Worlds Apart

Bloodlines

That phrase echoes in my mind for a moment, the reality of the weight of my position sinking in when Eadric suddenly emerges from the other side of the door.

"It's clear. The old man was telling the truth." He confirms, and I just swallow, keeping my gaze down as I enter the room.

"Let's get the monitors up." I instruct to Kyle, knowing of his gifts when it comes to technology, and he nods before turning to the computers to do just that.

"Okay! Okay, we got it." Kyle suddenly calls after a few moments, and I look up as the monitor reveals Grounders of whom I realize have been locked up in small, tight cages in a room that seems to expand for stories. The draining room. Luckily, other Grounders that I recognise from Eerika's troops are currently unlocking the cellars, freeing the Grounders that had recently been locked up as they escort them hopefully to some kind of an exit.

Unfortunately, my people are not so lucky as I find myself looking to the cameras in horror towards a room that I would immediately call a cellar, or perhaps a torture chamber would be more appropriate. In it, my people are currently chained to the walls standing. But there is a bed at the center of the room, and currently strapped down to it, getting the life quite literally drained out of her as Carter, full of blood and bomb residue, screams his head off, begging for them to stop, is Jackie.

"Oh my god," Kyle mutters shakily, his voice contorted in clear devastation, "they already got to them."

"How? What the hell are you talking about? Who did they get to?" I ask, my voice frantic.

"Besides those already inside at the time like Jackie and Carter, and those of the 107 of us they had originally captured?"

I nod, my manner turning desperate until I startle as Eadric suddenly lays a gloved, bloodied hand on my shoulder. His grip firm but rough as he begins, "Aurora, while you were locked up, another ship from the Sky landed here, in pieces, but... there were survivors from what I was told was all but two of your peoples stations. A majority of them were the guard, but there were others, nearly all of your people who have stationed themselves at Superior."

"What?" I respond automatically, my voice low. "You mean to tell me they took the entire ship down?" I ask, looking to Kyle, and he nods. "How many of those who survived the landing been captured?"

"The majority of yours stayed back at Superior, your people's new camp." Eadric clarifies. "But others who volunteered to join us have nearly all been captured as the Mountain sent out raiding parties into all but the Reaver tunnels." I drop my head in despair at such a reveal. "But there are still parties of my people raiding the Mountain, including Eerika who should've met with your friend, Mia, by now. She decided to go on a separate mission in attempt at locating and assassinating Jacob so your friend could be safe on the lower levels, and not seen as a traitor once we win this war."

"Jacob?" I question, looking to Kyle.

"His son." Kyle notes distractedly as he continues to type away reverently at the computers before him. I follow the direction of his quick nod to Alastor who swallows in response by the time Kyle has pulled back entirely to face me for further instruction. He probably does so by habit.

"Then let's get eyes on Jacob, we'll talk to him directly until that time comes." I declare, and Kyle nods before turning to the monitor to reveal Jacob in the commons area where all of his people aware but not apart of these horrors taking place reside. Eadric finally removes his hand from my shoulder upon this reveal, his movements hesitant, as though still not sure that I am actually here, or rather that I am the same person who had just started to adapt to a lifestyle with him all those weeks ago.