The Reluctant Journey Ch. 06

"I should dress first." She insisted as she tried and failed to pull her arm from his grasp.

"You look fine." He said while walking towards the stairs, dragging her behind him.

Malia bit her lip in nervousness. He was up to something and it wasn't good. They soon reached the dining room due to Cain's long stride. She was nearly out of breath from taking twice as many steps as him. He released her and sat in his chair at the head of the table. She would have sat at the other end, far away from him, but a plate was set in the spot to his right. She begrudgingly walked to the chair and slowly sat.

A salad was quickly brought out for both of them. Malia immediately began to eat to avoid any conversation; for once the food was bland to her. Cain didn't speak immediately; he slowly brought forkfuls of salad to his mouth and watched her eat as he chewed, slowly. She finally looked up at him when her own salad was gone.

"You seem to have done a great job taking care of Tristan today." He said politely if not appreciatively.

"I didn't do much, really Gwen did most of it anyway." She was still speaking too fast, words were flying out of her mouth uncensored and that was dangerous.

"You know, I have a lot of staff here and the occasional soldiers. It doesn't make sense for you to be dedicated to Tristan full-time." He smiled and her stomach dropped. "He may get bored with you. I don't actually have a doctor on staff, now that I think of it. I call one in from the city when people get sick or injured. It's very expensive and time consuming." Malia didn't like where this conversation was going.

"I'm not a doctor." She insisted. "Really I have a lot to learn. I only occasionally took temperatures and stuff back in the unit."

"Oh don't sell yourself short little girl. I've read your entire file; I had it delivered to me while I was away, nasty little thing to get a hold of too. You were taken to the unit when you were ten years old. Your father began to take you to the hospital when you were twelve, though you showed an aptitude for healing before that." Malia remembered her little sister bringing birds and small animals home to try and heal them, many times she was unsuccessful, but she kept trying. "Since you were twelve years old you've been in the unit's hospital nearly everyday. You were in fact there when I came to get you, where you not?"

Malia clenched her teeth. "Yes I believe that is where you kidnapped me." Cain smiled wickedly.

"Your father is an excellent doctor for the unit, he trained you specifically to follow in his footsteps. I'm sure you'll make him proud." How dare he speak of her family? She wanted to stab him with his own fork. She wanted to take the pristine white napkin and strangle him with it. She kept silent in fear of what she might say to him. He continued speaking. "Tristan only had a fever, I want to see your skill in action." He smiled at her. "You know many men get hurt everyday in the army. Even during standard training exercises." The main course was bought out then, but Malia could hardly look at the delicious food. "We are in the end stages of the war. However there are still rebel groups that catch our patrols by surprise. I brought some of the more mobile patients here." He said it excitedly, like she would love this news, which Malia thought was a stretch, even if she were Olivia. "We have a fully stocked medical facility in the basement."

"I thought your basement was a torture dungeon?" Malia used sarcasm to deflect from the fact that his words had caused her veins to run cold.

He grinned. "Only on weekends."

The rest of the meal went by in a blur for Malia. She was not going to be able to fake this. She felt like a small animal caught in a trap as a wolf lurked nearby, waiting to attack. Cain seemed to savor every bite of the rest of the dinner while Malia felt like every bite was a boulder that sank to the bottom of her stomach. Too soon the food was gone and Cain stood. He walked over to her chair and offered her his arm; it could have almost passed for gentlemanly if his face hadn't looked so predatory.

She very reluctantly stood because she couldn't think of a reason not to. Her nervousness was impeding her ability to form even the simplest of plans. She could feel his metaphoric wolf jaws closing around her neck. She was shit out of luck.

"Did you know that we have an elevator?" Cain smiled at her as she instinctively took his proffered arm to steady herself as he led her out of the dining room. She didn't have the power of mind to articulate so she shook her head in response. "It is usually used by staff as my great-great-grandfather deemed it unseemly to move around in metal boxes. He didn't build the manor, but he restored it into its historically accurate grandeur. He was quite the sentimental, so I'm told at least. I never met the man. Tristan and I recently redesigned some of the highly used rooms to update them a bit." Cain rambled on and Malia pictured blood and oozing pustules. Cain nearly dragged her to the kitchen area, which was surprisingly deserted. "The servant hallways are narrow." He warned as he opened a small narrow door in the corner of the kitchen, she'd never noticed it was there. The hallway was very narrow; two could fit side by side only if they hugged the wall. Cain led the way and she followed slowly behind. The hall wasn't lit very well and was plain compared to the rest of the house. At the end of the hallway there was a tiny old looking elevator.

"Cain I..." Malia bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Yes?" He turned to look at her and raised his eyebrow. He pressed the button without looking and a loud clanging sound greeted them as the elevator approached. Malia couldn't think about anything but the gory pictures that ran through her mind's eye like a horror flick. She'd heard a boy break his leg before. The unit had an annual community baseball game. He'd slid home and the whole sideline had heard a sickening crack when he'd collided with the catcher. He'd screamed and she'd thrown up in the grass. She felt like throwing up again. The rocks that were her dinner had risen to her throat. Cain seemed to tire of waiting for her to continue, so he stepped on the elevator and motioned for her to join. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she stepped on the elevator. It didn't look to be especially extravagant. If she hadn't been so out of sorts she would have probably even been scared. The elevator was very small; Cain's left leg grazed her right leg as they stood side by side.

There were five floors the elevator served; Cain pressed the button for the lowest. The elevator jerked as it started to move and Malia flinched.

"Don't like elevators?" Cain asked over her shoulder.

"I don't mind them, however this looks like the first elevator ever made so.." She was trying to sound snarky and confidant and failed.

"But usually you don't mind them at all?" His voice had lowered to something sinister. He reached out and pushed an emergency stop button and the elevator immediately jerked to a halt. Malia pressed her back to the wall as she faced him. He glared at her and looked absolutely formidable, more so than even the first time they'd met. "I did some research while I was away little girl." He spat every word like dangerous venom and Malia whimpered at the trapped feeling. "It seems my little Olivia Yates has debilitating claustrophobia. Now why would someone scared of small spaces get on this elevator and be virtually unaffected?"

"I..I.." Malia stuttered as he got closer, so close that he towered directly over her, pressing her into the metal wall.

"I also read an interesting file on a Malia Yates. No assignments in the hospital where her father works due to an inability to perform in a medical environment. Parenthesis followed with the words "violently queasy". " He spoke quickly but with an accuracy as if he were actually reading her file. Malia was frozen as soon as he said her name. "And why would someone formally trained in a hospital fail so completely when asked to treat a man with a simple fever? Did you really think this would work forever? Did you really think that I would never find out?" He was alternating between outright yelling and low growling. It was a frightening combination. Malia shook her head back and forth in denial. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't form any words, as he was terrifyingly close.

"What, no smart ass comments? You are usually so full of bitchy remarks to add." He brought one of his large hands up to curl around her exposed throat. He didn't squeeze but she instinctively grabbed his hand with both of hers. He snarled down at her. "You know I'm not usually so ill prepared when I am working. My source actually caught me off guard when the opportunity to collect you came up. Well to collect your sister. Apparently the units need to add pictures to their filing system." He grinned maliciously down at her. His lips were leveled with her eyes as she tilted her head up to look at him.

"Do you know the ironic thing? I am the one they call in to clean up other people's fuck ups. One thing I've learned though, with some perseverance most things can be cleaned up in one way or another." He moved back slightly with his hand still pinning her neck to the metal wall. He released the emergency stop with his free hand and the elevator jerked again as it continued its decent.

"You know I didn't have incentive to get your family out of the unit before, but you gave me that didn't you? A lot of planning went into bringing Olivia Yates here and I think I want what I paid for."

"No, Cain you-" He tightened his hand slightly and she clawed at his arm.

"I can indeed Little Girl, and I will. You should be happy, this is what you wanted, your sister is going to be released from the unit. Unfortunately that leaves you here without a purpose. As for the rest of your family..." He shrugged but at least he had slackened his grip a little. "It seems your mistaken identity has caused quite the disturbance in unit 118. They will be separated and imprisoned indefinitely." He spoke slowly and deliberately.

"No!" Malia screamed. Tears sprang to her eyes instantly and she shook her head, trying to dislodge his hand. His eyes blackened hatefully as he stared down at her like she was a disease. It seemingly took him no effort at all to spin her around until her face pressed against the elevator wall. He quickly had both of her wrists behind her back and she felt cold hard steel wrap around them. The elevator doors opened slowly and he pulled her by her handcuffed arms. She tried to drop to the floor to avoid being led into the basement further. He simply threw her over his shoulder and started to walk. Malia screamed the entire time. She recognized the hallway they were entering, it was where she had first been brought. She tried to kick at him but he was holding her knees straight and very tightly. Too quickly they were back at the door to her original cell. It opened automatically and he dropped her to the ground in the middle of the cell. Pain ran up her hip and shoulder where she'd landed and she screamed out. Without any further discussion he left the cell and the door latched closed.

The cell looked entirely different. The old age torture look was gone. This room looked ultra modern and almost clinical. The walls were stainless steel and the floor was solid concrete with a small drain in the center. There was nothing in the room and the lights were blinding overhead. She looked over at where Cain had disappeared and couldn't locate the door. There was only seamless, cold, metal wall.

Malia openly sobbed on the ground. She didn't have the energy or forethought to bring her cuffed hands to the front of her body. She was on her knees with her forehead pressed to the cold concrete. Her family was going to be torn apart and it was all her fault. She'd been trying to protect them and it didn't matter. Cain would still get Olivia and the rest of her family would pay for her mistake. If she'd been able to do any of the medical shit Olivia did on a daily basis maybe he wouldn't have found out. If she would have thought about Olivia's claustrophobia he might have continued to think that she was her sister. But now it was too late. Her tears came out in torrents that ran down to the concrete. She could picture each of them being ripped from each other and locked in cells similar to the one she now inhabited. She saw her mother being pulled away from her remaining children. She saw her father broken and defeated. She saw her twin brothers crying as they were separated from each other, each alone for the first time in their short lives.

Hopefully Cain would kill her and end this for her. She could feel the guilt and grief oozing throughout her body like thick molasses, black and all consuming. She replayed his malicious words again and again in her head. She couldn't live with this, it was too much. Malia's tears stopped as she fell to lay on her side in the fetal position and felt her mind go blissfully numb.

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Cain's pride was still hurt from the repeat mistakes he'd made when taking Olivia, no Malia. He'd meticulously planned for months and then it had all been shot to hell when he'd received a call from his inside source. It was a now or never call and Cain chose to go through with it even though his instincts had been screaming at him. But he'd made that choice and there was nothing to do now except fix whatever repercussions came with that. One of those repercussions being a dark haired little girl sitting in his basement. He'd taken his anger on the situation out on her and it had felt good. He would deal with her in a while, but he needed to straighten some things out. He didn't want to look like he'd changed his mind when he released her from the cell, even if that was exactly what he'd done. She irritated him with her unpredictability. One moment she was a little girl, scared and weak, and then the next she was challenging him toe to toe. He'd been so full of rage when she continued to question him on Tristan's frostbite, he'd beat her ass harder than she'd deserved for that infraction. But when she pulled her dress down and continued with the questioning he'd been surprised and impressed at her courage and tenacity. She'd earned just a little of his respect that day. Not to mention the fact that she'd turned him on. He felt terrible about it and had lambasted himself ever since, but when she'd gotten up and continued with her question as if nothing had happened, he'd been attracted to her. She was beautiful in a very understated way, he'd noticed it the moment he saw her in that unflattering grey jumpsuit, but then he'd been looking for Tristan's sake. When he'd spanked her, he wasn't thinking about his brother. When he'd pressed her against the elevator wall he'd felt a very masculine impulse to rip her clothes off. He loved the fear she showed of him and the power he felt over her in that moment. He felt a twinge of guilt as he saw her devastated face in his mind. She thought he was going to imprison her family forever. He sighed, he might have to, but he would do anything to prevent that from happening. He would make some phone calls, check on Tristan again, and then he would release his prisoner. She could wait, it may even reinforce who was boss in the relationship.

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Tristan was starving. Dinner had been brought up but it consisted of a lot of liquids and he wasn't satisfied. He called downstairs to the kitchen to have something else brought up. Mrs. Smith would be reluctant to give him anything substantial, but ultimately she would oblige. The phone rang repeatedly. He looked over at the clock, 8:37. Usually staff was in the kitchen until 10 o'clock at least. Something was wrong. Tristan was only in boxers so he donned a robe and left the room. The hallways were unusually quiet for this time of night. Usually things were dying down but this was downright deserted. He slowly walked down to the kitchen, his muscles were especially achy. The kitchen was indeed empty and dark, the counters were clean and empty. Cain had sent them all to their boarding for some reason. The security office was discreetly by the front door. He opened the hidden door in the wall when he got to the lobby of the house. He didn't see the point in knocking, they would know he was there anyway as the halls had unnoticeable cameras everywhere. Two men dressed in black cargo pants and long-sleeved t-shirts manned the monitors.

Both looked at him in the doorway. "Good evening, sir." They said in unison.

"Why did Cain send the staff away?" Tristan said bluntly.

"He didn't say sir." One of the men answered.

Tristan crossed his arms over his chest. He suddenly wished he'd taken the time to fully dress as he didn't imagine he looked very intimidating in the white terrycloth robe. "What did you see in the monitors?"

The man looked highly uncomfortable. He didn't want to anger one of the masters to please the other.

"I really don't want to have to watch the video but if I have to I will." Tristan threatened.

"He took Olivia down to the cells." The man said guiltily.

Tristan walked out of the office immediately and went back to the kitchen. He took the terrifying elevator downstairs, his muscles were tight and throbbing from walking around so much. There were large panes of glass that showed the inside of the smart cells. He saw her lying in the center of the floor. He opened the door quickly and walked in, she didn't move. Was she hurt? Why was she in here? He sat on the floor by her head.

"Olivia? Are you okay?" She opened her eyes, but didn't answer him. "Why are you here?" She just closed her eyes again. Tristan stood again and looked in the corner of the cell where he knew a small camera resided. "Send Cain down here now!" He ordered into the camera. Olivia shivered as he made the order. He sat again and stroked her hair as she lied on the floor unresponsively. Cain arrived quickly.

"You called?" He said nonchalantly.

Tristan glared up at him and rose to his feet. He walked into the hallway, but left the door to the cell open.

"What did you do?" He gestured over to Olivia's prone form.

"She isn't who she said she was." Cain shrugged. "I got angry."

"Who is she?"

"Her name is Malia Yates, she's Olivia's sister." Cain said stony faced.

"Why is she down here?" Tristan was furious.

"I told you, I was angry."

"What did you do to her? Why is she just lying there?"

"I didn't do anything to her. I told her the truth. Her actions will have repercussions on her family in the unit. That girl may have started a rebellion with her little lie. She very well may have gotten the entire unit killed, if not imprisoned for life."

"What did you tell her exactly?"

"I told her the worst case scenario. I didn't lie to her. If a rebellion occurs, Unit 118 will be dispatched. Her family will be imprisoned forever, possibly even killed, and there is nothing I would be able to do about that." Malia shivered in the center of the cell, clearly hearing his words again.

Tristan looked hatefully at Cain. "She didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve any of this." He walked into the cell and kneeled down by Malia.

"Malia listen to me. Cain is going to do everything he can to help your family. I promise you." He glared up at Cain. "Because if he doesn't, I don't know if I would be able to forgive him anymore."

Cain looked mildly surprised.

Tristan rose and walked back to the doorway. "You need to fix this." He said and walked away, leaving a stunned Cain in the hall.