April 22, 2032
'The Hellhole', Billy's Town Freelands, Old Texas
Elena was thrown face first into the cell, like a bag of sand, and she landed hard onto the dusty brick floor. She let out a groan of pain but quickly forced herself on her feet. She ran to the cell door which shut with a clang by her captors. She shook the bars and the hinges clanged together noisily.
"Let me out!" she screamed tears streaming down her eyes thinking of Sidra. "Let me out! She's in trouble. She needs help! She's in trauma. Please! I need to help her. Please!"
"Keep it down," said one of the captors. "For fuck's sake."
But that only made Elena shake the bars more until one of the guards grabbed her by the hair and pulled her against the bars. The rusty bars dug into Elena's cheek and she had her teeth clenched with the pain.
"Listen here you fucking bitch. The girl will be fine. We took her to the doc. The guy knows his shit, he'll handle it," the guard said with his spittle landing on her face. "Now, if you don't fucking keep it down then I'll break your fucking bones and make sure you take a trip there too."
With that, he pushed her and she fell onto her back. She sat herself up and asked him, "What about my uncle?"
"Your uncle? Joey? Oh, the boss has got a long-standing beef with that sonuvabitch. They're going to have a little 'chat'. You better hope the boss is in a good mood. Not that that's a good thing either."
Joey was a tough man whose life had revolved around respawners and trying to stop them. He had been in situations like this before but even then she felt concern for him. What if this time his luck finally runs out? Elena let out a soft cry of frustration and buried her face in her grubby hands. We're screwed. We're so fucking screwed. She thought about Sidra and how the little girl had fallen unconscious in her arms after seeing the driver die. Her heartbeat had been low and she needed to be treated. She hoped the doctor would take care of her. Though she doubted it, looking at the way the savages had acted.
She looked around in her cell which was dark save for the orange light of a shining lantern hanging in the corridor. It cast all sorts of ominous shadows inside though it was enough to make out everything inside. There was no window at the back since her cell was situated underground which meant she had to breathe in the musty air. There was a flimsy, sad excuse for a mattress lying on the ground which was a slightly lighter color than the brown, dusty- covered floor. There was a wash basin too in the corner alongside a dirty toilet with muddy water already pooled around it. Elena looked at her reflection in the water.
Her face was tan and covered in desert sand which made her face so brown she didn't recognize herself at first. Her hair too felt sticky with sand and sweat getting tangled in her hand as she ran it through. She cleaned herself up as best as she could in the water basin. The bruises and cuts on her face stung as she did so but she felt much better after. The water was cool at least which rejuvenated her a bit.
She crawled towards the corner of the cell and sank against the wall. She still couldn't believe how dramatically things had changed. She tried her best to block out the events of what happened at the Peak City. The thought of it still made her heart sink and brought tears to her ears.
Michael. Where was he anyway? she wondered. Probably ran off the first chance he got. Why would he bother helping us?
Her stomach rumbled. She was hungry. When was the last time I had a decent meal? But she couldn't eat. No way. Not when Joey and Sidra were in the situations they were.
Could really use a joint right about now, she thought.