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Chapter 16

When Quinn woke up she realised that she was already standing. Her back was slumped against a wall and her head was touching the metal roof of whatever was containing her. The room was small and dark, with one door and no windows. It was barely a meter from one wall to the other, so, in retrospect, shouldn't really be considered a room.

She realised with a start that she was sitting in a storage cupboard.

She tried the door, but it was locked.

She kicked it, but to no avail.

Leaning back against the wall, she caught her breath. Her entire body was on fire. Whatever had happened had left her head pounding and her extremities burning.

She kicked the door, which didn't really help with the situation but made her feel a little better. At least, it did until she realised that kicking a metal door with full force after being tortured hurt. A lot. And some asshole had stolen her shoes too. She'd barely been able to move her legs, it was so cramped.

Leaning forward against the wall, she felt her forehead press against a sheet of paper. She held it against the keyhole, shining a scrap light on to it and moving it to read the writing. A small, square poster, bearing the slogan 'Caution is Key.' She read it aloud mockingly and decided to just try and get her breath back.

They'd have to let her out at some point, and when they did, she'd fight her way out. She remembered Jem saying once, "One good kick below the waist they go down, dead or alive."

It was just a matter of waiting.

She closed her eyes, even though she wasn't at all tired. The words on the poster rang in her ears, 'Caution is key. Don't set yourself on fire to keep other people warm. You aren't supposed to carry anybody. Never take the fall for anyone, for any reason. You'd be lucky to survive to regret it.' She started to drum on the wall to block it out. She just had to wait.

Some time passed. She had no idea how long it had been, but her best guess was somewhere between twenty minutes and a long weekend. It felt like an eternity. Fighting back was slowly becoming less of a possibility. Her legs were cramped, and she was very aware of how hot it was getting. It was a small, metal room with only a small keyhole letting air into the room. There might not be much oxygen. Maybe they weren't coming after all. They were going to let her suffocate first.

She started to panic in spite of herself. She hated tight spaces. There wasn't enough room to stand. The walls were starting to feel damp and sweaty, warming up to match her body heat. She almost wanted to faint, just so she wouldn't have to be conscious in there for much longer. Crying out, she punched the metal walls, hearing the sound reverberating around her. The sound was deafening. She screamed as loudly as she could, and then passed out.

She woke up in the same position.

Tears were starting to fall down her cheeks, but there was nobody around to see it, so she didn't bother to hide it. There was barely enough room to move her arms to wipe them away anyway.

The same thing happened a few more times, but again, it was hard to keep track of it. After a while, it started to lose its effect. She just waited out her spells of consciousness and prayed something would come along and end it.

It was then that the door handle began to turn. She moved her foot a fraction and winced. Both of her legs were asleep. She just looked up and braced herself.

The door opened and light flooded into the room. She felt herself stumble forward and collapse. "You are unbelievable." said a dull voice. She blinked, the light blinding her slightly, before her vision cleared enough for her to see her captor.