The End of Days
Title: The End of Days, Chapter 7
Author: Griddlebone/eggplantlady
Prompt: #053 - Hospitality
Fandom: Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
Genre: Divergence/AU/Post-Apocalyptic
Word Count: 925
Rating: T
Summary: Where Tommy Oliver is involved, things invariably go from bad to worse.
Previous installments are here.
The Stronghold was similar to the outpost where Tommy and the girls had spent the night, in that it had been hollowed out of an enormous rock formation, but it was larger. Much larger. Large enough, in fact, that several airships like the one that had brought them here could fit on top of it with room to spare.
They made a neat landing on the roof, and by the time they touched down Kimberly was fairly bouncing with excitement. "I can't wait to show you everything!" she exclaimed.
"If the elders permit it," Trini cautioned.
"They will," Kim assured him. Somehow he managed to evade her grab for his hand without feeling entirely awkward. This was Kimberly, after all. And while he might have decided already to make her an ally in this strange place, but that didn't mean he was going to let her haul him around like they were boyfriend and girlfriend. He knew how treacherous those waters could be, and he wasn't about to be caught off guard.
"They might not," Trini insisted, ignoring her companions' antics.
Tommy decided it was best just to let the girls bicker, rather than risk drawing Kimberly's attention again, and waited for some signal that they had permission to disembark from the airship. It wasn't long before he heard the sounds of activity outside the ship. A few seconds later the side door was pulled open.
There was a group of people clustered outside. Some were armed with strange guns like the one Trini carried, others were not. None of them looked especially friendly.
Kimberly gave him a last, reassuring look before the three of them were ushered from the ship and down into the Stronghold. There was a small structure that looked like a hut near one end of the roof, standing beside what must have been a radio tower, and this was where they headed. Inside, they descended a winding metal staircase that led into the depths of the Stronghold.
The stairwell was lit by bright electric light bulbs; somehow he hadn't expected that.
It seemed that they headed down for a very long time. After a while, Tommy felt his apprehension growing with every step. Kimberly and Trini had been chatting up for most of the trip, but now they sobered and fell silent. This couldn't be good.
When they finally departed the stairwell, passing through a doorway off the third landing, he was led down a long hallway - in the opposite direction from the girls. His group walked in silence, so he could hear Kimberly and Trini being given stern orders from their escorts. But sound seemed oddly muffled in this place and it wasn't long before he couldn't make out what was being said anymore.
He'd heard enough, anyway. He had tried to feel as confident as Kimberly about the reception he would face, but this settled it. He was officially in trouble.
But there wasn't much he could do about it. For better or worse, this was the path he had chosen. He would just have to hope for the best... and try to fight his way out if things went downhill. But considering the fact that he had three escorts, all of whom were armed while he was not, he wasn't particularly eager to test his luck.
Besides, no one had been openly hostile toward him yet. He tried to convince himself that that was a good sign and not an indication of impending doom, and would have succeeded had he not been guided into a smaller side hallway at just that moment. This hallway was not as wide or well lit as the first, and it was lined with narrow doors on both sides.
An imperious looking woman, who must have been one of the elders Trini kept talking about, was waiting for him about halfway down that hall. "I apologize, sir," she said as Tommy and the others drew closer. "But we can't just have you roaming about the 'Hold until we're certain you aren't a threat."
He stared at her in silence, wondering if he should be regretting his decision to trust Kimberly and Trini.
The woman opened the door she had been standing in front of and motioned Tommy inside. That door opened onto a tiny cell, and he did not like the look of it one bit.
"It'll just be for a little while, while we interview Kimberly and Trini to verify your story," she assured him. "You understand, of course."
"Of course," he agreed. But he didn't, really. He wasn't sure what he had done to merit being locked up, but he didn't argue the point. It would be better, he suspected, not to cause trouble. And he didn't think he would change her mind, no matter what he said.
"We'll be back to talk to you soon," she said. And without another word she shut the door behind him and locked it. He listened to her footsteps fade into the distance, and then there was silence.
Since he didn't have anything else to do, he wasted a few moments looking around his cell. It didn't take long: the place was dark and cramped, the only light filtering in through a slit in the metal door, and there wasn't much in it except dust and cobwebs.
Tommy finished his inspection with a sigh. So much for hospitality.
Author: Griddlebone/eggplantlady
Prompt: #053 - Hospitality
Fandom: Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
Genre: Divergence/AU/Post-Apocalyptic
Word Count: 925
Rating: T
Summary: Where Tommy Oliver is involved, things invariably go from bad to worse.
Previous installments are here.
The Stronghold was similar to the outpost where Tommy and the girls had spent the night, in that it had been hollowed out of an enormous rock formation, but it was larger. Much larger. Large enough, in fact, that several airships like the one that had brought them here could fit on top of it with room to spare.
They made a neat landing on the roof, and by the time they touched down Kimberly was fairly bouncing with excitement. "I can't wait to show you everything!" she exclaimed.
"If the elders permit it," Trini cautioned.
"They will," Kim assured him. Somehow he managed to evade her grab for his hand without feeling entirely awkward. This was Kimberly, after all. And while he might have decided already to make her an ally in this strange place, but that didn't mean he was going to let her haul him around like they were boyfriend and girlfriend. He knew how treacherous those waters could be, and he wasn't about to be caught off guard.
"They might not," Trini insisted, ignoring her companions' antics.
Tommy decided it was best just to let the girls bicker, rather than risk drawing Kimberly's attention again, and waited for some signal that they had permission to disembark from the airship. It wasn't long before he heard the sounds of activity outside the ship. A few seconds later the side door was pulled open.
There was a group of people clustered outside. Some were armed with strange guns like the one Trini carried, others were not. None of them looked especially friendly.
Kimberly gave him a last, reassuring look before the three of them were ushered from the ship and down into the Stronghold. There was a small structure that looked like a hut near one end of the roof, standing beside what must have been a radio tower, and this was where they headed. Inside, they descended a winding metal staircase that led into the depths of the Stronghold.
The stairwell was lit by bright electric light bulbs; somehow he hadn't expected that.
It seemed that they headed down for a very long time. After a while, Tommy felt his apprehension growing with every step. Kimberly and Trini had been chatting up for most of the trip, but now they sobered and fell silent. This couldn't be good.
When they finally departed the stairwell, passing through a doorway off the third landing, he was led down a long hallway - in the opposite direction from the girls. His group walked in silence, so he could hear Kimberly and Trini being given stern orders from their escorts. But sound seemed oddly muffled in this place and it wasn't long before he couldn't make out what was being said anymore.
He'd heard enough, anyway. He had tried to feel as confident as Kimberly about the reception he would face, but this settled it. He was officially in trouble.
But there wasn't much he could do about it. For better or worse, this was the path he had chosen. He would just have to hope for the best... and try to fight his way out if things went downhill. But considering the fact that he had three escorts, all of whom were armed while he was not, he wasn't particularly eager to test his luck.
Besides, no one had been openly hostile toward him yet. He tried to convince himself that that was a good sign and not an indication of impending doom, and would have succeeded had he not been guided into a smaller side hallway at just that moment. This hallway was not as wide or well lit as the first, and it was lined with narrow doors on both sides.
An imperious looking woman, who must have been one of the elders Trini kept talking about, was waiting for him about halfway down that hall. "I apologize, sir," she said as Tommy and the others drew closer. "But we can't just have you roaming about the 'Hold until we're certain you aren't a threat."
He stared at her in silence, wondering if he should be regretting his decision to trust Kimberly and Trini.
The woman opened the door she had been standing in front of and motioned Tommy inside. That door opened onto a tiny cell, and he did not like the look of it one bit.
"It'll just be for a little while, while we interview Kimberly and Trini to verify your story," she assured him. "You understand, of course."
"Of course," he agreed. But he didn't, really. He wasn't sure what he had done to merit being locked up, but he didn't argue the point. It would be better, he suspected, not to cause trouble. And he didn't think he would change her mind, no matter what he said.
"We'll be back to talk to you soon," she said. And without another word she shut the door behind him and locked it. He listened to her footsteps fade into the distance, and then there was silence.
Since he didn't have anything else to do, he wasted a few moments looking around his cell. It didn't take long: the place was dark and cramped, the only light filtering in through a slit in the metal door, and there wasn't much in it except dust and cobwebs.
Tommy finished his inspection with a sigh. So much for hospitality.