Rosalyn

Rosalyn's chest tightened as the four new subjects walked through the door.

She didn't know why she was so nervous, but an unsettling feeling seemed to punch her gut as she watched Malakai jump to his feet and run over to the others. She craned her head to the newcomers, praying they wouldn't hate her. Because deep down, she was still a soldier to them, still an enemy.

But she had to admit, watching them all reunite made her lips tug into a smile.

She recognized Miriam right away. She walked in first, her glowing blue eyes nearly lighting up the room. She smirked at Malakai and Hyemi but was almost shoved to the side by a boy, who took both of them into an embrace.

His Southern drawl was apparent as he spoke. "A family reunion was long overdue, don't y'all think?"

His words were followed by muffled laughs, and Rosalyn watched as the boy pulled away from the embrace, his large hands resting on both Malakai and Hyemi's shoulders. His sun-golden locks rested perfectly along his head, and his eyes were a grey color, his tanned skin making them nearly shine. He was tall, only an inch or two taller than Malakai, but his muscles were defined. He was not as bulky as Sebastian, but there was something about his figure as he moved and held himself that made him look evidently strong.

Rosalyn's eyes soon dragged over as she saw a flash of red walk inside.

"Where are they where are—oh!" the redhead shrieked, pulling Malakai and Hyemi into yet another embrace. Her hug was shorter than the boys, but aggressive, and as she let go, Rosalyn could hardly understand what she was saying. She talked quickly, mumbling half her words as her large sandy-color eyes glanced back and forth from Malakai to Hyemi. She seemed—energized, or maybe just anxiety ridden, as she looked vigorously around the area. She double-glanced at Rosalyn, and immediately her cheeks started to redden as the girl stared.

The redhead moved closer to Malakai as she continued her stare, but it was soon averted as the last girl walked in, who held a smile from ear to ear.

He skin was close to Rosalyn's color, a shade of sun-bronzed, and Rosalyn guessed she had some Indian in her. Her smile was contagious as she walked in, and her facial expressions were almost dramatized.

But Rosalyn soon understood why as everyone began to talk not only with their mouths, but their hands as well.

She thought back to when her father told Malakai and Sebastian to stop signing to one another, and now Rosalyn knew how they learned signed language. One of the subjects was deaf.

Rosalyn watched in awe as the others naturally signed with their hands while also speaking out loud. She took Malakai and Hyemi into an embrace, and she was even shorter than Hyemi. All the subjects were meshed together, hugging, talking, and Rosalyn finally saw Ingrid appear from the crowd.

She approached, taking in a big sigh. "We've got quite the number of people in this house now."

Rosalyn nodded. "They seem happy, though."

"Oh yeah," Ingrid expressed. "I'm going to let them have their little reunion. You should stay, get to know them."

Ingrid made her way to her room, and Rosalyn was left by herself again, observing the newcomers. And she had to admit, it was entertaining.

She watched as Malakai approached Miriam again, opening his arms wide. "Come on, let me hug you—"

"No."

"I'm hugging you."

She rolled her eyes as she received the hug, but her eyes glanced and settled on Rosalyn. She chuckled then smirked as she pulled away. "Ah, look who decided to come?"

Rosalyn's face reddened as seven faces turned and stared at her.

Thankfully, Malakai rushed to her side. He was statued close to her as she stood up. As he spoke, he also signed lazily with his hands. "Guys, this is Rosalyn. She came with Ingrid, and helped us escape." he paused as he glanced at all the others. "She's a trusted ally."

"Half-trusted ally," Miriam snapped. "We've established that during our last meet, didn't we?"

"Oh man, a fight is already a-brewing." the blonde haired boy said, his white teeth flashing as he grinned. He nodded at Rosalyn. "Would love to see it, darling."

"Guys," Malakai said, his tone laced with sternness. "Enough of that, please."

The blonde boy was not done, however. "No, more of that—"

"Anyways," Malakai interrupted. Rosalyn could already start to notice certain personalities, and how some have shifted. In this crowd of people, Malakai had to fight for his voice to be heard, and he was already quieter to begin with.

"That's Wolfgang," he said, and almost by queue the blonde boy winked at her. Rosalyn watched as Malakai ignored his actions and pointed to the redhead. "That's Farrah," he said, and finally, he motioned to the last girl. "And that's Becks."

The girl, Becks, waved as she held a large smile. Her smile was contagious, because it had Rosalyn grinning back to her, offering her a slight wave. Her dark hair was short, resting just below her chin, and her chocolate eyes were wide. She had the most welcoming presence; it was almost opposite of how Miriam held herself.

Rosalyn watched as Sebastian stepped in. "She's trustworthy, guys. We can promise you that."

The redhead, Farrah, jumped in. "I'll probably be skeptic the entire time. Nothing towards you—Rosalyn, was it? I just tend to find the worst in everyone."

Everyone paused at Farrah's sudden words, but it also seemed like it wasn't surprising. Farrah seemed to be constantly on edge; eyes wandering with anxiety, and body movements stiff. She was likely the worrier of the group, but because of that, also the most observant and knowledgeable. No doubt they would be skeptical of Rosalyn at first.

Malakai chimed in. "Alright, now that that's settled." he motioned to the kitchen. "Help yourselves. Only the fruit is off limits—Ingrid said that's for tomorrow's breakfast."

Rosalyn couldn't help but stare at his hands while he signed. It was almost second nature to him; as he spoke his hands followed suit, naturally moving with only a few short mess ups, it seemed. And as the other began to migrate towards the kitchen, Becks came forward, her hands moving with such ease, Rosalyn was fascinated.

As she signed to him, Malakai's eyes lit up with concern. "Of course," he said, "come on."

Rosalyn stepped aside as Becks started to walk to the couch, and she noticed a small limp as she did. Malakai went on his knees as he watched Becks with high alert.

Rosalyn didn't know what to do, so she stayed with Malakai. While she felt comfortable enough to be around Sebastian and Hyemi, they were mixed in with the newcomers, and Rosalyn didn't feel like being near Miriam. Plus, Becks seemed nice, and neither her nor Malakai seemed to care that she was lingering.

Malakai reached for Becks' shoe, and she flinched at his touch. Immediately, Malakai retreated, putting his right fist to his chest. She watched as he made small circles with the fist, looking up at Becks. She forced a smile and nodded down at him. Rosalyn watched their silent conversation in awe.

"That means 'sorry'," Malakai said, glancing at Rosalyn. She nodded, unknowingly putting her hand into a fist and trying out the sign. She noticed Becks smiling at her, and when she started moving her fist in circles against her chest, Becks nodded and gave her a thumbs up. Rosalyn almost felt like beaming at her first sign she had learned.

"She's been deaf her whole life," Malakai said, carefully sliding her shoe off. "But she's a professional at reading lips. We just like to try and sign for respect, and also make it easier on her. It is her language, anyway."

Becks nodded at that, and Rosalyn realized that she understood Malakai's words by just reading lips. It was amazing to Rosalyn, and she tried to give Becks a reassuring nod. She moved her attention back to her ankle as Malakai pulled her sock off.

Her ankle was likely sprained; it was twice its size, with purple and yellow bruising all around. Becks frowned at it, offering him a shrug.

"Geez, Becks," he said and signed all at once. "How'd it happen?"

Her hands moved fast, but her facial expressions were quite spectacular. While Rosalyn couldn't follow, she was caught by watching her face; eyebrows moving up and down, and at some points, she would make movements with her mouth.

This time, Malakai signed back with no words. They held a mini conversation, and Rosalyn was intrigued by it. After a moment, Malakai finally nodded, and he pressed a hand gently on Becks' ankle.

Rosalyn could hardly stand it when Malakai winced as he took the pain onto himself. His veins bulged, the dark blue color standing out amongst his pale skin. It was over in a matter of seconds, and Rosalyn watched with wide eyes as Becks' ankle transformed to its normal size, the bruises completely fading away.

Becks tried to put pressure on her ankle, and she started to clap as she stood on it completely. Her right hand raised so it was palm up, and she pressed the tips of her fingers at her chin before moving them out again, looking at Malakai.

"That means 'thank you'," he said, wiping a line of sweat from his forehead. "Though I should be getting more than that—"

This time, she did the same motion, but the tips of her fingers grazed just under her chin and she moved them outwards. Rosalyn saw them both smile, and Malakai signed something back to her before turning to me.

"And that is, well—she just swore at me."

Rosalyn laughed, and Becks' eyes lit up at her, a look of amusement on her face before she stood up and headed to the kitchen.

Both Rosalyn and Malakai sat on the floor as mumbling from the kitchen filled their moment of silence. Rosalyn noticed his veins going back to normal, and his breaths evening out again. "Are you okay?"

He nodded before looking at her. "Are you? I mean, I understand that this can be a bit—overwhelming."

Rosalyn shrugged but gave him a slight smile. "Just some new faces. But they all seem really nice—"

"I'll tell Miriam to lay off. I'm sorry about her."

Rosalyn shrugged. "It's alright. I don't expect her, or anyone, to trust me yet."

He nodded. "Thank you for understanding. After Benedict—" he froze, his mouth slightly parted. "Trust just runs a bit thin."

She could understand that. For now, she would try to be herself and try to make friends. But they all seemed like a mix of personalities. "So, how are the—newcomers, I guess?"

Malakai had understood what she meant. "Becks is a sweetheart. Blunt, but it comes with the best intentions. Farrah is always on high alert, and will always speak her mind. Wolfgang? He's quite the guy. High energy. He'll probably try to flirt with you, honesty. And, you know Miriam."

"Sounds like a fun bunch."

Malakai released a puff of air as he chuckled. "We're all a little messed up, but, we're family."

And he was right. Rosalyn eyed them all in the kitchen, talking over one another, laughing, playfully pushing one another. They were all very close, but it stemmed from horrid memories. They held stories, scars, and trauma that Rosalyn would never be able to fully understand. Their lives had been transformed into something awful, yet, they held onto one another. It was something so foreign to Rosalyn, so she watched them all with curious eyes.

And even as evening passed and nighttime came, Malakai remained next to Rosalyn. She greatly appreciated this, but she also felt guilty that he was not joining the others. But if he felt the same way, he certainly didn't show it. They chatted a little bit, but overall spent their time listening to the others talk. Sebastian pitching in his jokes, Farrah asking questions, and Wolfgang talking with his Southern slang.

As the night grew later, Malakai and Sebastian offered their bed to Miriam and Farrah, while Rosalyn gave up her spot for Becks. That left Rosalyn on the couch while Malakai, Sebastian and Wolfgang all took the air mattresses.

People began to disappear to their rooms, and Rosalyn was left sitting on the couch while the three boys settled on the floor below her.

Wolfgang offered her a dazzling smile. "Hi, darling." he looked at Malakai and Sebastian. "She's pretty hot."

Rosalyn's jaw couldn't help but fall open at his words. He had turned around and spoke about her like she wasn't in the room. Sebastian laughed at this, while Malakai looked up at her with an apologetic frown.

"Sorry," he began. "We're not socially—there."

"Ah, that's bull," Wolfgang said. "I'm one hundred percent socially there. If I wasn't, I wouldn't compliment her."

"Maybe it's the way you said it, Wolfie," Sebastian said, his eyes narrowed as he smiled.

Wolfgang only scoffed. "Alright, alright, sorry if Benedict didn't teach us how to smooth talk. I had to learn that shit on my own."

"You're nearly there," Rosalyn said, and his grey eyes perked up. He settled into his sleeping bag, content with her words, and the action nearly made her laugh. Nonetheless, curiosity pushed it all aside. "What's your power?"

He smirked. "I'm strong. Super strength, if you will. I could show you, if you'd like. I could throw Kai out the damn window with one hand—"

"Shut up." Malakai's small voice muffled from below, and Rosalyn realized he was laying down and buried in his sleeping bag, probably trying to sleep.

"Come on, Kai guy," Wolfgang reached over and slapped his back, but Malakai only dug his face further into his pillow. Wolfgang chuckled. "Well, truth is, his power could kill me with a touch. But I like to think of myself as superior."

Sebastian released a long, dramatic sigh. "She's not impressed with you, Wolfie."

Malakai's head raised. "Not in the slightest."

Rosalyn couldn't hold in her laugh as Wolfgang groaned and sunk into his sleeping bag. He lifted up one arm, flipping off anyone who would look, and finally he turned over. Everyone settled in after that, and Rosalyn laid down on the couch.

It was overwhelming, she knew, but she was excited that everyone was here and safe—for now. Seeing all of the subjects happy and playful sent a calm aurora in the cabin, and Rosalyn felt like she could relax.

They deserve their freedom, she thought. Rosalyn wanted to personally kill the man who believed it was alright to take it away from them. But he was dead; he took his own life before he would have to endure any kind of torture. He only wanted to inflict the pain on others. Rosalyn was livid at the thought.

But if the subjects were happy, she would be too. She would be patient, and hopefully learn, about all they went through. She would learn what else Benedict had done.

Instantly, her mind travelled back to when Malakai had questioned whether being with Benedict or at the East Capitol was better. Even Sebastian and Hyemi struggled with the question. And while Rosalyn was shocked by that response, it also gave her a piece of understanding.

If Benedict was what the subjects said he was, then what was her father?

•••

Chapter song: Bruises // Lewis Capaldi

All seven subjects are together! Who are you guys liking the most? Least? Let me know! I'll probably be asking that question a lot lol.

Also! I am super happy to have a deaf character! I feel like I rarely read books with this, so I thought, why not! I took 1 year of American Sign Language in College, so I know the basics!

While I know the basics, I am no professional. I do not mean to offend anyone, so if I explain something wrong, please forgive me! Becks is a sweetheart, y'all :,)

Vote, comment, share! I cry thank you.

Until Next Time,
Grace