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Chapter Five
Anvil
Patterson groaned and clutched his stomach as he slumped against the wall. Opposite from him he could see another person in the cell.
"How are ya doin', Capt'n?" First Lieutenant Carlson asked and crawled over to his side.
"Holding up, I guess, Angie," Patterson replied and winced when he saw Carlson's face.
Those bastards, he thought as he raised his hand to trace the open wounds on Carlson's once perfect skin.
"They have left some painkillers here, Geoff," Angie whispered and shoved two pills to his lips. The screams of another POW ended abruptly as she tended to his wounds.
The silence was even more worse than the actual screams, she thought.
"They'll be coming for one of us soon," Patterson said and petted her hand awkwardly. Suddenly, her body went rigid and she started screaming.
"GOD, make them stop! I can't bear that anymore!" she yelled and in her raging pain she threw herself against the metal walls of their cell.
"NO! ANGIE, STOP IT!" Patterson made a grab for her and tried to restrain her from hurting or killing herself. They were both hurt and tired and Patterson was glad that her ranting ended as quickly as it had started. Rocking her to and fro on his lap, he held her limp body in his arms. "It's alright, Angie," he whispered, closing his eyes to her tears and the screams of the other POW.
Elroy shook his head as he watched the young man who had passed out for the third time during this interrogation.
It was no good. Life didn't hold any more pleasures for him today, he smirked at that and looked up. A Chig had come in and after he took a long look at the prisoner, it gave off a series of click-clicking sounds.
"I know that he has passed out, you spoogehead!" Elroy retorted angrily, but caught himself immediately.
Those Chigs really got on his processors. They wanted the information, they would get it! It wasn't their concern how they got it! he thought and gestured towards another silicate who waited patiently by the door.
"Wake that carbon-shit again!" he ordered but the Chig waved the silicate away. With swift, efficient gestures, the four-fingered hands of the Alien released the arms and legs of the POW from the stretcher and threw the lifeless body of the young officer over his shoulder. The POWs wouldn't stand the torture any longer and as soon as he could contact one of his superior officers, he would ask to give them a rest.
"Suit yourself, spoogehead!" Elroy yelled after him.
Darkness again. But this time I can make out some light coming from the door.
The silicate told me that I should hate humans but deep down I know that he is wrong. I remember ... the last time he tortured me I remembered faces ... faces of people I love ... my lovers? ... No, that doesn't feel right ... Nathan ... and Cooper. Yeah, something like brothers. I wish I could remember ... Perhaps I'm regaining my memory ... Keep thinking! A face ... a face of a woman ... beautiful ... why do I think of her as an eagle drifting in a sky of brilliant blue? Blue eyes ... the 'thousand yard stare' of the ... Colonel?
GODDAMMIT, REMEMBER!
The AIs are coming for me again, I can hear them. I hate them ... they have ... killed ... killed someone ... God, I wish I was back at the Cards' quarters ... The Cards? Why did this ring a bell in my mind? Cards, a deck of cards ...
What can you do with cards? Play poker ... Ace ... King ... Queen ... Jack ... Joker ... I know it's important! Think ... think!!!
The Chig on guard watched as the young Marine groaned when he came to his senses again. Although he hated the red-stinkers for invading the sacred ground of his people, he felt something like pity for the young human lying in the darkness of his cell. He had remembered the day almost four weeks ago when they had retrieved this particular human from a small safety pod. He had been surprised that the human had been still alive and he had to admit to himself that those seemingly weak humans were made from a stronger stuff than they had thought or the silicates had told them.
The Chig knew that he had overstepped his rights when he had thwarted Elroy's obvious pleasure at torturing the human but something had been familiar about this man. For all he knew this Marine could have been the one who had told his brother about the impending counter-attack of the humans. Why had he told him? he asked himself again and shook his head. Perhaps the AIs had not been as faithful to them as they had let on.
He had to find out, he thought and there was just one way to do so. Perhaps the ways of the AIs was wrong. Keeping the POWs separated wasn't a good idea after all. Perhaps they were more willing to co-oporate if they were put together in one cell.
The Marine woke up with a start when she heard the door to her cell open and close. First, she thought that the silicates had come to torture her again. She had to get out of here otherwise she would go mad. The physical torture she could always bear but the silicates had tortured her mind over and over again, creating images of things which had happened a long time ago. When she did not hear the unmistakable sound of the AIs, she slowly edged her eyes open to slits and when she saw the other woman crouched over at the door, she held her breath and relaxed.
"'Phousse ..." she whispered and the head of the woman snapped up.
Focusing on the Marine lying in front of her, the woman only stared at her for long, unnerving moments. "Shane?" her voice was barely audible. The woman crawled over, and, taking the Marine into her arms, she started weeping.
"Shane ... oh, Shane, you're alive," the words came out in a sob.
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