Warning: This scene contains attempted sexual assault and is very significant to the plot. Summary and explanation below.

Dawn 46

It's easier to hide from Minho than I thought. He checks all the places he expects me to be. The Homestead, hidden in one of the medical rooms, or under one of the bunkbeds. In the kitchens, the Deadheads, or around the bonfire are the places I normally hang around.

Currently though, seeing as I knew he would be looking in all of the usual places, I have hidden in the Slammer. They don't lock the door unless it is in use after all, which makes it more than easy to hide in here.

When I first stepped inside, I felt queasy. The Slammer gave me the illusion of a quiet sanctuary, and while I am not one for solitude, it would serve its purpose for the night, until I found a better place to hide tomorrow. As soon as I shut the door, I noticed why this place is a punishment.

Bloody handprints drag down the wall, having stained the concrete. The floor shows a map of all the places someone was brutally beaten, and I don't want to think about it but I know this was Michelle. I might have given her too much klunk for how often she got in trouble and disrespected authority. It seems she got more flack than I could have ever given her.

I can see how they beat her. From the splatters on the floor I can see where she coughed up blood, and the larger dots reveal where she bled from her nose. In large pools, I can tell where she lied bleeding for hours on end. Alone in this square prison she waited. Here I can feel her anger staining the walls. Her despair as she smashed her knuckles against the door, begging to be let out.

It doesn't matter what she did or didn't do. This violence disgusts me. I am not a pacifist either. Although I've never done it, I know if it came down to it, I could beat someone. This seems senseless. The sight doesn't make me gag, but it makes my stomach turn over the idea that I should've been there for her, but I wasn't. The four of us are sort of sisters after all, born on the same day from the same place. It's not just my job to sit on the sidelines and watch them all crumble.

At least the Slammer can provide me security when all it once did was hold pain captive.

It's gotten darker out, which means Minho must be sleeping, but I can't avoid the thought in my head that he is still looking for me out there. I know it isn't true though.

The worst part of this, is that I can't be mad at him. After all, he did nothing wrong. I cannot blame a boy for not falling in love with me. That wouldn't be fair on my part, although I do understand why he is upset with me for keeping it a secret. I was just trying to protect us, but look where that got me.

Alone in the Slammer, apparently.

I hear the door creak open, if just slowly, and I stare forward.

"What are you doing in here?"

It's not him.

"Ben, right?" I ask, watching the boy limp into the room.

He nods, "yeah, that's me."

"You're a Builder, right?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Was a while ago. Before you guys came anyway. Runner now, though, or at least I was."

He looks down at his ankle, and I furrow my brow. "You're the guy who got injured."

"Three more weeks," his limp is obvious as he comes closer to me. "Then I'm back in the Maze."

I nod. When he smiles it feels a little odd. I can't pin it on anything, but Ben is an odd fellow. The first night, I heard he got in a bit of a tiff with Michelle, which I guess isn't that hard. Or at least, I thought so until I came in here.

He's pretty nonchalant about the whole, bloody walls thing going on here. Once Newt mentioned him too, and I remember Ben yelling at Fry and I because he got drywall in his own bloody food.

"What are you doing in here?" I ask him carefully.

He cocks his head to the side, before flashing his teeth at me as he chuckles. "Sorry, this must be weird. I come in here to think because it's usually pretty empty. Not many places you can go to get away."

"Good that," I mutter, though I can't entirely find the enthusiasm in my voice.

"What are you doing in here anyway?" He asks me, moving beside me to stare at the walls where I look. "Trying to figure out what those are from?"

I shake my head, stepping away from him. "I was just curious as to what this place was like inside."

"You've been in here before though," he tells me like I've forgotten, in a way that is way too accusatory. "When you first got here, remember?"

"Michelle has a way of ruining the things she touches," I gesture to the smears of red stretching from floor to ceiling. "I wanted to see what happened to her in here. She doesn't talk much since she was almost banished."

"You sure you weren't hiding from Minho?"

I flinch, turning towards him. The silence that fills the room is eerie and uncomfortable. Ben seems to be feeling just fine though.

"Yeah, I know," he begins, trying to seem all cool with it. "I saw you guys fighting a couple nights ago. Figured you should know that you aren't too subtle, in case someone else catches you next time."

I don't know why he chose to tell me instead of Minho, someone he obviously knows better and is much closer to, but I sit on the question in silence. Ben didn't just happen upon me. This is planned, and I don't like it.

What is he up to?

"We're just friends."

"Do you kiss all your friends Dawn?" He asks.

I don't know how to respond to that, other than to attempt to swallow the dry air in the room. All the hairs are sticking up all over my body.

"Maybe you and I could be friends then, huh?"

I can't breathe. All I can do is stare at him in disbelief. "Sorry?" I don't mean it as an apology. He seems to get that I'm confused by his statement, but not that I am feigning confusion.

He steps closer to me, and I back up until my back is against the wall and he is against me.

"I more so meant," he bites his lip, "since things aren't going to well with Minho we could have some fun."

My voice has been stolen from me, so all I can do is listen to every syllable. I wish I were loud and angry, and could fight him off. Of course this is his plan.

"After all," he presses his hips against mine, and I again, forget what it is like to breathe. "It is just here alone."

He reaches his hand towards me, and I swipe it away. He smiles at that.

"You know, if I had wanted feisty, I'd have gone with the ginger," I can't think while he speaks, "and if I had wanted silent, I'd have gone with that brunette. You're the best of the three, don't you know?"

"I will scream," I threaten, and I'm serious. Ben is freaking me out, but I can feel the burning in my stomach telling me I'm not afraid.

"And then I'll tell them about your little hangouts with Minho, and then where will we be?" He doesn't wait for me to answer. "Ah, yes. He'll be gone, I'll be Keeper of the Runners, and I will still get my turn with you."

"Don't touch me."

He runs his hands through my hair, feeling the strands as he ignores my words. His face approaches mine, and I shove him off.

Stumbling backwards, he only smiles before shoving me back against the wall. I feel the concrete rattle through my spine.

No one knows I am here. My head spins in circles and I can feel bile in the back of my throat. The only way I can get someone's attention is to scream.

If I scream I rat Minho out. When I scream, he is dead.

That is what fears me. I know I am clever enough, astute enough, to talk my way out of any situation. I can bat my eyes and get what I want. Ben, however, has limited me. He has ripped me from my universe and put me somewhere where he wants me to have two options: scream and get Minho banished, or comply.

He slams me back into the wall, and I can feel my brain rocking around inside my skull. His hands rest on my shoulders, pressing into my skin. Callused and dirty and all over me. He leans up towards me and I spit in his face.

He shoves me down against the ground, and my head hits the side of the concrete. I tilt forward, feeling blood drip down from my nose, dripping onto the floor.

Only more blood fills this room.

"Why are you making this so difficult Dawn?"

It is so dark in here, my blood doesn't look red. I can only assume crimson colour because it drips from my nose. The whole world is dark blue.

He starts to lift me up, and he faces me. My head hangs limply from my neck, until he lifts me up completely, presses me against the wall, and forces me to face him.

I thought the third option I could create for myself was fighting back, but it seems as though I cannot do even that.

"You are so lovely you know," he begins. "I'm so glad we've come to this agreement. We're going to have some fun times you and I."

I reach forward and bite his nose until I hear him grunt out in pain. He rips himself back from me, nose bleeding profusely from the outside. My feet feel like they might slip out from beneath me, but I lean forward, shoving him into the door, which closes with a crash.

"Minho's dead, you hear me?" He begins.

I scoff. "Yeah, have fun telling Alby that when he sees the teeth marks on your nose. Explain to him exactly how I had the opportunity to get so close to your face that I could bite it.

Staring at me, he limps backwards out the door, only creating more of a ruckus.

The dizziness takes over my body, and I can only hope that someone is awake to come find me as I hit the ground.

~~~~~~~~~

PLEASE NOTE: The summary might also be upsetting. It is not in explicit detail, but I am going to explain what happens. It is necessary you know what happens, in order to understand the rest of this book.

Summary: Dawn is hiding from Minho in the Slammer. Ben comes in, and threatens Dawn. If she won't sleep with him, he will get her banished for being with Minho, as he knows they have been sneaking around. Dawn fights him off, but is upset and faints.

Explanation: Much of the rest of Dawn's story comes from being a sexual assault survivor. She learns, and grows. She becomes more empathetic to other struggles, where before now she is more indifferent. It also is important, because it shows the importance of letting others help you, and the absurdity of refusing to let girls and boys date. Secrecy simple causes more problems.

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Well, this is where the plot is going to prevalent. I love my street-smart BAMF, and how she took him to town. I think Dawn is going to be an interesting character as we get to see more of her.

Sorry I didn't post, I couldn't get my wifi to work. it's why I'm posting at the ass-crack of dawn in my time zone (hehe, Dawn at Dawn).

I'll see you soon in Michelle and actually having a semi-civilized conversation??