Perhaps We'll Meet Another Day

Play Your Part

The very first priority after Lexi's awakening was figuring out how the hell to get her collar off of her neck. Had they access to power tools, not to mention electricity of any kind, it wouldn't have been as difficult a problem to solve. However, without any heavy equipment at their disposal, they had to resort to the simple tools they had available: hammers, nails, wrenches, screwdrivers, handsaws, files, and assorted pliers, none of which were too suitable for the job.

Margaret suggested they have the construction team try their best at wrenching the thing off, seeing as they had the best equipment available, to which Lexi maintained that silent fear at being approached by any of the members of the camp. Realistically, she also didn't enjoy the thought of having sharp tools right beside her exposed neck...and body, for that matter. Penguin and Shachi she didn't feel too uncomfortable wearing her bikini around, but the other two were strangers and she didn't know what kind of people they were. The shirt Margaret tried giving her wouldn't fit over the collar edge, so they had to remove it first. Damn.

The best compromise they could figure out was for Lexi to hold the blanket around her to cover her as best they could, but leaving her shoulder and head exposed so they could try cutting away at the metal. So saying, Lexi found herself sat on the grass in the space between two of the trailers at the back of the camp with four men hovering around her holding various tools and instruments.

Law stood a few feet away, leaning on the nearest wall, just in case anything went wrong and the brunette got injured in any way. He trusted the team not to recklessly go at the task at hand, but accidents could always happen.

"Hmm...nothing too sharp and jagged, or we might slip and accidentally cut her neck." Alejandro commented, inspecting their tools for the best one for the job. It seemed most of them didn't fit the bill, because he removed several from the pile and placed them behind him.

Penguin and Shachi were doing the same, testing metal files against the collar to see how well it would go through. Hands kept grabbing, pulling, and holding the metal collar in place, and Lexi winced at the grating sound of metal right next to her ear. She said nothing though, too terrified of moving her head too much and being stabbed in the neck by a saw or blade.

"Excuse me, miss." Terence said, tapping her on the shoulder lightly. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, trying not to move too much. "Is there any way we could lift part of the blanket up behind the collar? It might protect your neck if one of our tools were to accidentally slip."

Lexi thought about it a moment, looking down at the blanket in silence and moving a corner up as much as she was willing to allow without the men seeing too much of her chest. They helped her tuck the edge of it between her neck and the metal, giving her a small but more comforting amount of protection while they worked.

"Alright, Alejandro? Hold that side in place so it doesn't move. We're gonna try working on this side." Shachi instructed. Lexi felt the right side of the collar stay firmly in place, and the left side began to shift up and down as they began grating the top edge of the metal. It was loud and shrieked to a painful degree as the metal file scraped against the metal collar, and she closed her eyes instinctively in an effort to lessen the noise.

"Easy there, I think it's working a little." Penguin reassured in a low voice, continuing to file away at the collar. Lexi swallowed thickly, opening her eyes into slits to stare off directly in front of her. Law stood in view, arms crossed as he casually leaned on the trailer. He caught her eyes and gave a reassuring grin, hoping that his confidence in his friends somehow translated to her. She responded with a tiny smile, appreciative of his silent gesture.

For several minutes the men filed and filed in an effort to cut through, but with a sigh, Penguin sat back on his haunches and stopped filing. "Nah, it won't go past that point. The teeth aren't deep enough to get any further."