USWNT Oneshots

Muted

Hope woke up to the feeling of cold metal clasped around her ankles. She opened her eyes to see that she was in a dark room, dressed in a simple white tunic and pants made of some rough fabric. Her ankles were chained to the wall. Tobin and Abby were next to her on either side, dressed and restrained in the same way. Tobin was awake, but Abby wasn't. "Hope, where are we?" Tobin asked in a terrified whisper. "Why are we here?" "I don't know where we are, Tobs." Hope said. "But my guess is that we're here because of Thalia." the terror in Tobin's eyes changed to a determined fire. "Well, they can't have her!" the midfielder said fiercely. "I'll never betray her!" "None of us will, Tobs." Hope said gently. "They can torture us till we die, but her location will die with us!" just then, there was a rattling of chains as Abby woke up. "Where the hell are we?" she asked. "Haven't the faintest idea." Hope said. "Why are we here?" Abby tried again. "Probably because of Thalia." Tobin said. just then, a group of guards came into the room and brought the three women to a larger room filled with torture weapons. The guards strapped Hope, Abby, and Tobin to metal chairs, and then left the room. A man came in, dressed in a tunic, pants, and a hooded cloak. The hood was pulled over his face, so his features were hidden in shadow. "Hope Amelia Solo, Mary Abigail Wambach, and Tobin Powell Heath." He said, his voice deep and menacing. Hope tensed at the use of her full name. "Three of my most powerful enemies." The man went on. "But I happen to know that you three know the location of an even more powerful enemy of mine, so I will ask you: where is Thalia Skywalker." Hope began to laugh. "What do you find so funny?" The man asked. "You think we're gonna tell you where she is." Hope said. "That's what's funny." "We'll never betray Thalia!" Tobin said. "I thought you might say that." The man said, taking a knife from his belt and walking towards Tobin. "No!" Hope said. "Do it to me, but not her!" "Very well." The man said. He slashed Hope across the torso. Hope gritted her teeth, but made no sound. The man frowned, but had the guards take him back to the cell. "Hope, why did you take that torture for me?" Tobin asked. "Because you're the youngest and, biologically speaking, the weakest." Hope said. "Also, Thalia loves you the most out of the three of us, so we're gonna get at least you home alive." "Don't be that way, Hope." Tobin said. "We're all getting out of here alive."

~Time Skip: One Month Later~

They'd taken Hope into the torture room by herself today. Tobin was anxiously watching the door. "Relax, Tobin." Abby said. "I can't." Tobin said. "What if Hope's dead? What if she told them?" "Hope's a strong woman, Tobin." Abby said. "It'll take a lot to kill her. And besides, Hope loves Thalia like a sister. She won't talk." Fifteen minutes later, Hope was thrown back into the room. The goalkeeper was unconscious and covered in her own blood. "Hope!" Tobin gasped. The midfielder checked her friend's pulse and was relieved when she found that it was still strong. There was a commotion in the hallway, and Thalia, Alex, Pinoe, and Carli burst into the cell. They freed Tobin and Abby from their cuffs, Carli picked Hope up, and they ran out of the prison. When they got back to the house, Thalia healed all three women. Hope opened her eyes. "Hope!" Carli said. "Are you alright? Please tell me you're alright." "I'm fine." Hope's lips said, but no sound came out of her mouth. She frowned, and tried again. Still nothing. She picked up a pad of paper and a pencil. Can I have my phone please? She wrote. "Sure." Carli said. "Thalia, could you maybe find out why Hope can't talk?" Abby asked. "Sure." Thalia said. Hope was enveloped by a green light for a moment, then Thalia began her report. "There is no damage to her tongue or her vocal cords." Thalia said. "That means she's now a psychological mute instead of a physical mute. There's a chance that she may talk again, but it's very slim."

~Time Skip: Two Months Later~

Carli's P.O.V.

I was walking up to Table Lookout with Hope. Even though Hope had found a way to talk through an app on her phone, it wasn't the same. I missed hearing her voice, her laugh. We sat down together, and a tear ran down my cheek. "What's wrong, Carli?" Hope asked through her phone. "I miss your voice." I said. "I miss your laugh. And it's my fault. If I'd gotten there an hour earlier, you would still be able to talk." I buried my face in Hope's chest and sobbed. Hope kissed the top of my head. Then, I heard the voice. The voice that I hadn't heard in three months. "Don't cry, Carli." Hope said. "Beautiful people like you shouldn't cry." "Hope!" I gasped. "You can talk again!" "Seems like it, doesn't it?" Hope said, grinning. "Hope, what did they do to you in there?" I asked. "They beat me first." Hope said. "They were trying to make me tell them where Thalia was. When I didn't tell them, they got really pissed. They injected me with something that showed me my worst fears." "What did you see?" I asked hesitantly. "I saw all of you guys." Hope said. "I saw you all get dealt fatal wounds. Alex and Pinoe first, then Abby and Tobin, then you and Thalia. You all were begging me to help you, to heal you, but I couldn't. I'm a warrior, not a healer. So I had to watch as you guys died around me, and I couldn't do anything about it. You were the last to die, Carli, and your death was the worst. You demanded to know why I wasn't helping you. When I told you I couldn't, you said I was worthless. You said you couldn't believe you'd ever loved someone like me. I don't know why exactly, but I think that vision was the cause of me going mute." There were tears streaming down Hope's face as she finished her story. "No, no, no, don't cry, Hope!" I said, kissing her. "It was just an illusion! I would never say something like that. But thank you for telling me." Hope sobbed into my shoulder. "I love you, Carli." She said. "I love you too, Hope." I said.

Keep the requests coming!