak smile.
"I'll live" the sentence instantly made her loose the smile. Not for long. The thought was completely unwanted. How long would she last here? She wasn't use to this treatment she doubted she'd live over a month. In some ways that was better then living here. She looked down at Nudge. He was so much smaller then he should have been. That could have been me she thought, it could have been anyone. Truly she shouldn't pity herself, he'd gone through more pain in a day then she had her whole life, except for maybe today...He obviously wasn't much better off.
Dusk no sleep. Stay awake. Nudge need Dusk no sleep
"I won't" she whispered "I promise"
She couldn't if she tried. The pain stopped it. Sometimes pain made your body slip into subconsciousness, however Carmine had down her job too well. Her wounds weren't something that would allow you the luxury of sleep.
Suddenly the door crashed off it's hinge, and Dusk's eyes widened as she cringed, expecting a nurse to come in and haul her back to where she'd come from.
That was when she saw Kyra.
"Kyra!" her voice was raspy, but she was just so relieved "Thank goodness you're alright…"
Her sentence caught in her throat.
"Don't tell me they took you too."
If Kyra was here, who else had the lab taken...That was when she caught sight of a young man with jet black hair and changing cobalt eyes. She shrank back from him. She could feel his anger, and she didn't want to be near him.