"Let my fatal flaws be my worry, Armand. Not yours." Rowan said briskly. "I have to go take care of Yuki now. She needs me more than you do." She kept her head held high despite the fear that lurked in her stomach. She wasn't worried about talking to Yuki, but this very room made her anxious. Too much had just happened. Too much she'd never forget.
Yuki continued to run, despite the fact that she had no clue where she was going. She could run for ages. She was a natural born runner and she had endless energy. Yuki could take the pain that came with an extremely intense workout. She had, after all, survived the torture she had gotten at a young age.
Armand stood. "That's fine. Do what you want. I'm leaving to talk with Harrison and some other 'doctors.'" He gripped his notes and straightened himself out as much as he could, though he shook. He hoped this solution he had come up with would please her, so he could stop, at least take a break from this numbing experience. He pushed past Rowan, finding it hard to look at her. Some day it would be her fatal flaw, and he found he wanted to fix that more than anything. But he went to leave anyways.
Rowan looked out the door that Yuki ran. It in the opposite direction of Rowan's cell and had many twists in turns. After everything she'd just gone through,she wasn't even sure if she'd make it out if the room, let alone run after Yuki. She took a few unsteady, yet determined steps toward the door.
(night guys! lol)
(G’night)
Yuki ran into a room that looked like a gym. Next to the door was a sign that read training room. There were weights of all sizes. Next to a rack holding dumbbells was a punching bag. She couldn’t help but to give it a good punch. The punching bag swung violently. She started to punch it over and over, each time the punching bag swung and marks were left from where she struck it.
Rowan gave one last defeated look at the door before trudging back to her cell. What had happened was starting to sink in. She laid down in bed, but knew she wouldn't sleep. Would she ever be able to sleep again?
Yuki threw punch after punch. She imagined the punching bag as President Harris. The punching bag was really getting torn up. She used all her strength in one last punch and the punching bag split open, spilling gallons of sand on the floor. I was like that punching bag once. I was strong, but never strong enough. I never will be. Yuki sank to the floor. Maybe if I were never captured I wouldn’t be this way. I would still have my life. My parents would still be alive. What did I do to deserve this? She knew she wanted to die. Yuki planned to kill herself after she killed President Harris.
Rowan stared blankly at the ceiling. She thought about today. The screaming, the suffering, and the pain. Every second of it had been emblazoned into her memory. Her thoughts somehow drifted to Yuki. She was scared for her friend. The terror on Yuki's face as she was forced to relive part of her childhood through an observer's eyes. She probably hates me now… Rowan thought quietly, becoming depressed. It didn't matter though. Rowan was determined to give Yuki a purpose to live. And now… maybe Armand too. He was just as broken as Yuki, if not more so. Rowan knew that was her purpose. To make sure the others were living, not just breathing.
(y'all this could be a novel omgg)
(It could. I hope you don’t mind if I use this idea. I won’t follow it exactly and I’ll give credits.)
Yuki sat alone on the floor. “I want to kill someone and I want to die. It’s all about life and death, isn’t it.”, she muttered to herself. And yet I could never call it a life., she thought.
Kodiak sat up, feeling hollow and famished. (foos please)
Petree looked at Nyir, confused.
"What situation? What happened to Kodiak? I- er didn't hear." She didn't want to point out that she'd ran away while the "situation" was happening, whatever it was.
Nyir glared at her, her expression cold. "He is a rebel traitor like you. He's been sentenced to…" She faltered, "…to a gladiator battle." Her eyes softened a bit. "Are you and he friends?"
"I didn't… really- know him. But he is on my side. Why can't I fight one of you? And I'm not a rebel traitor, because you never even let me in your little society." Petree tried to reason, fury boiling in her.
"I don't care." Nyir knew she sounded harsh. "I'm just wondering if Kodiak would be able to choose his life over yours."
"I can't choose for him," Petree complained, "And you can't make me fight."
Nyir shook her head almost mockingly. "Of course we can make you fight. It's a matter of whether or not we want to." She glanced the girl up and down. She looked strong, but not overly so. Kodiak would be able to take her down –if he had the guts. "I think I've decided."
In the darkness of the room Yuki plotted how she would kill President Harris. It didn’t even have to be secret because she would commit sucicide right after. For some reason, she wasn’t afraid to commit sucicide. In fact, the only thing she was afraid of was not committing sucicide. She didn’t want to face her pained life anymore. Yuki was ready to die.
Rowan couldn't sleep. Had it been minutes? Hours? All she knew was that she had to move. She stretched out her wary bones and left her cell, wandering into Armand's room. He wasn't there. Neither was anyone else. Although she was rather curious about the lab equipment, she moved on, her feet seemed on track for a destination her mind didn't know yet. She had to pause every five minutes or so to take breaks. But otherwise she simply trudged on, heavily leaning on walls for support and gripping tightly onto railings when they were there. She began to pass a dark room, but peaked inside. There was Yuki sitting on the floor beside a punching bag with large welts on it. Rowan slumped down next to the door unwilling to face any more confrontation. With Yuki near by, she finally felt relaxed enough to sleep on the cold tile floor.
Before Rowan went to sleep, Yuki muttered a “goodnight”. She knew she wasn’t going to sleep. Ever time she went to sleep it took her back to her lonely cell, to the rooms of torture, to the arena where she watched everyone she loved be brutally killed.
Rowan tossed and turned, her body was too drained and exhausted to let her wake, but her mind was conjuring nightmares that made Rowan scream and cry out. It was the sound of a whirring blade, the stench of her blood contaminating the air. It was Armand's eyes averted from her gaze. It was tears and pleading mercy. It was sweat beading her forehead and desperation etched into her skin. "Yuki… n-no… find it…" she mumbled, followed by another scream as Rowan's exhausted body curled into a fetal position, her hands clawing at the floor.
Yuki ran to wake Rowan up. She shook her awake. “Calm down. It’s just a nightmare. Trust me, I’ve had my fair share of those.”
"Yuki?" Rowan sniffled, looking around in confusion until she remembered where she was. She pulled her friend in for a tight hug. "Thanks for waking me up…" Rowan loosened her grip on Yuki, allowing her to pull away if she was uncomfortable.
Yuki stiffened a little. She still wasn’t used to hugs yet. It was nice to know she had a friend, though. “You can stay awake with me if you like.”, she said.