Chapter 17

I feel like I've brought a stick to a gun fight.. is there even a point in trying to fight? Will they still just shoot me if I do announce myself? Many questions went spiraling through my mind but not a single answer.. I knelt with my back against the car, hearing their slow footsteps as they approached my hiding place.

"You might as well just show yourself.. I know you're alone.." The man who had previously announced my presence spoke smoothly in a melodic tone.

I'm no coward, but this certainly is scary, I might be physically strong but I can still feel pain.. and there is still a chance that I could die.

Without seeing another option I stood out from the car drawing my katana. They all stopped ten feet away from me in the road. The woman was stood infront of the men but didn't even bother to draw her weapon. I guess she saw no point as the three men had her covered. "It's fine she's one of us.." One of the other men stated. I feel a little insulted now. He began to lower his weapon and another of the men followed until..

"Wait" The woman held her hand out to them. "Show me your ID".. I didn't know what to do, I just stood still with my katana in hand. "She's not one of us.. Where did you come from?".. They pointed their weapons back towards me.

"Victor will make sure we're well fed for this" A skinnier one of the men sniggered.. his hair was long and black, with wiry grey strands indicating age.. although his wrinkled skin did that too.

"Shut up.." The mustached man slapped the back of his head. Which earned him a quick death glare before they carried on as they were. The woman infront took a moment to turn to them, which I thought I'd use to make my escape. But alas.. as quickly as I went shooting up into the air with a flap of my wings, I was yanked straight back down to earth.. Something caught around my ankles. My head cracked into the concrete for the second time today. I attempted to get back to my feet but someone was already on my back.. before I knew it a needle was shoved into my neck and I was out like a light.

I started coming too as they were chaining my arms behind my back.. at first I couldn't tell a single muscle in my body to move, I could hear what they were saying.

"You're always trying to impress Victor.." One of the men spoke.

"Khan is going to be taking over someday.. better to get in the good books. I think we should take her to Khan.." Another added.

"Did you think about what Victor would do if he found out we had a winged one in our possession and didn't turn it over to him?".. The woman spoke and the men fell silent. Is that my full classification? 'A Winged One' pft.

"Nat is right.." I recognised the mustached mans voice. "Vic would have our heads, and you know there's nothing Khan could do to save us.."

"It's not like we need any more mouths to feed.. As soon as she is initiated one of us has to go.." The skinny man stated.

"Well it won't be any of us since we brought her to him right?" The third man asked nervously.

"If you are loyal to Victor.. he takes care of you" The woman known to be Nat stated confidently as she clamped the cuffs around my ankles.

"You would say that.. he pretty much treats you like his daughter.." The skinny man replied.

"Yeah, except that spot is taken.." She spoke in a sour tone.

"Come on don't get jealous, you know how highly he thinks of you.." The mustached man tried.

"If that was the case why did he send me out here to do the dirty work?"

"If you hadn't been here the girl would have easily got away.. he knows you're good at what you do.." It seems odd to me that a girl who acts with so much confidence needs so much reassurance.

"Yeah you're right.."

My eyes finally opened, I gained control of everything at once and suddenly I was wide awake. I have to at least try. Yanking my arms apart as hard as I could.. the chains easily broke and dropped to the floor.. then I was confronted with my next problem.. I rolled over and grabbed a hold of one of the man's legs, I flung him to the floor and grabbed his gun from the holster on his waist. Only it's not a gun, it's a freaking tazor.

The woman was running at me first so I shot her, she shot hers at the same time, it only electrocuted me until she dropped forwards knocking herself unconscious and the tazer fell from her spasming hand. My muscles relaxed for a moment. Then I saw the two other men behind her, both wielding their tazors. They fired at me, in unison.

One hooked into my chest, the other hit just under my jaw. The pain of it sinking into my skin didn't hurt nearly as much as the thousands of volts coursing through my entire body.

About forty seconds past and they were still holding their triggers firm.. "That's enough" Nat had seemed to wake up and get to her feet. As soon as they stopped I inhaled a deep breath.. My muscles were still spasming lightly, but so much that I still couldn't move yet. Before I could even think about getting up the woman approached me. Her nose is cracked and jet black blood is seeping out down her chin. She quickly uncapped a needle.

"We should up the dose" The skinny long haired man spoke.

"What do you think I'm doing.." She made a point to punch me in the face before grabbing me by my hair and forced my head to the side, mercilessly jabbing the needle into my neck. The darkness fell again and everything went black.

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My eyes flicked open, lifting my head I found myself heavily restrained and tied to a chair with a metal desk infront of me. The room looked a dark blue. Almost like I was looking at the basic shades on a black background. I closed one of my eyes and it was pitch black, closed the other and the room was blue. How did I not know I could do this? Maybe it happened when August healed me. Or maybe it was going to happen anyway and August just sped it up.. I don't know why I'm even thinking about this when I'm literally tied to a chair. The room is bare with a metal toilet in the corner.

I can't break free, I've tried over and over but this metal straight jacket is hugging my arms tightly to my chest. For who knows how long I've sat looking into a window that I can't see through.. I've seen rooms like this on TV, where they can see me but I can't see them. I'm not really sure what to make of it. If they can see me then they know I'm awake. Yet still I've sat here for hours, waiting to be told what they want with me.

Out of nowhere the bright square lights in the ceiling turned on, blinded at first I could see that the walls were a pale shade of grey. I glanced around for a moment when the sound of shuffling caught my attention. Looking towards where the door was now opening I saw a tall muscular man walk in, his grey beard perfectly shaped, his head was clean shaven and his dark blue suit looked dry cleaned.

He walked in confidently not looking in my direction until he sat down across from me and looked into my eyes. "Welcome to the Hallows.. What is your name?" His piercing orange eyes peered into my soul.

"Marisol Jennifer Sullivan" I answered unwillingly. The surprise evident on my face.

"How old are you?" His raspy voice echoed inside my head.

"Eighteen" I answered and then thought about the question.. well technically I'm almost twenty-five.. Regardless of my age I need to get this under control right the fuck now. I closed my eyes and tried to center myself..

He paused for a moment before continuing. "Where have you been staying?" .. I felt the pressure his words caused in my mind, willing it for the answer but somehow I held on. My mouth stayed closed and I opened my eyes to meet his again.

"In my car"..This is the truth either way.

"How have you stayed hidden?" He really seems fascinated by me. He glanced between my eyes, seemingly taking internal notes of their difference, or one of their similarities to his.

"I wasn't hiding.." I tried to answer as though his mind control was still working on me.

"How long have you been in the city?" He asked intrigued.

"Almost half of my life" ..

He put his hand to his chin in thought briefly, then rested his hand on the table.. "Well Marisol, isn't it lucky that we found you?" He smiled a wicked grin. Something in his smile felt familiar but I couldn't think about it for too long, all my focus was on trying to keep him out of my head, whoever he is.. "Today you are going to learn a very valuable lesson.. you'll be safe, happy even. But if you don't listen to me." He pulled a small black remote out of his blazer pocket and pressed a button.. sending who knows how many volts of electricity through my entire body. "-I'll have to make you".. I couldn't see myself but I was sure there was some kind of collar around my neck. I couldn't have felt it before under the heavy metal jacket, but now that it's causing me so much pain it's presence is a little undeniable. What is their thing with electrocution? I'm tired of it already.

Ten seconds past before he pressed another button and the torture stopped. "What, do you, want with me?" I asked through trying to catch my breath. My question was met with another ten second shock.

As it stopped he spoke.. "This is more about what you can do 'for' me.. or of what I can do to you if that's what you decide. Rule number one.. don't open your mouth unless I tell you you can talk..".. I just nodded tiredly, powerless to do anything else. The man got up from his chair and opened the door where two more men walked in past him and over to me. One of them was bald with tattoos covering almost every inch of his skin, the other was tall with scruffy brown hair and stubble on his chin.

I could feel my heart trying to beat out of my chest in fear of what could come next.. but I swallowed it down like I always have to. The men stood behind me fiddling with the restraints.. until they dropped to the floor with a clang and my arms were free. I looked at my hands then quickly felt around my neck.. Sure enough a chunky metal collar wrapped around it. Like I'm a fucking pet. My eyes rose again to meet his.. "Everyone here gets given a new name.. so we are going to have to come up with one for you.." He stated simply, sitting back in the chair.. "How about Lilith?" I looked at him confused, is he asking me or the men still stood behind me?.. "Well what do you think?"

"Why Lilith?" I asked trying not to show my nerves.

"It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" He smiled to himself as he got up out of his chair again. "Well Lilith, until we meet again.." He bowed his head to me and left the room with the two men following closely behind. The door opened a few minutes later, the tattood man walked back in dragging a thin mattress on the ground. He didn't look at me once, dropping it by the door he left.

I stared at the door for hours.. how could I ever escape this collar? Let alone this compound. I don't even want to touch the collar just incase someone is still watching me, which I know they are.. when I concentrate I'm sure I can hear their breathing on the other side of the glass.

For some reason I wanted them to know that I knew they're watching.. I walked and stood a few feet infront of the glass for about ten minutes, looking to where I thought the person was on the opposite side. I don't know why I did.. I guess I have nothing better to do. All the lights in the room went out and I was left in the darkness again. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust and the room turned into beautiful vibrant blue. After a few more minutes of standing there, I decided to drag the mattress over to the back corner of the room and at least try to get some sleep.

As my body curled up on the lumpy mattress my mind was fixed on thoughts of one person.. August.. If only we had just stayed at home. Did he get stuck in one of these camps? Blake said that they were everywhere, maybe August some how got tied in with these guys?

The lights in the room flicked on waking me from my slumber.. I must have dozed off. A strong scent of fresh blood filled the air. A small metal flap in the bottom of the door opened and a tray slid through. A bloody chunk of raw flesh. I can't eat that.. Not when I know where it came from.

As it sat there for hours untouched, the meat had began to go rancid. I could smell the sickly stench getting stronger. The lights eventually turned off and I had to sleep in the room with decaying flesh.

The lights switched on waking me up again. I blinked the sleep from my eyes and looked over to the door, where I could hear the handle rattling as someone grabbed a hold of it. A different man quickly walked in and took the rotten meat out of the door as someone else walked in.. it's Nat, fully healed from our little fight. In her hand is another chunk of meat on a plate.

"You need to eat.. if you don't they will make you.." She said simply, dropping the plate on the table and leaving the room. I've been starving since I woke up in the car, but I can't bring myself to eat this.. it came from an innocent person. They aren't cattle and I will never see them like that.. if they kill me for not killing others maybe that would be better.

So I sat with the aging meat for another day and night.. until the lights came on the next time. Before the door opened my collar turned on and I was left writhing in pain on the floor for a few seconds. Opening my eyes again I saw Nat approaching me, a man behind her removed the rotten meat. "I tried to warn you.." She said before removing the cap from a needle and injecting the purple liquid into my arm. Every muscle in my body imedietly began to tense and spasm. The adrenaline lit through me, the hunger inside soon became my only thought..

Feeling this new energy I was about to attempt an attack, my wings opened either side of me, my collar turned back on.. I was able to fight the pain for a few seconds before dropping to my knees in defeat, enduring the torture for at least twenty more seconds. With my head hung down I couldn't see what was going on. I heard shuffling and a whimper before the door was closed again and the collar stopped.

My eyes travelled up towards the door where a young woman was stood.. She looks terrified, the bags under her eyes and dry brittle hair made it clear to me she hasn't had it easy. I caught a whiff of her scent in the air. My brain switched off for a second and I flung myself towards her, throwing the table that had been bolted to the floor across the room along the way. My hands firmly gripped her shoulders. Her scream sent my head reeling, I threw her down to the side of me. I need to get out of this situation before I do something that I will have to live with for the rest of my life..

Using my wings I thrust myself through the double sided mirror.. I'd rather die than kill an innocent human being. What would August think of me?

As soon as I was on the other side the electrocution started, but the pain was so much worse than it had been before.. like they were only shocking me with a little of what they had to offer. Footsteps approached me on the ground as it went on. "You have an amazing opportunity here, stop trying to sabotage it.." Nat spoke in her usual calm tone. After a few seconds the electricity stopped.. She stabbed another needle into my arm, the darkness fell and I was unconscious.

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When my eyes opened the lights were out. A heavy metal jacket wrapped around my body.. I looked around to find myself in a large metal cage. The thick steel bars surrounded me. I sat up and the whole floor moved.. Carefully getting to my feet the cage began swinging. I'm in the air. I peered out of the cage. I'm fifty feet in the air!.. and I'm not the only one.. three more cages like mine are hung up in the huge dark room. I wonder if anyone is in them?

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Notes-

I'm greatful for all your time spent reading.

I would love to know what you think so far, good or bad.

Thank you so much for the power stones!!! :D

Really I have barely any idea what's going on, I just know that I'm enjoying writing it.