Evolutionary Branches
By Keaira

Chapter 5 - . . . But Not Conquered

Again and again, Raphael's words echoed through Janet's head as though through repetition they might somehow change.

She realized the futility of her situation as she was dragged through camp and saw at least twenty men who were openly watching her with anticipatory grins on their lips.

Several more men—a few barely out of their teens—looked at her with less obvious but still visible lust and her stomach heaved.

She was now thinking maybe it was a blessing that she'd had no food the last few days. She had nothing to throw up.

Then again, if she'd started puking on people, they might be a bit more reluctant to participate.

Or they'd flat out kill her.

She caught herself wondering if that might not be preferable and shook her head to banish the thought.

She promised Daniel she'd come back to him if he promised not to get himself killed trying a pointless rescue attempt. He'd more or less kept his promise and she'd keep hers.

Their destination was another shack, slightly more enclosed than the one she and Daniel were in. Inside it held various pieces of junk and what appeared to be a small armory's worth of ammunition. A ragged, threadbare cot stood against one side, a dirty blanket tossed across it. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself and continued her survey. Several containers with uneaten bits of food caked on them in various stages of decay made her wrinkle her nose in disgust.

She was thrust inside and then the door was slammed shut behind her. Pressing her face to the missing knothole in one board she was confronted with Raphael's grinning visage and she leapt back in surprise just before he threw open the door and stepped inside.

He said something in quick Spanish—far faster than her meager skills could even pick up the words let alone translate them.

The two men outside responded with envious glances at her and a somewhat resigned, "Sí, Señor."

Then the door was shut with a final sounding creak and it was just the two of them.

———

Daniel had no idea how long he stared at the door, unmoving, though from the shift in sunlight he'd guess an hour or two.

His ears strained for any sound and he felt a chill race down his spine at the unearthly silence.

He had no idea if the silence was a good thing or a bad thing and it was driving him nuts.

Eventually he forced himself to his feet and over to the board walls to where he could look out. The men sat in small groups around the camp, cleaning weapons or playing cards or just talking quietly amongst themselves. But every now and again a few eyes would stray towards the shack on the opposite side of camp, the nicest—in a very loose interpretation of the word—building visible.

He swallowed the lump blocking his throat as he too looked at the wooden boards.

There was no movement, no indication of anything alive in there, but it was most certainly where Janet had been taken.

Then with a movement so fast and unexpected that it made him jump the door flew open and Raphael strode out.

He didn't look happy and Daniel couldn't help but take hope from that.

The rebel leader stalked around the camp yelling at the men for no apparent reason and swearing a blue streak. After a good twenty minutes of this he returned to the shack and entered, shutting the door behind himself once more.

Slowly the men returned to whatever they were doing but Daniel's eyes never strayed from the tiny wooden hut where his love and his life lay, fighting demons he couldn't reach and couldn't fight.

He closed his eyes as the pain swept over him.

Please just let her be okay, he silently prayed, then opened his eyes to resume his vigil.

———

She heard the door open behind her but didn't move.

It didn't matter anyway she thought as she stared dully at the wall.

A shudder wracked her body despite the heat of the day. It had stopped mattering the second or third time. Or was it the fourth? She'd lost count by now and a part of her thought that was for the best.

She was completely naked, not even the blanket to cover herself, but she was also beyond caring. Even the tears had stopped, leaving streaks behind but no longer flowing.

Her thoughts were turned inward, focused on staying alive and returning to Daniel. Daniel's presence again would be her reward for enduring the torture being visited on her.

She was basically catatonic and as he crossed the room and laid a hand on her hip to turn her over she didn't even respond, falling limply onto her back. She blinked languidly as he sat on the cot, but there was nothing else to indicate she even knew he was there.

She did though.

She was aware of what happened to her even as she tried to ignore it.

She'd fought the first time until he promised a slow and painful death for Daniel and Bill if she continued to resist him. So she'd stopped fighting.

But she'd be damned if she'd participate. Instead she'd found her current sanctuary in retreating to her thoughts.

As he cursed at her and demanded she speak, she recited the things she was going to talk to Daniel about when they got back to Colorado. Stupid little questions she wanted to ask him, secrets about herself she wanted to share, everything she wanted to say to him went on a list in her head.

She also concentrated on everything she already knew about Daniel.

The way he smiled when he was embarrassed about ending up in her infirmary again. His intense gaze as he focused his whole attention on what she was saying. His excitement as he spoke about the latest ruins he'd visited or artifact he'd found.

She hid in her mind and waited for the end.

She hadn't even bothered to explain that first time that she didn't know the answers to his questions. That she wasn't involved in the archaeology side of things. That she was just the expedition's field medic.

They'd decided shortly after arriving in camp that it was best for now to hide the fact she was an American Air Force officer. They didn't know how that might be received among the militant guerillas who had little love for American civilians. No doubt they'd really go berserk if they thought the American military was invading their country.

Daniel had already tried to explain that she was clueless butRaphael hadn't believed it and apparently the very thought she was lying to him was enough to send him into a frenzy.

That was when he'd raped her the second time, yelling at her for her stubborn refusal to cooperate. He'd insisted he would make her answer his questions.

He had yet to make her utter so much as a grunt of pain.

She just set her jaw and bit the inside of her cheek until it bled.

She'd warned him she wouldn't speak and she wasn't about to lose this battle of wills.

He continued yelling at her and she ignored him.

Then things changed.

Before she hadn't heard a single sound from outside the cabin, and she assumed it was either understood or he'd given orders not to disturb him.

But now there were several voices raised in rapid discussion. After a moment footsteps drew close and someone started arguing with the guards outside.

A heated argument started to develop but was quickly cut short as Raphael strode over and yanked the door open.

He snarled something and the young man who'd come over cast his eyes down and apologized profusely before explaining himself.

Raphael fell silent and then turned and regarded her for a few interminable moments.

Then he shrugged and tossed off a comment that made the guards and the young man laugh.

With one final look her way he stepped outside and shut the door.

Without a word she turned once more to lay on her side facing the wall and curled up as the tremors started again.

"Often the real test of courage is not to die, but to live. "- Conte Vittorio Alfieri

Keaira