The Captured Bird

Chapter 1-Alma's Capture

"Y/n!" You heard your fathers voice echoing through the large open room of Blackpool Tower. "Y/N! Get out here this instant!" He yelled louder, knowing full well you heard him the first time. You groaned and looked down at him, he was standing in the middle of the large room. You hung overhead on a metal bar made for acrobatics. He looked up at you, having heard the groan. "Get down here. There's someone I'd like you to meet." You rolled your eyes and let go of the bar, falling the 30 or so feet to the ground. That fall should've killed you, just as it would kill anyone else. But you lived, in fact you were completely unharmed.

"Yeah, yeah." You stood up from where you landed on the floor, brushing yourself off. "What's up?" You crossed your arms and narrowed your eyes at him. The dude was a dick, you weren't about to pretend you even respected him.

"Don't look at me like that." He sighed, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. "Come with me." He began walking down a hall. You followed him, leaving a large gap of space between you. "I've just gotten back from raiding another loop. And I've captured a valuable asset. Her name is Alma LeFay Peregrine, an ymbryne. She's the strongest one we've caught so far."

"And you're telling me this why?"

"Well, you are in the same boat as her aren't you? Likely going to die in this experiment..."

"Right. Thanks for the wonderful opportunity by the way." You rolled your eyes again. He stopped walking at a door and gestured to it.

"She's chained to a floor in there. We need to keep her injured to a point she can't turn into a bird or she'll be able to get out of the chains, but not bad enough that it'll kill her before the experiment."

"Can't you just keep her in a cage in her bird form? Dodo brain." You whispered the last bit.

"She has information we need. She knows where to find other loops. And she can't exactly speak in bird form." He said as of it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Now go do your job. I have work to do."

You sighed and watched as he walked away. Once he was out of sight you turned the handle and pushed the door open, walking in and closing it behind you. You looked around before spotting a woman who had cuffs on her wrists attached to long chains secured to the floor. Meaning she could walk around the room but not very far. She sat in the middle of the room, showing no reaction to your presence, knees held tight to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs.

"So I take it you're Alma?" You leaned against the wall as she lifted her head from her knees to look at you, glaring. "Quiet one, huh?" You shook your head, walking over and kneeling down to get a closer look at her. Her hair looked almost black with the dark lighting, with light blue streaks, it was styled into a nice bob. Her eyes which were now directed at the floor were an amazing shade of blue. But you probably shouldn't be paying attention to that, let alone complimenting her. You grabbed her chin to make her look up at you. "I'm sorry about this. Well, not really." You pulled your arm back before swinging it forward, your fist meeting her face.

She let out a whimper and turned her head, spitting out some blood. She looked back up at you with narrowed eyes. "Bitch..." She spoke quietly, grimacing at the pain in her face as she spoke. "Just another one of Barron's minions."

"I'm a little more than that, birdie. I'm his daughter." Her eyes widened and she tensed.

"Daughter..? I didn't know he had a child."

"Most don't. He's not exactly proud of me. Plus my life expectancy has recently been drastically shortened. So it's not like he'll have one for long anyway." She tilted her head in confusion. "He needs me, for the experiment, I'm sure you've heard of it. He never really cared about me or my life. I'm only here because I'm going to be used in the experiment just as you are. As my peculiarity is the only thing he truly wants. Immortality. Not to mention it also prevents me from getting injured."

"You know it's going to kill you, why are you going along with it? You're unchained, you could escape anytime. Why not live?" She adjusted her position to sit on her knees, holding up a hand to her face, resting it over where you punched her.

"I have nothing to live for." You shrugged as if that didn't sound really sad. "And what my father doesn't realize is my peculiarity is more of a curse than anything. Why would anyone want to live forever? Sure someone might want to live a bit longer than an average lifespan but eternity is much to long.

"I would have lived forever, if he hadn't found my loop. I can only hope my children are safe. Though my loop has definitely closed by now... So the home has been destroyed."

"Destroyed? And would you even want to live forever in a loop?"

"I made the loop in a rush. A bomb was about to drop on the home. And even if I didn't wish to live in the same day forever, I could never just leave my children. I'd stay, live with them, as long as necessary."

"You care to deeply for them. It could very well be your downfall. Well, I suppose that is if you live through this. How's your face?" You asked as though you weren't the one that hurt her.

"Sore."

"We'll then I apologize for what I'm about to do. But you must understand that if I don't do this, someone else will, and they'll make it a lot worse." She nodded in understanding, bowing her head, preparing herself to be hit again. You sighed and brought your fist back again. You swung quick and hard, just wanting to get this over with. She tried to suppress any noise but it was clear this hit hurt a lot more.

She let out a pained moan when you hit her one last time, in the same spot on her cheek as the first two times. You knelt down and cupped her cheek, lightly brushing over the spot you'd hit with your thumb. She winched at the touch on her aching cheek. "This is definitely going to bruise. I'm sorry. Father doesn't want you to be able to turn into a bird so you have to be injured at all times. That means I'll have to come back everyday..."

She looked up at you, tears brimming in her eyes. "Alright. Thanks for the heads up.." You wiped away a tear just as it fell. You gave her a small smile before standing up again.

"Father will likely come in here to question you. He wants to know where to find more loops. He'll probably hurt you. But don't give him any information. I may be 'on his side' but I don't want him to succeed. Taking my life for his benefit is one thing, because I don't care about mine, but for him to take yours and other peculiars, is an entirely different ordeal." You walked to the door but turned to face her once more before opening it. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye."

"Bye..." You heard her whisper right before the door closed behind you.

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Yes, I made Y/n hit Alma. It'll get worse.