The Hive

7

She was ripped out of her bed the next morning, hitting the floor with a hard crack. She cradled her arm as a foot came down on her face, cutting off her initial scream. That was the beginning.

She ended up with two bones broken in her arm, one on her wrist and one of her fingers. She'd play again. Just not for now. It was a clean break. Of course. Coach was careful with her toys. Two ribs were broken. Her nose too. The bruises around it didn't make her bloodshot eyes look any better either. The bruises up and down her arms and legs didn't cover her cuts. The hat she'd borrowed from Joan didn't cover up the bald spots, at least Joan had been kind enough to clean up the balls of hair left on the floor.

It hurt.

Every breath was a fight. She wanted to hide. Or run. For now she suffered, alone in the Hive as an away game two hours south of Harrington was being won as she sat alone, unable to breath and unable to move because of the cuff on her wrist. So she sat against the wall, hand cuffed to the pipe running along the ceiling. She stumbled around the corner before the pipe intersected and she couldn't get through.

She could break it if she wanted. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe not like this. But, that would result in more punishments Wally wasn't sure she'd survive. So for now she waited in the bowels of the Hive listening to the news go on about Freddie's tragic suicide and her history of mental health issues and the tribute before the game tonight and this and that. Wally just wanted to rest. She didn't care about Freddie really. She hadn't meant to kill her but she didn't feel bad.

"You okay babe?" Joan whispered, watching Wally struggle to put on her jersey with her broken wrist. Every inch of her body hurt but, "You cried and begged to be back in practice and now you're back, so act like it." Coach made her play without a day of rest and insisted Sasha's night practices continued.

That's where she was now, Joan at her side as she took the court, holding her racquet in one hand. "We don't have to do this y'know. I can practice with like, Joan or one of them I- you don't need to be here." Wally shrugged but even as she stood still her body ached. "Your wrist is in a cast. Wally c'mon. Go sit down." "Or what?" Sasha pulled her by the jersey, hauling her toward the partially shut door. She gave her a light shove, watching her catch herself on the wall with her bad hand.

"Hey-!" Sasha turned and skated back to the goal, Joan taking her place. "It's probably best for you to sit this out."

So that's how to weeks went. She'd struggle through practice and then watch from the bleachers taking notes on Sasha's performance. She slowly watched Sasha get closer with the others and even watched her pick up a bit of Latin since the trio was always shouting directions in the dead language.

She was allowed to rest after a teammate slammed her into a wall and broke a third rib and Kayla informed coach it would be life-threatening for her to play and she was tasked with performance notes until mid-December when she got her cast off.

"We need a goalie." Alina mumbled, staring at the ceiling. Wally frowned. They had a goalie. Two of them. And why now? As they in Alina's giant bed, worn out. "What do you mean?" "Sasha. She'd gotten good. Really good. She blocked seven of my ten shots last night." There wasn't any anger in her statement, just pride. When Alina first joined them it'd taken Sasha three rounds to stop that many, usually only getting two or three each time. She'd improved.

"Okay...?"
"The Rings Wally, she could be part of our team."

And there it was. Alina was obsessed with this idea of a perfect team made up of people she handpicked. The best of the best. Right now it only included her, Wally, Joan, and Natalia, three shooters and a defender. She needed more people. Sasha could be number five.

"Ask her then." Wally said after a moment. She regretted it. Alina wasn't always known to be kind, especially when told no. "Actually I'll do it."

Alina nodded, smiling as Wally slid out of bed, pulling her clothes back on and slipped out the door.

She went to night practice alone. Sasha walked out during her stretches, she stopped in the locker room door and quickly looked away. "We need to talk. Which means we're talking. Come here." Sasha nodded and came to her, Wally looked down at her as she spoke, only because with her skates she was taller. She tapped the silver ring by her eye.

"Alina wants you." Sasha stared at the tattoo, fingers moving to the space beside her own eye. "So I now I get one of those little rings...? Awesome." Wally clenched her fist, she sounded so unimpressed. She spun her around, pinning her to the plexiglass separating them from the rink. "Alina's choosing you. If you aren't willing to give your all to this game, I'll tell her you don't deserve it."

Sasha stared at her a little longer, watching her shoulders rise and fall as she got a hold on her temper. Then she leaned forward and kissed her. Wally shoved her back, though she was already against the wall which ended with her stumbling backward to the floor. "What? I thought- I'm sorry. I didn't- we don't need practice tonight. I'm just going to-" "Stop." Sasha obediently stopped but refused to look at her. "Do you want to be in Alina's perfect team or not?"

"You and Joan hold her down. Natalia you have the gun?" "Wait I-" the trio looked at her. You didn't tell Alina no. She had more room since they were involved but this was an order. "I don't- I can keep her calm if Natalia will hold her down. She trusts me more." Alina frowned, "Sure." Natalia said quickly and Alina merely nodded. It was well past twelve and Sasha had agreed. It was time.

Sasha woke up violently, but Natalia was already pulling her to the floor sitting on her chest as Joan went for her legs. She screamed but it didn't matter. The Hornets knew better to investigate screaming. Wally grabbed her head, holding it still as Alina fired up the tattoo gun. "Welcome to the team." She said as the needle touched her face, "Hold still."

Sasha stopped screaming as soon as they started. Instead she looked at Wally, a silent plea in her eyes that Wally could not answer. So she lie still inside, wincing every once and in a while as Alina went over the circle, eventually trying to gain pity from the others. She would not get any, the perfect team was raised into this, they would not act on any type of pity or sympathy they had for another. Every Hornet suffered, there would be no savior down here.