"Answer the question, you vile creature," Blade seethes as he laughs humorlessly.

"Or not... I'd definitely prefer that option." I shrug as I speak. None of the Wasteland guards have made any attempt to open the cell door; something I'm both surprised and confused about, but relieved nonetheless.

Twig's head suddenly snaps up. The eye with the blinking light has been taken over with a color similar to that of a blood orange. I shudder- there's something about that shade of red that makes my skin crawl like there's termites swarming over my arms. Twig's body is unnaturally still until he stands up a little straighter before freezing again. Is he... Has he been taken over by the Wasteland guards? That happened at the Wasteland sometimes, but I didn't realize they'd to that to their own Wasteland guards. But, hey, when it comes to Guthrie Harper, never underestimate his evilness. "Answer the question," Twig growls.

"No, thank you."

"Answer it, Hawk." Twig's lip curls.

"No," I sigh. My shoulders slump. They're driving me insane, and they just repeat the same actions over and over in a vain attempt to get me to answer their questions.

"Answer. It. Now!" Twig snarls as he takes a step forward, drawing his arm back as his fingers curl into a metal fist, and slamming it into one of the iron bars. I involuntarily flinch, shifting back an inch or to as the metal bends from the force of his punch. A clang echoes throughout the cells for several moments after Twig pulls his arm back. When he stands up again, he's far more relaxed, and the red has receded and disappeared from his eye.

"So, Hawk, ya gonna answer the question?" Blade sings. I take a deep breath.

"No, thank you though."

Minotaur pulls out a key from his pocket, and jams it into the lock on the cell door. There's a faint click. The three Wasteland guards walk through the door. I see Sarah watching over Blade's shoulder, and she frowns. 'You're from The Loyal Order of Thorny Devils?' She mouths. I give a nod in response. A look of shock washes over her face. 'Really?' She asks. Another nod. Blade slaps me, his hand leaving a stinging sensation in its wake as my head sags to one side. My teeth grind across each other as I take several long, deep breaths in a futile attempt to keep my cool. There's a raging fire rapidly growing into an inferno.

Then, despite attempts to calm it, I snap. "Do that one more time. I dare you," I snarl as I move closer so I'm looking down on him. I square my shoulders, and stand up as tall as I'm able. Hatred burns within me, urging me to attack. A sick smile oozes across Blade's face. "Very well," He purrs with a sneer. A moment later, the blow lands across my cheek. Blade hunches over a moment later, hugging his stomach as his face contorts into a grimace. The heel of my foot connects with his knee cap, and he collapses to the ground. He groans, slowly curling around his knee.

I watch him, satisfaction washing over me in small, lapping waves, but exhaustion washes over me like a tsunami. Dizziness spins me around in circles like a hurricane. I stumble a few steps to the side. The room tilts dramatically, threatening to send me falling to the ground. My eyelids flutter as I block out the dizziness and vertigo brick by brick. Hunger. Food. Water. Scorching desert. Sleep. Soft pillow. Dreamless sleeeeeeeeep now, Hawk. Sleeeeeeeeeep. SIT DOWN! YOU NEED TO REST! My mind shouts at me to do just about anything other than what I'm doing now. It screams at me to sit down, and rest rather than trying to fight back. No, I whisper back, forcing down the urge to comply with my mind's words. I'm not going to sit down. I won't be submissive to them. I'm going to fight back. I... I-I can't just do what they want. I don't want it to be me here, but I also don't wish this upon another fellow T-LOOT-Dian.

Rex sidles up beside me, if that's what you would call it. His hackles are raised, giving him the impression of being almost twice as large as he really is, and every muscle in his body is taut. Neither the Wasteland guards nor Rex and I move as tension spikes. I can almost reach out a hand and touch it. The hunger gnaws at me, and dehydration makes my head spin like a tornado or a merry-go-round with a jetpack attached to the handlebars. Come on, Hawk. Sit down! Sleep. Doesn't that sound wonderful right about now? It does to me. Sleepy, sleeeepy, sleeeeeeeepy. Dreamland, here I come. My mind sings to me, making another attempt to get me to stop, but I stay standing.

It's Rex that makes the first move. He springs into action, leaping towards Minotaur with a ferocious yowl. The two tumble backwards in a flurry of attacks. Rex's tail lashes from side to side as his fangs flash, and sink into Minotaur's shoulder. The Wasteland guard's fists fly, one catching Rex in his stomach, and the other glancing off his ribs. Rex jumps back as he yelps in alarm.

The fight goes by in a flash. It's really an embarrassment for me; I'm knocked out before the fight really began. Yeah, just like that, I'm out cold. One hit from Blade, and voilà, I'm on the ground.

When I regain consciousness, Rex is laying beside me. His orange eyes are tired and blank, but he raises his gaze to mine as I shift onto my side. The plaid bandana around his head is still knotted tight. He crawls closer, nudging my shoulder with his muzzle in a silent question. "Yeah, I'm alright." I scratch him behind the ears.

"Hawk. They told me to give this to you." I look up as Sarah speaks.

"What?" I mumble. I think I misheard her or missed something.

"They want you two to eat and drink something."

"What?" I repeat. I definitely missed something.

"The Wasteland guards want you and Rex to eat and drink."

"Yeah, I missed something. There's no way the Wasteland guards want Rex and me to eat."

"But they do. They'd much rather have you alive then have you dead. Here. Eat up." She pushes one of the trays across the hallway, and I meet her halfway, pulling the tray under the bars.

Rex comes right up beside me, sniffing the food as his tail wags. I tear the loaf of bread in half, taking a small bite for myself and another small bite that I give to Rex. "Careful; if we eat too much, we won't be able to keep it down, and we'll get miserably sick." Rex pouts for a moment, but doesn't push anything.

Even though the bread is a bit stale, it still tastes like the best thing I've ever had. After another few bites, I sit back against the wall. "So, what are you here for, Sarah?" I murmur a while later.

"I was supposedly harboring information against Guthrie Harper."

"What was that information? That you didn't like him?"

"They might hear you, you know."

"And? They've got me in this cell- I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

"Do you really have that little faith in The Loyal Order of Thorny Devils?" Sarah says, outraged.

"No, I have a tremendous amount of faith in them."

"Then why say you're not going anywhere any time soon?"

"I've been here for, like, a month or two. Any attacks they've made have been unsuccessful, and there's only so much they can do."

"I'd be willing to bet an awful lot of money that they are planning yet another attack right this instance, and that they're not going to stop."

"You're right, but why the hell do you care so much? It's not really going to affect you all that much if I live or die, get out of here or not."

"It actually would."

"How so?"

"I'd potentially have to watch you die. It's rather disgusting watching them kill people." Sarah shivers, and her feathers ruffle before settling down again. I stare at her, feeling something like confusion.

A door slamming somewhere above me snaps me from my daze. The sound is followed by a series of angry shout, and someone gets knocked to the ground with a dull thump. I point to the ceiling. "It's the Wasteland guard's shifting posts. It happens daily."

"Why haven't I heard this before then?"

"It's pretty new, and you've either been unconscious or asleep. They should be arriving any moment now" Sarah shrugs.

Sure enough, as if they're on cue, the several Wasteland guards file through the hallway. They're led by a Rottweiler who looks absolutely furious. His fur reflects the torchlight, and the black turns oily while the light brown seems to glow. He growls as he passes by, stalking forwards while looking at each cell in turn with a steely gaze. Is he robotic?  When he looks at my cell, I catch a glimpse of a flashing red light, but it's gone a moment later when he continues on.

Rex leaps to his feet, echoing the Rottweiler's growl as his hackles raise. He bares his fangs when the black dog whirls around. The Wasteland guards smile and chuckle, murmuring a few snickering words to each other. "It's your deathbed, doggy. Mars here is a vicious beast." Rex is a formidable opponent, but that Mars is doing quite a bit better than Rex and I are doing. Rex just snarls again. Mars stalks forwards towards our cell, planting his paws firmly on the ground as his muscles shift. A fire burns in his eyes. Yep. Most definitely a robot. The red light flashes in one of his eyes. On for one second then off for one second, just like clockwork. If it weren't for the light in his eye, I would've been fully convinced he was a living animal. His fur is just so lifelike in the way it rests across his body and the way it reflects the light. And the way he moves... It's incredibly realistic. Ooh. I wonder if they gave him a sort of artificial intelligence like the Clicks have, or if he's being controlled by a Wasteland guard. Perhaps its a mix of both. Or, maybe, he has a robotic mind, and he can control his actions, but the Wasteland guards can take him over when they wish. Like what they do when they turn Gladiators berserk at the Wasteland.

Mars's eyes suddenly turn a murderous shade of red. That is an incredibly unflattering shade of red. It's just like a blood orange. I shudder internally. Realisation courses through me a few moments later, and I curse under my breath. Mars shifts his weight onto his hindquarters before rising onto his hind paws, and roaring as he hooks his claws onto the bars of my cell. Light glints off his fangs, enunciating the deadly point on each and every one of his pearly whites. His muscles strain as he shoves all of his weight against the bars. The Wasteland guards hang back, snickering as they watch Mars. "Go get 'em, Mars," One of them says, a smile playing across his face.

The Rottweiler drops down to all fours, and circles over towards Sarah's cell. She watches, a twinge of fear flickering through her gaze as she fiddles with a feather. After a moment of pause, he takes a few strides before slamming his side against the iron bars. 

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying Blend the Light! Please comment, and at least consider a vote. I would be very grateful if you decide to click that little yellow star in the corner of your screen!

Uh, oh. Looks like Hawk found himself yet another opponent.

What's Mars doing? What is he going to do?

What is Mars?

What's going to happen to Hawk and Rex?

What do you think of Sarah?

When will T-LOOT-D make their rescue?

Thank you again!

-Werewolf14-