Ch. 10

As he was tethered to the bed, Sweeney hardly moved for the rest of the morning. When Anthony woke up, the two had a short conversation, then the doctors had come and taken him away for a bath and a change of clothes, leaving Sweeney alone.

As the hours ticked by, Sweeney began to feel a little better. His stomach didn't hurt as badly and his muscles had stopped tensing up.

Eventually Anthony had been brought back, clean and wearing fresh clothes. The doctors had then unhooked Sweeney's feeding tube, effectively giving him a free range of motion once again. They took him to a washroom, then left with a warning that he'd better eat dinner later, lest he face similar consequences.

Once the two heard the doctor's footsteps fade away, they decided to once again search the premises. Sweeney knew in his heart that it was unlikely that he would escape today. He was still feeling very weak. But at the very least, he hoped that they'd be able to confirm where the exit was. It would be good to go see Ichabod again, as well.

This time, Anthony led the way, Sweeney following closely behind him. They walked down the hall, up the stairs, and into the first room on the right.

Ichabod was on the bed, same as he had been the day prior. He had been looking out the window, and jumped a bit when he heard the door open. He calmed down when he saw who was standing there, though. Sweeney gently shut the door behind them.

"Hello," Ichabod greeted them. "I see you've survived the night. I wasn't so sure if you would."

Sweeney raised an eyebrow. "You knew what happened last night?"

Ichabod nodded. "I heard you... in the closet."

"Oh." Sweeney wasn't sure what else to say to that.

Meanwhile, Anthony was looking Ichabod over. Something seemed different about him today. He looked paler, if that were possible – almost paper white. He had one hand resting on his stomach, and he seemed to be shaking a little. Little beads of sweat had formed on his brow, as well.

"Are you okay?" Anthony asked, concerned.

Ichabod shrugged. "Sometimes I get fevers if...sometimes there's infections..." He trailed off. The American zoned out for a moment before continuing. "...I'll be fine."

Anthony didn't seem so sure. He began to walk closer to the bed. Ichabod flinched as the young man came nearer, like he was afraid that Anthony might hurt him.

"We already told you we aren't going to hurt you," Anthony said, trying to reassure him.

Ichabod merely nodded in agreement.

Anthony held his hand up to Ichabod's head and felt to see how hot he was.

"You're burning up," Anthony noted.

"Yet it's so cold," Ichabod whispered, pulling his blanket up around him more tightly.

Something in the corner of the room caught Sweeney's eye. There were two more blankets folded up on a bureau a few feet away.

"There's two blankets there," He said as he walked towards them. "You could've had those the entire time."

Ichabod just had a sad look on his face and he refused to make eye contact. Then it hit Sweeney. Ichabod had said that he was very weak. He probably couldn't get up to get the blankets himself.

"...Never mind," Sweeney added, picking up the blankets. He handed them to Anthony, who began to wrap them around Ichabod's shoulders. Ichabod seemed to relax as Anthony wrapped him up.

"Thank you," He said, snuggling into the blankets. "I appreciate your kindness."

Sweeney nodded. "Sure." He didn't think he could bring himself to be cruel to this pitiful man. He hated most people, but the truly weak had a soft spot within his hardened heart.

The three waited in an awkward silence for a few moments, before Sweeney spoke up.

"Ichabod, you mentioned yesterday that we're here because they want to... impregnate us." Just saying that made Sweeney feel weird, but he pressed on. "How exactly do they do that?"

"Well, as I told you, they've performed an operation to give you a birth canal."

"But... there's got to be some type of cell that they use, or something, correct?"

Ichabod nodded and took a deep breath. "There is. God, I hope they knock you out for it..."

"For what?"

Once again, Ichabod averted his gaze. "For when they send James to rape you."

"What?!" Sweeney was shocked. He knew he should not have been, but he was. "Who is James? Have you been... taken advantage of, then?"

Tears began to form in Ichabod's eyes. Obviously it was quite painful for him to think about these things.

"Six times," He finally answered. "Well, six times, they were successful... It's happened more often than that. Ten, twelve. Something like that."

"While you were awake," Sweeney tried to confirm.

"Most of the time, but sometimes they've sedated me. If they knew that I would try to fight back, they sedated me. I'd wake up and there'd be a lot of blood... my whole body would be sore. God, it was horrible."

Unsure of what else to do, Anthony rested a hand on Ichabod's shoulder, trying to comfort him. The man didn't shrug him off, at least.

"I'm so sorry," Anthony said sincerely. "You don't deserve that. No one does."

"It's going to happen to you, too. If it hasn't already."

"And this man, James -" Sweeney started, but Ichabod cut him off.

"He's with the government. He's huge, and very, very strong. You'd better hope that they sedate you for it. I can't bear the thought of someone else having to go through that. At least, if you're asleep, you might not feel it..."

Then, Ichabod sighed. He suddenly looked much more tired than he had a few moments prior, as if talking about the subject had drained any remaining energy out of him.

"Is there anything you need?" Anthony asked. "Do you need food or water?"

Ichabod smirked, which looked strange, because he'd just been crying. "They always feed me. Don't worry about that."

"Okay. We'll come back tomorrow to visit you, alright?"

Ichabod shrugged. "If you can. I really hope... I hope it's not too painful for you."

Anthony nodded. "Thank you."

"We'll try to find something for you before we come back. Something to reduce your fever, maybe. Hang in there, Ichabod. We'll get out of here," Sweeney said.

"I hope you're right," Ichabod replied, pulling the blankets around him even tighter. "I'll see you tomorrow."