Gravity's Push

A New Hope

The girls had been transported into the room after their injections and Ochaco had left for her's. She was put back into the room afterwards and she started to pet the girls' heads to help their trembling. Hours passed before Daniel started to wake up. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at Ochaco who was silently watching him. He let out a little high pitched scream as he jumped away from Ochaco, falling onto the floor. Ochaco peered over the mattress, seeing the boy still on his back.

"You should be careful. A band aid can only do so much after an injection," she told him. "Where were you injected?"

Daniel couldn't speak. The memories of what had happened before this room flashed through his head, horror filling his soul.

Memories of being strapped to a chair.

Memories of the injection to his palm.

Memories of that sharp pain through his whole body.

Memories of Joshua crying.

It was too much.

"Hello?" Ochaco asked, sitting in front of the speechless boy, causing him to flinch away. Ochaco tilted her head. "If you're scared of me, don't worry. I won't hurt you."

The olive haired boy didn't move.

How can I trust her?! She could be working with that doctor like a little henchman! Daniel thought, his mind going to his favorite hobby: reading manga.

Ochaco glanced towards the mattress.

I wonder why they're not awake yet, Ochaco questioned, turning her eyes to the floor. Did Mr. Overhaul come up new injections?

"Mr. Overhaul seems to be desperate," Ochaco muttered, turning back to the olive haired boy who still hasn't moved. Daniel's eyes widened. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not..."

"Ah!"

The two kids looked towards the mattress to see that the other kids had woken up and were staring at them.

"Hello," Ochaco greeted with a blink.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Joshua exclaimed, pointing a shaky finger at the brown haired girl.

"I'm Ochaco," she replied, staring solely at the white haired boy now. He shivered under her gaze.

"How long have you been here?" Emily asked, hiding behind Taya. Ochaco glanced at her.

"No idea," she replied. "But I've been here for quite a while."

The other kids looked at each other.

"What's your quirk?" Taya asked, crossing her arms.

Ochaco's eyes widened.

"Don't say that word ever again!" she hissed, staring at the navy haired girl. This shocked the kids. They were used to asking about quirks to start a conversation.

"Why?" Taya asked, narrowing her eyes at the brown haired girl.

"Because he doesn't like it!" she exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. "He wants to get rid of them! He believes that they're a disease and that's why we're here! We're his guinea pigs! We're stuck here until he finds a solution and he might still keep us afterwards!"

"We're... we're never getting out of here...?" Joshua questioned, tears filling his eyes. Taya looked around her. Daniel was silently crying, clutching his hair. Emily was sobbing uncontrollably, muttering something. Joshua was crying into the only pillow in the room. And Ochaco continued muttering with wide eyes, rubbing her hands together.

"We'll get out..." Taya whispered, catching everyone's attention. Taya looked to everyone in the room. "I'll make sure of it!"

The room was silent. The little group of friends crawled to Taya and hugged her, tears streaming down their faces.

Ochaco silently watched with wide eyes.

How... I lost hope of escaping a long time ago... How can... How can she...?

Tears filled Ochaco's eyes and her chest felt like it was closed. She grabbed at her chest to relieve the pain, but that did nothing. Tears poured out of her eyes. She continually wiped them away, but more and more just replaced them. Choked cries escaped her mouth.

The friend group stared at the sobbing Ochaco in shocked silence.

She hadn't shown any emotion since we got here, Emily thought, her eyes wide.

"How-...?" Ochaco took a shaky breath. "HOW CAN YOU STILL HAVE HOPE?! I- *sniff* I'VE TRIED TO ESCAPE SO MANY TIMES! *hic* I HOPED AND HOPED FOR SOMEONE TO SAVE ME! I GAVE UP! YOU KNOW THAT I'VE BEEN FOR A LONG TIME, BUT YOU- *hic* BUT YOU STILL HAVE HOPE?! HOW?!"

Ochaco looked to the floor. This is the floor that she's seen for over a year. This is the floor that she paced on, bled on, cried on, talked to. This is the most familiar thing in this place. Even the mattress didn't give her a sense of familiarity that the floor did. It was strange. But comforting. It was like the floor was a person. The floor listened to her while the mattress only ate up her tears. The floor was a continuous support while the mattress was a temporary tissue. She sometimes would sleep on the floor because she felt better, safer. It was strange.

Ochaco felt a pair of arms wrap around her and wet droplets on her shoulder. Sobbing could be heard in her left ear. Bright yellow hair could be seen in the corner of her eye. Emily was clutching onto Ochaco's gown and crying onto her shoulder. Joshua jumped off the mattress and ran over to the two girls. He hugged Ochaco's side, hugging her and his sobbing cousin, sobbing himself. Taya looked at the three of them before joining the hug on Ochaco's other side.

Daniel looked at all of his friends. He clutched the navy blanket to his chest, nervously glancing at each of his friends. He felt frozen. First, he can't talk, and now this! He always talked and jumped into situations without thinking! But... now...

The olive haired boy took in a shaky breath and slowly crawled behind Ochaco. He reached his hands out, but stopped.

I really hope I'm doing the right thing, he thought before wrapping his arms around her and burying his head into her back.

Ochaco stared at the floor, confused.

Why are they...? What is this? It's... familiar...

Ochaco's tears started coming faster and faster. The pain in her chest worsened. It was almost unbearable. She took in a shaky breath, threw her head back, and cried.

She cried for all of the torture she was put through, what they all will go through.

She cried for the family that she lost and couldn't remember.

She cried for their families, knowing that they were heartbroken.

She cried for herself.

They came in a group and knew each other before.

She had came alone.

And it had broken her.

But she wasn't alone anymore.

She cried for that.

Thanks for reading! I can't believe that I got two chapters out today! Go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!