They Called Her the Devil

Chapter 42, Audrey

It had to be a prank.

It just had to be. Or maybe it was some sort of test to see if I was ready to join the Legion. Maybe it was just a dream I hadn't woken up from yet.

Or maybe I was strapped to a table waiting to die.

I was strapped to a chair that was probably designed to be used by a dentist. Except the tools lined up on trays beside me were far more terrifying than anything a dentist could come up with.

There were metal instruments on most of the trays; I only recognized some of them. There were also various vials of liquids as well as what looked like a blowtorch.

It had to be some sort of sick joke.

Then the door opened and Dawn walked in.

"Finally you're awake. I was starting to think I'd put too many sleeping pills in your drink." Dawn smiled. "Who am I kidding, I never get the number wrong."

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

She can't possibly think I'm still working for the Gold Order.

"Just a bit of information sweetheart. I have a feeling you've been hiding something from us."

"I swear I'm not. I already told Sam everything. Mr. Gold never told me anything important."

"Funny how you still call him Mr. Gold, like he's still your boss. Even if Mr. Golddidn't tell you anything I'm sure you still know where your base is."

"I don't know exactly where the base is, lower-level members were blindfolded going in. All I know is that it's near Maryland."

I was telling the truth, Gold had never told us. He'd always said something about protecting us by not letting us know. Hell of a lot of good that was doing me.

"Let's see if you still don't know in a few minutes. Feel free to scream, nobody can hear us all the way down here."

Dawn delicately hovered over her tools, like she was choosing which pair of earrings to wear to dinner. She finally settled on a small knife, which she dipped into a bottle of clear liquid.

I pulled against the straps. They were cloth. I could break cloth. I didn't have another option.

It had to be a prank. It just had to. One of the straps had to be loose. It just had to be. This couldn't be happening. I was having a nightmare. I had to be having a nightmare.

Then Dawn dragged the knife across my leg and I screamed.

Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. It burns.

I wanted to die. I wanted to cut off my leg and die. Anything, as long as the pain stopped. Everything went black.

I opened my eyes and the pain had faded to a sharp burning. The Devil herself was untying the straps around my legs.

"Dawn I specifically told you we weren't torturing her. When I give you an order I expect you to follow it." She said to Dawn.

Dawn was standing in the corner, she'd put the knife down and had the slightest bit of anger across her innocent-looking features. And Kate was full-on glaring at her.

"I thought she was hiding something," Dawn replied coolly.

"Well is she? You've never been wrong about someone lying before."

"No. She's surprisingly uninformed for Richard Gold's secretary. That doesn't mean she's loyal to us though."

"So you decided to disobey my orders? You're suspended for the next two weeks, and don't even think of trying to get revenge like last time if you want to keep your job."

Kate finished undoing the straps and I followed her as she walked out of the cell where I almost died. I was surprised she'd bothered to save me.

"Are you ok?" Kate asked me.

"I'll be fine. I don't want to cut my leg of nearly as much as a few minutes ago."

We got into the elevator and Kate pushed a button for the Ghost floor.

"Gympie Gympie toxin, harvested from a plant in what used to be Australia. It's one of Dawn's favorites since it hurts like hell but won't actually kill someone. Even with the MC-57, it won't stop hurting for another few hours."

"That's two vials of MC-57 I owe you now. What's your policy for paying that back anyway?"

"Why would you possibly have to pay us back?"

"Gold always made us pay him back for medical supplies. Said it was our fault for getting injured."

"Dick also left you to die in a closet. We don't charge you to survive here."

It was weird to hear someone call Mr. Gold 'Dick". He was a giant dick though. Kate and I got out of the elevator. She led me over to the training area.

"I feel like the more I learn about the Legion the less evil you guys seem."

"Well, who says we're evil?"

I thought about that for a minute. The Legion controlled the entire government, they killed hundreds every year, and they were known for their cruel efficiency. But when had they actively done something evil?

They didn't drug their allies and leave them to die or plot to kill millions of innocent people with a super virus. They could have been so much worse.

"So is the Legion secretly good or something?"

"I have a few secrets but being good isn't one of them. We just aren't as bad as people seem to think we are."

Kate walked over to the training supply closet. She rolled out a chair that looked exactly like the one Dawn had tied me to. Then she pulled out straps and attached them to one side of the table. I didn't bother to question why she had it.

"I'm going to show you how to get out of these straps. Can you get into the chair?"

"Do you think Dawn's going to kidnap me again?"

Would she?

"Possibly," Kate said. "But that's not why I'm teaching you. The only way to stay alive in this world is to be prepared for everything it can throw at you. And the only way to be prepared is to train."

I got into the chair and Kate fastened the straps.

I wanted to be prepared.

***

Hey guys! What's your opinion on Dawn so far? Is the Legion as bad as it seems? How will Audrey's training progress? Please vote and comment, I want to know what you think!

-Jade