TMR Gally - hate him love him

The children

Gally's POV

She lost a lot of weight, but it seems as though she's getting stronger now. Literally stronger. Yes, I'm sure she is gaining weight again while being locked up here, but she's different... Leaner almost. But whenever I visit, she's sitting in the same position on the bed in the corner as always. "Hi... brought you some clean clothes... The blue shirt reminds me a bit of the one you had in the... Glade. Remember that?" She doesn't even look up. Her hear is growing back, the length almost hits her shoulders now. I lay the bundle of clothes where she can reach them, if she wants to change. She only picks out the darker pieces of clothing, as if she can't bare the sight of bright colours... The colour red especially sets her of. One of the kitchen maids did her rounds in a red sweater, it took hours before Athena stopped screaming. Threats, insults, and just high pitched screaming, forcing the guards to move her to the far end of the hallway, around the corner. Muffling her screams and keeping her out of direct sight. At least she has a view here, the inside of the building...

Athena's POV

I hate sitting here, waiting for it to get dark. The past few weeks, I've been training. especially climbing. It took me a few hours to find the weakest bar in the cell, and a few more to make it move. Only a few minutes to figure out how to put it back into place without anyone noticing it was loose. and without making a sound. If I'm going to do this, I need stealth. The other cell was impossible to get out of, but this part of the hallway is older. More exposed to the elements. I still feel a bit guilty about scaring that innocent woman like that, but I needed to be moved. Gally protested, and nearly ruined everything. He almost caught me working out a few times, doing sit-ups. He looks at me like he knows exactly what I'm doing and how I'm going to do it. but he can't know... can he? At first, I just wanted to escape the cell, this building and all of these people. But after my plan of moving cells had worked, I saw the children. And how they move about the building. Ropes, bridges too narrow for any sane person, holes in walls too small for an adult male to pass through. But I am not an adult male... The plan started to unfold in my head when I saw how little food and supplies these little ones actually get. They all sleep in a larger room straight across from my cell. I didn't notice at first, and never actually stopped to think why they were roaming around the building unattended... They were orphans. And they use them as spies and messengers... My heart shattered. Once old enough, they will get the training any soldier here gets and... I need to do something. Help them. care for them, as no one else seems to do so. The older kids try and tend to the younger ones, with little they have.

One night in particular comes to mind. A little boy who kept calling out for his mother, unable to go to sleep. I didn't think about it, moving the bar so that I could slide past it. Using the makeshift bridges over gaps in the concrete, with nothing but black underneath them... The kids make it seem so easy... Finally reaching the room, with a little sign above the curtain that functions as a door that says 'orphanage', I allow myself to catch my breath. Before starting to sing Chuck's lullaby over and over again, untill the room was perfectly still. Everyone sound asleep.
I had made sure to stay in the shadows, wearing the hood of the dark grey hoodie I nicked from a passing guard. He didn't even dare to come inside the cell to claim it back.

That's probably how the rumour amongst the children in the building started. The Shadow Girl will protect us while we sleep.