Shards

Boom! Boom! Shakes the Room

Octavia's legs, lungs, and feet burn as she runs behind Mindy. But her feet have an extra sting as they run across the pavement. She's never run this fast before. Her heart bangs against her chest, begging her to slow down, but her fear outweighs what her body screams at her to do. A burst of hope jumps Octavia's aching chest when she sees Mindy runs towards double doors. Mindy does have a plan. They really could get out of here.

"What did I tell you, Rhinehart?" Octavia hears someone scream.

The hope Octavia had turns into a terror slashing her chest through her gut.

Turning her head, she sees Tam bolting towards them. She whips a gun out from her denim jacket and fires. The bullet strikes the concrete by Octavia's foot. Octavia wishes at that moment she had been wearing those horrid boots given to her, but she was told to leave them at the cell for security purposes. Something resulting from the shot, either exploded concrete or the bullet, grazes her ankle. This causes her to stumble. Her stumble goes unnoticed by Mindy, though, because Tam easily caught up to them, and Tam catches Octavia's wrist before she can fall. The barrel of Tam's gun hits Octavia's head as Tam shoves it through her hair.

"Go out that door, you're both dead!" Tam shouts.

Octavia shouts for Mindy to stop just before her fingers can reach the door. When Mindy stops and turns to see why, Octavia sees Shard silently slip out the double doors behind Mindy and bury a pistol into her hair. He says something to her. Anger and fear rip Mindy's face. Her eyes shine as she stares at her. Through her own trembling hands, Octavia can feel Mindy's.

Tam growls as she speaks.

"Let her go, Rhinehart."

Octavia's fingers fan out, but Mindy doesn't let go.

"Ya need to let her go, too, Winters," Shard says.

"No," Mindy says.

Emotions shake her voice.

"If ya don't, I promised Tam, here, the honor of putting a bullet through your friend's head if the opportunity ever arose," Shard says. He lowers his gun as he takes Mindy's arm. "Now is quite opportunistic, and you can live with the guilt of her death just because you couldn't let your big pride go and follow a simple order after your little plan failed."

Mindy still holds Octavia's hand.

"Mindy, please," Octavia says with a shaky voice.

"On 'three' you shoot, Tam," Shard says.

"Yes, Sir," Tam says.

"One," Shard says.

Mindy doesn't let go.

"Two."

Tam's gun clicks as she readies the bullet for three.

"Let go!" Octavia cries.

"Thr-"

Mindy lets go. Shard quickly takes Mindy's other arm as a bang shatters the tense air. A blood curdling scream comes out of Mindy as she watches Octavia fall to the ground. A second bang reaps the same sound from Mindy, again, but heavier and more mournful. The broken air comes down on and crushes Mindy. Shard laughs.

Mindy sinks like putty in Shard's hold as she looks at Octavia on the ground. And doesn't see blood. She sees Octavia's paled face blink in disbelief. Tam still holds Octavia's wrist as Octavia lies on the ground. Octavia fainted from the first boom and was slightly awoken from the second boom. But she was alive. Tam puts the pistol back in a holster on her belt that vanishes when her jacket falls over it. She takes a pair of cuffs out of a jacket pocket and secures them on Octavia's wrists. Shard finishes laughing and cuffs Mindy, too.

"You didn't think I'd notice your jerry-rigged plan over here? Jamming these doors with a hair pin so they can't lock or fully close," Shard says.

Shard had kicked the door so it would boom once and boom again when it slammed closed.

"Well, your little plan backfired." Shard chuckles. "Get it? Backfired. And Tam had gun..."

Mindy's eyes spew fire at Shard. Octavia is still disoriented from fainting. Tam showcases her best face that says 'are you serious?'.

"No appreciation for puns? Y'all are so boring," Shard says. "Anyway, I admit: I underestimated you, Winters. But I ain't gonna make that mistake again."

Shard opens the door with his foot, and, keeping a hand on Mindy's cuffs, uses his other hand to fish the hairpin from the door. He keeps the door open with his foot.

"And I'd like to have a little conversation with you 'bout all this," he says as he twirls the hair pin in Mindy's face. "Since ya like to find new ways to use hair pins, lets see what new ways we can find to use this together."

With a flick of his finger, he snaps the the pin in half and uses the pin's jagged edge to scratch Mindy's face. Mindy gasps from the sting. A thin line of warm, red blood drips out the cut. Octavia snaps out of her fog at the sight of Mindy's blood. She realizes what's going on.

"I really don't appreciate you ruining all my guests' good behavior streak, especially my lunch buddy's good behavior," Shard says. "Tam, take my Sweethart back to her room while I have a little chat with her friend."

"Don't hurt her!" Octavia says.

"Everyone has consequences to their actions, and it's time you both learn," Shard says. "Don't think you're off the hook for this, either, Sweethart. Just know I take into consideration with you, Sweethart, that you were provoked. Little Miss Chaos-Starter here, will also receive her just punishment."

Shard begins to pull a struggling Mindy out of the door when Octavia blurts out, "It's my fault! Don't hurt her!"

The door bounces off Shard's back as he stops.

"What?" he says.

"It's my fault. Don't hurt her," Octavia says.

Her voice is breathy and shaky as her heartbeats steal her breath.

"How in the world is this your fault?" Shard asks.

"Because I planned it. It's what we were whispering about. I was asking her if everything was ready for us to escape," Octavia says.

Her eyes bounce between the ground and Mindy who shakes her head with wide eyes. Mindy tried to save her. She's has to try to save Mindy.

"It's true. She was caught whispering with her," Tam tells Shard.

Shard raises an eyebrow.

"Then riddle me this: Why was Winters leading you and almost dragging you along?" Shard says.

"Because...I don't run fast alone," Octavia says to the ground. "And Mindy wouldn't leave me behind, no matter what I told her."

"Interesting..." Shard says as he looks at the two girls. "Do you have anything to say about this, Winters?"

Mindy continues shaking her head without taking her wide eyes off Octavia.

"A valiant effort but you're a horrible liar," Shard tells Octavia.

Octavia's insides crush her. She can't lift her eyes off the ground.

"And what a shame you said nothing," he says to Mindy. "I'll have to add that to our little talk. I'll be back for you in a bit, Sweethart."

"No!" Mindy shouts as Shard pushes her through the door.

"Tam, I just ask you don't kill her or give her more bruises than necessary on the way back," Shard says with a nod towards Octavia before the door closes behind him.

Tam fights the flailing Octavia. She screams for Mindy and pulls against Tam towards the door. She can hear Mindy screaming, too.