writers_muses prompt set 116.6 [a fox to the hounds]
It was easy to be lulled into a false sense of security when one didn’t see their captors very often. The only time anyone saw the ‘workers’ was when the shadows were bringing in another person to join the ever growing flock of powerless people. Not that they were all without their abilities because there were a few, a small number of people, who hadn’t been worked on in some way to cut off. Some of them didn’t have a wound at the base of their skull or were being constantly fed some kind of drug to act as an inhibitor. Claire had thought it was because their abilities weren’t offensive in nature, basically useless when it really came down to it, but she should have guessed there was something behind it.
Of course it wasn’t clear till the moment she walked out of the cafeteria and stopped dead at the sight of the four men waiting for her. Or, she was going to assume they were men because of their build but the hoods with the built in masks made it rather hard to be sure. At first she thought maybe they were just there because they were transferring someone else in, but she quickly changed her mind when one of them stepped towards her with a reaching hand.
She did her best to run but there was nowhere to go. It was yet another time when she was frustrated with her ability because it was just another time when she was all too aware of how helpless she really was despite the fact that she was indestructible. They caught her quickly, ignoring the bottle that crashed to the floor or her muffled yells as one clamped a gloved hand over her mouth while pulling her backwards. People who heard the commotion came to their doors and some even tried to help but there was nothing that could be done against the men holding cattle prods as they carried her down the hall. She was sure she even heard Mohinder call out her name before she was pulled in through a door and into a stairwell where no one else could follow.
That was the first time she realized they were in a building with more than one floor. She tried to count how many flights of stairs they went down but the one man carrying her tried covering her eyes, as though he could keep her from counting. Two, she was sure they had carried her down two flights of stairs but she couldn’t tell if they were carrying her towards a ground floor or further into a basement. Maybe they were underground and that’s why they couldn’t see anything but filled in windows. She also tried to see if she could smell anything familiar but all that filled her nostrils was the smell of leather and perhaps sweat.
When they finally stopped to dump her on the floor, she really didn’t know where they were, but she could see it was a large room. Almost like a gymnasium. There were even weights in the corner, a couple of bikes and a few doors that led to other rooms. There were also cameras that she could see that were all over the place with flashing red lights that told her they were being recorded.
“What’s going on?” She demanded as she twisted about to look at the men before quickly scrambling to her feet.
It was no surprise to her that they didn’t answer her. They merely watched and waited, almost like robots while she stared, waiting as well. Four more men entered the room, making a total of eight, and all of them carried cattle prods at their sides. A chill rushed down her spine as she took a couple steps back, watching as they started to fan out to surround her. Bad thoughts, scary ideas and visions, started to fill her mind but they were nothing compared to what came next.
One man to her left moved before she was ready and she felt the air sizzle with a snap of electricity before it hit her side. It wasn’t nearly as bad as being zapped by Elle but it was still a shock that forced her to jump away from the man with a hiss. Electricity rushed over her, causing her muscles to tense. “What the fu....” The furious words turned into a strangled grunt as she was hit again from another man to her right, and then a second one from the front.
Instinct took over then.
It didn’t matter that she didn’t feel pain over what they were doing, she still knew she needed to get away as the instinct to avoid was still there. It was the fight or flight nature that everyone had and she knew at this moment she would never be able to fight them off. So she tried to run but she could never get far enough. Everywhere she went, someone was there with another zap of electricity to push her back. The smell of burnt skin and cloth filled the air but she couldn’t escape it nor could she escape the attacks. Most people would have fallen right away but, because of her ability and lack of pain, Claire could take more than most people could and maybe that was the point. They were testing her, seeing how much she could take before she fell and by the end of the training, they knew.
When they returned her to her floor and to her room, there wasn’t a mark on her but clearly enough evidence to tell of what had gone on. The shirt and pants she had been wearing were destroyed, marked by tiny burns and holes all over. They had hit her with the cattle prods wherever they could get her, all the way from her shoulders down to her legs. At one point she had been on the floor and they still hit her until she wasn’t moving anymore. All of this was so they would know just how much it would take to bring her to her knees if there was ever an attempt to escape.
No matter how strong her instincts and how indestructible she was, she couldn’t stand up to a whole pack, intent on tearing her down.
Of course it wasn’t clear till the moment she walked out of the cafeteria and stopped dead at the sight of the four men waiting for her. Or, she was going to assume they were men because of their build but the hoods with the built in masks made it rather hard to be sure. At first she thought maybe they were just there because they were transferring someone else in, but she quickly changed her mind when one of them stepped towards her with a reaching hand.
She did her best to run but there was nowhere to go. It was yet another time when she was frustrated with her ability because it was just another time when she was all too aware of how helpless she really was despite the fact that she was indestructible. They caught her quickly, ignoring the bottle that crashed to the floor or her muffled yells as one clamped a gloved hand over her mouth while pulling her backwards. People who heard the commotion came to their doors and some even tried to help but there was nothing that could be done against the men holding cattle prods as they carried her down the hall. She was sure she even heard Mohinder call out her name before she was pulled in through a door and into a stairwell where no one else could follow.
That was the first time she realized they were in a building with more than one floor. She tried to count how many flights of stairs they went down but the one man carrying her tried covering her eyes, as though he could keep her from counting. Two, she was sure they had carried her down two flights of stairs but she couldn’t tell if they were carrying her towards a ground floor or further into a basement. Maybe they were underground and that’s why they couldn’t see anything but filled in windows. She also tried to see if she could smell anything familiar but all that filled her nostrils was the smell of leather and perhaps sweat.
When they finally stopped to dump her on the floor, she really didn’t know where they were, but she could see it was a large room. Almost like a gymnasium. There were even weights in the corner, a couple of bikes and a few doors that led to other rooms. There were also cameras that she could see that were all over the place with flashing red lights that told her they were being recorded.
“What’s going on?” She demanded as she twisted about to look at the men before quickly scrambling to her feet.
It was no surprise to her that they didn’t answer her. They merely watched and waited, almost like robots while she stared, waiting as well. Four more men entered the room, making a total of eight, and all of them carried cattle prods at their sides. A chill rushed down her spine as she took a couple steps back, watching as they started to fan out to surround her. Bad thoughts, scary ideas and visions, started to fill her mind but they were nothing compared to what came next.
One man to her left moved before she was ready and she felt the air sizzle with a snap of electricity before it hit her side. It wasn’t nearly as bad as being zapped by Elle but it was still a shock that forced her to jump away from the man with a hiss. Electricity rushed over her, causing her muscles to tense. “What the fu....” The furious words turned into a strangled grunt as she was hit again from another man to her right, and then a second one from the front.
Instinct took over then.
It didn’t matter that she didn’t feel pain over what they were doing, she still knew she needed to get away as the instinct to avoid was still there. It was the fight or flight nature that everyone had and she knew at this moment she would never be able to fight them off. So she tried to run but she could never get far enough. Everywhere she went, someone was there with another zap of electricity to push her back. The smell of burnt skin and cloth filled the air but she couldn’t escape it nor could she escape the attacks. Most people would have fallen right away but, because of her ability and lack of pain, Claire could take more than most people could and maybe that was the point. They were testing her, seeing how much she could take before she fell and by the end of the training, they knew.
When they returned her to her floor and to her room, there wasn’t a mark on her but clearly enough evidence to tell of what had gone on. The shirt and pants she had been wearing were destroyed, marked by tiny burns and holes all over. They had hit her with the cattle prods wherever they could get her, all the way from her shoulders down to her legs. At one point she had been on the floor and they still hit her until she wasn’t moving anymore. All of this was so they would know just how much it would take to bring her to her knees if there was ever an attempt to escape.
No matter how strong her instincts and how indestructible she was, she couldn’t stand up to a whole pack, intent on tearing her down.