The Assigned Ones

Chapter 37

Viola woke up in an uncomfortable position. She was lying down on a metal bed. There was another bunk just above her head, and she heard soft breathing. She looked around. They were in a cage. She climbed the ladder to see who her cell mate was. It was Anika!

"A-Anika! Wake up! Anika!" She shook the other girl gently. They were both wearing white night gowns. (*hint for Lyth*) and a tight copper band on their right arms. The girl started to wake up.

"Viola.... We have to get out of here." Anika whispered quietly to her friend. She climbed down the ladder after Viola and they sat on the cold metal floor.

"But how?" Viola looked silently at the ground.

"Neither of us are too good at physical combat. That needs to change. Every night, when the lights go out, we'll work out and spar. We'll sleep in the day when they let us. We also have to practice our charms. We can't let them win, Vi." Anika whispered, breaking the silence. Viola nodded. It was night they knew, because the lights were out already and though it was dark, they could still see well. They got to work.

During the nights, as the lights went out, they worked. They practiced together. Anika found out that she could control people with love, while Viola could do the same with luck. So if they were caught, they could make the guards hunting them fight for them. They ate the meals they received three times a day, then returned to sleep. They started to stash food so that when they left, they'd have something to eat on the road. Three and a half months past of this routine until one night, they were ready. They'd ,are a bag for the food with the sleeves of their night gowns. And, no longer the weak little girl she'd been before, Viola got a surge of adrenaline like no other she'd had in her already adventurous life.

They had a plan for the lock, too. They used a fork they'd stashed to pick it. Viola, having smaller, more nimble hands, was the first candidate for this activity. It was a success and the girls silently squealed together. They picked up the bag and started to run to the door the guards always left through.

"Psst." A soft voice, smooth like honey but some what coarse, called out from behind bars. It was Rain. They'd never heard Rain talk. He gestured them over.

"Rain?" Viola looked around nervously. She remembered his charm was death. He nodded.

"You two need to go the other way. The guards' sleeping chambers was where you were headed. Please, be careful." He whispered. By then, Viola was picking the lock on his cage. He was alone.

"Come with us." She held out her hand for him to grab. Their eyes met as he looked up at her. She'd changed. He grabbed her hand and she pulled him up. He had a somewhat shocked expression but continued to jog alongside the two girls. The got to the other side of the room, where the exit door was. The opened it but it wasn't as peaceful as they thought.

Candy stood in the door way, a guards' rifle slung over her shoulder. Crap. Viola's eyes narrowed.

"Where is Boris?" She growled. Candy laughed.

"He too is a guard. 'Course, he fought more than anyone else and put over twenty guards in the infirmary, all while screaming your name, precious. He isn't coming with you, you know. He can't." She grinned in triumph. Like she was happy to be a guard. Anika's hand snaked around Viola's, and Viola grabbed Rain's hand. Candy raised her eyebrow in amusement.

"Bad luck; the gun comes to Anika!" Viola shouted. Sure enough, the next moment Anika held the gun instead of Candy.

"Tough love; you suffer terrible depression, slowing you down!" Anika yelled. Candy began to look miserable and her movements to catch them were slowed. Rain thought about whether or not to use his charm. He didn't want to; it'd kill Candy. He didn't have a choice.

"Death's move; he takes you away!" He winced as a black cloak with black wings swirled around the girl. In seconds, she was gone. Viola and Anika looked at him quietly for a moment before continuing onward. They escaped outside after a few minutes.

The fresh air felt like heaven in their lungs and they breathed it in deeply. They were in forest, green and lush. It was lovely. They started to walk towards the lining of the trees, forgetting all of what had just happened briefly. Then sirens started to ring, ruining the quiet peace of the wood ahead. Guards poured out as the trio began to run.

They ran as fast as they could as the soldiers threw small bombs at their feet, hoping to stop the crew by burning the bottoms of their bare feet. While it failed to hit their feet, it hit Anika's shoulder. She fell forward with the force and Viola just barely caught her. A guard pulled out his gun. Viola noticed it was Jack.

"J-Jack! Stop! Please!" She shouted. He aimed with the gun, but from where they were, only getting farther away, she couldn't see where it was aimed. A shot rang out and Anika fell limp beside Viola, blood pooling from a hole in her chest. Viola managed a cry out of her throat before Rain harshly pulled her up, dragging her along as she reached for Anika, the best friend she'd had. Tears blurred Viola's vision but they continued to run. She let out a muffled sob.

But she now knew why Anika had been so close, what'd drawn Viola to her. Anika was like her mother. Kind and soft and caring. And even in the end: still there. She let out another cry when they'd finally sat down, far away from where they'd been held hostage.