Chapter Seventeen

"Fuck if I know," Three grunted as he raked a hand through his hair and slumped back against the cave wall. He looked out of the entrance, then back across the cave at me.

"This was your idea. To escape. So you tell me what to do next," he responded. I sighed, reaching up to rub at my temple. Three was starting to give me a headache. I shook my head gently and looked up, frowning as I looked out of the cave. It was thick and humid, so a rainforest of some kind. Exotic birds sang and shrilled, bugs zoomed by, the distant roar of something fierce. It was a bit like Atlantis, but much more humid. I fanned my face for a second, then looked at our group to see how everyone was holding up for now.

Three looked exhausted, sitting with his knees drawn up, his arms laying across the tops, sweat pouring down his face. Beside him, Four was still unconscious, leaning over slightly, his dislocated legs just sprawled out. Six was standing near the entrance of the cave, looking out at the forest, cradling his busted arm. Next to me, Bait sat with his legs criss-crossed, awkwardly because of his leg, hands on his knees, watching us blankly. He didn't seem worried or concerned.

"Are you alright?" I asked him. He looked at me.

"What?"

"Are you alright?"

"Oh. Yes. Fine. Just waiting for our next move. Sooner or later, they're going to catch up to us," he responded, making me frown, "It's only a matter of time... Although, I'm impressed I've made it this far. I've never made it out of the compound before." I cocked my head.

"Before? You've tried to escape before?" I asked. Bait looked at me.

"Twice. Once when I was six, and the second time when I was seventeen."

"How old are you?"

"I don't remember," Bait admitted, "Thirty something." I choked on my breath and coughed, looking him up and down, then back to his youthful face.

"You look sixteen."

"Oh," Bait said. I shook my head and rose to my feet now, dusting myself off and approaching Six at the mouth of the cave.

"Anything?" I asked. Six shook his head.

"I think we're safe for now," he replied, still studying the trees intently. I reached out and took his hand. He blinked, then let me turn him around to face me. I very lightly touched his busted arm with my fingertips and he swallowed thickly, looking up at me.

"I wish I could heal you," I murmured. Six gave me a little smile.

"It's fine. It doesn't hurt that bad."

"Yeah, but it won't help you in a fight either."

"I've fought with a broken arm before."

"That doesn't reassure me. That worries me."

"Sorry," he mumbled. I smiled and leaned in, touching my lips to his forehead. He blushed right to the tips of his ears. I reached up to stroke the side of his face before lowering my arm. I got a strange tingling sensation on the back of my neck and noticed Six's demeanor change from shy and coy to alert. I turned to see Three getting to his feet.

I frowned as he dusted himself off and approached us, looking a little mean and nasty judging from that expression on his face. I supposed he was watching us and didn't like what he saw.

"Give me your arm," Three ordered Six, who hesitated before slowly extending his broken arm as much as he could. Three grabbed it and Six yelped.

"Don't hurt him," I snapped at Three, who glared at me, then turned and put both hands on the broken arm. I watched as Three sent magic pouring in, healing the arm rather quickly. It was quite impressive actually. In just a couple seconds, the injury was healed and Six drew his arm back to flex it.

"Thanks," Six murmured. Three shrugged.

"Anything for my husband," he replied, then shot me a glare. I glared back at him. So that's what this was about. He was still hung up on Six and I sneaking around behind his back. I say sneaking, but in actuality, I had no idea until recently that Six was married and it wasn't even a proper marriage. It was some kind of insane ritual.

"So, what are we supposed to do now? Live in a cave for the rest of our lives?" Three asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"We need to figure out where that blip in your security came from," I said, making him frown, "If we can find that, we can probably either find who might still be here, or we'll find a small tear in the barrier and might be able to escape through there. Something tells me we can't teleport where we are now because of a security barrier, am I correct?" Three nodded, then frowned.

"The blip was on the southeast side of the island. It's a rocky beach. We have to trek the mountains to get over there, or at the very least follow the coastline," he explained. Six shook his head.

"We shouldn't do the coastline," he said, "We'll be sitting ducks on that white sand. The mountains is the only way to get there undetected."

"How are we supposed to hike the mountains when two of us aren't even able to run," Three said, gesturing to Four and Bait, who looked up from where he was drawing in the dirt.

"You should leave me behind," Bait offered, "I'm happy where I'm at."

"No," I said firmly, "They're coming with us. We'll figure it out."

"How?"

"We'll have to carry them," I stated, making Three grimace, "I can handle Bait. You work Four."

"Hiking a mountain while carrying someone? You ever tried that? I did once and it broke me," Three said. I shrugged.

"Sucks to be you, my cousins would say," I replied. Three narrowed his eyes, but he didn't argue. He shook his head and walked over to where Four was laying on the ground.

"For now we should just rest," he advised, "We need to recoup before we head for the mountains. It'll take at least two or three days to get over them to the other side where the blip was. Besides, we're mostly safe here. We'll just take turns keeping an eye out."

"I can take first watch," Six suggested, "Meanwhile, someone can grab food."

"I can do food," Three said, "I know where some mangoes are. Maybe I can come across a pig or something." Six nodded and went to the entrance of the cave while Three made his way out, looking around before he disappeared into the forest. I watched him go, then looked at Six, who leaned on the entrance to the cave.

"Your husband irritates me," I said. Six looked at me.

"Tell me about it."

"Are you... Do you want to stay married to him? When you get out?" I asked. Six blinked, then looked down at his feet with a frown. He seemed to be considering my words, which made me uneasy. So he was going to choose Three in the end anyway?

"I don't know," Six said at last, "I don't know what it's like to be without him." I relaxed a little at that, because it made sense. He was so used to Three being there all the time; it'd be weird if he wasn't.

"How long have you been married?" I asked.

"Like, six years," Six admitted softly, making me raise an eyebrow.

"Six years... But you didn't consent to it," I added. Six looked down at the ground.

"No, but... I don't know how to explain it. Three is just really dependent. He needs someone there to support him. He's always been like that. He needs a cheerleader and while Five was also there for him growing up, he always fixated on me. He wanted me to be there for him, and he made sure of that when we got married. He's always liked me. He just saw his opportunity to have me when marriage became an option."

"But he hurts you. He's abused you."

"That's normal," Six said, making me stare at him and he frowned, "It is. We fight. It happens."

"Beating each other up isn't normal."

"Then how do relationships work?" Six asked. I fell silent and looked away for a moment, because he had a point. I didn't know how a relationship worked personally, but I'd seen plenty around me. I'd seen enough relationships to know that abusing each other was not normal, not healthy, not okay.

"Relationships are full of love and acceptance and support," I said, making Six look at me, "You don't have anything like that in your relationship with Three." Six stiffened.

"You have no idea what we have in our relationship."

"Are you telling me you have those things with Three?"

"It's none of your business."

"You're right," I decided, "It isn't. I suppose I have my answer." Six frowned.

"What answer?"

"You'll want to stay married to Three once this is over," I stated. Six blinked, opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked down at his feet. I turned away and headed back over to where Bait was still drawing in the dirt. I looked at Four, who was still unconscious. I hesitated, then walked over to examine his legs.

They were definitely dislocated. They were also kind of nasty looking. Bruises and bite marks ran the length of his legs all the way to his hips and his groin. The tank top he wore didn't leave much to the imagination. He was pretty much on display for everyone to see.

I knew what had happened to him without Six having to say much. His screaming, his physical and mental health, everything pointed to sexual assault. And this looked like it had happened over a long period of time. Six had mentioned someone came in a lot to see him. Perhaps every day? More than once a day? The thought chilled me to the bone.

Four had saved Seven's life. Seven had told us about it when he'd returned to Atlantis. If it wasn't for Four, his family would've never been able to track him down and get him out.

And for that betrayal of the Mother, he was punished.

Severely.

Sighing, I wiped a hand down my face, then stood up and started to take my pants off. Bait stiffened at my side and looked at me, but didn't say anything. Six glanced over and did a double take before scowling.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

"He can't just stay like this," I said, sliding my pants off so I stood in my sweatshirt and boxer shorts. I bent down and carefully started to slide the pants onto Four's legs. It was a little hard to do with his legs being the way they were, but I wanted to respect his dignity at least a little bit to hide him from prying eyes. I managed to get the pants on and at that moment, Four's head jerked a little.

I stepped back to give him space as his head jerked again and his eyes flickered open, rolling around like he wasn't sure where to look before they landed on me. He blinked a couple times.

"Who... What..." His voice was hoarse, like he'd gargled a jar of rusty nails. He coughed and I knelt down to his level as he tried to catch his breath. When the coughing finally subsided, he looked at me, confused.

"Who are you?" He mumbled.

"Hadrian," I responded, "My name is Hadrian. I'm a friend of Seven's." Four looked at me, like he was thoroughly confused.

"I'm back," Three's voice came from the entrance of the cave and I looked up to see him holding an armful of fruit. Four looked up, then flinched against the light from the entrance of the cave, or Three, I wasn't sure. He blinked a few times, then looked at me.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"We're trying to find a way back home," I said, making Four cock his head at that, clearly confused, "I mean, your real homes. Where you'll be safe." Four stared at me, like he wasn't sure what I was saying. I frowned. I was speaking Greek, why were there words that these artificials didn't know?

"You'll be okay," I said at last. Four stared at me. He didn't say anything. He looked confused and lost.

"I'll get you something to eat," I said, rising to my feet. I walked over to where Three was setting the fruit down. I watched him pick one up, rub it clean, then hand it to Six, who took it with a grateful nod and stared out into the forest. I frowned, glancing at Three, who looked at me smugly. I ignored him and grabbed something for Four, only to turn around and see that he was gone.

"Where the fuck..." Three muttered, staring in the same direction.

"Where'd he go?" I demanded, turning to Bait, who looked up from where he was still drawing in the dirt. He frowned and looked around, then looked back at me and shrugged. Rolling my eyes, I walked past him and went deeper into the cave, only to find Four laying on his side in the dirt, breathing hard.

"Four, I brought you--"

"No! I don't want it! Get away from me!" Four snarled, propping himself up on one arm and using the other to slash at me. I frowned, pulling up short. He didn't seem to be seeing me, but rather, something else.

"You need to eat. It looks like you haven't eaten in weeks--"

"No! I'm not touching shit! Fuck off!"

"At least take a bite--"

"I'm not falling for it! Fuck you!" Four screamed, his voice echoing off the walls. I winced and looked back where Three was storming over to where we were.

"He needs to stay quiet," Three hissed, "They're going to hear him if he keeps screaming like that."

"I know, I'm just trying to get him to eat something," I responded, looking back at Four, who was trying to drag himself away from us and deeper into the cave. I sighed and tucked the fruit in my sweatshirt pocket, walking over to where Four was. I held my hand out, but he slapped it away and pulled himself through the dirt.

"Don't touch me!"

"You need help--"

"I don't need your help! Get away from me!"

"Hadrian," Three said in a warning tone. I shot him a dirty look, then turned back in time for Four to swing his fist at me. I cursed the second his fist hit my jaw and I stepped back, holding my jaw as it throbbed. It didn't hurt horribly, but it was enough to make me step away from him. Three looked like he had about enough and went after Four, who screamed as Three stood over him.

"Don't touch me! I'll kill you, you motherfucker! I'll rip your fuckin--" Three planted his palm against Four's forehead and a second later, Four was slumping back into the dirt, unconscious. Three sighed, then walked over to where I was and surprised me when he touched my jaw. I felt the sting of magic healing the wound and it was done.

"Your healing magic is... amazing," I murmured. Three frowned.

"It's my thing," he said, and at my curious stare he cocked his head, "Every artificial has a weird thing they can do. Six can blend into his environment. My healing abilities just happen to be better than most."

"Thank you," I replied. Three looked uncomfortable with that, then shook his head and walked over to where Four was. He stooped down and hoisted him up into his arms and brought him back to the group. I followed him and sat down between Four and Bait as Six came over with some fruit for us. He handed me a mango, then paused as I put my hand over his, staring up at me. He swallowed, then drew his hand back and went over to sit with Three. I sighed and sat back against the wall.

"Perhaps I don't understand marriage as much as I thought," I murmured. Because it simply made no sense for Six to be as loyal to Three as he was, unless there was something, some kind of feelings he held for Three.

"I don't either," Bait said, examining the fruit in his hand, "What is this?"

"It's a mango."

"What's that?"

"It's... a type of fruit."

"What's fruit?"

"Fruit? It's a type of food... You never had fruit?"

"I think an apple is fruit, right?"

"Yes."

"I've had an apple once," Bait said softly, rolling the mango around in his hands, "It was very good. I like apples." He bit into the mango and chewed it up, a bit sloppily considering his teeth were too big for his mouth. He drank up the juice, chewed a little more, then took another bite. I took that as a sign that he liked it. It was just hard to tell with that blank look on his face.

I sighed as everyone got settled for the night. The sun was going down outside and the cave got even darker. It was getting colder too. Part of me regretted handing my pants over to Four, but at least he wouldn't be as cold either. I looked at Bait, who sprawled out on the floor to sleep, looking completely unbothered by the cold.

"Aren't you cold?" I asked him. Bait frowned.

"My cage was colder than this. This is quite warm."

"Oh... Do you mind if I sleep a little closer?" I asked. Bait cocked his head, then shrugged. I scooted closer just as Three and Six were standing up and coming over to us.

"What's up?" I asked, sitting up.

"It's cold," Three replied, "We should use our body heat to stay warm, so scoot your ass over. I'll bring Four over too." I raised an eyebrow, but did as he said and scooted over. Six got down on the ground beside me. I looked at him and he looked back at me, only for Three to suddenly shove Six aside, making him curse.

"Yeah, I don't fucking think so," Three said, having laid Four down beside Bait. I rolled my eyes and said nothing as Three settled down between Six and I. Six shot Three a dirty look, which Three met with one of his own. We finally laid down and got as comfortable as we could on a cave floor.

By midnight, it was fucking cold. I found myself scooting closer to Three, because damn, the male put off a lot of body heat. It made sense, I suppose, he was larger than both Six and I. He didn't seem too bothered by the cold either, he seemed perfectly fine. It probably helped that Six had rolled over and was curling in super close to him. I couldn't resist because of the cold, so I ended up practically spooning Three's side.

"Put your leg on mine," Three said suddenly. I looked at him and he looked back at me.

"My leg?"

"Get closer if you're cold. Or don't. Freeze for all I care."

"Why do you have to say things like that," I said dryly, "You could at least pretend to be a little nicer when you speak to people." Three gave me a droll stare.

"Yeah, I'm not a nice person, so I'm not gonna fake it. Get close or don't," he responded. I sighed, debating on getting closer to Bait instead, but Bait seemed perfectly fine where he was and he was much smaller than Three, and didn't put off a lot of body heat. Frustrated, I scooted closer and put my leg over Three's, getting up under his arm to rest my head there. Six was doing the same thing on his other side. Three just folded his arms up behind his head and closed his eyes to sleep.

It took a while, but I finally fell asleep. The cold was just too much and felt like it knocked me out.

I woke up to the sun pouring in through the cave and shining directly on us, a huge warm relief to the cold night. I blinked a few times and looked around, noting I was still practically on top of Three, and so was Six. I looked over to see that Four was still laying on the ground, curled up on his side and snoring softly. Bait was gone.

Alarmed, I sat upright and looked around the cave, only to spot him sitting at the entrance of the cave, holding a piece of fruit and taking little bites out of it. Relieved, I stood up and pried myself off Three, who yawned and rolled over to wrap his arms around Six. For some reason, that little gesture stung. Swallowing, I turned away and walked over to where Bait was, who looked up at my approach.

"How are you?" I asked. Bait cocked his head and looked down at the fruit in his hand.

"Trying to figure out what this is."

"I don't know either. I've never seen a fruit like that."

"It's sweet, and juicy."

"Okay," I said, then sighed and rubbed at my temples, "Gods, I can't wait to get home. I'm exhausted. I want to sleep in my own bed. Eat my own food. Listen to my friends argue." Bait looked up, cocking his head.

"Sounds like strange things to miss."

"Yes, well, it was my life and I want it back," I said, then glanced behind me at Six and Three before looking down at the ground, "Or... I don't know. I'm angry. I'm frustrated. I'm hurt." Bait studied me for a moment, then looked away. He got up and I expected him to just leave me because he was done with my emotional baggage, except he returned with a piece of fruit and handed it to me. I took it and he sat down at my side again, looking out at the forest.

"They've been together for as long as I can remember," Bait said, making me look at him, "It's hard to forget that kind of thing... It just kind of becomes normal and having it any other way, well, it doesn't seem possible." I looked at him, then down at the ground.

"Did you have someone you loved?" I asked. Bait frowned.

"I don't know what that means."

"Someone you love. Someone you can't forget, someone you like seeing a lot, you like touching, you like being with."

"Oh," Bait answered, then tilted his head before shrugging, "I liked Seven. He was nice, most of the time. He was kind of dumb, but it was fun to watch sometimes. He thought he could do everything on his own. He'd tried and protect me as best he could, and he always failed. I don't know why he bothered when he knew what was going to happen in the end."

"He wanted to keep you safe. You've probably never been safe, have you?"

"I don't know what that means."

"You don't know what a lot of things mean. Do you mean literally?" I asked. Bait looked at me.

"Yes. That word doesn't make sense to me. It sounds foreign. Safe. Is it made up?"

"Aren't all words made up?" I asked. Bait surprised me by cracking a smile. He looked down at his piece of fruit and took a bite, then shrugged and nodded.

"Are we ready?" I looked up to see Three on his feet and standing beside me as he brushed himself off. Six was sitting on the floor beside him, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He looked at me and I looked back at him. He dropped his eyes, almost like he was embarrassed. I frowned and said nothing as I rose to my feet and Bait rose with me. Three walked over to where Four was and touched his arm with the intention to pick him up and hoist him up into his arms, but the moment he touched Four, the guy shot awake with a scream so loud it actually made me cover my ears.

"Nooo! No, get off me! Don't touch me!" Four shrieked, swinging his fist at Three, who dodged it just in time. Three growled and slammed Four back down on the floor, making Four scream again.

"Shut up," Three snarled, "You're going to get us caught!"

"Get your hands off me! I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!" Four shouted. Three groaned and slammed his hand against Four's face again, pinning it down on the floor as he flooded magic into Four's system. Four's eyes rolled up and he was unconscious again.

"This is useless," Three said, looking up at me, "We should just leave him behind. He's going to get us caught sooner or later."

"We are absolutely not leaving him behind," I said sternly, "He's suffering from severe trauma, physically and mentally. We need to get him to a doctor as soon as possible."

"Okay, except there's no doctor around here and we're being hunted," Three said dryly, "It'll be hard to lug him around while we're trying to escape. Besides, he's an asshole anyway."

"No one deserves what happened to him," I responded coldly, "Not him, not you, not Bait, no one deserves that. And he doesn't deserve to be abandoned. I won't be like the people who raised him. Now, pick his ass up and lead the way before I decide to take you out of this cave for a little one on one." Three stared at me, clearly debating on taking me up on that offer. Six cleared his throat and came between us.

"Come on, let's relax for a second," he said, "We can't abandon Four, he's right. Just keep him under the spell long enough for us to escape, okay?" Three glared at him, then at me before he finally heaved himself to his feet, taking Four with him.

"You're just making this harder and harder," Three growled at me before he headed out of the cave. I shook my head, then turned to Bait, who looked up at me.

"Think you can handle walking on your own for now?" I asked. Bait cocked his head.

"Yeah."

"Alright," I decided. Bait rose to his feet and we followed Three out of the cave and out into the jungle.