The Prey

Sienna and Pheobe

Back at the fitness facility I have some questions that I'm sure Dane can answer. "How many sparks, flames, ash and Phoenix are there?"

"Well, there's about twenty sparks, around 35 ash, 5 flames and one Phoenix. But, the Phoenix is in a different facility in Mexico." He replies. Interesting, only 5 flames?

"There's more Phoenix facilities?" I ask.

"There's this one, one in Uruguay and the main one in Mexico. Every year there's a kind of meet up thing and this year it's at Uruguay. No doubt you'll be invited since you're the first girl."

"Will the mysterious Phoenix be there?" I question as I wander around the training area inspecting the weirdly high-tech equipment.

"Nah, he never attends the meet ups. Too busy being evil I guess." He replies with a slight laugh.

"I can't believe I haven't asked this before: what actually is Phoenix?"

"Ahh, basically an evil cult who take skilled children to be mass murderers. If you do otherwise, they kill your friends. Very sneaky too, Phoenix has been up and running for years and have only been caught twice." He answers.

"You can't really call them evil when you're basically Mitch's right-hand man." I tell him.

He looks extremely hurt, but then his face tenses with rage and he grabs my wrist.

"Come." He orders and practically drags me out of training. He leads me down the same corridors we went through when I visited my friends. He pushes past the same sparks who guarded my friends and asks them to open one of the steel doors at the end of the corridor. They follow his request and push the door open giving him a sympathetic look. He turns to me and releases my arm. My mind is telling me to make a break for it but something inside of me is nagging for me to discover what he was leading me to. "Sorry bout that." He mutters "I just need to show you." He creeps into the room silently like a dangerous animal is inside. Since he's not telling me anything I guess I'm supposed to follow him. I duck underneath the rusting, low door frame and emerge in a claustrophobic's nightmare that smells like years of damp. Two women are huddled in the corner, wrapped in each others arms. "Phoebs? Sienna?" Dane approaches the women cautiously.

"Dane, honey, you do realise that we aren't exactly as unstable as you seem to think we are. We still have some sanity left. Same can't be said for the others in here, unfortunately." Says the seemingly stronger one of the two. She has skin the colour of raw umber and eyes like ambers. She has to be at least a foot taller than me and maybe in her mid-twenties. Her black hair is tied back into a loose and scruffy pony tail and she's dressed in nothing more than a white, blood covered vest and, to match, a pair of white, ripped shorts. She stands up and glares at me then, as if in a moment of sudden realisation, she smiles, showing me a surprisingly perfect set of teeth.

"Lisa, this nuisance is Phoebe and that's her girlfriend, Sienna." I respect these two already, keeping a relationship and making jokes at such a horrible time.

"Yes. Yes, lesbians and of different races. We are the ultimate screw you to society." Sienna says proudly as she stands up with difficulty.

"I'm pretty sure society is already screwing itself." I say to her. Like a lot of things, discrimination make my skin crawl. I don't understand how people can categorise someone by gender, sexuality, race, age or religion. We all have a right to live happily with whoever we want.

"Good answer." Sienna smiles and then turns to Dane "I like this one, she's a keeper for sure." I imagine Dane kicking off and attacking the woman but instead he just sort of cowers away into a darkened corner so we can't see him blushing. Sienna stands at the same height as me and has olive green eyes, golden hair that hangs just below her pale shoulders freely. She must be the same age as Phoebe, but her boney body makes her look older than she probably is.

"I think he likes you." Phoebe says and gestures to Dane who quickly cuts in.

"She's alright I guess."

"Thanks." I say sarcastically and roll my eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound... Never mind." He stutters awkwardly.

"Oh my god, you two are so cute." Yells Sienna like an excitable school girl.

"Can we please change the subject. Tell Lisa a bit about yourselves." Dane says through gritted teeth, agitatedly.

"Fine, if we must. You first, Sienna. You're more interesting." Says Phoebe.

"Well, I've been friends with Dane practically all my life. 7 years after I was born, he arrived. My mum was friends with his so that's how we met. Awwww, I can remember when he was in nappies. He grew up and as soon as he was the right age he started boxing and athletics. When he was 13 I was 20, in university studying human anatomy and physics, and he introduced me to this beautiful woman of 22 who went to the same athletics club as him. We got on well and soon enough we were madly in love. Cliché, I know. One day when Dane, Sienna and I were sitting in the arena where they trained and these club bouncer type guys come up to us and knock both me and Sienna out with police batons. We woke up in the same room we're standing in now. Three years have past and I'm 23- I know I'm am old lady- Dane's 17 and my Sienna is 25. Us ash get by with seven meals a week each which taste and smell like shit. But, Sienna's my hope. So, now we're here." She tells me and I can't help but laugh when she was talking about baby Dane in nappies. Phoebe just smiles proudly at Sienna. I guess she should since she's Sienna's hope. But, I doubt I'm going to here Phoebes side of the story because she just seems enchanted by Sienna and her words.

"Lisa, would you like to tell them your story. I don't know it all." Says Dane impatiently.

"Where to begin? Um, well my parents were kind of assassins and they weren't the friendliest people. Especially not to me. They trained me well though. I did boxing, karate, shooting, basically anything dangerous. One day they went totally mad with me because I read a file of theirs and I guess they didn't want me to see the contents so they kick me in the head. I run away and pass out in a forest where I'm found by a couple who send me to hospital and later on, adopt me. I went out with my friends I don't know when-I kinda list track of time- and the bouncer guys knock us out with injections. We wake up in the hall down the corridor and the boss tells me about his twisted game. His game consisted of giving two of my friends an injection that would kill them in the space of two days, kinda like Russian roulette. This morning Dane tells me that ones dead and I go to visit them and ones... Gone, Molly her name was. She was brilliant. No, she is brilliant. Another one is going to go tomorrow and I don't know which so as you can imagine, I'm pretty stressed." I end quickly and take a few breathes. I am not crying again, not today. Dane shuffles towards me and spreads him arms out.

"May I?" He asks. I want to scream no but I think he understands (and also because if I try to talk my words will be replaced with cries and I'll just break down, again). So I just nod and he wraps his arms around me comfortingly. I don't cry I just feel as if I can't breath, like there's a sack of bricks compressing my chest. I catch my breathe after a couple of awkward seconds and I break the embrace. Sienna and Phoebe just stand hand in hand staring at us like we're cute animals in a zoo and they're the adoring crowd outside the cage.

"I guess we should go." Says Dane sadly.

"Yeah. You two, go get a room." Laughs Phoebe.

"Oh shut it." Replies Dane and I just laugh. "Come here." He gathers Sienna and Phoebe into a group hug and I just stand there awkwardly. Sienna's arm reaches out towards me and drags me into the hug by the wrist. I almost trip over but they all support me. The hug lasts for a long while then this time Dane breaks away and leads me towards the door.

"It was nice meeting you, Lisa." Says Sienna and Phoebe in slightly scary unison.

"Nice to meet you to." I laugh.

"Look after him!" Phoebe calls out as me and Dane leave. I try to call back but Dane has already closed the door.

"Sorry about them." Dane apologises.

"You shouldn't be apologising, that was the first time I've laughed since..." I don't complete the sentence out loud. The first time I had laughed since the day I got kidnapped.