Generation Freaks✔️

Chapter 17

The pain came last, in waves that crashed into every joint and muscle in her body. It had started as twitches, gradually increased to a tingling sensation, and finally the wash over of pain. Priscilla had left minutes after her speech, dissatisfied by Paisley's refusal to talk. Her goons had followed her like little dogs eager to please their master. Or at least, that's what they reminded Paisley of from the movies they sometimes watched at school. They had a thick desire oozing from them in globs in order to make her happy. She was their Queen and Paisley was the enemy. She was also tired, so terribly tired. When the group had left, Paisley's body finally released of the tight tension that it had held. Despite how much sleep she had had while unconscious, if it was even considered sleep that was, she wanted to collapse. She could go for one of Miss Goulding's famous hot stew soups and crawl beneath her blankets and pretend this was all just some bad dream gone entirely wrong. She'd had them plenty of times before, each one too vivid and life like.

This one was the worst of all. Paisley knew she wasn't waking up from it, at least not anytime soon.

But her eyes betrayed her and roamed over Nova for what seemed like the thousandth time. The other girl had started to begin to grow consciousness in the last few minutes since Priscilla's departure. Her foot had moved and she stirred slightly, but Paisley knew it would be quite some time before Nova could even sit upright. And all she could do, was wait. Paisley's eyes tore away away from the girl, staring at the door all the others had left through. How long until they came back? What would they even do to her and Nova when they returned? Priscilla didn't seem to want to kill them, not yet anyways. She wanted them alive, but for what? For how long would it last? Paisley didn't want to give away her freedom in order to survive, but she wasn't exactly ready to die either. No word besides a dinner show unnerved Paisley. She still didn't know who Priscilla was. As the woman had left, hips swinging side to side, the memories left in vapors. As quickly as they had appeared, they were gone.

The last functions to fully return was her brain. Her joints were stiff as if having laid on them all wrong. Her muscles were tight, as though they had gone without being used for days on end. Then the fog in her mind cleared and pieces finally began to connect. Not the way she wanted, but they were connecting nonetheless. Her entire body felt heavy, like she had suddenly turned into a pile of rocks and couldn't move. But even if she could move, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to. They were closed in by walls and a door she guessed was locked from the outside; it had slid open when the others had left.

Nova stirred again, regaining more consciousness as the minutes ticked by. Paisley pulled herself back, pushing with the balls of her feet. She didn't want to be in possible arm or feet's length when Nova fully woke up. There was no telling what her reaction would be or if she would even lash out. Her teeth clamped over her bottom lip, dragging them backwards.

"Why did you do it?" Paisley asked softly, practically whispering her question.

There was no reply, it was silent as she had expected. The serum hadn't entirely wore off of Nova and even if it had, Paisley doubted she would even get an answer. It didn't seem like that Nova would give an explanation without being forced. She, too, had been captured and that had to be one of the most humiliating things to admit. Especially when you were at fault for your own capture. A shallow breathing of raspy lungs filled the air, Nova having difficulty breathing. A side effect Paisley hadn't had? Or just something had blocked her airway like panic? She should've helped, needed to, but Paisley couldn't bring herself to do so. Nova had not helped her, not in the slightest. She was the reasoning they were in this mess, so there was no reason to give help that hadn't been earned. Wasn't there?

A swish across the ground drew her attention back to the door. A rush of cool air slapped her in the face, followed by the entrance of Priscilla. There was one single man following her, not an entire mass of goons. At least the woman felt comfortable enough to know she wasn't going to get hurt. Or at least, she was comfortable enough to think that way. The blood red lips curled up in that smile that dropped ice down Paisley's spine. Her eyes glistened in merriment, like a Youngling on their birthday who had woken to the largest pile of presents their little eyes had ever seen.