Tyrant (Lazaretto Sequel)

two

March 20, 2094

CAMILA

Rolling over on my cot, the hard material dug into my back uncomfortably. It was dark, and the silence was daunting. I sighed heavily and held myself as tightly as I could to keep warm before closing my eyes and trying to get some sleep, but it never came. Instead I let the green-eyed girl infiltrate my head, let her course through my veins and breathe her into my lungs. Feeling a shiver run down my spine, I wasn't sure if it was because of the thought of her or the fact that I was freezing. I felt my entire body quake, and I hugged myself tighter as my teeth began to clatter. Yep, it's definitely the cold.

"Camila?"

I lifted my head up slightly to see Ally standing behind the metal bars, gripping them between her small hands. After the warehouse had burned down, we ran all the way to the abandoned prison that we trained in a while back. Troy practically dragged me inside after countless minutes of protesting and thrashing violently. All I wanted was to go back to Lauren, but they wouldn't let me.

Once I was finally inside of the prison, I ran to the closest cell and slammed it shut, unknowingly locking myself inside. I fell onto the same cot that I was on at the moment, and I cried until I could no longer produce tears. The others promised to find the keys, but I didn't care. I had been in the same position for three days, unmoving when Normani would slide food under the metal bars. I ignored the hunger pains and stared at the wall in front me to reach out and trace over the carvings in the wall that were left by previous prisoners. The only difference was that they were in there by force...I was here by choice.

"Camila," Ally said again after I didn't respond. She shined a flashlight in my face, and I instinctively covered my eyes with my hand.

"What, Ally?" I groaned. I couldn't see her face due to the blinding light, but she seemed to have dismiss my temper. She lowered the flashlight, and I dropped my hand as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys to jingle them between her thumb and index finger.

"Where did you find them?" I asked, sitting up completely.

"Derek found them in the control room," she stated. "Now, let's get you out of there."

"But—"

"I'm not taking no for an answer," she interrupted as she slid the key into the lock. "You need to shower and change your clothes. And most importantly, you need to eat." She opened the door and stepped inside of the cell, stopping beside my cot and outstretching her hand. I looked up at her and noticed she was wearing a sweatshirt that was twice her size and sweatpants. Must be Troy's, I thought. As she helped pull me to my feet, I saw her face fully in the dim light. Her eyes looked hollow, like she wasn't really there. They also had dark circles underneath which suggested she hadn't been sleeping much, either. She was paler, and she wasn't acting like herself. I decided to brush it off because we had all endured an emotional toll as of recent. I looked down at the concrete floor because the staring competition was starting to become too intense for me, and the tension in the room was growing thick.

"Let's get you washed up," she offered after she cleared her throat. I knew she wanted to talk to me about Lauren, but I was glad she let it go for the time being as I followed her down the dark hallways and into the shower area. There was a waist high wall with no curtain, and my eyes grew wide at the realization. Ally walked over and turned on the shower, occasionally sticking her hand in the water to feel the temperature. "It's not very hot, but it will have to do." She stepped away from the shower and pointed towards the door. "I'll be right outside to make sure no one comes in. There's a change of clothes on the table."