Blood of Glory

Chapter 3 - All I Hear Are Words I Needed To Say

Hunter knew an attempted and failed escape would make things worse for him. He was worried about it, but never really thought about it. His jaw still aches, and a desperate hunger is still burning in his throat.

That's the last of his concerns now though.

What's highest is the – they take him into the medbay again Hunter tries not to panic the entire time. Can't help it, though. He cries out for all he tries to stop when they cut his chest open. The opening is deep, and stars, it hurts. It's bleeding badly and he can smell the blood.

He wants to taste it again. Wishes he could taste anything, even – he's so hungry.

Hunter catches a glimpse of something gray and shiny before it's shoved inside him. He vividly remembers screaming again. They sew it shut, at least – Hunter was half certain they'd just leave it open, but his chest is on fire and burning and burning and burning.

He wants to cry.

They transfer him to a different prison area, something way more secured, but Hunter doesn't remember most of the walk.

Hunter sinks onto the floor of his cell the moment the ray shield closes. It's much, much smaller this time, and so is the cot-bench-thing. He buries his face in his hands and tries to breathe.

He's so hungry. His chest is burning.

He doesn't mean to cry and doesn't want to, but that doesn't stop the tears from coming or spilling freely down his face.

He thought he could make it better – genuinely thought he had a chance of getting out, but he was wrong. He thought Ahsoka would get him out. She promised to, and she's a – she's not a Jedi anymore. She'd said as much.

The regs talk about her all the time. Echo talks about her. Always says she was good. She wouldn't leave him, but she did. Hunter doesn't mean to be angry, but he can't help it. He genuinely thought they had a chance, but he – he was wrong.

He's so, so hungry and the pain in his chest is breathtaking.

His tears are hot and burning and they don't stop coming. He tries to breathe but the shifting pressure and movement in his chest makes it throb and burn even worse. They – it's stitched over but they did nothing to numb the pain, and why would they? He's just – Hunter doesn't know what he's here for, but he's a prisoner and it's obvious enough his discomfort doesn't matter.

He misses Echo. And Tech. And Wrecker. Even the kid he hardly knows.

He misses home. Gonky. The Marauder.

"Hey." Someone else is down here. There's a number of other people down here, actually – Hunter hasn't had the time or sense of mind to look at them.

His shirt feels wet over the wound area – it must still be trickling blood, closed over or no – and he tries not to think about it.

"Hey," the voice says again – it's a reg. There's regs here. Other clone prisoners. Already? "You got a name?"

He groans softly, swiping at his eyes. Being alone with regs is weird. "Hunter."

"Vod'ika?" He freezes and the warmth and gentleness of the voice. He'd recognize it anywhere, reg or no, no matter how much it sounds like the other regs, and there's only one person who would ever call him that.

"Cody?" Hunter shifts closer to the ray shield, looking into the hall. Cody's across from him and one cell down, near enough they can still easily see each other if they're close to the doorway. "What are you doing in here?"