captive (sawyer)

[arielle]

Arielle blinked, wincing from the sudden light. She'd become a literal creature of the night, hidden from the light for... how long had it been? She looked towards the markings on the wall. 5 months. Her stomach fell to her feet as a tray was passed towards her. Bread and water. Everything about the prisoner thing was extremely stereotypical, and it had created a very dark and dry person. Arielle picked at her bread, despite the instinct to grab the thing and devour the entire thing in one gulp. Her stomach must have shrunk, for the dreams of real food had ceased for the past month.

Every day, it was the same thing. Breakfast, bathroom in the bucket in the corner, then a torture session. If Arielle had counted the days correctly, today would consist of cutting. It was sickeningly systematic. Still, Arielle hadn't broken. She hadn't said a word about the Order, about what she knew. What little things they were able to extract were from her mind, and they really were just very trivial things. Nothing too harmful. There wasn't anything she could do about anything anymore. She was trapped, for good.

Arielle finished the bread and worked on the water, sipping it slowly before tipping it up and pouring it in her hair and on her skin. She hissed as she smeared filth in her more fresh wounds, then she reached up and scrubbed her hair. It was greasy and disgusting, a jet black. Everything about her was disgusting. Skin scarred, white and pink lines everywhere on her body. Her skin was a pale white from the lack of sunlight, her hair hanging limply around her shoulders, her cheeks sunken, her eyes dead. She was not much more than a fragile skeleton with skin.

It was the emotional toll that was the worst. The beatings, the whippings, the torture... everything horrible that a woman, or any human being for that matter, could ever endure. She had nightmares every night, replaying the past events. What was worst, sometimes Sawyer was a part of the torture. Sometimes he would watch, sometimes she would watch. Either way, the fear and the tears in both pairs of eyes was enough to cause Arielle to wake up screaming at night. Nothing was the same. Nothing ever would be.

Arielle's Clothing

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[sawyer]

Phase One.

In spite of months of searching, and once they had gotten this final suspected location, over a week of careful planning, Sawyer still felt his chest was seized up, everything about him felt tense and nervous. But he had to do this, had to get Arielle back. It had been five very long months, but Sawyer had refused to let himself believe that his best friend, the girl that he had loved for so long, was dead. She was strong, she was a fighter, and now she needed him to be the same. Most of the time he dread confrontation, he knew he wasn't much good at dueling, but for Arielle, he would risk it all.

Sawyer pulled the mask over his face as he approached the manor, the house of the Malfoys, a seedy family still protected by the reputation that had been built several generations ago. Honestly, it was a wonder nobody had some up with it sooner, but it just seemed so obvious... Sawyer slipped seamlessly into the group of Death Eaters filtering in, three other Order members were also in this infiltration. This was supposed to be a quiet mission, retrieving the few members kept there without making a scene. Whether or not that would work, was another story.

Sawyer and the other Order members peeled off from the main group, following the two genuine Death Eaters to the dungeons. So far, so good. Though at this point, nobody needed to do anything that might attract attention, simply walk in formation with the other two Death Eaters. Sawyer nodded to his comrades, and in an instant they had knocked the real followers of Jezebel unconscious. They quietly stowed them away, before returning to the main cellar corridor, which looked eerily like a dungeon, complete with cells and grisly torture implements on the walls.

Phase Two.

They had gotten in, now they needed to find their men. Here was where it would get tricky and possibly dangerous, depending on how many Death Eaters were kept on patrol. Sawyer walked down the corridor alone now, as the other two had peeled off other corridors to look for captive Order members. Were he not wearing a hooded mask, Sawyer would probably be pulling his hands through his hair, but he needed to keep his composure, act casual. He scanned the cells, looking for a certain face in particular, and that was when he saw her, his Arielle...

Sawyer's stomach churned sickly when he saw her, she was so thin, in such rough shape, but her eyes... They were empty, the light had gone out from them, it was eerie, and it made his heart break for her. They should have worked harder, should have gotten here sooner... Waving his wand, he opened the door to her cell, stepping in. Sawyer peered around to make sure they were alone before raising his mask. "Let's get you out of here," Sawyer said, practically whispered, as he hurriedly pulled the mask back down.

[arielle]

Arielle watched as Death Eaters filed past her cell, and she retreated to the farthest corner, a trapped animal. Any minute now, one would walk in and the torture would begin. She lowered herself onto the floor, wincing in pain as various muscles and joints cracked and popped. She tried hard not to move around too much, since everything sent crippling pain through her body. Still, when she had to move, she had to move. There was no getting around the pain anymore. It had become a part of her, something she couldn't avoid. It would keep coming back, no matter what happened.

Something seemed off about the way these Death Eaters moved. Arielle had always been fond of people watching, and being locked up had only increased the past-time. She watched men and women walk with confidence, practically strutting with pride at their evil accomplishments. They were slow walks, strolls even. They would only speed up when entering a cell, the promise of torture driving them forward. That's when the screaming would start. However, these Death Eaters were walking fast, determined to get to wherever it was that they were headed. Over all, it was incredibly bizarre.

One Death Eater wandered around the corner, causing Arielle to start. He was alone. Death Eaters were never alone. They tortured in packs, like wild dogs. His stride was slow, calculating, yet determined all the same. He was extremely tall, and it caught her off-guard. There were tall men and women in Jezebel's ranks, but something about this man seemed different. His head turned towards her cell, and her heart nearly stopped. A Death Eater alone couldn't ever be a good thing. She pressed herself against the wall, watching as he entered her cell quickly. He strode up to her and she shrank. The man reached up to pull off his mask, and Arielle looked away, closing her eyes. Surely this was it, surely he was about to kill her and wanted his face to be the last that she would ever see...

"Let's get you out of here."

Arielle's eyes flew open. She knew that voice. She looked up, catching a glimpse of Sawyer's face before he slipped the mask over his features. Her heart leaped. "Sawyer..." she breathed, reaching up towards him. She pulled away slightly, hesitating, but he pulled her gently to her feet. She leaned against him, tears stinging at her eyes. She bit back the sensation to cry, not wanting to give herself away. "Don't be afraid to be a little rough," she muttered dryly as he directed her out of her cell. She immediately felt self-conscious. She was in a large over-sized t-shirt that only just covered her undergarments. Still, Arielle knew it wasn't the time to be concerned. It was time to go, time to be safe. Finally, there was a glimmer of hope.

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[sawyer]

Sawyer almost wanted to break down when he saw what those horrible people had reduced his Arielle to, hardly a shell of her former self. Her hair had gone limp, her skin sickly pale. She had lost so much weight, she looked skeletal, skin pulled taught over her bones. But her eyes... Those were what hit Sawyer the hardest. So dead looking, their usual sparkle extinguished. There was no trace of a smile in those brown eyes that had used to be so warm... Sawyer didn't miss how she cringed away from him, likely expecting all that she had ever been shown in this hell on earth.

Though when he revealed his identity, he saw the closest thing to life return to her eyes, hope. But she was far from safe yet, with any luck he'd be able to smuggle her unquestioned to their destined rendezvous point, where they were to take a portkey to one of their safe-houses, and from there be able to get to Hogwarts by Floo. This needed to be dealt with carefully, like defusing a dangerous bomb that was due to detonate at any minute. One false move and everything could be lost, and they would all be doomed.

Sawyer cautiously pulled Arielle to her feet, she looked so fragile, he didn't want to hurt her. Of course, that in and of itself would be a cause of suspicion. That was something Sawyer hadn't been able to prepare for mentally, he didn't know if he had the stomach for it. He didn't know how anyone did. Sawyer fought the urge embrace her, hold her delicate form in his arms and carry her away from this mess, but that would be stupid. They were alone for the time being, but they couldn't afford to be spotted doing something out of character.

In fact, as he directed her toward the opened cell door, she muttered to him to not be afraid to be rough with her. His throat constricted, that was the last thing that he wanted to do, she had seen so much pain already, he could hardly bring himself to inflict more upon her. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair. But it needed to be done, they had to keep their cover and get the hell out of there. "I'm sorry," Sawyer said, very softly so she would be the only one to hear him, and then bit his lip behind his mask.

He then wrapped his hand into her hair, tugging on it as gently as he could while still making it look like he was doing something. It still probably didn't feel very pleasant, but it seemed like the cruel, demeaning thing that a Death Eater would do. Sawyer lead the way down the corridor, attempting to insert an arrogant swagger into his gait as if he were pleased with himself, but behind his mask he was sweating bullets, he had never been so anxious before.

[arielle]

Arielle watched as Sawyer tensed up at her words. She knew how hard it would be for him to do as she said. He knew what he had to do. He had gone into this mission well-aware of how he needed to act. That didn't mean that he could stomach it. She waited patiently for him to respond, half-expecting him to choke. She cared for Sawyer deeply, but he was a softie. The only reason she was a hardened individual was due to all she'd been through in the past 5 months.

The prospect of it being over for her, the chance that she was finally going to be safe... that made everything worthwhile. Arielle wanted so desperately to be safe, needed life to return to something it had been in the past. She knew that was impossible, that her life would cease to ever be the same. Even then, she couldn't help but hope. She knew that she looked like she'd given up. But she hadn't. If she had, she would be dead. Arielle had known that Sawyer would come for her, to save her. He was, and always would be, her white knight.

"I'm sorry."

Arielle snapped back to attention, looking at him. Without warning, Sawyer had wrapped his hand in her hair, nearly dragging her along. She whimpered slightly, her brain overridding the truth. It didn't matter that she knew that the man holding her was Sawyer, what matter was that the man holding her was wearing Death Eater robes. None of the Order members working to help everyone escape needed to worry. Arielle didn't need to act far to look absolutely petrified.

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[sawyer]

Sawyer hated this, dragging his closest friend, the only girl he had ever loved, by her hair through this monstrosity of a dungeon. He didn't have the capacity to hurt anyone, even if his life depended on it. During the attack on the school he hadn't fought to kill, merely to deflect anything that came his or Arielle's way. Sawyer wasn't a fighter, far from it, he crumbled under the pressure. It was a wonder the young man was managing to keep his head now, sure, he felt as if his knees were trembling, and he couldn't help that he was sweating...

He could only hope that they would go undetected long enough to get the hell out of here with the prisoners they had needed to retrieve. Thus far, nobody had noticed anything, that was, until a Death Eater that was not a fellow Order member in disguise came around the corner. He was unmasked, dangling it carelessly from a forefinger. He liked his lips at the sight of Arielle, and Sawyer tried not to visibly tense. "Off to have a bit of fun with that one, then, mate?" said he, giving forth a sick, oily laugh.

Play along, he told himself mentally, swallowing before nodding. The Death Eater only laughed again. "Mind if I join in?" he asked, stepping forward, leaning forward to run his nose down Arielle's cheek and her neck, chuckling darkly as he pulled back. "I'd rather deal with this one alone," said Sawyer, adopting a deep, dangerous tone, to which the man only laughed again. "Suit yourself," said he, "but watch out, she's a fighter." Sawyer only nodded again before proceeding to continue dragging Arielle down the corridor, he felt almost sick to his stomach, that had been close...

[arielle]

Arielle allowed Sawyer to drag her down the hallway, but her mind was far from easy. Despite the fact that she was fully-aware that the man holding her was far from a threat, her mind was telling her to be afraid. Her eyes were wide, and she stumbled along, not making a sound. She fell into silence whenever she was grabbed, and the conscious part of her was telling her not to show weakness in front of Sawyer. She was not weak, she was not a whimpering child. She was a grown woman, one who didn't crack under pressure. Arielle would continue to lie to herself for and long as possible.

It really was a lie. She was just as bad as anyone, screaming and crying and pleading for mercy under every circumstance. This would be no different. At somepoint, she would crack, showing the world - and Sawyer - just how weak she truly was. She hated showing weakness, especially now, when she was supposed to be so incredibly strong. Nobody expected her to be, but she had made a vow to herself to never give in, to keep everything that she knew a secret for as long as possible. She'd done just that.

A Death Eater rounded the corner up ahead. Arielle tensed up, recognizing the man. He was a nasty brute, one she'd tangled with on many an occasion. He loved physical torture and had gotten his way with her on more than one occasion. As determined as Arielle was not to show weakness, she couldn't help but whimper at the sight of this man. She tensed up as the pair was stopped by him, cringing at his words. It was then the conscious part of her brain kicked it. What would Sawyer have to say to all of this. He cracked under pressure, he was too kind... when the man leaned forward, running his nose along her skin, Arielle cringed. "Please..." she whimpered, turning away as best she could.

"I'd rather deal with this one alone."

Arielle looked up, eyes wide. Sawyer had managed such a dangerous tone. The rational part of her brain knew that he was acting, knew that he'd mustered that tone because he didn't like the way the other man was referring to her. The irrational part of her brain mistook him for just another Death Eater about to take advantage of her. She moaned softly in agony, struggling slightly. The man mentioned something about her being a fighter, and Arielle spit in his general direction. The Death Eater narrowed his eyes, but didn't advance, knowing better than to touch what wasn't his.

"Give it to her good for me, will ya? The bitch deserves it," the man growled, walking past them. Arielle bit her lip, still slightly struggling against Sawyer's grip. She knew that she shouldn't be so afraid, she knew that Sawyer was only protecting her... still, her mind wasn't functioning properly.

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[sawyer]

For once, Sawyer was glad that he had needed to don the vile mask, it outwardly remained perfectly stoic, even concealing his eyes, which undoubtedly would give off his fear. No, it probably wasn't in his best interest to go along with this mission, but Sawyer had needed to get his Arielle back, he couldn't sit and wait for someone else to rescue her. This had been something that he had to do himself. Somehow, Sawyer had convinced himself that only he could save Arielle, that nobody else would be able to do it but him. Though aside from the nervousness, he felt a flicker of anger.

How dare that scum even look at her, the vile excuse for a human being. And what with the way she had so visibly tensed, whimpered at his presence... He had hurt her, and while not at all a violent soul, Sawyer wanted to curse him with the nastiest thing he could muster. So that way he might suffer even a fraction of what Arielle had... Sawyer shook himself mentally, he needed to keep it together long enough for Arielle, himself, and the other Order members to get out of here alive. Blowing their cover wouldn't do them any favours.

Though thankfully the Death Eater seemed to stick to whatever sick codes they had, telling Sawyer only to "give it to her good" and strode off with a nasty glare. He held in a sigh of relief, though he was finding that Arielle was fighting him. Hand still in her hair, he pulled her along, having to be a bit more forceful than he had liked. Either she was acting for the sake of keeping their cover, or she was starting to crack. Either way, they needed to get out of there quickly, get Arielle someplace safe.

For the sake of their act in case anyone was listening, Sawyer emitted a growl of frustration as he pulled Arielle down one of the veins off the main corridor, they had planned this, just a bit further until they reached the point where they were supposed to escape by portkey. A fellow disguised Order member approached from the opposite direction, half-carrying, and half-dragging a battered member of their ranks. The victim's leg was badly damaged, the odd angle at which it bent from the knee almost made Sawyer sick. It lead him to believe that he really didn't have the heart for this, that he was weak. But he would be strong, if not for his own sake, then for Arielle's.

"Where's Perkins?" Sawyer hissed to the other members. His comrade, concealed behind a mask, could only shrug. The last members of their party needed to show up soon, lest they be spotted in a most suspicious formation... Sawyer attempted to swallow his nervousness, though it didn't do him much good.

[arielle]

Arielle whimpered and moaned, the hand in her hair tightening ever so slightly. She knew that she was being ridiculous, that it was only Sawyer, that she should stop making things so difficult for him. However, her brain was misfiring, and all she could see was another Death Eater dragging her off to a place where she'd be tortured once again. Tears began to flood down her cheeks, and inside her brain was screaming at her, telling her two very different things. On the one hand, she knew that she needed to calm down, that this wasn't the way to go about things. She knew she was being silly.

However, the other half of her brain was panicking. A Death Eater had her by the hair. It was awful, not knowing which side to go with. It was a battle of the rational versus the irrational. Arielle continued to fight the frightened, doe-eyed girl inside of her, knowing that listening to it could only mean disaster. Sawyer gave forth a grunt of frustration, and immediately Arielle felt bad. He was only trying to help her. It wasn't his fault that he had to wear a disguise in order to be safe.

They met another Death Eater - or, Order Member in disguise, rather - and Arielle cringed impulsively, cowering against Sawyer. It was the mask. It frightened her beyond belief. Another tortured soul was leaning against this new member, and Arielle felt her heart give a fierce tug. He was in a lot worse shape than she was, yet he was being much more behaved. It made her sick. She'd really become a weak woman, something she hated. Arielle was never the most social, but she still was kind and generous and loving. To see such horrific things... it scarred her beyond belief.

"Where's Perkins?"

Arielle relaxed a little at the sound of Sawyer's voice, though she still reached up to weakly tug at his wrist, wanting free. The other man simply shrugged. Arielle could taste freedom. Why wasn't it happening, yet? She was becoming impatient, as well as frightened. There was only so much time before someone figured out what was going on. Suddenly, a man rushed down the hallway, another, less weakened victim of Jezebel's men in tow. Arielle watched him carefully, heart dropping. He looked terrified of something.

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[sawyer]

Sawyer felt guilt deep in the pit of his stomach, he knew that he was hurting Arielle, and he hated it, he cared for her so deeply, to give her even the slightest amount of physical pain after all she had been through was like torture. He had known that things would be bad down here, the stuff of nightmares, but he hadn't imagined that it would make Arielle on the verge of insanity, make her fight his dragging her down the corridor when she knew that it was him beneath the mask. She still fought him, even as they reached the point where everyone was supposed to meet.

Though when he spoke it seemed to have some sort of effect on her, but she continued to pull on his wrist to get him to release her. Although they were at their designated spot, Sawyer didn't think it was such a good idea, Arielle wasn't in her right mind, he didn't want her to run off and try to escape on her own. She would be killed for sure, and would likely take the rest of the group down with her own escape efforts. "I'm sorry, not much longer," Sawyer said quietly, hoping it would calm Arielle.

Thankfully, the last of their party returned, the final hostage sprinting behind him, they looked terrified and Sawyer immediately felt his heart skip a beat. Whatever had happened in the third section of their mission had gone wrong, he could feel it, and it was hard for him to not start panicking. They were dead men walking. Perkins and the last hostage, a middle-aged man in surprisingly good shape for a prisoner of the Death Eaters came to a skittering halt into their odd little circle, the both of them breathing heavily. "They know," Perkins said. Sawyer's throat tightened.

They needed only a few seconds, hopefully Perkins and the final prisoner had managed to buy them enough time to get away... The disguised Order member supporting the man with the badly broken leg pulled the portkey from his pocket, a metal paperweight, and the group staggered closer to each position a finger on its smooth surface. "On three," said the man, "one... Two..."

((OOC: Wasn't sure whether or not you wanted to do any actual conflict, so I'll let you decide in your next post ^_^))

[arielle]

Arielle felt her heart seize up, watching this man run down the hallway. He had his mask in his hand, and he looked absolutely petrified. The man behind him didn't look much better. Arielle's eyes darted around quickly, wanting to scream, to cry, to run. This was chaos. Still, she reminded herself to keep calm. Doing so was a tall task. She was extremely frightened of chaos, of disorder. Someone would get hurt, someone would die. That was the only thing to it. Still, she attempted to remain calm. Everyone's lives depended on the group not panicking too much.

The other man galloped up, skidded to a halt. Her heart dropped as he spoke. They had figured it out. That made Arielle want to run even more. She was as skittish as a baby deer, and just about as weak. Still, she attempted to hold still, to some extent, for Sawyer's sake. The other man pulled out what she assumed was a portkey, a heavy-looking paperweight. She listened to his instructions, and took a deep breath. They needed to time this right, less they leave someone by accident. That wouldn't go well for whoever got left behind. They'd be killed, or worse.

There was a bang down the hallway, and everyone flinched. Death Eater's were streaming towards them, wands out. Arielle turned, trying not to scream. She heard the word "three" leave the man's lips, and she hurried to reach out. Immediately, everyone was sucked forward. She wasn't sure what was going on, and the sensation caused her to feel extreme discomfort. She hadn't moved, hadn't experienced this kind of magic, in nearly half a year. Her heart was racing as the group landed on the ground.

Immediately, she could smell food in the air. It made her want to retch. She fell to her knees on the grass, eyes closed as she held the sensation in. There wasn't nearly enough food in her stomach to retch, and she knew that if she were to throw up stomach acid, she'd feel terrible pain. The other men ripped off their masks, hurrying to what she assumed to be the safe house. Breathing deeply, Arielle felt the grass beneath her hands. Grass. Sunlight was peeking through the trees, she could feel it begin to hit her back. Arielle opened her eyes, trying to hold back tears. She sat up, looking around incredulously. They were safe. Nothing bad had happened. Arielle could finally go home.

((OOC: You can come up with some complication if you'd like, some spell hitting someone or something. I figured that they all deserved a small amount of success in getting out of there ^.^))

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[sawyer]

Sawyer felt his heart leap into his throat as the Death Eaters started closing in, a loud bang as one of the curses they shot at their group missed and ricocheted off of one of the cell doors. "Three!" The word and the pain came at the same time, something had hit him dead in the back, right between his shoulder blades. There wasn't any time for him to react as the group lurched forward, leaving the dungeons on the way to the safe house. Sawyer heard one of the Death Eaters scream in frustration before everything became a nauseating blur of colour...

It felt like forever, but Sawyer's feet finally slammed into the ground, the force of the impact sending him to the ground, he thrust out his hands to break the fall, and was finally hit with the pain. Five deep, diagonal gashes had appeared across his back, he could feel the blood pouring from the wounds, hot a wet going down his back, oozing down his sides. Sawyer breathed heavily, yanking off his mask and throwing it to the side before putting his hand back down on the grass, the stinging pain made it hard to move, or even to think straight.

"Christ!" Perkins exclaimed in surprise as the other three members ran for the house. With a surprising amount of strength he ducked under Sawyer's arm and helped him to his feet. He found that his feet didn't quite want to cooperate. Perkins began dragging him toward the house, but Sawyer wasn't going to move until he could see that Arielle was fine. He turned his head, weakly struggling against Perkins to try and see his longstanding best friend. When he saw her, looking no worse off than when he had taken her from her cell, Sawyer released a sighed of relief.

"Arielle," Sawyer said softly, leaning heavily on Perkins, he didn't want to let her out of his sight for even a second, not after she had been gone for so long, not when he had just gotten her back. "Come on, man, she'll be fine, let's get you fixed up," said Perkins, continuing to drag him along. In all honesty, Sawyer needed the attention, he could feel the blood draining from the deep wounds in his back. He didn't know if it was from injury or sheer relief, he could almost start laughing.

They had gotten out of there, nobody had died, though he was beginning to feel rather weak... Sawyer's knees threatened to buckle beneath him, and in response Perkins shouldered more of his weight, continuing to pull him toward the house. They didn't need to go much further, however, as the woman and her husband who lived in the house ran out to greet them. The man supported Sawyer from the other side, while the woman went to Arielle. Sawyer attempted to keep her in his line of sight, though as he was pulled inside she was no longer in view...

((OOC: They can't get out completely unscathed now, can they? xD))

[arielle]

Arielle hadn't been paying attention. She continued to dry-heave into the grass, holding back the stomach acid the best she could. Her throat couldn't burn, otherwise she wouldn't be able to eat. Dry-heaves turned to sobs, which then in turn turned to hysterical laughter. She was safe. She was out of that hell-hole, she was safe, free. Arielle was extremely happy, but then exhaustion kicked in. She was weak, in pain, and she needed to sleep. The prospect of getting a shower, sleeping in a bed, having genuine, kind human contact made her giddy with excitement.

It was then she heard the concerned shouts. Looking up, she saw the grass stained with blood. Sawyer's blood. He'd been hit. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she struggled to stand, a newborn fawn. "Sawyer!" she cried, voice hoarse. "Sawyer!" A woman came to her aid just as Sawyer was picked up off the ground. Arielle allowed herself to be helped to her feet, then she attempted to run forward on wobbly legs. The woman caught her underneath the arms, and that's when Arielle started kicking and screaming.

"Sawyer, Sawyer, Sawyer!" Arielle screamed repeatedly, thrashing against the woman trying to hold her. Who gave a fuck about her well-being when her best friend's blood, his life, was spilling onto the grass? It took another person, a man, to pick her up into his arms and carry her into the house while Sawyer was dragged forward. Both were trying desperately to get to each other, to no avail. Arielle was screaming and crying, and she needed to get to him. She needed to make sure Sawyer would stay alive. Those wounds were bad, and he was already becoming so pale...

Arielle was carried into the house, and placed on a cot. There were three made up, with two saved captives already being tended to. Arielle was carried to the third, next to another that was being set up rapidly for Sawyer. She cried and screamed, thrashing about, trying to get to Sawyer. "Someone sedate her!" someone shouted. Arielle didn't care. She clawed at the people near her, needing to get to Sawyer. There was blood, so much blood. Many different pairs of hands held her arms and legs down as she continued to squirm, and a needle went into her arm. She was screaming Sawyer's name as she went under, falling into darkness.

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[sawyer]

Sawyer heard Arielle screaming for him, she was dissolving into hysterics, and try as he might to get to her, Perkins and the other man were dragging him forward and away. Yes, he did need the help, but the truth was, he didn't exactly know how much blood he was losing, he couldn't see how pale his face had become. But his struggling did become weaker as his body did, his vision was getting a little fuzzy around the edges. But still, Arielle, he could hear her, she needed him. "Ari..." Sawyer mumbled, it was a bit too much effort to say anything, he could feel himself fading.

His knees gave way completely, rendering him unable to support his own weight, so Perkins and the other man had to begin dragging him. They took a turn to the right, away from where the captives were being treated and plunked down on a chair. Someone, he didn't even bother to try and identify them closed up his wounds and tipped a potion down his throat. Sawyer coughed after he had swallowed, its taste was bitter, though the effects were instantaneous, his vision sharpened, and the pounding in his head reduced to only a dull ache. He moved to stand, only to have a set of heavy hands placed on his shoulders to keep him still.

"Rest up a bit mate, you look like a ghost," said the man, removing his hands. Sawyer wanted to immediately spring up again after being freed, but he still felt very weak, and almost a little woozy. But he couldn't not protest... "Arielle," Sawyer said softly, noting that he no longer heard her screaming for him and the commotion in the next room over had given way to quiet, "is she all right? I heard shouting." The woman came in, looking flustered, her hair a mess. "She's fine, dear, she was hysterical, we had to put her under, but she'll be all right," said she.

Sawyer sighed, dragging his hands down his face, worry gnawing at the pit of his stomach. For them to have to intervene like that it must really have been bad. "Can I see her?" said Sawyer, finally standing up and taking a step forward. Everyone started toward him, and likely for good reason as his head started spinning, his vision blurred again and he crumpled. Sawyer woke on the floor less than a minute later, though his passing out only confirmed to him that he wasn't going anywhere. "Take it easy," said Perkins as he helped Sawyer onto the couch, "we'll come get you once she wakes up."

[arielle]

Arielle didn't know what was worse, reality or her nightmares. She wanted to wake up, wanted to feel safe and secure, but the sedatives were holding her under for too long. Dreams of torture and murder filled her troubled mind. She lost track of how many times she had been forced to watch Sawyer die, of how many times he'd had to watch her be brutally tortured. She needed to wake up, needed to scream. Outwardly, her body was motionless.

For hours she stayed like that, unable to move, unable to make noise. Eventually, she felt feeling begin to return to her body. Arielle was soon able to move her fingers and toes, her hands and feet. Her senses slowly came back. It was her hearing first. She could make out voices, not words. They all sounded concerned. Various people were moving throughout the safe house. Her scent came back. Food was cooking. At first, it smelled delicious, heavenly. Bacon, eggs, toast. She could even smell orange juice being poured.

Still, the smell soon became a stench, making her stomach twist. That was what woke her up. Without warning, Arielle rolled over, dry-heaving. She almost wished she had something to puke up, her whole body becoming sore from the muscle spasms. Her loud retching alerted some of the people taking care of her. A woman sat her up and helped her to stand. "I was supposed to get you when you were awake, Arielle," the woman said softly. The woman helped her upstairs without another word, helping her clean herself and put on silk pajamas that hung on her near-skeletal frame. The woman brushed out her thick, now clean hair, and helped her slowly eat a few pieces of fruit and a glass of water before helping her into her cot.

"Where's Sawyer? How long was I asleep?" Arielle asked, looking around for her companion. "He's fine. I'll go and wake him. You were out for a day. Understandable, given your condition," the woman replied. "Lie down. He'll be right here."

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