Chapter 1 - Violent Changes

Book 2 / Please read Book 1 'The Prison Project' first - Hope you enjoy! :)

Margot's POV

Everything hurt.

My head hung forward, chin nearly touching my chest as the truck rattled violently beneath me, every bump in the road sending sharp jolts through my already aching body.

My wrists burned.

Cold metal cuffs dug into my skin, locked tight behind my back, cutting off any sense of comfort or balance. I couldn't even shift properly without feeling the strain in my shoulders.

Tears slid silently down my cheeks.

I didn't even bother wiping them away either.

Because what the hell was the point anymore?

No one cared about how hard this was for any of us...

My heart felt like it had cracked open in my chest, as my mind replayed everything that had just happened to us in the last twenty-four hours...

When we first got off the boat, we had all been divided in to large army trucks, ten to one.

We'd been driving for hours to an unknown location, before finally, one soldier announced that we had arrived at the town...

That was when they started to off load each of us - one by one - leaving only myself and Cara left now...

Everyone else was gone.

The truck jerked a little again, tires crunching, before coming to a slow, grinding halt.

This was the routine, drive a few metres, stop, someone gets taken out, repeat...

Only this time, it would be the hardest goodbye!

The heavy doors at the back swung open with a violent clang, sunlight flooding in again.

Too bright out there.

Too harsh!

"Cara Owens!" He yelled too loud, as though we weren't sat only centimetres from these damn soldiers!

I squeezed my eyes shut, my chest tightening painfully, before turning to watch...

She stood up shakily from beside me, her hands still cuffed like mine, her face pale and terrified as two soldiers reached in and violently yanked at her.

She shrieked a little, and I instantly tried to move.

Tried to stand.

Tried to protest.

Tried to help...

"Don't grab her like that..." Was all I had managed to get out.

Before-

Crack!

Pain exploded across my face, my head snapping to the side as the blow landed hard against my eye - sending me flying backwards on to the floor of the truck - arms twisted up behind my back as I screamed loudly...

"Learn some fucking respect!" One of the soldiers snarled.

I saw stars briefly, blinking to process.

And Cara...

God... Cara had looked at me like it was all her fault.

"I'm sorry - Margot, I'm so sorry-"

"It's not you," I'd tried to tell her, my voice thick with tears. "It's not your fault..."

But they'd already been dragging her away by that point...

The doors slammed shut before I could see where she went and the present snapped back into place as the truck jolted forward again, sending me rolling.

I propped myself up, my back against the base of the bench I'd once sat on...

Now it was just me.

All alone.

My eye throbbed violently now, swollen and pulsing with every beat of my heart as my head spun trying to process that I'd just been hit.

My body felt heavy.

Exhausted.

Drained.

But numb now...

We'd been driving for hours today - endless hours.

Some of the girls had even fallen asleep along the way... curled awkwardly against the metal walls, too tired to keep fighting it.

But I couldn't sleep.

Not even for a second.

Because every time I closed my eyes, I just saw him.

Coban.

The way he looked at me that morning.

The way he tried to reach me.

The way they pulled me away from him like I meant nothing. The way I didn't know that'd be the last time I saw him...

My chest tightened sharply.

Stop.

Don't think about it.

Don't.

The truck slowed again seconds later.

Stopping for the final time...

My breath caught in my throat as the doors flew open again - the light pooling in.

"Margot Belle!" a voice barked, as I flinched seeing the two new soldiers. "Out. Now."

The two of them stood there, scanning the empty truck before their eyes landed on me - a heap in the corner.

Of course I had to be the last one!

I pushed myself up slowly, my legs weak, my balance off without having my hands free to steady me.

My shoulder throbbed from the action, and as I attempted to step forward, I stumbled, before a hand shot out, gripping my arm roughly to keep me upright.

"Move." He hissed, as I jumped down from the truck, my feet hitting solid ground as a wave of dizziness washed over me.

Pins and needles shot through my legs as I blinked rapidly, my face wet with tears, trying to focus through my one good eye.

And then...

I saw it.

The town.

My breath caught.

It was... wrong?

That was the only way to describe it.

Too perfect...

Rows of neat houses stretched out in every direction, painted in soft, pastel colours - pale blues, pinks, soft yellows - all lined up with unnatural precision.

The grass trimmed.

The streets spotless.

Flowers everywhere.

Everything looked... staged?

Like a film set.

My mind scrambled for the memory of that movie...

The Stepford Wives! That's it!

That same eerie, artificial perfection...

That same unsettling stillness...

My stomach turned.

This wasn't a town.

It was a damn cage for us!

Just dressed up prettier as a disguise...

The first soldier stepped up beside me, his grip still firm on my arm as he guided - no, pushed - me forward.

We stopped outside one of the houses.

Pale blue door.

Of course...

It looked cute.

Another lie!

"There are cameras positioned around the perimeter," he recited flatly, like he'd said it a hundred times already today. "We'll know if you attempt to leave and you'll be punished accordingly."

I didn't respond.

Didn't trust my voice.

"This is yours. You will remain inside," he continued. "Get familiar. Get comfortable."

Comfortable?!

A hollow laugh almost escaped me...

"Once all participants are housed, someone will arrive to brief you on the next phase."

Participants...

Not prisoners.

Not captives.

We were participants again?

I nodded slowly.

What choice did I have?

"Good," he said shortly, finally releasing my arm as he moved to unlock the unnecessary handcuffs we were all placed in.

"Go on," he jerked his head toward the door. "Everything you need is inside."

Everything I need...

My chest tightened painfully.

No.

Everything I needed... was back there.

In that prison.

With him...

I turned toward the house slowly, my gaze lingering on the pale blue door.

In any other life... I might've thought this little house was beautiful.

Perfect, even...

But now?

It felt like walking straight into a nightmare.

A controlled one.

A designed one.

A prison disguised as freedom.

My wrists throbbed as I pulled them in front of me, my eye pulsating with pain... but worst of all...

My heart ached the most.

Because I'd lost him.

For good.