Icy Inferno (Troyler AU)

⋙ Chapter Thirty-Six

I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognise your beauty's not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart

Undisclosed Desires ~ Muse

~ Warning: there's smut later on in this chapter ~

Tyler

We were moving from one frenzied mess to another it seemed. After escaping the military base I'd presumed we'd be safe and sound for while. All I'd wanted was a good night's sleep. But that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Instead we were on the move, to go and rescue Elementals from one of the worst situations imaginable.

Why did fate hate me so much?

Upon stepping out the van, we'd been equipped with protective clothing and walkie-talkies, assigned roles, and then packed up in another van like sardines. The events passed in quick succession, and it took a few minutes after leaving for the situation to properly dawn on me.

We were going to a confinement camp. A confinement camp. Worse than a Jesus camp. Probably on par with concentration camps. Rumours of what what went on inside lined the seams of nightmares. No one ever wanted to go in - and definitely not by choice.

I was really regretting joining the resistance at that time.

But I knew I had to go. I would kick myself for the rest of time if I didn't help them. A part of me blamed myself form people getting stuck in there in the first place. If Monty hadn't gone so crazy about Elemental rights perhaps we could've lived like before. Sure, it hadn't been great - but it was far more equal than the state we were in now. And even though I didn't control Monty, I played a role in his act. So I sat willingly in the van, keeping my inhibitions trapped like Trojans in my head.

The journey was filled with a mixture of giddy whispers and nervous whimpers. No one truly knew what to expect - not even Grace, who'd inspected one before. According to her, the conditions varied from place to place, from month to month. So she couldn't offer us any assurance as to what we would unearth. I sat with my head resting on Troye's shoulder, praying his heartbeat would steady me like a lullaby. But he was just as nervous as I. His thrashing heartbeat kept me up for the whole drive. Yet his presence still managed to comfort me, even if he wasn't any less scared. I supposed he made me feel less alone.

Somewhere along the lines I must've fallen asleep, because I was shaken up with a wake up call and a cup of coffee. Outside the world was dark, and we were made walk to along the shadows. We left the van a mile away from the camp. Other resistance members would come to pick us and the rescued up, but we had to be subtle in getting inside. Luckily this place was small, almost deserted in the early hours of the morning. A few dog walkers saw us and backed away immediately. The buildings themselves seemed to bow low as we approached, as if already giving their condolences. I imagined they knew about the horrors within the confinement before the rest of us did, as they'd seen countless Elementals being carted off inside, never to come out.

By the time we saw the camp the phantom of dawn had already torn through the sky. But the sunshine was short-lived, overshadowed by unforgiving clouds of grey too soon- in too many shades to count. The darkening sky ushered in a forbidding, sombre mood that set the scene for the what was lying in wait for us.

It was a small building, almost decrepit. You could've passed by and think it was abandoned. It had no soul. The ragged walls were aged, belonging to a hundred year old church - a church that had lost God somewhere along the lines a long time ago. No hymns bounced off the stone - just whimpers of the poor unfortunate souls locked within.