Day 19 of @taznovembercelebration : Lost, found and Day 20: Outfit, sparkle
Lucretia stares, stoney faced, at the screen on the wall as it shuts off, but the image of the half elf and orc's glares are still burned into her mind. It could have been worse for them, she tries to reason with herself. At least they chose forsake too, so they didn't get totally fucked. She feels a hand on her shoulder, and she turns her head to look at Cam who looks as awful as she feels. He didn't fair particularly well this battle. On top of the gashes and bruises he has from their past fights, his whole right side of his face and body are bloodied, and his now graying hair is still smoking slightly. He looks tired and hopeless. He wouldn't be here if it weren't for her. She should have researched a way to infiltrate this place instead of trying to go through it the normal way. If she had done that, they might have been able to avoid all of the trials they've been put through since coming here.
"How are you holding up?" Cam wheezes, still trying to catch his breath. "You took a nasty hit there at the very end."
That is true. Lucretia feels her skin still burning from her chest to her stomach, and her clothes are tattered and charred. She tries for a weak smile anyway and pushes away the pain. "Doing better than you, I think." She turns her head away to cough, leaning on her Bulwark Staff for support, and she whimpers as her stomach and chest move.
When she recovers slightly, she looks back at Cam who looks at her grimly. "At least we didn't pick trust, huh?" He moves his left arm up to wipe at his face before he looks at the stump where his hand used to be and sighs.
"Yeah, that could have gone worse," Lucretia agrees. She digs in her bag a little bit before pulling out a cloth. She hands it over to him, and he lets go of her shoulder to take it gratefully. He wobbles a little as he wipes his face before he offers it back out to her, and she shakes her head. He puts it in his bag before grabbing her shoulder again to steady himself.
"Looks like you two aren't doing too hot!"
Lucretia and Cam turn to glare at Edward who has appeared next to a doorway on the opposite side of the room along with Lydia. They're both wearing matching red and gold pantsuits with sparkling black sequins, and Lucretia would have appreciated the way they were making it work if it weren't for the fact that, because of them, there is a very real chance she's never going to get out of here alive. They're just playing with their food at this point and using her for their entertainment, and she doesn't have the time or patience for any of it. She needs to get back to Davenport and Fisher. She needs the Animus Bell. She needs her family back. And most of all, she needs help. She's the only one in the world besides Barry who knows about the Relics and the war and the Hunger, which, at this point, it all feels like a fever dream because she's been stuck here doing this for so long. She can't die here. The world and existence are counting on her.
"How would you like to do a bonus round?" Lydia says with a sadistic smile. "That might help bring up your spirits."
Lucretia and Cam look at each other before turning back to look at them. "Do we actually have a choice in the matter?" Cam asks irritatedly.
"Sounds great," Lucretia says forcefully. "Come on, Cam."
Cam sighs but lets her help him across the room and through the door.
They enter into a room with three large platforms about a foot and a half above the ground with large, multicolored neon signs hanging above them. One sign says Recovery Game, another says Healing Game, and the last one reads Escape Game. Cam stands up a little straighter and looks directly at the Escape Game sign.
"For the bonus round, you get to pick the game you want to play!" Edward says. "Each of these will help you in your journey through Wonderland, or even help you end it! But you only get to pick one, so choose wisely."
"Escape Game," Cam says immediately before turning to Lucretia. "Right? Let's get the hell out of here. Nothing is worth staying here forever."
Lucretia takes a second before nodding minutely. If they can get out of here, she can find some other way to get the Bell later, after she's gotten more help and made sure other people know of the Relics' existence at the very least. She can't let the knowledge die, and she can't die before casting her barrier. "Yeah, let's go with the Escape Game."
They both step onto the platform, and a ripple of light emits from it and travels through the room, making everything else in the room disappear. Then, all of a sudden, two booths appear in front of them with black curtains drawn across the entrance. Neon trim lights run around the walls of the room, and the bright neon sign saying Escape Game is floating above the booths.
Edward and Lydia appear again on either side of the booths. "Welcome to the Escape Game!" Edward says enthusiastically. "In this game, you and your partner will have a chance to forego claiming your prize and leave Wonderland forever!"
"There are rules, however," Lydia says, "just like in the trust or forsake game. Leaving Wonderland is a trip only one of you gets to make depending on your choices that you'll make in these booths." She gestures to the stalls next to her. "If you both pick trust, you won't leave Wonderland just yet, but you'll still have a chance to make it through and win your prize."
"If one of you picks trust and the other picks forsake, the person who picked forsake will get to leave Wonderland right now without their prize, but the person who picked trust will have to stay here forever," Edward jumps in.
"And if you both pick forsake, you both will be stuck here forever, and you will have no chance of winning your prizes and leaving. You will spend the rest of eternity here, and you will never get another chance to leave again." Lydia says.
Cam turns to Lucretia, looking panicked. "Wait, forget what I said earlier. Lucretia, please, you have to believe me. It's not worth it to press forsake. You might escape Wonderland, but the Felicity Wilds are just as dangerous. You won't make it out alive alone. I know we haven't been doing too hot, but we'll at least have a chance of making it out together if we both hit trust. Please, I'm begging you."
Lucretia looks at him uncertainly. At this point, she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no chance of winning their prizes fairly. If she doesn't leave now, they're never going to let her leave, and she doesn't know how else to make a way out of here for herself and Cam. But she can't just leave him here to suffer forever. That's not fair to him, and he doesn't deserve it. He's been so kind and helpful, and even if he wasn't, no one should be made to stay here.
She has a job to do though. She has a duty to the world and to her family. Who is going to collect the Relics and keep them out of innocent hands? Who is going to put together the Light of Creation and cast her shield?
Who is going to look after Davenport and bring her family back together once it's safe to do so?
Every life is worth preserving. That belief is what led her down this road in the first place. But after over a hundred years of sacrifices and being put in the position of having to choose the many over the few again and again and again, she's gotten very familiar with the role she must take. Everyone is a villain in someone's story no matter how much good they try to do or what their intentions are. If she has to be the villain in one more person's story to save everything and her family...
Lucretia takes a deep breath and looks Cam directly in the eyes. "You're right. Neither one of us can do this alone. We have to stick together, so we're both going to hit trust, right?"
Cam lets out the breath he's been holding. "Yeah, thank you for believing me."
Lucretia just nods, fear gripping her heart momentarily. What if this is a trick and he picks forsake and traps her in here too?
She'll just have to find another way out anyway.
"Okay, if you're ready to make your decision, step right in here!" Edward says, waving his hand to magically move open the curtains.
Lucretia and Cam step into their booths, and the curtains close behind them. Lucretia looks at the pedestal in front of her with the two buttons. One that's green and says trust. The other that's red and says forsake. She closes her eyes. Please let him pick trust. She opens her eyes again and lightly presses the forsake button with a shaking hand.
After a second, the booths disappear, and Lydia smiles as she points at the wall. "Let's see what the both of you chose!"
Some sort of electronic music starts playing from somewhere. It's upbeat but haunting, and it makes the panic clenching at Lucretia's chest multiply by tenfold. She starts hyperventilating as she stares at the screen.
Lucretia's decsion: Forsake!
The music gets louder, and confetti falls down from the ceiling on top of her as Cam turns to look at her in horror and betrayal. "Congratulations, Lucretia! You get to leave Wonderland!" Edward says with a wide smile, and Lydia laughs.
A door opens up in the back of the room leading to the outside clearing in the forest as Cam says in the most distraught voice, "Lucretia, why?"
Lucretia looks at him for a second and sees the silent tears sliding down his shocked face.
She can't force herself to choke out the words I'm sorry.
Instead, she turns and sprints for the door before the elves change their mind, listening to them laugh and Cam cursing her name behind her.
She lost another piece of herself that day. A really big one this time. And she doesn't know if she's ever going to find it again and get it back.
