"I’ll say it myself."
Lana looked around the room, her voice calm. "We’re inmates from Everrest Won’s Penitentiary in Silverpine City, Blackdragon Province."
She said it flatly, without emotion. "Not all of us, though. Dakota used to be the instructor at the prison. Out of our 177, 132 were serving ti."
"I’ll be straight with you - we ca here to see what your team’s like. If it works out, we’d like to join. That’s why we ca back."
Her tone was honest, maybe a bit too blunt.
Charlotte blinked, not expecting such directness. With a small smile, she asked, "So, what exactly do you want to know?"
Georgia cut in, "We want to know how many n are in your group!"
Charlotte laughed, "Didn’t you just see?"
"Just him?" Georgia clearly didn’t buy it. She sneered at Magnus. "What makes him so special? Is it just ’cause he’s a dual Awakened? Hah..."
Emily calmly got to her feet and stepped forward. "He isn’t special. But this entire group? He built it from the ground up. Is that reason enough?"
That stunned Lana’s team. Georgia pointed at Magnus. "That kid... him?"
"Who are you calling a kid?" Sophia snapped, flashing forward to stand right in Georgia’s face, ready to slap her. Lana was quick. Matching her speed, she slipped between them and grabbed Sophia’s arm.
Lana knew Georgia crossed the line - starting by mocking the group’s leader. She turned sharply, scolding, "Georgia! Apologize. Now."
Georgia laughed it off, flashing a fake smile. "C’mon, lighten up! Fine, fine, I’ll apologize, alright? Sorry, little group leader, Georgia was wrong. Can the great little boss forgive ?"
"The hell did you just call him?" Sophia fud.
"Enough, Sophia," Magnus said, stepping forward. He’d been planning to lead the conversation himself, but Charlotte had jumped in first.
Standing in front of Lana, Magnus looked her in the eye. "If you’ve got questions, ask directly. I’ll answer. But make one thing clear - we don’t accept just anyone who wants in."
"Exactly," Sophia added, glaring past Lana at Georgia. "We don’t take in every stray that shows up. This ain’t so beast shelter."
Georgia’s face darkened. She was starting to realize - if Lana’s crew really joined, she might be the one getting kicked out.
Lana stared at Magnus for a few seconds before Dakota gently pulled her back into her seat. Looking at Magnus, she let out a faint sigh. "You’ve got it wrong... Lana’s just trying to keep us safe."
"Since the world fell apart, we’ve been tricked by more than one team. We joined two groups before - first one had over five thousand people. Once we joined, their leader tried to turn us into slaves. It was Lana who led us in a fight, killed hundreds just to get out alive. The second team... they only wanted us to mine teors and scavenge for food. We swallowed our pride to fit in, but in the end, they treated us like weaklings..."
"That’s enough, Dakota," Lana stepped forward, facing Magnus directly. Her voice was calm but firm. "That’s the deal. We’re from the penitentiary. If you’ll have us, we’ll consider joining. But we want ti to observe your group - and we insist two of us be part of your leadership circle. If that’s a problem, we’ll be on our way. Simple as that."
Magnus nodded slightly. "We’ll need ti to observe you too. For now, you can stay in our camp. I’ll have sleeping quarters arranged. But until we’ve formally accepted you, no weapons. No Crystals, either. Keep to that."
He added, "And if you do beco part of our team later, you’ll be reorganized. Doesn’t matter how many tis you’ve Awakened - you’ll follow the chain of command. If that doesn’t sit right with you, no point observing us."
"Reorganized?" Lana raised a brow, then gave a short laugh. "If your team is all won, you didn’t bring it up - I would have. We’ve been thrown at enough fires to be sick of it."
That broke the tension a little.
Liana stepped out to prepare the sleeper trucks. Lana and three others climbed down to gather the rest of their girls. Dakota stayed, turning to Charlotte.
"About Georgia..." she let out a long breath, the weight heavy in her voice, and shared Georgia’s story.
She was just an ordinary girl who ca to the city to work - waitressing, washing dishes. Sent ho all her wages to cover her parents’ dical bills, keep her brother in school. Then a drunk police chief from a local station raped her. Threatened her, her family. Scared and naive, Georgia beca his mistress.
But then he forced her to pimp other girls - she beca his front. Most of the money? He took it. But when things crashed down, she was the one sent to prison.
By the ti Dakota finished, the suspicion from earlier was gone. A few of the girls, once cold, were now quiet, eyes softened. Maybe they were inmates and Awakened - but they weren’t monsters. They were won, and under all that armor, always afraid to be hurt again.
Dinner that evening said a lot. Whether Liana was trying to impress or intimidate them, no one could tell - but the feast spoke loud.
Beef stewed with radish. Heavy on the beef. Each person got a whole can of at. Dessert? Fresh tomatoes - three per head.
Lana’s girls - 177 of them - knew better than to get used to luxury. But still, the sheer abundance shook them.
Since the end ca, when was the last ti they saw real beef? They hadn’t dared dream of fresh at.
Tonight, though, they tasted it.
User Comments
0 comments from readers