Chapter Text
Koala was in a cage.
It was a large cage, and she wasn't the only one trapped. All together there were eight women plus herself. Koala was by far the youngest, the rest looking to be at least her mother's age. They all huddled together, some crying softly, while Koala sat back in a corner as far away from the rest as she could. She was confused, scared, and wanted her parents. But her parents were nowhere to be seen. It was just her, the other prisoners, and the Strangers.
Outside her cage was a line of men strung together like a group of horses and a second, smaller cage. Koala had no idea who they were or why they were tied up. Now that the Strangers had left, they seemed to be arguing amongst themselves. They did so quietly. No one wanted the Strangers to return.
A violent cough erupted from the second cage. It held only one person, a little boy, the youngest of them all. He had been tied up with the men once, but the moment he had begun sniffling the Strangers had pulled him out of the line and stuffed him away in a box so small he could hardly move. That was two days ago, right after they had landed on the strange island full of bubbles.
"Slavers," one of the women wept bitterly. "How could this have happened to me?"
"Hush now," another said quietly. Amazingly, the kind-looking woman with brown hair and green eyes seemed calm. "My husband's a marine. He'll come looking. We won't be sold."
She said it with such confidence that Koala believed her, but the other woman scoffed. "You said that weeks ago. We've gone two islands since then. Face it, we're at the mercy of whoever buys us."
The brown haired woman didn't argue, but set her face in a way that reminded Koala of her mother at her most stubborn.
"Aha!" one of the men exclaimed softly. Koala turned to see the man at the end of the line step away from the others. He had somehow managed to free himself and was grinning madly.
"Well, hurry it up!" another said. "Get the rest of us!"
The free man's smile faded. He looked up and down the line, then to both cages. "I-I can't. There's no time, those bastards'll be back any minute—"
"Then we'll rush 'em! Just get us out of here!"
"I'm sorry." The man backed away slowly, his face stricken. "I-I'll get help, I swear. I just…I just have to look out for myself first. You'd do the same."
He ran away and didn't look back. Koala pressed her face against the bars. She didn't understand what had just happened or why all the adults were muttering amongst themselves, but she had to believe that help was coming soon and that her nightmare would be over. For weeks now she had been in a prisoner, most of that time chained in a ship. Now they were on dry land again, secluded in a large, empty building and only allowed to exit the cage twice a day to use the bathroom.
"You're being very brave."
Koala turned to see the woman with a marine husband smiling at her gently. "Thank you," she said in her most polite voice. "Are the marines really coming?"
"Of course. Jackson…Jackson would chase me to the ends of the earth," she said softly, but her voice was strained. "I'm Iris. May I ask your name?"
"I'm Koala."
"Koala," she repeated, committing the name to memory. "It's a pleasure to meet you, although I wish it had been under different circumstan—"
"WHAT'S THIS?!"
Koala jumped as two of the Strangers returned, dragging the man who had escaped. His eye was closed shut and starting to swell, and blood trickled out of his nose. Koala tried to back away from the bars, but the other women blocked her way. Iris wrapped her arms protectively around her and stared stone-faced at the Strangers.
The prisoners went deathly silent, and one of the Strangers shook his head in disapproval. "Naughty, naughty slaves! You should know better than to run off into the dark. You might get lost."
As if he were rehearsing his lines for a play, the other said, "Ya know, boss, there's one in every group. And the rest think it's best to keep their traps shut. I don't get it."
"You're ab-so-lutely correct. It's time these slaves learn Lesson Number One!" the Stranger dropped the prisoner onto the ground and pulled out a pistol out of his coat. The prisoner cringed, but instead of shooting the escapee the Stranger whipped around and faced the small cage holding the sick boy.
The boy didn't even have time to scream before the concussive report of the gun rang through the building. The force of the shot sent the boy backwards against the bars of the cage, and he slid into a limp heap.
"You bastard! He was a kid!"
"Who do you think is worth more, a sick runt or an able-bodied laborer?" the Stranger asked coldly, kicking the escapee in the ribs. "Put this one back with the others."
The second Stranger rushed to do as he was told, and the man with the gun looked the group over. "Rule Number One: No escape attempts. We know every trick in the book. If anyone else tries the girl'll meet the same end. I'm sure none of you wants the death of two children on your consciences." The Stranger gave each and every one of them a long, hard look. Finally his gaze settled on Koala, and he sneered. "And for God's sake, someone shut that brat up! It's annoying!"
It was only then Koala realized she was crying. She had never seen anyone get shot before, and the little boy's blood was beginning to pool on the ground. It was obvious he was dead; Koala could see the hole in his head. She could see his brains. And the blood, oh the blood, everywhere…spreading…she could see it even when she squeezed her eyes shut. Koala felt sick and couldn't stop, no matter what the Strangers said. She couldn't stop crying and they were going to shoot her, too, and she'd never see her mom again…
Strong arms enveloped her. Koala turned and grabbed Iris with all her strength. Burying her head in the older woman's chest, Koala muffled her screams. She didn't want to die. She would do whatever they said if she could see her mother again.
Anything less than perfect obedience was unacceptable. That was the first, greatest, and most painful of the lessons Koala would learn, and it was one she would never forget for the rest of her life.