When the next morning rolls around, I'm still just as tired as I was before the Wasteland guards left. I tossed and turned all night, apparently unable to fall into a wonderful, dreamless sleep. My mind is foggy with exhaustion, something I was hoping would be gone by now. It takes me a moment to realize that the iron bars have been fixed, and, just in front of them, there's a tray of food and water. Rex is examining it with wide eyes. I crawl over to him. "So they weren't lying," I murmur as my fingers scratch his shoulders. He looks over to me with a question written across his eyes. I nod, "Let's dig in. Shall we?"

We split part of the bread before eating some of the stew-like thing. "What even is this?" I let it drip from the spoon.

"I'm not entirely sure, though I believe it's made up of the day-old leftovers," Sarah replies.

"That was a rhetorical question, but thank you, I guess."

"You're welcome."

"So, have you ever met a Click 2.0?" I ask around a mouthful of bread.

"No. If Guthrie Harper made them, it can't be good."

"I guessed that much."

Neither of us speaks for a few minutes. After eating a few more bites of the bread and a bit more of the stew, Rex settles down next to me. I stroke his fur as he relaxes. "What exactly is The Loyal Order of Thorny Devils like?"

"It's-." I shut my mouth as I realize what I was about to do. No. Nope. Don't even think about it. No telling her anything. Who knows if she's working with Guthrie Harper, and was put there to try to glean a bit of information from you. "I'm not working for Guthrie Harper, I promise."

"Ok." What does that change? She could just be saying that.

"Come on. Tell me. I've heard of it, but I want to learn more."

"Hmm."

"I know that you're a part of it, and that The Loyal Order of Thorny Devils has been around for a while, and that you guys want to bring an end to Guthrie Harper and his Wasteland, and that-."

"How do you know that that's correct? How do you know that what you've heard isn't a lie? How do you know that anything anyone has told you is true? How do you know anything is true? Like, how do you know you're alive?" I interrupt her before she can continue.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sarah frowns.

"You could also ask other questions. For example, how do you know other people think? How do you know they are conscious beings? How do you know everyone else sees what you see? Huh. What if everyone sees a different world, but no one would know that?" I lean against the iron bars, adopting a thinking pose.

"What?"

"Huh?" I look up from where my head was resting on a fist. Sarah looks awfully confused.

"What are you talking about? Are these ideas from The Loyal Order of Thorny Devils?"

"Oh, no. They're not. I was thinking out loud."

"So I take it you're not going to tell me anything?" She looks a little sad.

"No, I'm not." That wasn't so bad. Well, yeah. You rambled on about who knows what, and made yourself look stupid. Hey, that was rude. It's true, and you know that. I didn't have to get stuck in that spot where she keeps asking me, and I keep refusing to answer, so that was good. I know.

"Come on! Keep moving! Ugh. You should've learned long ago to obey our orders." A Wasteland guard shouts the order from a ways down the hallway. They're answered by an animalistic cry, one that's half pain and half fear. The footsteps draw closer, and I find myself rising to my feet, craning my neck to see what the cry came from. "Click 2.0," Sarah hisses quietly, looking me dead in the eye. I hear the clink of chains being pulled tight, which is followed by a whimper then footsteps. Finally, after another minute or two, the Wasteland guards reach me and Rex. Don't forget Sarah. Yeah, yeah. Her too.

A Wasteland guard pulls out a set of keys, fishing through them until he finds the right one, then unlocks the cell door and swings it open. After being jabbed in the side, one of the so-called Click 2.0's walks in, the Wasteland guards hanging back outside the cell. At first glance, they appear to be fairly normal; a green wyvern-esc body, though with forelimbs that are much smaller than their big hind legs, and wings webbed with sea green and teal skin. But they have metal plates driven into their skin with metal bolts, much like Twig does. Healed skin is bunched up around the plates. It looks painful. Two huge, curving horns have been nailed into their neck, just below their ears, which extend over their forehead and out towards their snout. Holes have been cut at the base of their wings so their saddle can be attached under their belly. They have been given a metal extension to their tail, and it is now completed with a curved, triangular spike. The worst part is their eyes; they've been turned partially robotic. Now, there are tiny little wires and a flashing red light, much like on Twig or Mars. The only thing I can see in their eyes is a dull, lifeless, and haunted look. They've just... given up.

I slowly reach out a hand. What did Guthrie Harper to to them? And to think I thought this cell was bad. Whatever happened to the them must've been a hundred times worse. When my fingertips brush against the smooth, scaled skin of the Click 2.0, they flinch, wincing slightly. Their yellowed and cracked teeth are partially bared. "Sorry," I murmur as I pull my hand back.

"Don't worry; they can't feel a thing," A Wasteland guard says when he sees my horrified expression. How could they feel anything with everything you've done to them? I turn my gaze back to the creature. They look back steadily, their eyes partially closed. "Hey! Get him to answer the question!" One of the Wasteland guards lifts a hand, drawing it back ever so slightly, and the Click 2.0 jumps back, their breaths becoming quicker and shorter. The whites of their eyes flash, and the Wasteland guard smiles, raising an eyebrow.

The Click 2.0 turns to me. They take a moment before curling their lips in a snarl that rumbles in their throat as they stalk forward, their forearms pulling in close while their wings flare out to the sides. I watch them, unsure of what to do- it's obvious they're only doing it because if they don't, they're going to pay in flesh and blood, but I don't want to answer. Why are you thinking that, Hawk? You've known, well, not known, this creature for what? Like, a few minutes? You've known T-LOOT-D for years. Which one do you think you should show loyalty to? I know, but I still don't want them to get hurt. I'd feel incredibly guilty, you know? You know that by answering just to save the Click 2.0 from some pain, you're betraying T-LOOT-D? I know how horrible that sounds... I don't know what to do.

"Get him to answer!" The Wasteland guard bellows, slamming the flat side of his sword against the iron bars. I grimace at the echoing clang that follows. The Click 2.0 jumps, skittering to the side as a fearful cry rips from their mouth and red blooms in their eyes. Their sides heave as they gulp down breaths of air. It would be so easy for them to fight back, so why don't they? They don't know they're so much bigger and stronger than the Wasteland guards, and they're so terrified of them that the thought of fighting back would never cross their mind. Oh...

I take a step back from the Click 2.0 when they advance on me. The blood orange color swims in their lifeless eyes, pressing them onwards. "I thought you said this one's been broken," One of the Wasteland guards says to his friend. The Click 2.0 takes this as an opportunity to stop for a few moments. "I thought they were too, but it looks like they've still got a bit of rebelliousness left in them. Don't worry; it'll be gone soon enough." I shudder; there's only one way they'd get the Click 2.0's quote "rebelliousness" gone, and it involves pain and torture.

"What? Do you have a problem with Guthrie Harper's Click 2.0s?"

"Don't you think it's pretty cruel to force them to become partially robotic and then beat them into submission?" I'm stunned anyone, even Guthrie Harper, could be this evil.

"They're animals."

"So are we." How does them being animals justify anything?

"We are?" One of the Wasteland guards echoes.

"Yeah. Humans are animals."

"Really?"

"Did you think we're plants or something?" I look at him with an 'are you really that stupid?' expression. The Wasteland guard's cheeks flush with pink. He sputters a slur of unintelligible words as his gaze falls to his toes.

The Click 2.0 trembles as their wings draw in tight to their sides and their nostrils flare with every breath. "Come on. What are you doing? I told you to get him to talk! Stupid beast." The lead Wasteland guard snarls, taking an aggressive step forwards. When the Click 2.0 doesn't move, they're suddenly jabbed in the side by the sword of a Wasteland guard. I stare in horror as the Wasteland guard resumes his former position of standing with the rest of the group. The Click 2.0 cries out in pain, staggering a few steps to the side. One of the metal plates across their ribcage now sports a dent. After shaking their head, they turn their gaze to me. It's wild; a clashing mixture of olive green and blood orange. The Click 2.0 advances, wings unfurling out to the sides as they bare their jagged teeth.

My back hits the wall, and my heart rate skyrockets. The room is closing in on me. Everything's getting so small. My palms become damp with sweat. Rex comes to stand by my side, nudging my leg with his muzzle. I curl my fingers into his fur in an attempt to calm myself. Goodness gracious, Rex. Where have you been? I have to do something, but I don't know what to do. I can't answer the Wasteland guard's questions- that would be betraying T-LOOT-D. But I also don't want the Click 2.0 to get hurt- they've been through too much already. I look down at Rex, trying to find an answer in him. He barks a scratchy, low growl when the Click 2.0 draws up directly in front of us. The response is a flinch. "How could you flinch? You're supposed to be a strong warrior, not a weak coward. Perhaps you haven't quite learned yet." The lead Wasteland guard crosses his arms over his chest as he shakes his head, a look of pure hatred and disgust written across his face. I can't believe this.

Everything's been building up, piling on top of each other. Up and up and up and up. And it was bound to come crashing down like a house of cards. Something shifted at what came next, and something snapped.

"So, Hawk. What are you going to do?"

Thank you for reading! Please comment and vote!

What's Hawk going to do?

Why was the Click 2.0 brought in?

Is Hawk going to answer the Wasteland guard's questions?

Or is he going to continue to remain tight-lipped?

-Werewolf14-