Indigo (NaNoWriMo13)

Chapter 40 - Found

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Chapter 40 - Found

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Tied to the chair, body covered from the neck down in the Warden's suit, Shift had no idea how he was going to get out of this one. 

Being woken by a rather fine woman in a blue suit and a pounding head came as a surprise. It took him a minute of worrying he'd gone out to some club and been roofied by fangirls for the second time to remember the attack on Indigo base. 

The memories had a dreamlike quality to them. The only reason he believed what his mind was telling him was due to the fact he was now tied to a chair with what he assumed was a Warden flicking a syringe of purple fluid in front of him. 

"Uh," said Shift, drawing the Warden's gaze. "Don't s'pose you feel like explaining what's going on, perhaps undoing these cuffs?" he asked hopefully, wiggling his trapped hands. 

The Warden looked away and continued to examine the syringe. "Purple colour on Indigo's apparently giving them some trouble. You're leverage, as far as I know she'll be watching until I get the O.K to give you the antidote."

"Couldn't you just tickle me or something?" asked Shift, eyeing the liquid. His mind was racing with ideas, plans to escape but none that were viable. "Athira hates it when I'm tickled, I swear."

The Warden shrugged. "It's nothing personal. Just orders, really."

Shift looked around the room, trying to draw out the situation as long as possible until he found something useful. "Any idea what Athira's giving them trouble with?"

"They're trying to recruit her, potentially being duo Spectrum and all. Easier to have her working with us."

Shift frowned. "Wait, are we talking about Athira or Zoe here?" 

"The purple colour. Athira."

They think Athira's Spectrum? Duo... indigo and violet? 

That had to be it. There weren't any other combinations that made sense. Shift just wondered how long until they figured out her colour was, indeed, black, much as she'd been trying to tell everyone since day one. 

The Warden moved to stand beside Shift, who really didn't like the look of that needle. An idea was forming, but it wasn't particularly appealing. Shift just wasn't seeing any other way out of it. 

Why does this Warden  have to be a blue colour?

"No way I can convince you to go with the tickling?" asked Shift.

"Sorry, no can do," said the Warden. "It's nothing personal. Just orders."

Shift gave a melodramatic sigh. "I know, I know. Orders, they suck don't they?" He popped his lips. "Well, may as well get on with it. Y'no, stick the needle straight in my neck and be done with it, hey?" 

The Warden raised a delicate eyebrow. "I was going to go for the wrist, but--" Shift stuck his neck out as far as the restraints allowed. "--fine. If you'd rather it there, doesn't bother me. Just means it'll start quicker."

Shift felt the prick as the needle pierced his skin, saw the movement from the corner of his eye as the Warden depressed the plunger. 

Then, much to the surprise of the Warden, Shift twisted in his chair and attempted to headbutt the Warden's hand. She jerked back with a yell of surprise, releasing the needle still sticking out of Shift's neck. 

"The hell!" The Warden grabbed her hand like she was unsure what'd happened. "They didn't warn me you were crazy! What'd you shift last, a damned bull?"