Chapter 26

She had been right about the tension. By the time the evening meal was served, there was a clear division between the women. Leanne's group had taken a table and moved it to the head of the room; she had several women surrounding her. Mia frowned over at them, catching Ashley's gaze. The other woman looked away pointedly.

“What are they up to?” Phoebe wondered from beside her.

“Hey, Mia,” someone called from one of the other tables. Mia turned, one of the sisters from her journey sat there. She couldn't remember her name, but the girl was surrounded by several others that looked at her with curiosity and, if she wasn't mistaken, suspicion, as well. Mia stopped by the table.

“Hey! How are things? Are you doing okay?” she asked the woman. Truthfully, she was a little ashamed that she had hardly thought of the sisters since their arrival at the compound. It wasn't the move of a very good friend, but then, they had hardly bonded on the trail to the city.

The woman frowned, her face distorted in some emotion that Mia couldn't read.

“It could be better,” she murmured and then seemed to steel herself. “Ashley has been talking to some of us...”

“They've been talking to most of us,” one of the other women interjected.

“Oh?” Mia waited patiently. She suspected what was to come wouldn't be good, but she wasn't one to jump to conclusions too quickly.

“They have a plan to get the Livarians to bring us home.”

When Phoebe tensed beside her, the reaction wasn't quite unexpected. But Mia was a little surprised when Becky did the same, a tiny breath of protest escaping the woman.

“And does this plan involve making life miserable for everyone around them?”

The women at the table shared glances with each other that had Mia biting her tongue. She couldn't fault Leanne and the others for being desperate to get back to Earth. She just didn't agree with the way they were going about it, especially since they had taken to tormenting any of the women that didn't fall in line, as much as they were the Livarians.

“No, I think they're planning something else,” she said vaguely, which indicated to Mia that she was being purposely left out of loop. “But for it to work,” she continued, “all of us would have to do our part. Ashley is concerned that you wouldn't be willing to help us, that you have sided with the Livarians.” Her voice dropped to a murmur. “They don't even want us to talk to you. They think you're going to rat us out.”

The blow was a hard one to take, and Mia felt her shoulders stiffen at the accusation. She wasn't a traitor, she just didn't want to put others in danger to save herself. Complaining and being terrible weren't great actions either. Just because she'd decided to learn about her situation didn't mean she had taken sides.

But there was that little part of her that flooded with guilt. Hadn't she done just that? She'd gathered information and then followed the Prime's direction to keep it from her fellow women.

“I wanted to tell you so you weren't caught off guard. It doesn't seem right that any one of us would be excluded. We should stick together. We are all in the same situation.”

Mia closed her eyes, processing.

“Thank you,” she said at last, before making her way past the table and toward the back of the hall where she normally sat.

“I wouldn't worry too much about the things Leanne says,” Phoebe offered, taking her usual place.

Mia held her silence. She wasn't worried about Leanne. What bothered her was that the woman seemed to have created a following and those women were the ones carrying the words now.

She studied the tables again, especially the one that they had placed at the front. Ashley and Leanne talked there with the others, their heads bent together. The Livarians stood in their regular places, watching, but seemed disinclined to break up the troublemakers.

She huffed and turned to the meal in front of her. Today there was a selection of mushrooms in sauces, the roast meat of something that looked suspiciously like a chicken, and several leafy vegetables arranged in a salad. It looked simple, but she knew from the smell that it would taste amazing. Whoever the chef was had a way with the simple ingredients they had to work with. It occurred to Mia that, through the entire time she'd been there, not one of the Livarians had stood up and taken credit for their meals.

She was about to lean back and catch the attention of the Livarian nearest her when the room filled with soft murmurs. Becky elbowed her and she glanced around, her eyes catching immediately on Ashley, who had come to stand on the table in the front.

“I know that some of you have decided to accept this imprisonment, and deal with this bullshit,” she kicked a plate of food from the table. The Livarians reacted then. Where they had seemed content to allow the women their manipulations before, this appeared to mark the final straw. “But those of us who want better, who demand to be returned to our own world, are not tolerating it anymore. We will accept nothing from our jailers, not this garbage,” she kicked at another plate before one of the men tackled her and pulled her down off the table. “If you really want to return home, you'll agree,” she shouted as the man who held her pinned her arms to the side and began forcing her from the room. “Anyone who doesn't is a traitor.”

Ashley's eyes met Mia's and several others turned to look her direction, as well.

The Livarians finally pushed her out the door and silence descended on the hall.

“Wow,” Phoebe muttered, her mouth hanging open in awe.

“That was their great plan?”

They weren't the only ones staring at the front of the room in consternation.

“No, I don't think that was everything,” Mia said. The others at the front table were talking to themselves, but it was the smug looks on their faces that made Mia suspicious.

And she was right. The women waited until the silence had left the room stunned for a significant beat and then they stood, turning over their table.

Dishes and sauce spread to the ground, bits of mushroom and sad wilted leaves sprawled across the floor in front of them. So that was why they had moved the table, they felt the need to make themselves a stage. Mia frowned at the wasted food in disgust.

More of the Livarians stepped determinedly forward, and Mia saw the first hints of fury directed at the women.

“Whatever they're going to do, they cannot do to all of us,” Leanne announced. “We will take nothing from these assholes. If you are with us, then leave now.”

Mia watched as four more tables stood. They didn't smash their food to the ground, thank god, but they all moved toward the exit.

The standing women, including the table where the sister who had warned her sat, looked around, waiting for support. Mia kept firmly to her seat and narrowed her eyes at them. They thought she would support this?

“Where do they think they're going to go?” Becky wondered.

“Who knows? Good riddance,” Phoebe growled. “Do you know who has to clean up after that? We haven't had to lift a finger since coming here because the Livarians take turns doing everything.”

She was loud enough a few heads from the remaining tables turned their way, despite the commotion at the front of the room.

The guards moved forward together, blocking the exit and surrounding the offending women. The leader held his light tool in his hand.

“Move, asshole,” Leanne declared when she found her way blocked. “You cannot keep us here.”

The Livarian narrowed his eyes.

“You are all confined to the dormitories until further notice,” he pressed a button on the tool.

Every woman standing suddenly sank to the floor, their consciousness slowly giving way. He looked around the room. “Any others?”

There was no response, just a room full of wide eyes.

A team of guards pushed through the door, taking in the scene as they entered.

“Take these ones. They are to be kept sedated until Draven decides what to do with them.”

The men didn't hesitate, each bending over and lifting a woman carefully into his arms before sliding out the door.

Mia frowned and found herself touching the scar at her temple. The reminder that she was so at their mercy wasn't a pleasant one. She watched as several of the other remaining women did the same. The realization was sharp, and she couldn't help a stab of respect for Leanne's cleverness.

“This was their plan,” Mia murmured. Becky and Phoebe looked to her expectantly. “To prove to us, remind us, how much we're at the Livarian's mercy.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Don't you think it backfired? I mean that was a pretty terrible display and the men still didn't hurt them,” Becky frowned, but her fingers went to her scar, as well.

“I would bet that they have stirred up enough discontent with their little display to make them happy.”

Mia looked at the ruined food that spattered over the floor, joined by broken bits of plate and overturned cups. A tragedy, really.

She caught the eye of one of the guards conversing near the door. Gorth. He gave her a small bitter smile, the look on his face bleak.