Bad Blood ~Rewrite~

Twenty-Two

Soft drips echoed off of the concrete walls as footsteps bounced around them. Flickering fluorescent lights lined the chipped ceiling, barely illuminating the eerie hallway. Caitlyn felt her heart beating loudly in her chest with every step she took as she followed the cold woman ahead of her. Dozens of steel doors lined the walls, making her curiosity creep in about what they were concealing. A sudden piercing scream stopped Caitlyn in her tracks as it bounced off of the narrow walls and assaulted her ears.

"Come on!" Cayla demanded, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her along. Caitlyn felt her stomach clench as an overwhelming metallic smell invaded her senses. Every instinct within her was warning her to turn and run, yet she knew she couldn't.

They continued through the concrete labyrinth, making several twists and turns to the point that Caitlyn couldn't remember which way led to the elevator. She took in a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, when suddenly the metallic aroma intensified. She felt herself slip on something wet and looked down, freezing in her place suddenly at the sight of crimson slicking across the floor.

"I said come on!" Cayla barked, jolting her forward before shoving her inside an open room. Caitlyn fell to the floor and felt tears welling up in her eyes. Of all the things she had seen from Depp's company, this really made her feel like she had entered some kind of evil spy movie. The room around her was dark and cold. The only source of light came from a single dangling bulb overhead. The walls around her were cracked and littered with bullet holes, and the concrete floor beneath her was stained with so much blood, it was nearly black.

"What is this place?" Caitlyn shuddered as she spoke, pulling herself into the corner.

"The training floor," Cayla muttered simply as she laid the dress and accessories out over a metal table. "Get up. We have a lot to cover." She gestured at the lone metal chair at the corner of the room as she pulled out a black duffle bag from under the table. Caitlyn pulled herself up cautiously and felt her legs trembling beneath herself. She felt like a newborn fawn, learning to walk for the first time as fear overtook her. She cleared her throat as a sudden thought shouted itself in her mind.

"They want me to be afraid," she thought. "I'm not going to give them the satisfaction." She forced an indifferent expression on her brow and straightened her back as she attempted to walk confidently toward the seat.

"God, we don't have nearly enough time to change you completely. Mind not making a fool out of yourself as I try to sculpt you into a master snake?" Caitlyn felt a lump lodge itself in her throat. She didn't like the sound of that at all.

"W-what do you mean?" She stuttered, mentally slapping herself.

"You're going to learn the art of manipulation today. Depp and Nick want you to get valuable information from your three targets at the gala tomorrow, which means in order to get them to talk to you, you're going to need a lifetime's worth of training in less than twenty-four hours. I told Nick that you weren't ready," she muttered, rubbing at her sleeve uncomfortably. "God, he's stubborn..." she began muttering to herself as she pulled some supplies out onto the table. She rolled up her sleeves, and Caitlyn held back her gasp as she stared at the large burn on her wrist.

"What happened to you?" She asked quietly, earning a harsh glare.

"None of your business," she spat.

"It looks painful..." Cayla sighed and shook her head as she looked down at the ground.

"Nick doesn't like it when we speak out of turn," she muttered honestly. She shook it away quickly and turned to the younger girl. "Let's get started. What do you know about manipulation?" Caitlyn felt her eyebrows furrow in confusion as she hugged her arms tightly around herself.