10 10. Punishmen

The kids draining sweat, hustled down a cryptic, cold shaft that led under a mountain. At the end of the tunnel, stood a titanium wall with glowing, blue line designs on it. Gabe leaned over and arranged his hand on the side of the wall. A blue laser examined his hand and an automated voice vocalized:

-Gabe Agreste...access granted.-

"Yes! It worked!" cheered Natalie.

-Companion count…-

"Oh no…" faltered Izon

Instantly a blue laser hastened out and gradually moved up and down scanning the area.

-Count four companion of Gabe Agreste… Natalie Baker, Marly Westfield, Izon Miller… Scanning…Scanning...-

"Wait a sec." Ryela whispered, "Does the computer know me?"

-Scan complete… Unknown Participant of Gabe Agreste… Activating lock-mode...-

Spontaneously, several steel reinforced doors dropped down behind the group.

-Companion access denied…-

"No! You stupid machine, let us in!" yelled Izon.

The kids arose in panic and were in complete loss of ideas. The tunnel and everything around then rose to tremble and pieces of rubble started to collapse.

Ryela gazed down at her hands and took a deep breath. Without a sound, she locked her vision on the door and gave an intense glare.

-BANG!-

"Wo!" shouted Gabe as he covered his head.

The metal door ruptured open from the grasp of the tunnel; there stood Ryela with her a strong-minded grimace and her eyes gleaming green.

"Let's go!" Izon shot past them and down the hallway, so did the rest of the kids.

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"We need medical attention on the Level U !" Called a nurse as they pushed an emergency bed across the room. Izon placed Marly on the bed and they hastened her to the Emergency Room.

"I hope she will be okay!" Izon vexed, pacing back and forth.

"I'm sorry, guys…" Ryela muttered.

"For what? You'd didn't do anything." Gabe reasoned.

"I knew something was coming, but I didn't want to say anything… I'm sorry-"

"What happened here!!" growled a voice over everything. The kids shifted around, as infuriated Henry stormed through the crowd of kids and nurses. "Someone mind explaining what happened?"

"Nothing did, sir." Izon reasoned.

"Oh so that's why Marly is in an Emergency Room right now unconscious, you are pale and out of breath, and Natalie's arm looks broken," he barked, "And you!" he aimed in Gabe's direction. Gabe gradually drifted to the side and there was Ryela with her head down in the back. "Just when I started to put the slightest trust in you, you break it!" he shot a scowl at Gabe, which then turned into disappointment, "You… my most trusted kid here…"

"Its wasn't-..." Ryela halted. "It wasn't him, sir. It was my fault." She spat out in fear.

Gabe turned around and shot a troubled frown."What are you doing?!" he whispered.

She glanced at his cry of worry and looked back at Henry. "I- I convinced them to go, th- they didn't do anything." She stuttered looking down.

Henry struck of words looked at MaryAnn beside him; then put his vision back on the girl. "If that's true we need to have a discussion with you…privately..." Guards came up from all around and seized her arms. The scared girl started wheezing hard as painful memories released in her head.

'She did this to herself, William….'

A voice echoed in her eardrum. Ryela clenched her eyes shut as much as she could and began shaking her head to get that terrorizing call out of her head. As the guards pulled her out of the room Ryela's eyes began to envision another memory she had in the past of guards dragging her to a machine. So without grasping that it was just a memory, she started to panic.

Gabe, Izon, and Natalie watched as the doors shut behind the frightened girl.

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Henry paced in front of the group of guards escorting Ryela to his office.

MaryAnn was left at the end of the group. So she drove her way up to Henry. "What are you doing?"

"She left the facility which is clearly against the rules. High punishment is required," he whispered back.

"She just a child. How could you be so cruel? She's been kept in some warehouse, science lab thing, for her whole life. You can't blame her for wanting some time to be a normal kid!" she reasoned as they took a curve down the hall.

"Yes, but now WWIDI is on our track! If he finds us… it's all over…" he breathed, "I can't let that happen. After everything, we've gone through… even if that means one kid has to be dealt with."

"So you're telling me. If they ever did find us… you would trade in the girl for your own safety?" MaryAnn gave a hurt scowl, and gazed back down, "I mean, what did I expect from someone like you…" She turned away and began to walk off, but before she could Henry grasped her arm and took her to the side.

"Take her to my office. I will be there in a minute." Henry ordered the guards. He took a deep sigh and looked at MaryAnn. "I can't have this girl ruin things... She's arebel and needs to be restrained…"

"But she is just a child! She lived in hell her whole life. And RGST is supposed to be different for her, but no. You are making it just as hard. Why can't you just be compassionate for once for once? But no, you treat her poorly and you give her another reason to not want to live. She already suffered enough…"

"You expect me to show love to someone like her? People like her took everyone that ever loved me away!" He gave a look at MaryAnn who was slightly in tears.

"Not everyone," She sympathized, placing her hand on his cheek. "You're just too blinded by your pain to see that." MaryAnn backed away and got ready to leave, but stopped. "At least let her get washed up first, she is human you know."

Henry finally coughed up something to say: "She will need surveillance though."

"I will go then."

"I don't know ab-"

"You've restricted me long enough. I helped make RGST happen, therefore I do as I please." MaryAnn marched off into Henry's office and took Ryela with her. They then made their way to MaryAnn's sleeping abode. She helped Ryela wash up and got her a new pair of comfy clothes. After that she got a brush a began to stroke Ryela's hair.

"There is only one other person that would brush my hair like this," Ryela explained looking down.

MaryAnn stopped brushing and inquired,"And who was that dear?"

"Willy..." She lightly smiled. "He would-... Through everything, I was going through in WWIDI... he was nice to me." Ryela described with tears coming up. "He'd bring me new clothes, get me a stuffed animal for any special occasion, and..." She grasped her hair and started stroking it. "He would brush my hair or do a braid."

"That's nice, I thought you were talking about your mother at first." MaryAnn proceeded to brush her hair.

Sorrow hit Ryela again as she attempted to remember the little scraps of memory she had of her. "She wasn't really in my life enough for me to know if she ever did do my hair. Or at least that's what they told me."

MaryAnn gave a gaze of uncertainty.

"Apparently she died from the same 'disease' I was cured from... they said she had it and it passed on to me. But that's what they told me..." Ryela explained as bitter tears went down her pale skin. "I don't even know who to trust anymore..." her voice stiffened.

"Oh, sweety you can trust me. You can trust all of RGST."

"Then why can'tI feel that? That comfort..." She revealed catching a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry, darling... that's something we are working on... trust... maybe," MaryAnn reasoned, "We can learn it together? You, me, your friends... even Henry." She chuckled as she ran her fingers through Ryela's brown locks.

Ryela took a moment of reflection to soak in what she said but was soon alarmed by MaryAnn's proposal she missed. "I'm sorry, what?"

MaryAnn chuckled softly and asked, "Would you like me to braid your hair? I'm not the best but I can do pretty good."

"Yeah... I'd like that..."

So for the next thirty minutes, MaryAnn put herself to work on doing Ryela's hair. Finally, after a few laughs and fails, she mastered the two french braid hairstyle on Ryela. Ryela got up and gave a good peek into the mirror. She had two medium length braids resting on her back with her baby hairs pulled out.

"I look..."

"Pretty." MaryAnn finished. They took a minute to look at her hair, but that sweet moment was soon interrupted. "I hate to say this, sweety, but we have to get going. Henry is expecting you in his office."

"O- okay..." Ryela faltered.

"It'll be all right though, okay?" MaryAnn comforted.

"Sure..."

The two of them made their way to Henry's office with MaryAnn showing the way. Once they got there they were greeted by numerous guards in and on the outside of the room.

"Have a seat, please, Ryela." insisted Henry. "Let's get down to business. You and Group A2 broke the rules by leaving the facility without permission. Not only that, you could have gotten caught by WWIDI or lead them closer to where we hide. Now… I have an idea of Group A2 puni-"

"No…" Ryela blurted out in fear, "They didn't do anything wrong. It was my idea. It was my fault… I t-...I take full respo-... full responsibility … And I t-... I take all p-.." It seemed as though something had a firm clutch on Ryela's throat and she couldn't converse. Then through all the memories that spontaneously started flooding back, she strained out: "I take all punishment and all actions that need to be taken place." A barrier of silence struck the room as another unpleasant flashback crawled its way in.

~"No! Stop it! He didn't do anything wrong! Willy, please tell him!" I begged with this stone hearted man as I watched my best friend get whipped and beaten.~

"He broke the rules, and I suggest if you don't want the same consequences, then you will learn to hold your tongue!" condemned the callous man.

~"How could you be so bitter! He did nothing wrong!" I instantly was hushed when he raised his strong hand towards me. I saw the rage in his eyes, so I flinched in terror and took a few steps back.~

~He drew his hand back down from my direction and replied,"Listen well, child. If you want to grow up with no troubles then I suggest you do as I say!" This harsh man snapped at me harder than ever. Tears came up in my eyes as he demanded a request. "Get her outta my sight. William…"~

"But, sir?"

"She did this to herself, William… Now go."

~I did nothing to myself… nothing was ever self-inflicted… I never made myself the way I am… You… did this to me… Collins… You made me go through life in pain. You did this to me...~

Those words 'She did this to herself, William.' tortuously rang in Ryela's ear to the point where she thought they were going to bleed. She finally snapped out of her thought process right when Henry began to speak.

"That's very bold of you, Ryela. Unfortunately, Group A2 will still get punished. But if you truly do take full responsibility it won't be as bad."

"Yes, I do."

"I hate to do this… to any kids here, but… Ryela as punishment for breaking the rules you must be restricted of your ability. Ability Restraints will be going and under any circumstance can not take them or break them off in any way. If so, you will be sentenced to longer restraint time."

Ryela developed in elevated anxiety and her pant got heavy. "What? P- abil- Ability Restraint? Out of everything, you choose that!"

"It's the rules, Ryela. I'm sorry." Henry revealed as guards came in containing the horrid restraints.

"I swear I'll flip if you even get close to me with that thing." Ryela rose to fright, "MaryAnn, do something! She called as guards came closer.

"No, Ryela just calmed down it's not that bad." Henry tried to reason. "Let's not have to do this by force, please."

Ryela started breathing really hard as painful memories came back. The girl started shaking all over as the guards grabbed her hand. She was complete trembled in fear and didn't have enough courage to stop them. They clicked on the device to the first wrist, then her other wrist, then finally they clicked the last device onto the neck

"See? it's not that bad. You will be out of them in no time…" reasoned Henry. "Speaking of time it's been a while. Dinner will be served in a little so go get ready."

MaryAnn led Ryela out of the office and to her room where she met Marly and Natalie.

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---AUTHORS THOUGHTS---

Hey guys, I'm so sorry that I haven't yet published a new chapter. I hit a HUGE writers block and I'm not sure were to go. I may start back up fresh in a few days maybe a week. I will work on chapters when I can. I very busy this month and next especially cuz I have something coming up in my personal life. I'll try to work on some more stuff. I've been doing some sketches too, so I may publish some with my book. I made a book cover, I just don't know how to make it the size required, so some feedback would be very helpful! But yea I'll be working hard on this book, so I hope u stayed tuned!