Warriors At Dawn

Chapter 6: The Beginning Of The End

ATHENA POV

Age~14

Somebody snapped me out of my thoughts as I felt a hand on mine and squeezed slightly. I looked to my left to see my girlfriend sitting next to me. I hadn't realized she had walked in, let alone sit next to me. "Good morning, beautiful; what's got you so deep in thought?" I was about to reply when I heard gagging noises across the table and looked up to see it coming from Octavia. It took me by surprise that I hadn't noticed her appearance either. "Could you guys let me finish my food before going all lovey-dovey?" I laughed and rolled my eyes at her before saying, "I think we can manage that" I stuck my tongue out at her, and she did the same. "Alright, you two, stop being childish. Athena, tell me what's troubling you." I gave a quick smug look to Octavia before turning to look at Emma.

"I just have a lot on my mind, and training has taken a lot of me. No need to worry. How was your visit with your mom?" I slowly squeezed her hand back under the table to show her my appreciation. Even after four years, it's hard to show my affection, but it's to keep her safe and ensure we can still see each other. We have become accustomed to hiding our affection but make up for it in the small things we do. "Do I need to go kick James's ass? Cause I will." She said, causing Octavia and me to laugh. "I'm serious! Don't laugh!" She started to pout, and I couldn't help but get that butterfly feeling I knew all too well. With how cute she was being, how could I not? I could never have imagined even thinking that two years ago, but it shows how much she has changed me. "Make sure you're not overdoing it. Okay? As for my mom, we had a good talk! Mostly about her promotion as head nurse in the medical wing. She also wanted me to tell you she says hi! She asks about you a lot!"

Oh, how I love this girl. "Yes, it's a bit stressful with the Ray situation, but nothing I can't handle. I'm glad you had a good talk with her. Tell her I said hi, and congrats on the promotion!" I smiled at her to reassure her I was okay. Then upon looking around the room, I noticed Ray and his guard buddies looking at me and whispering to each other. Ray was sporting his signature creepy-looking smile that sent shivers down my spine. I chose to ignore it as I didn't want to worry Emma. I'll talk to Maggie about it later. For now, I let my defenses down as I was enjoying my hour of freedom with two of my favorite people. I made eye contact with Octavia, who seemed to notice my look towards ray, but thankfully she decided to drop it. Emma left to get her food as Octavia and I were left to talk.

   "I honestly don't know what life would be like, O; It's hard to picture what it would be like here since we were so secluded from everything... Maggie once gave me a book about the old world, which I found pretty exciting, and it was so different from things here. If anything, I wish I could have experienced something like that." I said as I saw her eyes slowly light up at my words. "Are you kidding me!? That is my dream! I would give anything to see nature and animals in person! What do you think-" She was cut off as one of Ray's goons approached us.

"Prisoner 263, go report to the visitor's station for your allotted family time" He may have been talking to her, but his eyes never left mine during the interaction. She looked at him confused before saying, "My family time isn't supposed to be til tomorrow. What's going on?" I wasn't sure what was happening, but I knew it wasn't good. I started to notice the other prisoners slowly leaving the cafeteria. "It's none of your business, girl! You will go now, or I'll see to it you won't see your brother for the next three weeks!" he yelled, still locked his eyes on me. Octavia was a fighter at heart and didn't do well with taking orders, but after I gave her a look, she knew it was better to back down. "Okay, fine, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Athena." She walked off with the guard as Emma sat back down. I explained to her what happened; she agreed it was weird.

   As there began to be fewer and fewer people in the room, I quickly realized that the only guards on duty today were Ray and his buddies. I started to get an uneasy feeling. Too much was changing; something was coming. "Emma, please go to your cell," She stopped eating to look at me. "What? Why?" I kept my eyes on Ray as he started walking toward us with two guards following him. "Emma, please just trust me; you need to go!" She saw the quick flash of fear in my eyes and understood when she saw who was coming. She squeezed my hand under the table before whispering, "I love you, please be careful" I looked at her with a quick smile and said, "I love you too."