Blanking the Slate

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

<This post has been deleted in accordance with following our role-plays&#39;
role-plays' tradition>

(Don't worry, this time there was no actual content someone might want to read)

[bushwacked]

The burly man's fist hammered into the side of Axel's face, and his head was rocked to the side, his cheek knocking into the wall he was being held up against. The dark haired man with the gun stood on the other side, watching, his face contorted in hatred. After they'd dragged him into the dank, narrow alleyway squeezed between two rough looking buildings, they'd thrown him against the wall next to a stack of trash and gotten to work on him. Sagging, his body a mesh work of pain, the only thing keeping Axel up were the fist that continued to land blows on him.

As the two men paused for breath, Axel took the opportunity to try to talk again. Blood and saliva hanging from the corner of his mouth, he looked up achingly at the dark haired man. "Wasn't... me..." he managed through a numb jaw.

At a glance from the dark haired man, his friend lowered his clenched fist. "What the fuck did you say?"

"Not me," Axel tried again, wheezing, his ribs aching. "I had nothing to... do with Lanthae, or... or what just happened."

"No?" The dark haired man sneered. "Then what the hell did we just see? You were on the TV!"

"I don't... know what that was. None of it... is true. It's a lie."

The dark haired man said nothing for a moment, his jaw clenching. Then he took a step closer. "You fucking coward," he hissed. "You aren't going to own up to what you did?! My sisters died in Lanthae. Because of you!" He drove his knee hard into Axel's stomach, and the air was forced out of his lungs. The rat collapsed to the floor on his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

The dark haired man spat on him. "Fuck this. I'm ending this piece of shit now."  He cocked the revolver, the gun making a soft click.

His burly friend swallowed, then raised a hand slowly. "Look, Jim. This guy deserves to die. I know that, believe me. But Sarah and Beth... they wouldn't want this." He paused. "And the money-"

"I don't care about the money!"

Still on the floor between them, Axel felt something sharp dig into the side of his leg. Weakly, feeling as though he was looking through someone else's eyes, his head turned to see what it was. One of the trash bags had been torn open, rubbish leaking out, exposing a plastic knife. The end had been broken, leaving a razor sharp point. Slowly, his fingers closed around it, making no sudden movements.

"... they're dead, Sam," Jim was saying, his voice cracking. "Because of him."

"What about my family?!" Sam shook his head desperately. "Even if we split it, at least it'd mean that my kids won't have to live in shit anymore! Please..."

"You should think about your kids," Axel croaked, stiffly getting to his knees.

"Shut up!" Jim snarled, pointing the gun barrel at Axel's forehead.

Axel ignored him, looking into the burly man's eyes. "500,000's a lot. You..." He coughed. "You probably... aren't going to see that kind of money again in your life."

"Shut up!"

"Jim, wait!"

Jim lowered the gun and looked at Sam. "If we-"

Axel sprang. Leaping up between the two men, he bundled into the dark haired man, punching forwards, the plastic spike tearing into his throat as Sam stumbled back in shock. Gurgling, the plastic in his neck twitching as blood rushed out, Jim collapsed backwards on the floor with Axel landing on top of him. The revolver clattered on the concrete and skidded away. The rat frantically scrabbled for it, snatching the gun up and rolling onto his back to aim the barrel at Sam as the man backed away slowly, horror etched on his face.

"Please don't... I've got kids, man..." he begged.

Axel's eyes narrowed. His shaking finger hovered above the trigger...

From the other end of the alley, 4 loud gunshots tore through the air, and Sam dropped to the floor, giving a final gasp. Flinching, Axel swung the gun towards where the shots had come from, gritting his teeth when he saw three figures filling the alley, one of whom was tucking away his pistol. "Close one, that could have been really nasty." he said. The man tilted his head slightly. "Look... I'm gonna need you to come with us..."

"Back off!" Axel snarled, pushing himself backwards, still aiming the gun. "Back the fuck off!"

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd want to." The man nodded, and the figure to his left stepped forward, raising a small yellow device. Axel was just able to recognise it as a taser before the probes hit him. As his body jerked, the gun slipping from his fingers, he was only dimly aware of footsteps near him, a sharp prick as a needle was pushed into his neck. The last thing he heard as he slipped into unconsciousness was the dark haired man's dying coughs beside him.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

"I got a different idea." Flora fished the newspaper out of her pants pocket. "Look what I just read...you three are wanted criminals." She smiled maliciously. "What do you think Bailey would do if he were to hear that?"

She glanced at the Great Dane who had her phone; she'd already forgotten their names. "If you don't give me my phone back right now, I'll find a way to call Bailey and tell him you're holding me hostage and all on the run from the police. He won't want me with criminals, no matter what favors you owe him. And once I've got my phone, after you return my phone, I want you to drive me anywhere I say, starting with Daryl's house at 45 Teakwood Lane."

She spread her arms and added  "And another thing! It's Shirley! The stupid name you came up with! Maybe don't shout across the entire city that I'm in hiding and worth millions of dollars!?"

   *   *   *

Emilena's body was still twitching when she regained consciousness an unspecified amount of time later. Her locale didn't particularly surprise her.

"Purifier prison, huh? Brings back memories." With a grimace she got to her knees and crawled to the wrought-iron door filling the north wall. The cell was extremely small, containing only a bolted bedframe and a small toilet. She was dressed only in a pair of tight handcuffs. Last time I used my jumpsuit as a garrote, I guess they didn't feel like providing me with another...

There was a slit in the door and she peered through it, but could only see a stainless linoleum floor. The hallway could lead to literally anywhere, but without a better understanding her surroundings she couldn't risk drawing attention to herself by trying to talk to any nearby cells.

[Nick22]

Ok . SHIRLEY" Marita voice was tense ' first off we are NOT criminals.. that report is about as  full of facts as the market tabloids that say Martians are breeding secretly with humans in a lab in Kentucky. so no, I'm not giving you your phone back. we are NOT driving to your groupies house, and we ARE going back to the house.. since we're trying to lay low in order to keep you safe. we are after all getting paid a LOT of creds to keep you safe. besides you shouldnt believe everything you hear and read, and you should know that  from personal experience After all how many times have you read something in the papers claiming that you've had work done, or had implants? Quite a few as i recall.  as you've sued quite a few people for making up stuff about you.. or at least Bailey Has..' marita said ' She pulled up to the drivethrough " ok I'll have the 420-3 special. the  expletive deleted combo, with the Rosemary Woods toy, 2 100000 votes and 2 states short combos, and the pardon combo.. and thats all to go.

[bushwacked]

Axel was dragged from unconsciousness by the sound of his own harsh, hacking coughs. When they'd passed and he was able breath again, he slowly opened his eyes, his lids like slabs of iron. Harsh light blinded him. Wincing against the glare he forced himself into a sitting position on aching limbs, and waited for his vision to adjust.

Eventually, the rat was able to make out that he was in a tiny room... no, a cell. A solid looking metal door sealed the front, and an uncomfortably small toilet was bolted in the corner of the room. Axel looked down, and saw he was sitting on a hard, bare mattress on a frame fixed into the floor. With dawning horror, he also saw his clothes had been removed, revealing an ugly network of bruises and cuts across the bony frame of his naked body. Handcuffs secured his wrists together, the metal digging in painfully.

A small sound escaped Axel's throat as his situation sunk in. What the hell is this... who's... His breath began to hitch as the rat struggled for breath, teetering on the verge of hysteria. I need to get out... gotta get out now!

No! Keep it together! Axel struggled to think clearly and remain calm. If you lose it now, you'll die for sure! Closing his eyes, Axel tried to will his heartbeat to slow.

---------------------------------------------------

In Emilena's cell, a small speaker fitted into the ceiling crackled. After a moment, a bored sounding voice came through. "Miss Echo, good afternoon. Hope you had a good sleep?"

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

It doesn't matter if it's real or not...it'll get me away from you and that's all I care about... Flora glared angrily at the front seat. "I could tell him you raped me," she said in a low voice, "You're all dykes so I bet he'd believe that."

She balled her fists angrily. "Or I could tell him that on the very first day an SUV fired a round of bullets at us because you shouted my real name in public, and I wouldn't even be lying!"

   *   *   *

As the voice sounded, Emilena's heart leapt into her throat and she quickly closed the slit. The cell was so low-tech she'd never suspected it could be bugged. "Er...yeah. Great," she answered uneasily. She had never gotten the hang of not talking back to her captors. "You guys still have those jets that shoot healing gunk? I could use some of that."

She surreptitiously scanned the room again. The camera was too small to see; she debated whether there are any decent way to manipulate the voice into revealing its location.

   *   *   *

For fifteen minutes, nothing happened in Axel's cell. Then the sound of a door slam echoed, and Axel could hear light panicked footsteps racing down the hallway. A dark-skinned feminine finger held the door slit open.

"Tony!" Lily's shaky voice asked urgently. "Axel, Emilena! Is anyone in there?"

[Nick22]

Nice try' Rose said ' but I've known Bailey for awhile,  for years, in fact. He knows I'm reliable. If he hadn't thought I was reliable, he wouldn't have put you in our care. And as for you being shot at it, you wouldn't have gotten shot at if you had stayed in your room, and  listened to music or fiddled with your phone, or done ANYTHING other than trying to sneak off.. as for raping you, no we wont do that. We never bang girls who dont want to bang.. and in any case I've had my fair share of guys, as has Marie back there and Marita  here as well. So you could say we're bisexual, with a preference for girls. Bisexuality is a spectrum after all, in case you didnt know. Course, you're bisexual as well, judging from all the stories with your groupies, even if not all of them are true. so - SHIRLEY- we are getting something to eat, and heading back home.. You're stuck with us, until Bailey says the coast is clear- which given how the Purifiers operate- will be quite awhile in coming. They dont stop hunting their targets, you know, until they get killed or their target is killed..
 If anything, this forces you to trust us even more, as we've fought those guys before. and we've survived. which.. puts us high on their enemies list.' she paused as marita stopped at the drivethrough and  rose grabbed the food orders. Rose got the Nuggets and Marie the Frosty and the combos we spread around. Rose tossed the expletive deleted combo back to Shirley, and Marie reached forward and grabbed the pardon combo. Marita munched on a fry in  the 100k vote combo, and Rose had the 420-3 combo. Marita drove off and Rose rolled up the window. " now lets have dinner , girls..

[Serris]

Heart racing, Soren burst into the grimy alleyway that stank of rancid grease and food. Angry shouts from Dai Wong's kitchen staff echoed behind him as the two bounty hunters followed him. He felt his holstered pistol pressing against his side but he decided against using it as the odds of him winning a fight with two professional bounty hunters were not good.

That and if he shot at them, they might just decide to forsake the live capture bonus and just kill him.

He looked around and spotted a fire escape that zigzagged its way up onto a roof of a nearby building.

The Human scrambled onto of a greasy dumpster and just managed to grab the first rung of the ladder.

The rusty and ill-maintained catch on the ladders failed, knocking him onto the ground and allowing the ladder to fall free.

An electrified stun dart pinged off he concrete wall next to his head. Swearing profusely, he scrambled up the ladder and ran up the external staircase.

----------------

His lungs burning, Soren finally managed to get onto the roof. He ducked behind a large air conditioning unit. Seeing as they weren't going to let up, he decided that they were going to have to pay for their bounty.

The Human drew his pistol and clicked off the safety as he listened for footsteps.

[bushwacked]

Axel's breath hitched. He stared at the finger holding the metallic slit back, and when he heard Lily's voice he jolted as if he'd received an electric shock. "Li... Lily?" he said hesitantly. This doesn't make sense, why is she here, she... we stopped...

Confusion began to twist itself into a dark knot of anger, as memories of the way they'd left things began creeping back. But almost without him realising it, he found himself stumbling to the cell door, gritting his teeth at the pain shooting up his joints. A tiny voice nagged at him deep down, telling him something was wrong, but he pushed it down, locked it away.

Axel reached the door. "Yeah, I'm here! It's me! What are you-" He yanked at the door. It stuck fast. "Shit! I... I can't get this open..."

------------------------------------------------------

"No. No, those got taken away from us," the voice on the speaker said ruefully. "Oh, wow. Your hand actually is pretty messed up, you weren't kidding."

 A pause. "Anyway. At least you know who we are and where you are, so I don't need to go into that. Purifiers, we caught you, so on and so on. We'll let you know why you're here in... a little while, I guess. But first we've gotta clear a few things up. So..."

The voice cleared its throat. "Your friends - Soren Almaya, Anne Phoe and Marita Jones." A rustle of paper. "Something tells me they weren't exactly your friends, but that's that's written here. Anyway, we know they came here, to Seryet after what happened in Lanthae. We want to find them so we can all have a chat together. So we'd be really grateful if you could tell us where they are."

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

A sharp intake of breath. "...Axel?" Lily gasped, voice cracking. There was a sliding click as Lily swiped a keycard and stumbled into the cell. She looked just as Axel remembered her; an unhealthily thin young woman with taut dark skin and frightened sunken eyes. She was dressed in a bloodstained surgical gown and red welts from needle pricks dotted her thighs, arms, and fingertips.

"Oh god..." she breathed, rushing forward and throwing her arms around him. "What have they done to you?" Pressing her face into his collarbone, she cried uncontrollably, her knees shaking from the effort of remaining standing.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, her hot tears running down his shoulder, "I'm sorry for everything! For leaving you, and I'm sorry for what I said and for how its all turned out!" She sniffed. "I never thought they'd find you too..."

* * *

Emilena's heart sank into her stomach. She knew what came after failing to answer a question... "I don't know," she admitted. "I haven't kept in touch with any of them. They hated me, I wasn't exactly invited to any reunions."

She glanced trepidatiously at the door, half expecting a burly interrogator with a car battery to march through any second. "You've got to understand I have no motivation to protect them from you. I'd throw any of them under the bus just for the opportunity to watch you kill them."

* * *

Flora balled her fists. "I'm not hungry..." she muttered through gritted teeth. It was clear arguing with these women would get her nowhere.

With one last death glare at the one holding her cell phone hostage, she fell into a strained silence. Before they pulled out of the drive-thru she tested the car door to find it was child-locked.

[bushwacked]

Axel's body stiffened slightly as Lily pressed herself against him, the welt and cuts dotting his torso protesting at the sudden pressure. He raised his arms, intending to hold her away - but found himself hugging her back instead, the gesture instinctual and familiar... yet now, somehow distant.

"I wasn't exactly hard to find," he muttered grimly. He looked down at her, blinking. "Jesus, what did they do to you? You look..." Axel trailed off, shaking his head. ... just like the last time you were taken.

Stepping back, he took one of her hands and squeezed it lightly. "I don't know what the hell's going on, but we can figure that out later, alright? We need to get out of here now, before... before someone knows you're gone." Gritting his teeth against the pain, Axel started limping towards the open cell door. "Come on!"

---------------------------------------------

"Wow. You really are hard case. Life and soul of the party, huh?" More rustling from the speaker. "Well, apparently the guys upstairs really want to make sure you aren't forgetting anything or overlooking something. Happens to the best of us. I'll be back in... a little bit. Should give me time to try and finish this goddamn crossword."

There was a click overhead as the voice cut off. For several long moments, there was nothing. Suddenly, a continuous noise came tearing from the speaker. At 45,000 Hz, it was impossible for humans to hear - but for a canine, it was like pushing shards of glass into the ears.

[Serris]

(Seryet City)

Soren kneeled and fired off a shot as the first bounty hunter climbed up the ladder. The impact of the bullet caused him to stagger back.

Soon, bullets ripped through the air conditioning unit. Soren swore profusely as one of the bullets grazed his arm, opening a long gash.

He waited for a lull in the shooting before he scrambled behind a ventilation shaft. But before he could fire any shots, the distinct hum of a flying frame could be heard behind him.

He turned around and saw three frame-flyers just hovering in midair above the streets. One of the flyers pointed a finger at him.

"Soren Almaya," the frame-flyer said. "We need you to come with us."

Soren scowled and raised his pistol. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't perforate your flying frame and leave you to splatter on the streets below!"

The flyer never got a chance to say anything before bullets tore through the air, kicking up plumes of concrete dust. Soren tried to make a run for it but a carbon fiber net launched out of seemingly nowhere entangled him and left him lying on the ground, unable to do more than breathe.

"Keep Soren away from those two!" the flyer said. It was now clear that this one was apparently the leader. He drew a submachine gun from a chest rig on his flying frame and let loose a volley of bullets at the bounty hunters.

"Well, Soren, you just got yourself in some deep shit this time," Soren thought as bullets whizzed overhead and gun battle raged.    

-----------------

(???)

Anne groaned as she slowly pushed herself to her feet. She rubbed her eyes and found herself in a sparsely decorated prison cell. Nothing more than a stainless steel toilet/sink combination, a grimy mattress and concrete floors and walls.

The mare reached up to her forehead and gasped. Her captors had unscrewed her horn, leaving just the port that was flush with her skull.

Her ears splayed in disappointment as she snorted in displeasure.

She checked her horseshoes and sighed. Her standard nailed-on steel horseshoes had been replaced with plastic horseshoes that were glued onto her hoof.

Anne spat in the sink and splashed some water on her face. The last thing she remembered was buying a joint from a dealer in Egeson Street and lighting up.

She pinned her ears and slammed a fist into the concrete wall as she realized that she had been drugged.

The Shetland Pony looked through the barred door. The hallway was completely deserted -- not even guards were seen.

"Hello, is anyone there?" she called out, her voice harsh and thin thanks to the lingering effects of the drug she was dosed with.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Emilena pricked her ears in surprise when the voice conceded the point and backed off. Sure, he promised more torture, but that was pretty standard when dealing with hate crime prisoners. Something was telling her that she was valuable to them for some reason. She debated attempting to  reestablish a dialogue; at worst she could possibly glean more about her role in their plans, at best she could try to get  a Lima Syndrome thing going--

Abruptly a high-pitched wail sounded, a trill eardrum-shattering siren. Emilena screamed and curled into a ball, covering her ears desperately with her elbows since the handcuffs were preventing her hands from reaching sufficient range of motion.

"Why can't you assholes ever ask me something I goddamn KNOW!" she screamed, burying her head futilely into the cot and convulsing in uncontrollable spasms.

* * *

Tears ran down Lily's face as Axel spoke to her. "Not yet!" she interjected as he headed for the door. "The changing of the guard is in ten minutes! We can only slip out then!"

She traced the bruises on his chest. "I wish I could heal you..." she sniffed. "They took my powers when they captured me...I've been worried they don't have any use for me now that their tests are done..."

Once again she threw her arms around Axel. "Where can we go?" she bemoaned. "Can we live with Soren? Is he safe? Is anyone from before safe?"

[Nick22]

come on Shirley. you need to relax' Marie said " look, we're supposed to look out for you, and will be your friends if you let us. say want some of my fries?' she said, offering flora a handful ' come on.. I know its not the buffet they lay out on tour.. but well you're off touring for awhile.. and we're going to treat you the best we can, but you will have to trust us."
-
 marita drove down the street back towards  the apartment when  her phone buzzed with a text " Heard Flora was seen running through town. Yes shes a rebelling brat, especially when she doesnt get nookie, but I'm paying the 3 of you a kings ransom to look after her. put bars on doors and windows, lock your apartment door, whatever the hell you want, but keep that girl safe and under watch at all times. Dont let me catch wind of her running off again. Capiche? - Bailey"

[bushwacked]

"I... I don't know if the others are safe," Axel shook his head. He shot another look at the cell door, but Lily's arms around him prevented him from getting any closer. "Soren was fine the last time I spoke to him but I don't know if we can trust the people he lives with at the Farms, and I have no idea how Marita and the others are doing..."

Axel trailed off, staring down at Lily. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off... something about her. His crooked ear twitched as he struggled to come up with a plan. "Look, we need to get out of here first, we can worry about that later. How... do you know how many guards there are? Where they're posted? Anything about the layout of the place?" He paused and looked down at the keycard. "How did you get that?"

-----------------------------------------------

The noise from the speaker in Emilena's cell abruptly stopped, and a second later was replaced by the same voice as before. "I'm still stuck on this crossword!" it complained. "Hey, maybe you could help... The clue is 'Making it worse', and its 12 letters. Any idea?"

A pause. "Oh, exasperating! Staring me right in the face. Anyway, let me just put this away... So, remembered anything yet? You weren't looking too comfortable."

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

"Get your goddamn fries out of my face," Flora snarled. "You can't stop me from calling the cops. Every phone has 911 and I have more than enough evidence against you freaks to bypass Bailey and solve this problem myself. Whatcha gonna do? Bind and gag me in your basement?"

_____________________________

A quiet noise sounded from outside the room. The color drained from Lily's face and she clung to him desperately. "Let's talk more about Soren," she said urgently. "Do you know where exactly--?"

"Too late," a gruff voice said, and the door slid open, revealing two muscled Purifiers. One was holding a car battery, the other a knife.

Lily's eyes went wide. "No wait, please, just a bit longer--!" She cried out as one roughly grabbed her and dragged her to block the entrance.

"You had your chance," the larger one said dismissively. Rubbing the cables together until they sparked, he stabbed Lily in the chest, sending her into a crying convulsion. "Boss thinks he needs more motivation."

The other pinned Lily to the floor and pressed his knife against her throat. "Soren Almaya's location," he said to Axel matter-of-factly. "Exact address. Every fact lets your girl live a bit longer."

Lily screamed as another electric charge sent her jolting erratically. Her eyes locked helplessly with Axel's.

____________________________

"Yeah! I know exactly where they all are!" Emilena shouted back, blinking tears from her eyes. "They live together in a moss farm two hours out from Seryet! Make sure to bring a lot of ammo, their hosts are a couple of Augmented ex-mercenaries and I'd hate for them to get out alive! Get me some paper and I'll draw you a goddamn map!"

[Nick22]

the cops in this town are as corrupt as  those in Lanthae, If not worse. Calling the cops without having lots of creds to grease their palms with will  result in broken bones, concussions, and worse" Marita said matter of factly.' Why do you think so many robberies and muggings go unreported? because the cops are as bad, if not worse than the crooks. Protect and serve, my furry butt. Bailey just sent me a text making it VERY clear that we are not to have a repeat of you running off, because he put us in charge, and since you aren't 18 yet, we are legally responsible for you.  that means, keeping an eye on you and keeping you safe. running off like you did, was NOT a smart move, but you're a teenager, teenagers arent known for being wise and reasonable. they are  blend of elbows legs, acne and hormones going nuts. look, you'll find after a few days we let  a lot of stuff go, Catholic nuns, we aint."
-
 Dj, you need to calm down and stop being so difficult' Rose said. Look we're almost home, once we get home, we'll watch tv, and I'll cook some of the things you like. Do. you like steak?

[Serris]

Soren swore as he was thrown roughly against the floor of the truck. Each jolt slammed him painfully against the hard metal. Judging from the strong oily smell, the truck apparently used to belong to an algal oil company. And the harsh bumps indicated that the drivers were heading out of Seryet City.

He recalled what had happened previously...

------------

While two of the frame-flyers were busy keeping the bounty hunters occupied, the remaining frame-flyer grabbed Soren and flew off into the smoggy Seryet sky.

An explosion and screaming behind him indicated that grenades had been thrown and the bounty hunters gravely wounded if not killed.

Soon, they arrived at the outskirts of Seryet. A beat-up truck -- its high-torque electric motors humming -- was idling near an abandoned laboratory. Faded signs indicated that the now defunct biotech company Drosha Genetics once owned this property.

Soren was then roughly thrown into the back of the truck.



------------

Soren slammed against the front of the truck's cab wen it lurched to a halt. He blinked as harsh white LED light bathed the dark interior of the truck. Two burly men -- one a Bison and the other, a Gaboon Viper -- grabbed him and dragged him along the smooth concrete floor. He gasped as he recognized the cracked gear emblem on the wall.

He was inside a Purifier base.

The Human had little time to ponder this when he was thrown into a cell, the net removed and the door locked behind him.

--------------------------

Before the Purifier sent another electrical charge through Lily, one of his associates tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, but we have just captured Soren Almaya. He is currently in cell 041."

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

The other guard looked at the one that spoke up. "Really, man? In front of the prisoner? I know, I've got a mic too. We're doing psychological torture here, remember?"

[bushwacked]

Axel gaped at Lily as the two guards conversed. "Psychological... what?! Lily... what the fuck's going on?!" His face crumpling, he backed away, his chained hands held up in a pathetic effort at defense.

----------------------------------------------

"All of them? They're all living at the same place? With armed guards? Interesting..." There was a rustle of paper over the speaker in Emilena's cell. "Thanks for cooperating, we really appreciate it. Would you mind holding on for a minute?"

The speaker went silent for a moment. After a while, footsteps echoed in the corridor, and the slot in Emilena's cell door screeched open. A tiny chunk of red crayon was pushed through the gap, and the slot was slammed shut again.

"Apparently we aren't allowed to give you paper. In case you manage to fold it up into something sharp," the voice commented. "Draw the map on the wall though, we can see it through the camera. And make it as detailed as you can. We'd be really grateful if we knew the easiest way to find the rest of them. Be as quick as you can, okay? I'll be back in... well, soon." The voice cut off, and the same noise started blaring through the speaker, this time slightly louder than before.