Chapter 5

The rest of the ride had been pretty quiet, though not very comfortable. After Gasser had said where they were going, he had put his earbuds in and listened to music the rest of his anointed time with her. Laura was still in the stretcher trying to find a position that at least was tolerable. After a while, she just gave up and resigned herself to be uncomfortable with the restraints that were digging into her arms. After some time the other soldier called Loop came in. He didn't even try to begin a conversation, and Laura was fine with just staring at him angrily. She could see on his insignia that he was also a specialist. And not only that, he had been on the strike-force that had taken her. But on the whole, she was left with only her thoughts of what this "raft" could be.

Maybe they were going to set her into the middle of a lake on a piece of driftwood? Maybe they were going to put her on a boat of some sort and make her fight for her own survival. Maybe that's how they created soldiers like Blonsky, he would win a scenario like that. He said that they were going to 'tame her.' whatever that meant. It sounded like it was a continuation of what they were trying to do in the facility. Transforming her into a killer to suit their needs. She had already decided that she would never kill anyone. At least anyone that wasn't a bad guy… so Gasser would probably live. He was annoying sure, but he wasn't bad. He had actually been kind of nice to her. She shook her head. Donald Pierce, the leader of the Reavers, had acted nice when it suited him, but Laura knew that he had been a bad guy. Liam had also acted nice, but he had told Mary to train a gun on her. She couldn't trust these people… Suddenly, a harsh beeping noise was heard, and Looper fastened his seatbelt with precise quickness as the plane slowly started to descend. She could feel the plane struggle with the turbulence. Soon she felt a large bump, and she assumed that the wheels of the plane now had touched the ground. When the plane had slowed down to a halt, she could hear the soldiers from the other room moving out of the plane. All this time Loop looked out the door-window patiently. After a little while in growing silence, Loop started to wheel her out of the cargo hold and out of the plane.

Laura was rolled down the ramp and into the worst whether she had ever seen. The rain was so heavy that she thought it was a wonder that they even had been able to set down. The wind was blowing her long hair into her face, and with no hands to sweep it away her captors might as well have glued it there. They definitely weren't on a piece of driftwood. It was the largest ship she had until now seen. The runway alone looked like it was longer than the hospital she had been in. The ship, if she could even call it that since it didn't appear to move at all, was practically entirely made of metal. She saw soldiers and other personnel were running up and down, their hands protective over their eyes to shield them against the downpour. White and yellow lights were situated by the sides of the boat and lit the thousands of heavy raindrops falling on the deck. Loop was already wheeling her away from the weather towards a raised section of the boat with a massive metal door as a few more soldiers came to escort them. Laura tried to see if she could locate land nearby she could swim to if the need would arise. However, even with her enhanced senses, she could not see ashore anywhere. She told herself that it must be because of the rain and because it was surprisingly dark. When the weather cleared up there had to be land somewhere. They arrived now at the metal doors after a minute or so of being drenched, and Loop raised his dog tag to a small keypad next to it and hurriedly punched in a few numbers. The door opened with a hiss and she was wheeled into an uplit corridor, soldiers now in front and behind her, talking loudly amongst themselves. The door closed behind them with a definitive sound. Laura could see how the soldiers and Loop were shaking the water out of their clothes from the corner of her eyes.

They moved down the corridor until they reached an elevator, they entered and Laura started to feel the same tightness in her chest as she had done when she had first discovered she was restrained. She could feel her heart beating faster as the elevator doors shut and they were stuck in a small metal box slowly sinking down into the middle of this "Raft." She furrowed her brow so fiercely that two of the soldiers looked her way and raised an eyebrow. She needed to clear her head. She needed a plan. She couldn't do anything because of her restraints, she was completely tied up. The elevator doors opened once again, and Laura was greeted by the glorious sight of another drab corridor.

Suddenly Laura saw something glint in the drab lighting and turned around and saw that one of the soldiers, a browned haired and strong jawed man, had taken out a syringe filled with a transparent liquid. He came closer towards her but Loop quickly put up a hand and the soldier stopped.

"Not going to work, pumped this one with enough tranqs to sedate an elephant. It didn't stick long enough for her to assault and kill one of us. What you're holding there is probably not going to hold her more than thirty seconds at best, so we're saving that for later and we're using the blindfold today."

At the mention of this Laura saw a soldier in front of her started to rummage through her pockets and suddenly looked worried. Loop turned towards her with a dull expression on his face still chewing gum.

"What's the matter, private?" He asked in a monotone.

"Sorry, sir. I forgot the blindfold!" she said while giving Loop a troopers salute. Loop took a few more bit down a few more times in silence, staring at the woman with the same expression on his face at the woman. She started to look even more uncomfortable.

"Then improvise, so we can file the asset before fucking Christmas."

To her credit, the soldier didn't hesitate. She unbuttoned her heavy jacket and ripped a piece of her white shirt underneath. With the improvised blindfold in one hand, she nodded at one of the other soldiers who placed his hand against Laura's head. She didn't even try to resist. The white blindfold was quickly tied around her head leaving her with only partial vision through the cloth. If the soldier hadn't been so flustered and Laura's vision not superhuman, she wouldn't have seen a thing. Not that it mattered since everything seem to look the same under here.

They started to move out again, turning this way and that when the corridor split. Laura thought it was a miracle the soldiers knew where to go. She realized that she would never find her way out of here if she didn't do something. There were no signs, no landmarks or anything distinctive to make the journey back easier. Just the same corridors, over and over again. Even if she escaped, she would never find her way here without a map or any marks pointing her in the right way. Laura realized that the needle they were going to give to her was probably filled with some sedative to make her fall asleep, or at least be less attentive. This part of the ship was designed to make anyone who didn't know the way confused. That's why they had used the blindfold instead, so she wouldn't be able to find her back. She hung her head and the only thing she saw through the cloth was her feet. Her feet! The thought struck her that she wasn't completely tied up. Her left foot still had a little wiggle-room and even with some more wiggle, it would still look like she was tied up, but give her enough movement to follow through with a rapidly forming plan. She tried to a stealthy look over her shoulder to see if the soldiers were monitoring her. As luck would have it they were in the middle of a conversation about the state of the food at the facility and so they did not realize that as soon as they rounded a corner or approached a wall on their left side, Laura stuck out her foot and unsheathe her claw, making a small nick in the metal. She listened for any response but the soldier's loud conversation was drowning out the slight sound her claw made when it scraped against the metal walls. She continued doing this anytime they would make a turn. Swiftly unsheathe her claw, make a small mark in the wall and just as quickly sheathe it and hope that they would be none the wiser. As luck would have it they didn't notice. She kept on doing this until the corridor ended and they reached another elevator. The soldiers wheeled her into it and they went further down into the Raft.

Even with her blindfold Laura could see that they had entered an enormous room. Blue lights streamed into the cloth making Laura try and avoid the irritating glare. With that effort, the blindfold actually moved a small bit, giving Laura a small window to look at her surroundings. And when she did, the only thing she could do was to stare. In front of them was a massive tear, a gaping hole that was so deep that Laura could barely see the bottom. The only thing that helped her make out some of the detail were the lights from hundreds of cells that filled the walls from top to bottom. Small cubicles with a bed, a sink, a small desk and chair, and a toilet open for anyone to see. And inside these tiny living quarters were hundreds of people. And not just ordinary people. Mutants. It had to be because of the security and for the fact that some of them looked wonderfully strange. One of them had a very lumpy head, and whose skin was a yellowish color. One of them being a woman with a red orb instead of a head. One of them was a young man that had some sort of antenna where his ears should have been that seemed to follow the movement of Laura and the soldiers as they rode another elevator situated in and sank deeper and deeper into the prison. They had descended so far down by now that Laura wondered if they soon would plop out of some hole on the other side of the world. But of course, they didn't. Instead, when the elevator stopped on the deepest level she was taken through a long pathway with a door that generated a loud hissing noise when it opened and had a rounded ceiling, unlike the rest of the underwater facility. Before long they reached another door that made the same hissing noise and she was led into a circular corridor with doors evenly spaced around the outer walls. There was a narrow door in front of them that seemed to lead to another, and Laura borrowed some words from Logan, goddamn elevator. She remembered the first time she had rode one and had been excited to try it. The novelty had definitely worn off by now, especially since she couldn't push the buttons herself. Luckily they didn't take the descending devil but turned to the first door to their right. The door itself was made of a polished metal and to the side, Laura could barely see a plaque that read "EYF-2."

"Give me the syringe and be ready with the door," Loop said, and Laura could hear the fabric of his clothes as he probably was motioning to the soldiers. Laura felt how beads of sweat were forming on her forehead and fall into the white cloth as she waited to make her move. This was her only shot. She could discover her way out and any door with a passcode she could probably just slice through. Suddenly and without warning the needle went into her arm, and Laura felt how the liquid inside was pushed into her body. For a few seconds, nothing happened and Laura thought that the drug had no effect on her. At that moment she started to feel dizzy, it was like a fog lay over her mind, and it made it very difficult to move. She could feel her mind slipping, and she shook her head to try and clear it.

"Quickly, she's nearly out of it!" she heard a panicked voice that seemed far away say.

She then noticed that her feet had been released from the stretcher's bindings. It took her a precious few moments to realize that she was free and that she could fight back.

Don't let them push you into the cell. Resist. Fight back until you can free yourself with your claws. You only need a few seconds before you can kill them all.

Laura tried to thrust her feet towards the edges of the door to push the stretcher back from it. She could feel the surprised movements of Loop who was securing it behind her as she pressed the stretcher out into the circular corridor. Another surge of adrenaline hit her as she pushed even harder. She heard how the soldiers beside her were now releasing the safety of their rifles. This was going to have to be quick. She readied herself to tip the stretcher over.

"No, you don't, kid. You're getting grounded for life" she heard Loop behind her say. Then she hit something hard behind her. For a second she thought it was the wall. However, then the wall started to move towards the door, accompanied with heavy footsteps so loud that they were grinding on the metal beneath. She felt how her legs on the edges of the door were slipping away from the door on each side. If she didn't bend them so that they fit into the door, she was going to break her legs doing a split as the unrelenting force behind her pushed her in. She hesitated a moment to long, and she felt how her legs where both pushed sideways and upwards. She panicked and tried to get them free. Too late. Her left leg broke at the knee and she screamed in pain as her legs entered the room. Her eyes watered as she went into a temporary shock.

Before she knew it, she was falling forwards and hit a carpet-clad floor. Her hands had been untied, and she was inside the room. In her confused dizziness she tried to stand up to attack the soldiers but her leg gave way under her and the heavy door closed behind her with a definitive sound.

After a few more seconds of dizziness, the drug had vanished from her system and she felt the full force of her broken leg for the first time. She bit down on the carpet she was laying on as the muscles in her legs were adjusting the knee for it come to its proper place and heal. When that was done, she just lay on the floor, completely exhausted. Then she realized that for the first time in hours she was able to move her hands and feet freely. She relished that freedom for a moment as she moved her arms to scratch her nose, something she had wanted to do for a while, before deciding that laying on a pink carpet was not the best use of her time. She stopped her train of thought for a moment and removed the blindfold. But her first observation had been correct, the floor was indeed covered in a pink carpet. She rose and for the first time looked around her prison.
The room was filled with things. A red chest with an open lid that was overflowing with colorful toys, a canopy bed with white sheets and drapes, a desk with a small screen and a small trash can, a shelf filled with books and cases. Besides that, there was two chairs and a table. The walls were white and were decorated with framed pictures that portrayed horses and other animals. Although, some were just colorful shapes and didn't seem to portray anything at all. In the corner was another door that Laura guessed lead to the bathroom. Laura looked around the room with suspicious awe. Why would they make her cell like this? It didn't make any sense to her. She gave herself a mental shoulder shake. It didn't matter, she needed a way out. She turned around and faced the door again. Beside it was a small control box with a keypad and a tag scanner. Laura unsheathed her claws.
"Hello, can you hear me? I see what you are doing but please don't try and damage the door. It won't work." a woman with a voice that seemed quite unsure had just spoken behind Laura and in the motion she had used to try and swipe at the control box, she swung around to look behind her. It was no one there. Laura glanced searchingly around and found what she was looking for. Inside the ceiling were two black dots, one speaker and one camera. Laura looked up and gave the camera an aggressive look. She had no idea if it had intimidated the person to be quiet, but she felt better. She swung around again and held up her claws so that the camera would see them. She pierced the control box with ease. At least, that's what she thought for a split second before a deafening crack was heard and a pulse of electricity struck her so hard that she flew back five feet and landed on the carpet again with her facing the camera. Clearly, it was mocking her.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, but I did tell you. That looked like it hurt," The disembodied voice told her with concern. Laura didn't listen. She screamed, rose in a single athletic jump, saw that the control box was completely unharmed from her previous attempt and lunged towards the door this time. Another thunderous noise and another shock and Laura were on the floor again screaming in pain.

"I understand you're scared but…" the voice said, but Laura was on her feet again this time striking the walls beside the door. Same result. She tried a dozen more times in other places but nothing seemed to work. The voice stopped trying to talk with her after the fourth try. After her outburst, Laura just lay on the floor panting and healing the burn marks the walls had administered.

"I understand that this comes as a shock to you." the voice said after a few moments had passed. Laura looked incredulously at the camera. Either the woman didn't see it or she ignored it.
"I promise we'll explain everything later. But first, you must be starving. There is some food on the table if you're hungry. You merely need to call if you want someone to speak to."

And so the voice was gone. After a minute or so of waiting for something else to happen Laura rose from the carpet and carefully started to inspect the room. She removed the carpet to the best of her ability to look for pressure plates. Nothing. She then systematically went through every furniture, every appliance, and cable. She discovered some clothes in a cupboard decided to change. She chose a light blue shirt with what she supposed to be a cat listening to music on some headphones and some new jeans. They were a little small, but they were better than being cold. When she opened the door to the bathroom and discovered that is being a lot larger than she had expected. There were both a shower and a bathtub. Some cabinets that contained so many things that Laura barely knew what half of them were for. And of course, a toilet. Laura didn't hesitate. She ripped out every little thing and inspected it. After that, she tried to open the drain to the shower but realized was sealed tight. She thought about cutting it open but decided not to because she didn't want to be shocked again and that she could probably not escape through there. She stuck her hand into the toilet bowl to see if they had placed something there. After that she gave up, feeling utterly hopeless. The only things this had given her were a gross wet hand and the information that the room had been unused for a long time, as a layer of dust had been on every surface. Laura rinsed her toilet-hand in the sink for a long time, enjoying the warm water on her arm. She tried to think of something else to do to get out of the room. But her mind was slow after all that had happened during the day and in trying to collect her thoughts the only thing she got out of it was a slight headache. Laura turned off the water, picked up the towel she had thrown down on the floor during her investigation and dried herself off. She went back into the room and went to the table to investigate the thing she had saved for last. The food.

The food was on a grey tray with a transparent plastic lid, foggy with steam. Beside it was a greyish yellow plastic spork and knife in the same color next to it. A white paper towel and two shakers with salt and pepper were also located on the table. Laura sat down and removed the lid. It was a sausage and mashed potato with vegetables on the side. Laura sniffed it carefully. It had become lukewarm but still smelled wonderful. Healing her leg had made her even more hungry than she had already been. She didn't care if the food was poisoned or something as her healing factor would just cleanse it and still give her more energy than she had started with. She looked around once out of habit and then began to eat. It was a lot better than half-rotten meat and it didn't take long before everything was gone. She looked disappointed at the empty tray. She would've wanted more, but this would have to do. She needed to think of what to do next. She couldn't escape the room, not yet at least, she needed more information on how to achieve that. She couldn't eat because she didn't have any food. She had water and had a shelter. There was nothing she could do. She could feel how her eyes started to water again. She didn't want to cry again. She rushed towards the wall again, claws unsheathed striking. Leaving a slight dent in the tapestry and then getting another cruel shock that made her fly backward. She rose and did this a few times and told herself that the tears coming from her eyes were those of pain. When she didn't get results from the walls, she started to go loose on the furniture to systematically turn them into firewood. When everything but the bed was pulverized she gathered things to throw and kick. After that, she merely stood in the center of the carnage, panting from exhasion with tears and snot running down her face. She sank into a corner of the room with her head in her arms. She was back were she started, but this time with people she didn't know in an underwater prison without a chance to escape her cell. And even if she did, there was no guarantee that she would be able to get to shore. And this time she was without her friends, without Gabriella. Without her dad.

With nothing else to do but feel bad for herself, after a while Laura got a fresh reminder why being locked inside a room was torture. The utter boredom could drive a person insane. At first Laura didn't touch anything that had been placed for her enjoyment out of spite. But after a long while of looking into the wall with varying waves of despair and tiredness she picked up the nearest book she had thrown on the ground. It was not a very thick book, but she found the language so difficult and with no images in it, she soon tired of it and dropped dismissively on the floor. She tried another one. This one wasn't half bad, it was about a bear, and Gabriella had told her stories about them. It also helped that the book had pictures. However, she soon lost focus and put it down, this time with the pages facing the floor so she could continue on reading when she wanted to. She continued on picking up the books, on the floor. Sometimes she read a chapter or two and sometimes she just read a few sentences before she lost interest and moved on to another one. She continued on doing this for quite some time before she removed a thin book from the floor and flipped it around. Her heart started to beat faster when she saw the title. Pinocchio. There was a silhouette picture of a puppet on the front with such a long nose that it almost went over the spine. The title was in gold, and the letters in the title were oddly curved and blended into each other. Laura ran her hands over the cover, feeling every detail. She didn't cry. Laura's hands were shaking as she turned to the first page and started to read.
It was the same story Gabriella had told her so many times, so long ago. Laura immersed herself deeper into the words and found that they were not the same as she had heard it. Gabriella used to tell it to her without a book and she had told it simply and in Spanish. The book had pretty complicated language and Laura had guess the meaning of many of the phrases. Luckily they were pretty self-explanatory. Unfortunately, it was in English which removed some of the feeling of comfort she received. Laura carefully put down the book and furrowed her brow. What were her priorities?

You need to escape.
How would she do that?
Gather intel, so you can get out of your cell.
How would she come to shore?
Find a boat or find an ally with the same goal. There are many people down here who wants to get out.
What would she do when she got to shore?
Find shelter, food and water.
What would she do after that?
Stay hidden and survive.
What would she do after that?
Stay hidden and survive.
What would she do after that?
Stay hidden and survive.

Laura fell asleep on the floor, her thoughts looping endlessly in her mind and a book of a puppet wanting to become a real boy on her lap.

Authors note:

Woo, it's finally done. I'm sorry for not updating more often but it been hectic recently. But now it's the holidays and I have more time that I can devote to actually write so hopefully the next chapter won't take… more than three months…

I actually planned that more things were going to happen in this chapter, but I have a tendency to write walls of text and I want to update regularly (you can laugh, that's okay.). So that's fun. Thanks for your patience and as always if you want to give something back; give me a review or a PM with some constructive criticism. I do this because I want to improve my writing skill (and because I have wanted to read a story like this with X-23 for a long time). So cheers and happy holidays.

Edit: Woops, saw that I accidentally had misnamed Gabriella to Gloria. It's fixed now.