Fandom: Firefly Characters: Kaylee Author: Xsoulquakex Prompt: 2. Dark Path Word Count: 965 Rating: PG13 Author's Notes: This is Part Two in a five part story that I'm co-writing with meimei42 (mordsith) XD The prompts we're using are from the 50_darkfics table, so be warned when reading ahead!

"Kaylee? Kaylee!" Kaylee's eyes slid in and out of focus and finally closed as her neck gave way to the weight and her head lolled to one side. The man turned to the group of other men in the room, these dressed in white lab coats. "Just what the hell have you been giving her?"

"Just what you asked us to, the sedatives to keep her from struggling and compliant."

"How much sedative?"

"Well.. It might have been-"

"Get it out of her system. I need her alive." He left the room and as he shut the door he heard a chorus of "Yessir"'s

**

When Kaylee next awoke she found that she was still restrained, but her head felt more clear. She did her best to not make any noise, to try and get a look around without anyone knowing that she was awake. Everything was white, save for the brown of her restraints. The men in the dark lab coats were not in the room, but there were men in white coats. One of them looked over at her and noticed that she was awake. He pressed a button on the wall and spoke into a comm panel saying only "She's awake." In the next few minutes the men in the dark lab coats returned.

"I'm glad to see that you're back with us, Kaylee" It was the same man who had talked to her earlier. "Do you remember how you got here? Well, that's not really important. What is important is why you're here. We have one question for you, and if you don't answer it, we can make life very unpleasant."

Kaylee looked up at the man, visibly shaking, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't know what you want. I don't have anything."

"You have this. But we're going to get you fixed up first. Then we'll talk."

Kaylee was taken out of the restraints and brought into a smaller room. Too weak to run away, she merely slumped into a corner. Something resembling food was brought in and she ate it as fast as she could, thankful to have anything. It seemed like no time at all before she was dragged out of the room and brought into another. It was different from the first, but just as intimidating. Like the other it was a screaming white, but this room was set up with a lot of things that Kaylee didn't recognize.

She was led once again to a chair with restraints and tied down by her wrists and ankles. As she was being buckled in she saw again the man in the dark lab coat. He acted sweet but still seemed so poison.

"I would like to believe that this is going to be simple, but I really do know better. However, I will try the simple route first. Kaylee, tell me - Where are River and Simon Tam?"

"I don't even know where I am, how would I know where they are?" Kaylee responded, surprising even herself with her tone.

"Very well. I did say I would try." The man turned away and when he faced Kaylee again he had in his hands a silver instrument that looked much like a girls headband, except that headbands generally do not have lights or spikes. "This is what you have chosen." He walked over to Kaylee and placed the instrument on top and over her head. The spikes on either sides went into her ears. The man flipped a switched and Kaylee felt an intense pain in her head as well as a rushing sensation...

With a thump she hit a cold stone floor. She managed to sit herself up. She was in an unfamiliar room and wearing dirty, torn clothes that she'd never seen before. Her hair and skin were both caked with dirt. The last thing she could remember was being in a blinding white room and a man approaching her with.. Something... She tried to think further back and every time she did, something inside hurt. She looked ahead and saw in front of her a long hallway. But it wasn't a hallway really, because everything that made it up was organic. Dirt made up it's path, and the walls weren't so much walls as thick vines twisted around each other on either side. She got up and made her way towards and down the path. There was very little light, though she couldn't tell where it was coming from.

She heard voices, whispering. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but they were becoming more urgent as she walked further. She could hear liquid dripping down the vines on either side of her. When she looked she saw that it was blood that crawled through the vines and towards the dirt. Kaylee made to turn back towards the room she had come from, but when she looked it wasn't there. She began to run and it wasn't long before she could feel the muddy mix of dirt and blood beneath her bare feet. The whispering was becoming louder and the path was becoming darker. She was soon thrown into a pitch black darkness and could only hear the voices and smell the blood, feel it on her feet and legs. She sunk down to the ground and against the vines, with her hands over her head, and she began to cry.

"Help me! Somebody... Please? Why is this happening? Please!! Somebody help me..."

Kaylee opened her eyes. The room was white. She was tied down to a chair. There was a man in front of her holding a silver instrument. "I can make you go there and to places far worse if you will not answer me. Where are River and Simon Tam?"