Bonded

Chapter 18: Rescued

CHAPTER SUMMARY: A mission to rescue a Resistance recruiter goes awry.

Rey regains consciousness slowly, her mind coming back in spurts and stops. The first thing she notices is the throbbing pain in the back of her head, the result of a hard impact, the last thing she remembers.

The second thing she notices is she's moving.

Two figures pull her along roughly, one on either side, gripping her arms and dragging her heels over an uneven surface.

She's blindfolded but she can smell she's underground, that distinct must of grimy pools of water that haven't seen the light of day.

Just as the fog begins to clear, she hears the sound of keys clanging. A heavy door swings open and the large hands thrust her forward. She lands flat on her back on a cold, damp surface. She immediately sits up, pulling off the blindfold, but all she sees is the door slam shut.

One of the figures beats what looks like a metal rod against a small, grated opening near the top of the door.

"Keep quiet, girl," a man commands gruffly. "If I don't hear you, you won't see me. And trust me when I tell you ..." He hunches over, bringing his lips closer to the opening, "You don't ever wanna see me." He lingers menacingly before pulling away and beating the door once more for good measure. She listens as two pairs of boots stride away.

Rey waits until she hears them fade completely.

Then, she scrambles to the door, crouching in front of it to inspect the lock.

This is difficult. There isn't much light, just a faint stream drifting in through the grated opening, but she can see well enough to tell that this won't be an easy lock to pick.

Her blood runs cold.

It's not that she's afraid she won't escape. She'll figure that out eventually.

But she is very much afraid she won't escape in time to rescue the Resistance recruiter who's set to be executed within the hour. That's what has her heart freezing in her chest.

Rey whips around, taking in her surroundings, still woozy from a dull ache at the back of her head.

It looks like she's in a cave that's been converted into a jail cell. The only sign of anything manmade is the door. There's a rocky wall just to her right, but the cave stretches out to her left, extending into darkness.

She closes her eyes and begins hobbling to the dark, reaching out with her Force senses.

There must be something here. Something she can use to pick the lock.

She inches forward, a palm sweeping over the earth. She searches for a minute before reaching a wall, then turns to creep next to it.

Suddenly, she stops.

Her fingers graze something hard and slender. She grips it and tugs violently, snapping it free from an unknown base. She crawls out of the darkness and into the stream of light, opening her palm to inspect her find.

She sucks in a breath, closing her hand.

It's the bone of a human finger.

She shudders, closing her eyes briefly. The next instant, she crawls to the door, crouching in front of the lock. She inspects closely, only one opening from what she can tell, the top left.

And it's too small for the finger to fit into.

She falls back on her heels, tossing the bone angrily. She covers her eyes with a palm, fear gripping her chest.