Before They Were Sisters

Chapter 2: Squidnapping Has Consequences

"You didn't have to hit her..."

"Cry me a river, Brooke."

Voices... those were voices—familiar voices. One belonged to the scary person with hollow green eyes; the other came from the person who attempted to suffocate Marie.

Marie was on the verge of tears after realizing everything that happened was not a nightmare. But she was too out of it to actually cry. To add insult to injury, a blitzing pain pounded her head; She couldn't focus on anything other than the words coming from her captors.

"They're just kids, Finn." The soft-spoken man reminded.

"If you had just put her to sleep like you were supposed to, I wouldn't of had to step in!"

"I told you I was trying! But she was squirming too much–I-I didn't want to hurt her!"

"THAT'S what you were worried about? Cod, give me a fuckin' break!"

Marie felt her body moving as the two bickered, but she wasn't the one moving it. If she had been, she would've ran and screamed for help. But alas, the pain pulsating throughout her body was restricting, making it painful to move a single inch.

Occasionally, she'd feel painful bumps due to her body moving involuntarily, making her want to yelp. But it would've hurt more to do even that. The only thing she could manage without inciting pain was opening her eyes halfway.

When she did, she was greeted by dirt, the backside of some pitch-black entity, and her arms dangling at her sides. Was she being carried? It was hard to tell. Everything was incredibly blurry, plus it was dark. And as much as she wanted to focus her vision, the strain that came from concentrating was too much. It took everything she had just to stay conscious.

Right when the throbbing pain began to settle, Marie was hurled onto a cold and smooth floor, sending shocks of piercing pain further throughout her body; but not a sound escaped her lips.

The way Marie landed allowed her to see the outline of three figures. One was black with green covering where their eyes should be. Another was mostly yellow, and the last was pink—being draped over the yellow figure's shoulder.

"You didn't have to throw her either."

The black figure turned to the yellow one. "What's your issue, huh? I'm doing what we were commissioned to do."

The yellow figure gently placed the pink figure next to Marie; It was Callie!

"I-I don't have an issue! I'm just saying you don't have to go so hard on them... They're kids, man! Not trained soldiers."

"What difference does it make? Either way, once we bring them in, they'll just go to some bloke out in the boonies."

"Wait, they already have buyers?"

"Of course. Did you not hear them sing at the contest?"

"I did, but...so soon? The contest literally ended a few hours ago!"

"Yeah, well, what can I say? Those voice clips Okoy sent out really impressed the boss's usual buyers. Enough to make them pay more than usual, which means more money for us." The black figure grabbed the edge of what appeared to be a door. "The commander sure has quite the hunch for this type of stuff."

"When do I not?" The new voice made the black and yellow figure noticeably jolt out of surprise. Even Marie hadn't realized a new bright blue figure was there until they spoke.