3 | We Who Survive the Apocalypse | ✅

Chapter 15 - Taken

My head aches. That's the first thing I notice. It is a dull, throbbing pain in the back of my skull.

My eyelids are heavy, but I force them to open. At first my vision is blurred. And I'm afraid. Slowly it clears, but that doesn't quell my fear.

Iron bars surround me, a good two inches in diameter. It's dimly lit in the cell, and freezing cold on the bare concrete floor. My eyes adjust gradually, and I see Izzy sitting across from me in the same cell, her legs hugged to her chest, chin resting on her knees. She's muttering to herself, her eyes frantic as they dart around the room.

Mara is sobbing in the far corner, practically curled in on herself. Kat stands at the cell door, white fists wrapped around the bars, glaring out at the nothing.

I slowly sit up, which makes my head hurt all the more, and a groan escapes my lips.

"Wynne, you're awake," I hear Doyle's hushed voice from somewhere behind me and turn to see him reaching through the bars to me.

I clasp his freezing hand, taking in his situation. He is locked into a neighboring cell, along with Seth, who is pacing the length of the cell, and Hudson, who lies on the floor, a makeshift bandage on his head, but he appears to be awake.

"Where are we?" I ask, fear constricting my chest as I stare at Doyle, wide eyed. "Where's Rogan, and Pirate?"

He just shakes his head, whispering, "I don't know."

"I know where we are." Izzy's voice startles me.

All eyes turn to her. She exhales slowly. "I've been here before."

"What?" Seth said, halting right near the bars.

Izzy buries her face in her knees, nodding. "Yeah," her voice is muffled, "but I got away. So we can, too."

"You think?" Kat spits sarcastically, slamming the bars with her palms, a dull clang echoing off the hard walls and floor.

Izzy lifts her head to glare at Kat. "Yeah, I think. So you can just shut the fuck up, okay?"

"You don't tell me what to do, bitc-"

"Okay, okay!" Doyle raises his voice over theirs, surprisingly getting them to fall silent. "We don't have time for this, okay? We need a plan, something."

Kat scoffs. "A plan? Really? There's no way out of this cage without a key or something to pick the lock with, and they already took all we had."

"Yeah, and just getting out here is one thing, but they have an entire compound we've gotta get out of," Izzy adds, "when I was here it was relatively small, but from what I saw on the way in, they've spiced the place up a bit."

"Our weapons are in here somewhere," Seth says, "in this building, I think. Maybe we can find them."

Izzy shakes her head. "No time for that. Once we get out of our cells, we've gotta just make a run for it. There's no time for looking around."

"I..." Mara's voice shakily joins our conversation, "I have a knife."

Izzy groans. "That would've been good to know, Mara."

My eyes widen in surprise, and Seth asks, "how did they not find it?"

"It's...just a tiny pocket knife, and I'm good at hiding things," Mara replies quietly, holding out her pale, shaking palm that cradles the weapon.

Kat snatches it up, prompting a cry of protest from Izzy. Kat rolls her eyes. "I'm gonna try to pick the lock with it, shut up."

As Kat heads to the door, I force a smile, aimed at Mara. "Good job, Mara."