The Orb And The Onslaught {COMPLETE}

Past, Present And Prisoners

    Florence felt the tears falling down her cheeks while she took in the atrocities around the room. She didn't reach up to wipe the tears away, she could barely breathe, she felt numb from head to toe. She couldn't make herself believe that this was real, yet somehow here it was. The gaunt, starved faces staring back at her between the bars of their cages looked scared and confused and she felt it deep in her heart. 

    She turned to Quentin, he looked too distraught to do anything except fidget with his hands. She forced herself to look back at them and she whispered to Quentin. 

"I've never seen anything so horrible in my entire life." 

"Mrs James... we have to help them," Quentin replied in a horrified whisper. 

"We will, I promise." 

    Florence sobbed and moved closer to the cages, she didn't know what to do or say. The prisoners were locked in the incredibly small cages by huge padlocks; all crammed in and the smells made it clear they'd never left them. The off-white gowns were dirty, holey and thin, the room was cold and windowless; if it wasn't for the light from her intelphone Florence assumed they'd always been in constant darkness. 

    Each of the prisoners was bone thin, their eyes bulging and most of them were squinting away from the light. Every part of the scene before them was a horror to behold. Florence couldn't believe anyone would do this to another person, it was pure evil. She needed to find a way to get them out, it was the only thing that mattered. 

      That's when she saw the children; a boy in one cage and a girl in the other, side by side but far enough that they couldn't comfort each other. They couldn't have been older than five or six, they were in the same state as the others, starved and dirty. They looked petrified, huddling in the corner of their cages and Florence felt a cry escape her, it ripped through her throat and sent her into a sobbing mess. She barely registered the footsteps coming their way but she did register three furry bodies rubbing against her in earnest. 

      Florence felt an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into whoever it was, letting the sobbing take over briefly; but she couldn't let it control her for long, she had to pull herself together. They needed to put a stop to this, she turned away from who she realised was Quentin comforting her, and found Cyan staring around the room with a look of absolute disgust and heartbreak. She met Florence's eyes and they silently agreed on what happened next, they stood shoulder to shoulder and looked at the prisoners. 

     "Don't worry we're here to help you, we're going to break you out. Cover your ears and step back away from the locks." 

"We promise it won't 'urt a bit and we'll 'ave ya back t'yer families 'soon as possible." 

Florence took a hammer Cyan handed her and they went to work; the rebels and Quentin stood back, they seemed to know this was something Cyan and Florence needed to do themselves. 

     It took a few attempts on each padlock but they weren't built to withstand a hammering, just to keep the prisoners in. They soon snapped and the cage doors swung out on their hinges. Florence and Cyan worked their way around all twelve cages until every one was wide open. But the prisoners didn't rush to climb out, they stood at the back of their cages, too scared to move. 

"It's alright, it's over now. You're free." 

     They still didn't move. Not until one young woman made the brave first step and tentatively climbed out of her cage. She had long hair that was too dirty to see its real colour, her eyes were dark and ringed in purple but she had an air about her that said she was more aware than the others. She had shackles around both wrists and her gown barely covered her, she didn't seem to notice though and stood bravely in front of them all. She didn't seem to know what to do, she looked cold and Quentin quickly pulled his jacket out of his bag to give to her.