My eyes flutter open to black. Three questions come to mind.

Where am I?

Why is it so dark?

Who am I?

And then, on some sort of predetermined que, it comes to me.

My name is Bryna Lexington. I was born a twin of Brian Lexington, a minute and thirty-six seconds after him to Lila and John Lexington on April third, 2010.

A war ravaged in 2016 that went on for ten years, and it killed my parents and brother.

I'm a rebel, a part of a group trying to make it to freedom. And my group is gone - disappeared. I remember the explosion. A man my age - Aaron, I think? - threw himself over me and protected me as the world grew dark. And that's it.

"Brie?" a voice asks. Aaron. "Where are you?"

I open my mouth, but it feels like someone's stuffed cotton in my mouth. I try flexing my fingers, giving myself a mental assessment, then swallow. "Here," I croak.

Shuffling, and then a hand on my leg, running up my side, and to my face. "This you?" he asks.

I hum. "Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

Well, that's a loaded question. "Sure." That works.

I feel myself lifted up and into Aaron's arms as he drags me backwards. I'm propped against a wall. 

Aaron's hands skim my body, looking for injuries. "Does anything hurt?" he asks.

"No."

"Can you give me something other than monosyllabic answers?"

"I can try," I answer. Even in the dark I can sense his smile. "Where are we?"

"No clue. We were here when I woke up."

"Great," I remark dryly. "How are you doing?"

"Eh, head hurts. And my back. But other then that, I'm peachy."

"Where're the others?"

"Not sure. I think it's just us." He's silent for a moment, and I hear his vulnerability when he speaks again. "What if Lea's hurt?" he asks.

And now I can't be the emotional one, because I have to take charge. "She's not," I say confidently. "Brian, Alex and her weren't near the explosion. Brian's not going to let anything happen to her. Neither will Alex."

"What about Justin?"

"They will kill Justin if he goes anywhere near her with intent to harm her," I say. 

"Brie..."

"Aaron," I say gently, "I know it's bothering you that your sister is out there without you. But I can promise you that Brian will make sure she's safe. What that means is that you and I are on our own, because wherever we are, they're not coming back for us. Right now, we need to worry about us. That is the only thing we can worry about, because otherwise we can't get back to your sister, and I can't get back to the twins. Can you just help me with this here first?"

I can tell he's trying not to panic when I hear his heavy breathing. I straighten and reach for his hand which rests on the ground between us. I grab his hand and intertwine our fingers, squeezing his hand. 

"I..."  His breathing calms as he realizes what I'm doing, and I wait for him to clear his throat before removing my hand. "Sorry. I just... I keep imagining what could happen to her."

"I know. I know."

~~~

A door somewhere to our left opens, and the room we're in floods with light, blinding us temporarily.

"Ah, you're awake," a voice says.

"Ah, you have eyes," I respond dryly. Instinct takes over and I stand, protective of Aaron even though I'm sure he can take care of himself. My eyes recover from the light and I study the man before us.

He seems to be a few years older than me, with that I-will-do-whatever-it-takes kind of vibe to him.

Ugh. I hate him already.

"She has snark," he muses, studying me.

"Oh! You have a brain, too! What else do you have? Clearly not balls, 'cause you kidnapped two teenagers who had just been in a bomb attack."

"And she has a mouth."

"And she has a name."

"Oh. Right, pardon me. I'm Vincent Powers. You?"

I roll my eyes at his ever-so fitting name. "Bryna. My friends call me Brie. But you can't. It's just Bryna to you."

"Ouch. I was hoping we could be good friends."

"Not a chance, Casanova."

He frowns. "What's casanova?"

I look up at the ceiling. Lord save me. "It's a who, not what. Read a book, find a dictionary or something. Gracious."

"Right... Who's your friend?"

"My friend can speak for himself."

"I thought he was mute. He hasn't spoken a word since I walked in."

"You haven't addressed him directly," I say in that 'duh' tone I usually reserve for the twins when they say or do something stupid.

Vincent turns to Aaron. "Hello. I'm Vincent."

"I know," Aaron replies. "I'm not deaf. You already introduced yourself."

"Great. He has a mouth too."

"I'm also standing right here, and would appreciate you addressing me instead of referring to me in third person."

"If you'd give me a name, I wouldn't have to."

Great. These two are not going to get along. Fantastic. "Actually, the only factor in you referring to him in the third person is your lack of proper manners," I butt in, sounding as unimpressed as I feel.

Vincent glances at me, and it's obvious we're not what he expected. I flash him a cheeky smile, and he narrows his eyes. "Don't forget who's keeping you alive, girl."

"Oh, I could never forget. My body does a great job of keeping me from not dying. Thanks for the reminder. Also, I have a name, and it's not 'girl'. Your manners are terrible, sir. You need a lesson in etiquette. Go find your mum and have her teach you."

"My 'mum' is dead. And your snark is getting on my nerves."

"Oh. My apologies. Go visit her in Hell, then. And don't ask for what you can't handle. You don't like my snark, I don't like people who capture me for the hell of it. Nor do I like people being rude to my friends or myself. Honestly, just go get your mum to teach you how to reevaluate life. If you'd like, I could send you there after her in your conquest for a better temperance. It'd be my pleasure."

Vincent snarls and stalks towards me. "Bitch, you need to learn when to shut the fuck up."

"Someone has a mouth," I remark. "Hasn't anyone taught you not to cuss in a lady's presence?"

He sneers. "It's a damn good thing you're no lady, then."

"Nah. I'm female, though. Pretty much the same thing, 'round here."

He steps so we're inches apart. "Shut. Up."

"Has nobody taught you about personal space? 'Cause you're currently invading mine, and if you don't back up, I'ma knee you somewhere very uncomfortable if you don't back up."

He raises a hand to strike me, but Aaron intervenes, grabbing Vincent's hand and pushing the guy back. At his full height, Aaron is a figure to behold, especially in the current situation we're in. "Touch her, and you will regret it," he says gruffly.

Vincent, who was unprepared for Aaron's intervention and had fallen to the ground, looks up at Aaron and physically cowers. 

Aaron glances at me, and I smirk, shrugging. "I could've just kneed him in his crown jewels, but that works too."

My companion grins in amusement. "Had to save the poor guy some pain. Knowing you, it'd have been extremely painful. And what kind of chivalrous guy would I be if I let you get slapped by this piece of sh-"

"Language," I chirp, smiling. "And chivalry's dead, clearly." I nod to Vincent as if that proves my point. "And I'm no damsel. And I most certainly am not in distress."

"That was a lot of and's," Aaron remarks.

"I know." I look at Vincent. "Seriously. I could send you after your mom. It'd be doing us all a favor."

"I'll pass," Vincent grunts, standing up. "I could have you two killed for what you just pulled."

"What, protecting ourselves from you?" I ask. "It's called self defense, and it was entirely warranted. And it's not like you were injured. He literally grabbed your wrist and moved you back. You fell on your own. Not our fault your balance is as coordinated as a baby's."

Vincent opens his mouth in possible rebuttal, but is cut off by a man knocking on the door frame, looking plenty amused. "What?" Vincent snaps at the man. 

"Boss wants you to stop antagonizing the prisoners."

Vincent turns red. "I wasn't antagonizing anyone!"

I turn to the man in mock innocence. "We just woke up and he came in here all loud and rude, just insulting my friend and I left and right. Then he tried striking me. But when my friend tried to protect me, he got all butt-hurt and started slandering us before you stepped in."

The man, clearly having heard our conversation but deciding to play along, shakes his head at Vincent and clicks his tongue. "Shame on you, trying to hit this poor woman. Get out of here before I tell Boss what you've done."

Vincent opens his mouth to object, but decides against it, just stalking out of the room.

I grin at the man. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know you're definitely not as innocent as you just played as," he assures me.

I laugh. "You're smart."

"Probably one of the smartest here."

"Throwing your colleagues in the dirt?" I ask in amusement, leaning against the wall.

"Eh, I'm second in command, and not even by choice." He shrugs.

"A true rebel you are, slandering your group behind their backs," I mock.

"Not behind their back. Everyone knows I don't like it here. But the Boss is my father, so..."

"Of course," Aaron mutters dryly. "Loyalty and all."

I glance at Aaron in sympathy before looking back at the man. "Well, if you're feeling rebellious and willing to help us escape, you know where to find us." 

The man laughs. "Perhaps in the future," he promises.

I grin. "We'll be here."

He looks me up and down. "I'm Adam."

"Bryna."

"Aaron," Aaron greets Adam, if a little guardedly.

"Pleasure to meet you both."

"Pleasure's ours," I respond mechanically.

"I have to go now - can't mingle too long with prisoners and all." He rolls his eyes.

I roll my own. "Of course. Feel free to take up my offer any time."

Adam laughs. "I'll think about it."

"That's all we ask."

 "Fair well then, for now, Bryna and Alex. I'll see you in the near future."

"We look forward to it," I reply. 

He flashes me a charming smile and walks from the room, closing and locking the door behind him.

"'Fair well, for now'," Aaron mimics as we slide to the floor. "He sounds so... what's the word?"

"Posh?" I suggest. "He really does. Must be the accent."

"And the way he speaks. 'Fair well'. Who says that?"

"He does. Obviously."

"Ha ha ha. No dip, Sherlock."

I smile cheekily, though I know he can't see it. "You don't like him."

"Nope. He's the son of the guy who kidnapped us. 'Course I don't."

I laugh. "That's not the only reason," I tease.

"Hush, you."

"M'kay." I close my mouth, drawing my legs towards me.

We sit in silence for a few minutes.

"Brie?"

"Yup?" I ask.

"You think we'll get out of here alive?"

"On my life, you are getting out of here. I can't say for sure that I will, but chances are pretty high, yeah."

"I probably sound so vulnerable, asking questions like this."

"You're scared," I respond. "It's a natural thing to be scared, and you have every right to be. This entire situation is terrifying. And no, you don't. You sound human."

Aaron heaves a small sigh. "You say this, and yet you don't seem scared at all."

"I'm terrified," I say simply. "My friends are out there, pretty much alone, probably injured, possibly with a man who betrayed me and tried killing us all, and I'm here with you, unarmed, in the dark, one of the only females free from the Condemned States - the prisoner of men who haven't seen someone of my stature in probably a very long time. I'm beyond terrified."

"You think that's why they took you? For their... pleasure?"

"It's definitely likely," I admit. "There're other reasons, but that's an extremely likely scenario."

He's silent for a long moment. "If there's one thing I promise, it's that I won't let that happen to you. Not this way."

I smile into the darkness as we both shift so that Aaron's arm wraps around me and I can lean against his chest. 

"Then I promise to get you back to your sister. If it's the last thing I do, you will reunite with her again."

We both feel more comfortable this way, our promises filling the comfortable silence as we both drift off into the darkness of slumber.

:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:

Throw a party! They're not dead! Yet.

Did you really think I'd kill off my main character so suddenly? Probably not. But did I catch anyone by surprise with that?

(I know, I know, I have a tendency to do stuff like this a lot. It's a habit.)

What do we think of Vincent? Of Adam? Of Bryna and Aaron's bond?

That's about everything there is for today. Other than the fact that I'm actually on time. For once.

Off to decide Brie's fate,

-Musical_Author.