Shot in the Dark: Chapter Nine
Jim watched in horror as the guards grabbed McCoy and threw him against the side wall of his cell. The doctor let out a pained gasp as his body hit the stones. He hunched over, hands planted firmly on his thighs, as he tried to catch his breath. Kirk scrambled towards the bars and gripped them tightly.
"Leave him alone!"
A warrior kicked the bars swiftly, just missing Kirk's fingers by millimeters. Jim recoiled back for a moment before returning to his original position. He clenched his hands at his sides.
McCoy grunted as the other guard kneed him, taking advantage of his stooped position and the fact that he wasn't paying attention. Before he could stand up straight again, the soldier had him by the hair, wrenching his head backwards, thumping his skull against the bricks.
Jim's attention was turned from McCoy when he heard heavy footsteps approaching. He recognized the sound of the jangling armor. As Ka'al stepped into Leonard's cell, Kirk's heart dropped. He felt all the color drain from his face and he held his breath.
Ka'al turned to Kirk for a brief moment, a smirk crossing his thin lips. "I've been made privy to some very interesting information, gentlemen. I think it will help me get what I want from you both."
The warmonger lunged at McCoy, landing a swift punch to the man's jaw. Leonard doubled over, blood dripping from his mouth almost instantly. Ka'al wasted no time, barely pausing before he slammed his fist into McCoy's stomach twice before grabbing him by the shoulders and kneeing him in the groin. Leonard collapsed to the ground with a breathy groan. He lay on his side, clutching his abdomen, his legs pulled up tightly to his body.
"Stop!" Jim gripped the bars again, not caring if the guard broke his fingers for doing so.
"Oh, I don't think so, Captain." Ka'al kicked McCoy in the chest, nothing more than a pained yelp coming from the doctor. He didn't even try and fight back. "You see, the guard saw something very interesting earlier. It appears you've been keeping a very important part of your relationship from me, Mister Kirk."
He leaned down close to McCoy's face, grabbing it with his long clawed fingers. McCoy's eyes rolled around in his head as he tried to focus. "…A relationship that I fully intend to exploit." Ka'al spit in the doctor's face. He then turned to Kirk, sneering. As he approached, Jim removed his hands from the bars but did not retreat.
Ka'al stood just inches from Kirk. His breath was hot and putrid as it wafted through the air. "You are very much in love with your CMO, are you not?"
Jim eyed him suspiciously. "What makes you think that?"
"A kiss shared through prison bars is very romantic—and pathetic. Wouldn't you agree?" Ka'al motioned to one of his warriors with a flick of his wrist, and the man kicked McCoy in the ribs. Jim jumped at the motion, cringing as he saw blood trickle from Leonard's lips, along with a sharp, pained exhale. For a brief instant, the doctor looked up, and met Kirk's eyes. They were laced with apprehension and anguish. Leonard screwed them shut again as the guard kicked the back of his head.
Ka'al flicked his tongue at the bars, the forked end barely wisping against Jim's cheek. "Look at him, Captain. He's in pain. Don't you wish you could just take it away? Save him from my iron fist?"
"Don't touch another hair on his head or I'll…"
Ka'al's hand shot through the bars and wrapped around Jim's throat. "Or you'll what? Hit me? Kill me?" He squeezed slightly. "You're in no position to threaten anyone."
He released Kirk, who stumbled back and massaged his throat. "You wanted me, Ka'al. I told you before, he doesn't know anything. There's no reason to hurt him."
"Oh, but there is! You see, I know that you care for him deeply. If you will not give me what I want, I'll make sure that you regret ever crossing me. Your lover will suffer knowing that it was your fault." Ka'al moved back from the bars as the guards lifted McCoy to his feet. In a flurry, Ka'al began landing punches left and right to his torso, the doctor crying out in agony as each blow hit its mark. The tyrant grabbed McCoy by the sides of the face and rammed his head against the wall. The doctor tried to free his arms from the clutches of the men holding him, but their strength was too great—and his waning by the second.
"Stop it! He's of no use to you!"
Ka'al smirked and let go of McCoy's head. "No, not today, Captain Kirk. This is far too enjoyable." He slammed his fist into the doctor's throat. McCoy gasped for air, as he tried to get away from the soldiers holding him.
"You're a coward, Ka'al!" Jim pressed his face against the bars as he yelled. "Beating a defenseless man who knows nothing when you could be getting all sorts of information from me!"
The warrior immediately stopped his barrage on McCoy and lunged for Kirk through the bars. He grabbed the Captain by the shoulders and raised him high in the air, Jim's feet kicking the metal bars as he struggled. Ka'al's face contorted with anger.
"You dare call me a coward?" He yanked his arms forward, and Kirk crashed into the bars, his face slamming against them. "Have you forgotten what happened last time you questioned my honor?"
McCoy groaned behind Ka'al. Jim's eyes rested on Leonard, fragile and bloodied. He couldn't let Ka'al hurt him anymore. Even if it meant sacrificing himself.
"You don't have any honor!" Blood trickled from Jim's nose and into his mouth. He spit it through the bars into Ka'al's face. "Your government is a joke! You stole Xentia from the people, and it's just a matter of time before they take it back."
Ka'al abruptly let Kirk go, sending him crashing to the floor. He motioned for the guards to leave McCoy's cell and walked away from Jim. Kirk watched as they entered his own compartment, seeing McCoy pull himself to his knees and closer to the bars out of the corner of his eye.
"You wish to toy with me, Captain? Fine. I can play your little game." Ka'al grabbed Jim by the arm and yanked him up. Dragging him from his cell with his own hands, he pulled Kirk down the dark hallway.
Jim heard Leonard call for him weakly as he was led away.
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
"But Master Ka'al…the device isn't calibrated yet!" Tazan pleaded with Ka'al, clutching the electrode-studded band to his chest. "It still isn't ready to be used on humans! You said you were going to use it tomorrow. I need more time!"
Ka'al grabbed it from his arms, yanking the poor man to the ground. "It will have to do. Our guest thinks he can threaten me, so I'm prepared to show him the error of his ways."
"Sir, please give me twelve more hours, at least. If you use this on him now, it could kill him. His human brain is much more fragile than that of a Xentian's."
Ka'al came to within inches of the doctor, towering over him. He peered down into his frightened eyes. "Ready this device…now. Captain Kirk is being restrained and will ready in a moment's time. Don't cross me, little man."
"…Y-yes, Master."
The tyrant tossed the equipment on the table and shook his finger at the scientist. "Five minutes. If you aren't ready, I'll kill you where you stand."
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
Kirk strained against the bindings around his wrists. He had been tied to an uncomfortable metal chair in what looked to be the same room he had originally been in when he first arrived. A heavy leather strap had been secured around his chest, which was bare. It rubbed painfully against the healing wound on his pectoral muscle. His shirt and jacket had been thrown carelessly into a pile against the wall.
This can't be good.
Shit.
He watched as Ka'al and a small, nervous-looking ancient Xentian walked into the room. The other man was holding something in hands. They were followed by two of Ka'al's guards, rolling a machine on a cart.
Kirk swallowed hard and tried to hide his anxiety.
"Captain Kirk, allow me to introduce you to Doctor Tazan. He was once one of the leaders of the medical research guild. An extremely talented scientist, I assure you."
The older man bowed his head, trying not to look Kirk in the eyes. His hands shook, the device rattling. It almost tumbled from his grip. From what Jim could see of the item in the gnarled old hands of the doctor, it seemed to be a thick headband made of an opaque flexible plastic. He could see objects embedded into the material, each one connected to a small black wire emanating from the surface. The wires each had small extensions on the ends, that looked like electrical leads.
"Nice to meet you, Doctor. How did you get mixed up with this worthless ingrate?" One of the guards next to Kirk slapped him in the back of the head. Kirk just smirked.
"My dear Captain, I'm disappointed in you. Surely you would have learned by now that insulting me is only going to bring you pain." Ka'al pushed Tazan from behind. "Hook it up."
Tazan gingerly approached the machinery that had been wheeled next to Kirk and began to connect the wiring. He then attached two small flexible pads to Jim's exposed chest and ran the leads back to the machine. Ka'al cracked his knuckles and moved to stand directly in front of the Captain.
"This is what's going to happen, James. Doctor Tazan has a most intriguing invention. It can dig into your mind. Pull out what you fear most…and use it against you. He tells me it may be quite painful."
"If you think I'm going to beg you to stop…"
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it! And even if you did, I wouldn't. We've known each other long enough now for you to realize that I'm just not that kind of man." Ka'al knelt at Jim's feet. "No, Captain, I am very much looking forward to seeing what Tazan's machine will do to you. It's never been used on a human before."
Tazan approached with the device. "It's…ready, Master."
"Well, what are you waiting for? Put it on him!"
The elderly doctor gingerly approached Jim. Kirk bent his head forward willingly, so Tazan could slip the band over his head. The older man hesitantly looked into Kirk's eyes, compassion and sadness flecking throughout, as he tightened the strap. The doctor's pale orange glow illuminated the area around them.
He's afraid…
"Give him the drug."
Kirk's eyes followed Tazan as he moved to the cart for a moment and retrieved a syringe. He approached Jim with apprehension. His voice was a timid whisper. "Master, I am unfamiliar with the human circulatory system. I am unsure where to administer the relaxant. And…I am not even confident it will affect him."
Ka'al struck the man in the back of the head, the force causing the needle to fall to the floor with a clatter. "Stop wasting time! You seem to have a soft spot for our guest, Doctor. Let me remind you that he is my prisoner, not your savior. You could be next in that chair if you're not careful." He turned to Jim as Tazan bent to retrieve the syringe. "It would be wise of you to suggest a suitable injection site for Tazan. Otherwise I'll jam it into your eye."
"The large vein in my neck." Kirk tipped his head to the side, exposing his jugular. He winced as Tazan slid the needle into his skin with trembling hands. The medication burned as it entered his body. Within seconds, his arms felt heavy and his eyelids drooped slightly.
"Now your mind will be relaxed and clear. Your brain has no defenses, now, Captain. It will give up your most protected secrets. And you will be powerless to stop it." Ka'al narrowed his eyes at Kirk. "You decided to challenge me. I will see to it that you suffer more than anyone has ever suffered before." He grabbed Kirk under the chin and yanked his face upwards to look into his eyes. "…unless you're willing to tell me what I want to know. Right now. Starfleet's defenses, please."
Kirk spit in his face.
Ka'al recoiled slightly, wiping the moisture from his cheek before striking Jim across the face. Kirk's head lolled, the medication slowly taking him as the seconds ticked by. It didn't stop him from smirking boldly, though. Jim licked his dry lips and stared Ka'al down.
"You're going to have to try harder than that." Blood trickled from the corner of Jim's mouth. "You hit like a girl."
Ka'al said nothing as he lashed out again, the metal studs on his leather gloves raking across Kirk's cheek. As the warmonger barraged him with blows, Kirk could only think that every minute Ka'al was here with him was another moment where McCoy was safe. He had to keep Ka'al occupied so the doctor could recover from his injuries.
Kirk spat blood onto the floor. "Now we're talking! That last one actually stung a little!"
Another strike to the head, this time from the side, sent Jim reeling. He could really feel the medication taking hold of him. His vision clouded and it felt as if he were floating. Kirk tried to say something, but his mouth felt full of cotton, and he wasn't sure if he had made any noise at all.
Tazan spoke quietly. "The drug seems to be working."
Ka'al bent in close to Jim, his droopy eyes having a hard time focusing on the warlord in front of him. "It's time, Captain. You're going to regret the day you decided to come to my planet." He backed away and grabbed Tazan forcefully by the arm. The older man grimaced as the Ka'al's hand twisted his flesh. "Activate it."
The doctor approached the machine and the guards backed away from Kirk as Tazan it on. His hands shook. A low electrical hum filled the room as current fed through the wires running towards Jim.
Kirk's eyes rolled back and his fists clenched as the power consumed him. Everything went black for a moment as he struggled to breathe. Jim fought against the influence of the device, willing himself to not be taken by its force. But in the end—he wasn't strong enough. A pinpoint of light, becoming brighter by the second, began to race towards him in his mind and in an instant he was no longer on Xentia.
…The stench was overpowering.
The room was cavernous, the air humid and thick. He fought the urge not to throw up. They were all around them. Hundreds of nameless victims piled ten-high in massive columns of decay.
[no]
He walked along the corridor of bodies, unsure just how he had come upon the storehouse. One thing he was sure of, though, was that he was unable to go back the way he came. The door had shut and locked behind him. He would have to find another way out.
Clapping his hand over his mouth and nose to try and stifle the putrid aroma of rotting flesh, he pressed forward, the seemingly never-ending row of death stretching on forever in front of him. He heard a noise, like something slipping. Out of the corner of his eye, an arm slid down from above, no longer attached to the body it once served. It fell to the ground with a sickening splat, exploding upon impact. It had been wasting away for some time, he thought, as the paper-thin skin that once covered it split apart as it hit the floor, releasing the rancid fluids that had been building up since its owner's death some weeks before.
[let me out]
He looked up to where the arm had fallen from just in time to see the accompanying head fall to the cement floor, dotted with brown, coagulated weeks-old blood. The head rolled for a moment, stopping right at his feet. The face looked up at him, the eyes having fallen out long before, from empty sockets. Even without the eyes, it was obvious that he was staring into the face of someone he knew.
Alexis' dad. Goatee…scar in his eyebrow…short black hair…
He couldn't hold it in anymore. With a heave and a convulsion, he vomited on the floor. As he ran back the way he came—even though he knew he could not escape—he wiped his mouth on his sleeve, tears streaming down his face.
Kodos.
Kodos had murdered his friends' parents—and them as well. He was one of only a few of his group left. The others had been deemed "unworthy" and "undesirable" and had been rounded up. They met their fates—sometimes within the very same day, other times having to languish as they starved for more than a week before they were executed.
[Kodos]
He came to the door he had originally entered from and not surprisingly, found it still bolted tight. Panicking, he ran off to his left and dashed down another long hallway full of bodies. The taste of bitter bile was still fresh in his mouth as he frantically tried to find a way out of the horrendous room. He came to the end of the corridor, expanding out into an open area.
Bodies were stacked here as well—on the floor, on carts and tables—everywhere. All waiting in a silent queue to be loaded into the large machine at the far end of the room.
It was massive, a large chute at one end accepting people into the bowels of the beast. The other side emptied into a giant trough on wheels, ready to be rolled away to wherever the remains were to be disposed of. On top, just barely visible over the sides, the teeth of massive chopping wheels, caked with skin and blood, and the occasional stray body part not decimated by the mechanism.
He couldn't help but stare, thinking about the thousands of people who had been crushed within the belly of the behemoth. They all had names, families—faces. And because they weren't lucky enough to be chosen by Kodos and his Eugenics standards, they had met their end in front of the executioner. Only to be chopped and crushed like animal by-products and dumped in the fields.
He knew he had to get out of this room, or he would suffer the same fate as so many others.
He desperately looked for a door that would lead him to salvation—and clean air. His eyes scanned the far wall, finally resting upon a small door. He hesitated for a moment, making sure he was truly alone before he darted across the expanse to hopeful freedom.
Just as he was about to run, the door opened, producing two of Kodos' goons. They had another person gripped tightly between them, struggling against their mighty grip. She screamed and flailed, frantically trying to get away. Booming laughter echoed behind them.
Kodos stepped through the door seconds later.
"Pity you should have to meet such a horrible end, my dear." He came up behind the young woman, the guards releasing her into his clutches. "You were a joy to have at my disposal." He cupped her face and kissed her forcefully. She tried to recoil away from him, twisting her head in an attempt to evade his leering lips.
[stop]
"But you're going to learn the hard way that no one crosses me, darling. I don't tolerate insubordination." Kodos slapped the girl and pushed her to her knees. She cried out, begging him to spare her life. She pleaded, promising to be obedient. Kodos just snorted and motioned for the guards to grab her and lead her away.
To the machine.
Watching from the darkness, young Jim Kirk could do nothing to save her. He didn't know her name, only recognized her face from the past. As badly as he wanted to be the one to rescue her, deep down he knew it would only mean a swift and painful death sentence for himself.
She thrashed against the underlings, clawing at their exposed arms. She left gashes along their flesh. The guards stopped in front of the device, one reaching over to activate it.
The gears and cogs within began to come to life, creaking and groaning as they gained momentum. The wheel that was visible at the top began to spin, what was left of the remains of the last use dropping back into the machine.
She screamed in terror, knowing that her life was about to end. She frantically kicked at the men holding her, her bare feet squeaking against the concrete floor.
It took only seconds as the guards lifted her into the air, kicking and screaming. They tossed her into the chute like a child's doll and her cries stopped abruptly thereafter. A moment later, shards of bone and a rain of flesh and blood came cascading out of the other end, splattering into the trough.
Kirk slapped his hands over his mouth, willing himself not shriek in terror.
[make it stop…]
[…]
[..]
.
Ka'al watched as Jim writhed in the chair. He was red in the face, eyes screwed tightly shut. His arms strained against the restraints, cutting into his wrists. Every so often his eyelids would crack open, revealing the whites of orbs that had rolled back into his head. Gasping cries sprung from his lips, whatever he was seeing in his mind terrifying him.
"Master, his heart rate is dangerously high." Tazan pointed to the readout on the machine. "We need to end this or he could die."
"Not yet, doctor. Mister Kirk seems to be enjoying this way too much." Ka'al smirked and wrung his hands together. He was having fun watching Kirk suffer. He approached the convulsing Captain, grabbing the hair at the back of his neck and yanking his head back abruptly. He leaned in close and shouted into Jim's ear. "Don't give out on me yet, James! The fun has just begun!"
Kirk shook in his seat, a thin line of saliva dribbling down his chin. His legs jerked out from underneath him at all angles, kicking at invisible demons. Seconds later, blood began to trickle from his nose. He thrashed his head from side-to-side, knocking Ka'al's hand away with the abrupt movement.
"Kodos! Stop!"
The warmonger backed away, surprised at Kirk's outburst. "Kodos? Where have I heard that name?"
"I believe I read somewhere in Starfleet history texts that there had been a Governor Kodos on Tarsus Four. There was a famine and he had over half of the population executed in order to save food supplies. It was rumored to be very brutal." He looked at Kirk sympathetically, his skin shining with a pale blue hue. "Kodos was thought to be killed, but there are many who believe that he is still at large. Perhaps Captain Kirk was witness to the atrocities?"
Ka'al smiled sinisterly. "It seems as though Starfleet really wants to protect him. Let's up the power and see if we can't dredge some more unpleasant memories from his mind."
"Master! He's on the verge of death as it is! Look at his heart; it's struggling to keep up." Tazan pleaded with the warrior. "He needs to be disconnected right now or he won't survive!"
Ka'al scowled, his tongue flicking out into the air. He certainly wasn't ready for the fun to end. But, he also didn't want his guest to die…yet. He reluctantly allowed the elderly doctor to stop the onslaught.
"Very well, turn it off."
Tazan breathed a silent sigh of relief and quickly switched the machine off. Kirk's body continued to tremble in the chair, blood dripping from his nostrils and into his open mouth. Not once did he open his eyes. He coughed, gagging slightly on the crimson liquid. After a long moment, his head drooped and fell forward to hand between his shoulders. The blips on the heart monitor began to calm, although Kirk's erratic breathing did not. Pained moans escaped his lips with each exhale. He began to mumble incoherently as blood began to trickle from his right ear.
Ka'al blew out a long breath. "It seems that your machine is a success, Doctor Tazan. Although it didn't produce any secrets of the Federation, the results are most pleasing." He approached Kirk and pushed his head back, the young Captain's lungs exhaling an anguished moan as he did so. "But he suffered, and that makes me happy." He let Jim's head fall free again and turned to leave the room.
"Disconnect him and throw him back in his cell. I'm sure McCoy is anxious to see him again." He turned to Tazan, wagging a long clawed finger at him. "And you. Re-calibrate that device of yours. I want to use it again in the morning. Make sure he'll be able to endure a longer session this time."
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
"Jim?" McCoy gripped the bars between the cells so hard his knuckles turned white. He ignored the searing pain erupting from his abdomen; the leftover result of Ka'al's beating hours before. "Jim, please talk to me!"
Kirk lay on his side, the guards having unceremoniously tossed him into his cell a few minutes prior. He quaked on the floor, hands clenched into tight fists. Moaning quietly, Jim curled up into the fetal position. McCoy could see the dried blood on his neck and chest. It seemed to have dripped from his ears and nose. Jim's eyes were fluttering open every few seconds, but McCoy doubted he could see him. It was apparent by Kirk's incoherent mumbling and breathy whimpers that he was under the influence of some sort of drug.
"Jim…darlin'. Please…"
Please answer me.
I need to know you're alright.
Kirk groaned but did not respond with words. McCoy was desperate, wanted to reach out and touch him so badly. He wished Jim was closer to him so he could at least offer a comforting hand through the bars. He silently pleaded Kirk to answer him, to open his eyes and flash the blue that McCoy wanted to see so badly.
He felt anger welling up inside of him. Anger at the men—man—who had done whatever they had done to the Captain.
His Captain.
To his Jim.
He turned his rage towards the guard who was sitting at the end of the hall. McCoy yelled at him, fury seething in his tone. "What the hell did you bastards do to him?" He was met with mocking laughter and a threat to quiet, lest they take Kirk again.
Leonard sank back against the bars and watched hopelessly as Kirk tried to surface from his unconscious haze. He felt helpless as Jim rolled on the ground, pressure from a new position obviously causing instant pain, for Kirk immediately inhaled sharply and cried out.
"Jim, just stay still, alright?" McCoy could feel his cheeks flush. "Take it easy."
He scrutinized Kirk for several long moments, watching as the medication that was coursing through Jim's body slowly wore off. His limbs jerked unnaturally as nerve endings began to fire back to life after being under the influence for so long. A raspy cough wracked through him, Jim pressing his eyes shut in a painful grimace. He wrapped his arms around his own bare torso. McCoy couldn't tell if it was because he was cold or in pain.
Probably both.
"Bones…"
McCoy pressed his face into the space between the bars, trying to get even a little bit closer to Kirk. He reached out to him, even though he knew there was no way he could touch him in both their present positions. He just wanted Jim to see the gesture.
"I'm right here, darlin'. You gotta stay calm."
Kirk craned his neck to turn his face towards McCoy. Bloodshot eyes stared at the doctor. Dried blood crusted under his nose and around his ears. His voice was eerily feeble, and it unnerved the doctor.
"Hurts…"
"Looks like it does, kid." He watched as Kirk tried to scoot himself closer to the wall of bars separating their cells. His movements were slow and shaky. Jim needed to stop several times, even though the distance from his original position to McCoy was less than five feet. "Just take it slow."
Kirk finally made it to the bars, McCoy immediately reaching out and laying a hand on the young Captain's head, carding his fingers through his hair. He tried to soothe as best he could—or as much as their current situation would allow. Kirk sighed and made no attempt to sit up right away, instead he lay there, shivering and breathing shallow.
"Jim, can you look at me for a second?"
Kirk cracked his eyes open, trying to focus as McCoy brought his own face as close as he could. The doctor peered into both eyes, trying to ascertain Jim's neurological condition without any technology at his disposal.
"My head hurts, Bones."
"I'm sure it does." McCoy reached through the bars and rubbed his thumb over raised welts running in a neat line across Jim's forehead. "What did they do to you?"
Kirk pushed himself up with a grunt, wavering slightly as his equilibrium tried to adjust to the change in altitude. He leaned sideways against the bars, McCoy replacing his hand in Jim's hair as soon as he was situated.
Jim sighed tiredly. "They used…some sort of machine…"
"Machine?" Leonard scrutinized the bumps on Kirk's forehead. "On your head?"
Kirk nodded lethargically. "Ka'al said it would…find bad memories…" He shuddered and pulled his arms tight around his body. "Boy did it ever."
McCoy reached both arms through the bars and wrapped them around Kirk's shivering body. He didn't care if the rusty metal was scratching his skin or he was sitting in the most uncomfortable position he had ever been in. Just to feel Jim's body heat under his palms, knowing that was able to comfort him—albeit weakly—made nothing else matter.
Kirk melted into his awkward embrace. "I was on Tarsus, Bones. I mean, I was really there. I could…smell it."
The doctor could only imagine how horrible it had been to relive the horrors of Tarsus. Kirk rarely spoke of it, and then only with McCoy. And when he did, Jim was oftentimes reduced to tears, cowering in the comfort of Leo's arms. As far as he knew, he and Spock were the only people aboard the ship who knew Jim had been there. Starfleet needed to keep his identity a secret, to protect him from the madman that was rumored in some circles to still be at large.
Jim's fingers slowly crept up his bicep, feeling for McCoy's own. When he found them, Kirk quickly wrapped his hand around that of the doctor, squeezing tightly. "I stumbled upon this room one time…full of…" Kirk choked back a sob.
"It's okay, darlin'. You don't have to tell me."
"This machine brought me back there, to the warehouse of bodies. I could feel the thick air like it was yesterday. It was so humid in there from all the rotting people…"
Jesus.
He never told me about this before.
I don't want to hear this…
"…he killed her, Bones. And I didn't stop him."
"Who?"
"I don't know. I never knew her name." Kirk sighed, a rattling cough following soon after. "One minute she was there, and the next…gone."
McCoy tried to pull Kirk closer, eliciting a pained groan from his counterpart. But Jim didn't pull away; instead he let himself be held uncomfortably through the bars. "Gone?"
"I don't want to talk about it anymore."
Leo just silently nodded his acknowledgement in the darkness, craning his head to place a light kiss in Jim's hair. They sat in silence for a long moment; Jim's chattering teeth and far-off dripping water the only sounds in the prison. McCoy wished he had a blanket to offer Kirk.
"Where's your shirt, kid?"
Kirk shrugged.
McCoy peered into the darkness of Kirk's cell, hoping his clothes had been tossed in with him. He couldn't believe it when he saw Jim's shirt and jacket. He nudged Jim gently. "I see it, over there in the other corner. You should go get it, there's no use sittin' here freezing."
" 'M fine here. You're keeping me warm."
"Not warm enough, you're still shivering." He poked his finger into Jim's side. "Now, go on. Fetch it so you can warm up."
Jim begrudgingly did what he was told, groaning as he crawled over to the other wall to retrieve his torn and bloodied shirt. He gingerly pulled it on, his weak fingers fumbling with the buttons. After a few tries, he grumbled and gave up trying to close the front. He shuffled back to McCoy, his movements slow and deliberate.
"C'mere, darlin'." McCoy beckoned Jim with his finger.
Jim approached, lying down next to the wall of bars. He rolled onto his side, groaning as he tried to find a semi-comfortable position. "I'm tired, Bones."
McCoy didn't want to let him fall asleep. Not until he knew just what Ka'al and his scientists had done to Jim's brain. A machine capable of digging into someone's memories and bringing them vividly back had to be powerful—and who knows what kind of lingering side effects it had on an already weakened man. Everything he had learned in medical school was screaming at him to keep Kirk lucid and alert, hundreds of potential adverse reactions running rampant through his stressed mind.
Jim passing out.
Jim not waking up.
Jim going into cardiac arrest.
Jim…
…dying.
But looking at Kirk now, pale and exhausted on the dirty stone floor, his better judgment was overtaken by the frail man at his knees. He wanted Kirk to be comfortable, to be able to rest. Because he knew that they both had a long, difficult fight ahead of them. Especially if Ka'al used his machine again.
McCoy exhaled deeply. "Go ahead and close your eyes, kid. I'll keep an eye on ya." He leaned down and Jim raised his head as high as he could up to the space between the bars. The doctor kissed him softly on the forehead—Jim's lips were just out of reach.
Kirk's voice began to drift off. "We're gonna be…okay…Bones. We have to…be…"
McCoy wanted to believe him. But stuck in a dank alien prison, he wasn't holding out any hope that Jim's promise would be fulfilled. He ran his fingers through Jim's short blond locks with a heavy sigh.
At least we're together…
Leonard didn't sleep at all that night.
