LJNT

Nico

Nico couldn't sleep.

She'd been staring at the opposite wall of her cell for the last... how long has it been? Five minutes? Or perhaps it's been five hours. Was it daytime or night? Either way, Nico couldn't tell. It was all the same to her. It had been a while since those bad men with the white masks slid the sad excuse of food into her cell. Not that she really minded. She was sure that the food they gave her made her feel worse anyway.

Even so, she still wished the bad men would come and pay her a visit. Nico craved the company; even if these people were only dropping off her tray of "food" or coming in to yell at her. They did that quite often, mostly when Nico acted "out of line". But at least it was something. Something that would occupy her mind. But when she was left alone, all she could do was think.

Nico didn't like to think anymore.

Anytime she thought about anything, she thought of them. It hurt to think of them. Her siblings had been the blinding light that had kept her sane in the dreary hell hole she now called her life. But slowly, one by one, they stopped coming back to their shared cell. Nico didn't know why they disappeared, nor did she want to think about why they were gone. Amber, the eldest, was the first one to go. The bad men dragged Amber away mere weeks after they were captured. Eventually, Amber stopped coming back to the cell. Maybe she escaped... that's what Nico hoped for, anyway. After that was Enzo, her older brother. He showed more resistance than Amber did, but that didn't stop him from eventually disappearing either.

The bad men finally stopped after that. They left Nico and her final sibling, Veronica, alone in that cell for a long time; at least for what felt like a long time. There wasn't much they could do in the dreary cell. They'd be counting the cracks on the walls when they weren't caught up worrying about the other two. However, their moment of peace was all but that... a moment. A fleeting moment that was violently torn away.

The men in the white masks appeared again. With grim looks on their faces, they opened the cell emotionlessly. Neither girl was sure of who they were coming for, and they glanced at each other fearfully.

"N-No, please!"

The men stalked closer to Veronica, grabbing her by her arms and dragging her out of the cell. Nico immediately bolted upwards, desperately clinging onto the jacket of the man.

"Please, don't take her," Nico pleaded, but the man only shook her off of him. She tumbled to the ground, watching in despair as the men locked the cell door, leaving Nico alone once again. She cursed loudly, running to the cell door and banging on it desperately. "Please!"

If her sister was taken by the bad men then eventually she'd leave her alone, too. She didn't want to be left alone, it'd be scary in the dark cell if she was by herself. She'd always had someone with her to reassure her; Veronica couldn't leave her like this.

Nico plopped downwards, watching her sister be dragged away helplessly. It's okay, Nico thought. She'll come back, eventually. I won't be alone again, this is all just temporary.

Veronica never came back.

______

Two hundred and fifty sheep...two hundred and fifty one sheep...two hundred and fifty three sheep...

Nico rolled over onto her back, grunting in frustration. She'd been trying to sleep for an hour, and counting sheep had been her last resort. She opened her eyes, glaring at the ceiling. The bad men haven't visited her cell in a while. Maybe they forgot about her?

Nico bristled at that thought. All of her siblings were probably in one cell together while Nico was still stuck here. She couldn't help but hope that someone would come to stop her from her utter boredom.