Prisoner Thirty-One

Feather: passing out was getting old

It took them three more days to allow me out. The morning after the shower experience, I tried to bandage up sections of my back. My general pain gradient suggested that there were three worse areas and maybe if I'd have had help, I could have used the pieces of cloth to cover them. Quite frankly a simple mirror would have helped but as it was, I had to attempt to string the fabric together and wrap it around my torso.

Occasionally I would pull too tight and would be forced to pause, clenching my teeth against the pain. Besides from that, it had turned to a dull ache that was the most part ignorable. The small human contact I had received those few break times were greatly missed and I could imagine the madness that could have kicked in if I was there any longer.

I wasn't allowed to walk places without being surrounded by three guards but once I had slowly been brought to the canteen, I was just happy to be allowed back. Personally, I wouldn't have allowed me to go back to the canteen but not wanting to lose the privilege, I kept that thought to myself.

I walked straight to get my tray, trying to avoid the looks I could feel on my back. Once I was sat down, I looked around to see expressions of shock and a small level of amazement. Surprisingly, this filled me with pride, it was turning out that I was a lot stronger than previously thought.

"I need all the details if I'm going to help you." My voice came out clear and sharp thanks to the thinking I'd had plenty of time to do. It was fear that had gripped me before, but I was ready to start making my own decisions. If I was the only way that they were going to live, then I guessed that I was going to have to do whatever I could. Plus, this would be a small bit of pay back to a man that had enjoyed years of torturing other people like me.

"What?" No one's expression had changed and considering I had just announced some big news, I was oddly hurt by the lack of emotion. "We thought you had died." Alec exhaled.

"The guards wouldn't tell us a thing and you, well you didn't look good Fe. Like really, really didn't look good." Joe rushed out cutting off whatever Alec had to say. Again, I found myself filling with pride and even had to hold back a smile.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me." I said allowing one corner of my mouth to lift.

"You are really going to help us?" Joe's openly vulnerable expression as he asked the question kept the smile on my face.

"Yes, if you bother to tell me the plan." My eyes opened to the two guys in front of me, purposely ignoring Kimba.

"Then we might as well complete it at second break, unless you think you need a little longer Fe." I shook my head, realising I needed to start thinking things through a little more. I'd only purposefully used my curse four times by that point and although it had worked the last two times, I still spent a lot of effort trying to keep it under control. Suddenly I realised that I should have spent more time practising my curse then just thinking about it. Really, I needed to start to learn to think about things before I did them or said something.

"Everyone will have to watch me at all times, so we can get our cues just right." Joe had continued to talk while I zoned out. From my mouth came a confused moaning sound, apparently calling for a sharp, 'seriously,' from Kimba.

"Fe you have a question?" Alec asked glaring in Kimba's direction.

"Yeah.... I just kinda zoned out, sorry, what were you saying?" I tried to speak as slowly as I could in an attempt to come up with a better excuse for my absence.

"Okay so we will all need to start at the back fence, where we will hopefully be exiting from." Joe restarted, making sure I was following this time. "We will then split off to our areas, Fe you will just have to stay still, okay. From their Kimba will act as a distraction, Alec is going to steal the guard's guns and I will."