Part II

Part II

Jack crouched a few feet away from the pair of faint yellow eyes. She could just now make out the girl's outline. She appeared to be very thin. Probably not eating enough. "Sil… I'm Jack.," she eased herself to a sitting position on the floor. She peered at the girl's outline silently. From the way her eyes glowed Jack knew she could more than likely see in the dark.

"Ya wanna talk?," Jack sat still where she was watching Sil. She could tell she was afraid and she didn't want to scare her anymore. Sil shook her head no to Jack and wrapped her arms about her legs. Jack gave a faint smile to her and stood, moving to a cot and plopping down. She put her hands behind her head as she stared at the ceiling.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

It took about a week before Sil started to talk to Jack. That meant she was starting to trust her. Jack was grateful for that. If she needed anything in this place it was friends.

"So what color is your hair? I can't see it in the dark."

"… blond. It … it used to be short but it grew out since I've been here.," Sil tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Jack smiled to her. "Ya know I shaved my head once."

Sil blinked at her as she sat facing her on the cot. "Really? When..? Why..?"

Jack smiled even more, she didn't mind Sil's questions at all. They were a welcome distraction in this place. "Well the ship I was on crashed. We were on a planet that had three suns."

"Was it hot?" Sil hugged her knees to her chest as she listened.

"Yeah it was. Only eleven of us survived the crash. Out of that eleven only three of us escaped that planet."

"Escaped?" Sil had a puzzled look on her face.

"Yeah. There were monsters there…" Jack looked thoughtful a moment.

"Like the guards here?"

"Oh no. They were aliens. A lot meaner and uglier than the guards here."

"Ohhh…," she paused, "… I'm glad you made it off the planet Miss Jack.," she smiled, "I like having a friend again."

Jack laughed softly and nodded to her. "Yeah… me too kid… me too."

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Jack awoke to the sound of footsteps. She sat up slowly on her cot with a puzzled look on her face. Sil whimpered as she huddled in the corner behind Jack. "T-they're coming for me…"

Jack frowned and quickly moved over to Sil, kneeling in front of her. She put her hands on Sil's small shoulders. "I won't let 'em take you, Sil. I promise." Determination glinted in Jack's blue eyes. She stood up slowly and turned to face the door, grateful that her eyes adjusted enough for her to see in the dark.

Two guards stopped in front of their cell. The taller one reached out and keyed in a code. Jack waited patiently as the door slid open. She put on her best confused looking face. The taller guard entering the cell only gave her a glance before his gaze returned to Sil. He began moving toward Sil slowly. Jack stepped out of his path and glanced to the other guard. He was standing at the front of the cell with his arms crossed. Oh how stupid can these guys be?

Jack seized the moment and moved behind the tall guard. She reached out quickly and pulled his gun from the holster at his side. "Sil, on the ground!!"

Sil complied quickly, curling into a ball on the ground. The guard had whirled around to face Jack now. She just grinned at him. "May flights of devils wing you to your rest.," with that Jack pulled the trigger. Blood spurted on the back wall and the guard fell with a thud by Sil. Sil yelped and squeezed her eyes shut. Jack grimaced and stumbled forward with a jolt. Blood… her blood. She went to turn but stopped when she felt the gun press into the back of her skull.

"Don't even think about it bitch." The guard yanked the second gun away from her, strapping it to his side. "You're coming with me. Out the door… Move it!"

Jack turned slowly towards the door, the guard staying behind her all the while. Once they were outside the cell he pressed a button and let the door of the cell slide shut. He raised the gun and hit her forcefully on the back of the head, sending her to the ground. He pressed the COM button on the same console. "Send a team down here. One of the bitches just killed Parker."

Jack shook her head as she got on her knees. Her right shoulder was throbbing and her head was spinning. The guard looked back to her and glared. He stepped toward her and slammed his booted foot into her back. Jack's eyes widened as she lurched forward to the floor gasping for breath. Jack could hear people shouting but she couldn't make out the words or who was saying them. She pushed herself up slightly with shaky arms as she coughed a bit. She turned her head slightly and she could see Sil. She was holding onto the bars at the front of the cell and was looking out at her screaming something. What was she saying?

The hard kick to her gut sent her tumbling over to land on her back. She coughed a tad more as she tried to catch her breath. More kicks were given to her sides as she winced, clenching her jaw shut. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry out in pain.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

When she woke a flood a light greeted her. She winced from it and groaned as the pain from the beating came back to the forefront. She squinted her eyes in the light, trying to see where she was. A short chubby man with a round face leaned over her. "Well I see you have awoke Ms. Reed." He had a cheery look about him even though he was frowning at her.

"Unfortunately…," she muttered.

"I am Doctor Svenstein. I was informed that you killed a guard who was coming to retrieve your cellmate."

"Can't get nothin' past you can they?," her tone was sarcastic.

"Why did you attack and kill that guard Ms. Reed?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "'Cause he was goin' to take Sil away and hurt her. I ain't about to let anyone hurt her again."

"Very intresting. And why is that Ms. Reed?"

She was getting tired of the 'Ms. Reed' crap and his questions. "Because Mr. Svenstein it's not fuckin' right to experiment on humans. She's just a kid for Christ's sake! You and I both know experimenting on humans violates the Croft-Howard Act."

The doctor had a surprised look on his face. He chuckled and then smiled pleasantly at her. "My, my, smart one aren't you? But you see… People don't care about what happens to criminals like you."

Jack felt her temper flaring. She didn't like this man one bit. "Isn't it hard to get your experiments done when she's fighting against you all the time? Wouldn't it be easier, and to your convenience, if you had someone who was willing to cooperate?"

The doctor looked stunned and in shock. She'd hit it right on the head. She just grinned at him. "What do you say, Doc? Exchange an unwilling subject for a willing one?"

The doctor just stared at her in disbelief for a few moments. It seemed to take him a few minutes to find his words. "… You would do that for someone you hardly know?"

"All she did was hack into something. She should have ended up in Juvie but the fuckin' GOV sent her here instead. But to answer your question… Yes… I would."