[ COMPLETED ]
German Translations Provided By @vanessanats
BOOK 1 of the ORPHIC series
ZEITGEIST
/ˈtsītˌɡīst,ˈzītˌɡīst/
the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.
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"Soldier, keep on marching on."
Kreischberg, Austria October, 1943
DR. SCHAFFER DID NOT RETURN throughout the night and Lucy fought to keep her eyes open. Her resilience to sleep had deteriorated over the years and she found it nearly impossible to not resist the drowsiness that weighed against her eyelids, which drooped heavily over her dull blue gaze. She forced her eyes to flutter open, knowing the punishment for disobeying a task was far more painful than losing just a night's worth of sleep. But her legs had fallen numb and her arms were aching and it would feel so good just to curl on her side and lean her head against one of the cool metal bars and-
A shudder travelled down her spine as she shook her head fiercely, destroying the thoughts that'd bring the death of her comrades and blades to her skin. She blinked harshly, her eyes pressing into her skull for a moment. The sensation was enough to keep her awake for a few minutes at a time. So she consistently blinked with pain, pinching herself when that failed to keep her brain awake.
Hours ago, James had tried to coax her into sleeping.
Or well, he'd asked if she was really going to listen to Dr. Schaffer's orders and she'd replied with a blunt yes. It had taken her a few seconds to realize how easily she'd fallen into obeying the man and her face had paled. James had noticed, but he didn't press the subject, instead leaning against the cell bars with a stubborn look.
Half way through the night Lucy realized James wasn't sleeping- or at least wasn't planning to sleep- because she wasn't. He would shift every now and then, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. When James finally succumbed to sleep, Lucy didn't know how much time had passed. What she did know was the fact she had started to get tired the moment James had fallen asleep, thus making it four or five hours.
With familiar gray walls surrounding her, Lucy could no longer perceive time like she could've.
So when footsteps echoed from the hall, just enough for her keen ears to hear, Lucy wasn't sure if they were guards coming to wake the prisoners for "work", or if it was someone else. The footsteps were far too light to belong to Dr. Schaffer but she straightened anyway, shifting slightly on her knees.
The prison door opened with a screech and several soldiers jumped awake at the sound. James was one of them, sitting up quickly with a frantic look. He blinked when he grew aware of his surroundings, letting out a small groan of realization.
Lucy's eyes flicked to the side as the footsteps came to a stop in front of their cell. She tilted her head curiously, habitually wanting to lift her hands. She didn't however, as he spoke.
