Lost Stars

Chapter One

-Athena's POV-

The door slowly creaked open. I didn't open my eyes, for I didn't want to see what was standing at the entrance. I kept my head and body pressed into the cold, wet floor. All my limbs stretched out. In any normal setting, I would seem to be taking a very comfortable nap. But, it wasn't a normal setting. I was locked in a dungeon. A nasty dungeon, at that.

A pointy boot jabbed into my side. I groaned and rolled, clutching my aching hip. "Get up," a gruff voice ordered. I squeezed my eyes shut and laid perfectly still, hoping I could wish myself out of there. But, I couldn't.

A hand gripped my skinny wrists and yanked me up to my feet. "I said, GET UP!" I bit my tongue to stifle a scream as my arm was ripped out of the socket. Chains were secured around my ankles and hands. A gag was tied tightly around my mouth. I wondered why they continued to do that. I didn't think I had any will or reason to talk anymore.

I stepped out of the cell, not trusting my weak legs. I followed closely behind the assassin leading me. The corridor was familiar. I had been forced to walk it almost everyday. There was a single light every ten feet. Most of the time, we walked in darkness.

This was a branch of the League temple that Ra's didn't bother to keep clean. Under my bare feet, I could feel the wet and slimy ground. I was comforted by the sounds of distant rats scurrying away to their nests as we walked. At least something was happy here.

We came upon the normal fork in the path. I had been lead here so many times that I knew which direction lead to what. Usually, I was escorted through the one on the right. It led to a series of rooms which all had the worst physical tortures Ra's could think of. And Ra's was pretty smart.

But, the assassin turned to the left.

I had been to the left a couple times, although I never remembered what happened inside. I always remembered going inside, but never remembered what happened afterwards. I would always just wake up in my cell. Even though my memory was wiped after I went to the left, I would always wake up feeling worse when I had been down the left path no matter what happened in the right.

The corridor was just as dark. Unlike the right path, there weren't multiple rooms. There was just one door at the far end. It looked like the type of doors you would see in a hospital. My memory hadn't been wiped yet. Suddenly, cold anxiety filled me. My muscles and bones realized they weren't strong enough to walk forward. My legs buckled underneath me, causing me to crash to the floor.

The assassin yanked me up again. I didn't bother to try to walk. That usually earned me a flogging, but the assassin just pulled me along. My ankles scraped against the floor and I let my head flop down. The door swung open with ease as we pushed through it. The ground suddenly changed into cement.

We came into a bright room. I looked up but the brightness of the room blinded me. I glanced around. There was a huge wall of computers in front of me with tables and lab equipment lining the sides. The bright, fluorescent lights prevented me from seeing all the people at first.

They all stared at me. I must've looked like no more than a rat to them. I was in some old, ratty clothes that had long been ripped apart. I was squinting from the lights. My body was bloody and covered in scars. My hair hung in tangled strands. As much as I looked like a rat, they looked at me like I was.

There were faces I didn't recognize. Doctors and scientists I had never seen before were scattered all over the room, tampering with the machines. Then again, I wasn't surprised I didn't recognize them. Doctors were pretty disposable in the League of Assassins. I learned that the hard way.

As I scanned the room, I met the eyes of Talia Al Ghul. She studied me with an expressionless face. I would've given anything to known what she was thinking. In the entire time I had been locked away, I had never seen her. I had no idea if she had ever seen me, but judging by the fact that she didn't have a face of disgust like everyone else, I guessed that she hadn't.