Part 15:
Ororo followed the man with her eyes as he exited the room, leaving her behind and tied to the bed. She looked around in the small, very small, room. This was worse than the cell; at least there she had had the others with her, something to occupy her mind with. Here she was alone; alone with her thoughts. The more she looked at the walls the more she was sure they were moving in on her. She tried to control her claustrophobia but it was next to impossible. Her eyes went to the door again. Her claustrophobia wasn't her only concern…
She tried to control her rising fear but it rose in her anyway. He would be back and when he did he'll be like the others. Cruel hands touching her, forcing her to do and say things she didn't want to. Forcing himself upon her like all the others. Hot rage replaced her fear. She wouldn't let it happen. Not again. Never again. She tore at the cuffs holding her to the bed. They were made of metal and didn't buckle. She tore at it again, her waists starting to bleed again from the wounds she had gotten when she had tried to get away from the first men who had come to her. Panic was beginning to elope her. She had to get away before he came back. She had to. She couldn't take this any more. She needed to get out. Needed to be free.
" Uh, ahh," she moaned as she tore at her waist to try and get out. Tears sprung to her eyes from the pain but she kept trying until she fell back on the bed in sheer exhaustion. It was useless. She couldn't escape. Tears rolled from her eyes as she spotted a fork laying on a small table standing against the wall in the small room, to one side of the bed. Drying her tears away with her free hand she got up from the bed and reached for the fork. The cuffs held her back so she got down on the floor and stretched her body as long as she could and again reached for the fork with her free hand. She brushed it with her fingertips but as she tried to get a better hold of it, it fell to the floor.
" By the goddess," she mumbled irritated but forced herself to relax as she reached for it again. Time seemed to stop as all she thought about was getting the fork. After countless failings she finally got it. With a smile at her triumph, she put one of the teeth of the fork into the keyhole of her handcuff. Moving it back and forth a few times, the lock sprung up.
" Who says you can't learn anything from a thief?" Ororo said out loud as she threw the cuffs away. Finally free. She got to her feet and reached for the door. She was about to open it as someone was opening it from the outside. Panic ran over her. He was back! Quickly she hid behind the door as the man, Black Thunder, entered. He saw the empty bed and as she sprang from her hiding place onto him, he was ready. He dropped the bag in his hands and took hold of her right arm, forcing it onto her back and twisted it up. She was forced to her knees. He learned over her from behind and whispered in her ear;
" I will not harm you but if you go out there you'll be killed," his voice was soft, even.
" I don't believe you," Ororo hissed, fighting her fear with anger. Black Thunder just stared at her for a while. She was still weak, she needed rest and food.
" Come on," he dragged her to her feet and towards the bed.
" Noooo," Ororo cried in terror and began screaming, hitting, biting and kicking like a wild animal. Black Thunder lost his grip on her and she ran to the door. She succeeded in opening it before Black Thunder grabbed her from behind and forced her back with him and cuffed her to the bed again before quickly closing the door but not before Ororo had seen a long hallway with a lot of doors, the air filled with screams and men standing guard to the wall.
" Let's hope they didn't see you," Black Thunder said with a hint of accusation as he picked up the bag and began emptying it on the small table. He noticed the fork.
" You used this to undone the cuffs?" Ororo didn't answer. " Cleaver."
He put the fork out of her reach, on another small table next to the door. He went back and began to organise the things in the bag. There was a big bread, some butter and cheese which made Ororo realise how hungry she was. Fear and terror mixed with anger were still her most dominant feelings but hunger was beginning to take their place. Black Thunder took forth two small jars and went to her.
" Noo," her fear returned and against her will she drew back from him, lifting her free hand in front of her face in an old age gesture of protection.
" I will not hurt you," Black Thunder said softly and placed the jars besides her and took off the lit.
" This lotion will help your wounds to heal faster."
While in sick bay he had grabbed the jars for Ororo. He knew they should have been saved for more serious cases as the lotion were also a local anaesthetic but the others didn't matter. They were all as good as dead anyway. No, all what mattered was this woman. Even now in her anger and confusion he felt she spoke to him like none other ever had, maybe save Silver Moon. Black Thunder left her to arrange the food on a big plate. For a while Ororo just eyed the lotion suspiciously before making a grab for one of them and when he didn't stop her, she applied some lotion to the cuts and marks on her chest. What she really wanted right now was to take a hot shower which would last forever. She felt…dirty, like she'll never get clean again. But she couldn't ask for one, wouldn't be in his debt. Silence fell over the room until Black Thunder placed the plate on the floor next to her with a jug he had just been to the bathroom to fill with water before seating himself cross-legged on the floor in front of her. Ororo felt uncomfortable by his nearness and tried to move away but the bed stood against the room's far wall. She couldn't get away. She cursed her fear and her instinct withdrawal every time he came near. She didn't want to be this weak. She couldn't afford to. Black Thunder pretended not to notice as he cut the bread. He raised the plate to her but she forced herself to turn her face away even as the smell of food made her mouth water. And not just food…she eyed the water longingly. She never knew until this moment that water actually smelled for she could smell it now.
" You should eat. You are weak. You need to regain your strength," Black Thunder observed but didn't push her as he placed the plate on the floor and took a piece of breed and took some cheese on it which he had cut in slices on the table; putting a knife near Ororo would be suicidal so he had given up on the butter. For a while she just eyed him until her hunger won over her pride and she drank from the glass of water he had put in front of her before quickly snapping a piece of bread as if she was afraid that he'll remove it any moment. She took the whole piece of bread in her mouth all at once, amplifying that she did indeed believe he'll remove the food from her. They ate in silence until Black Thunder spoke,
" The captain, your friends, everyone believes you to have been killed."
Ororo looked shocked at him. Her friends….they'll all be so worried and grieve her passing. If they had the time for that. She remembered that the captain had said he'll send them all to work. What did he want with her, she wondered.
" Why?" she couldn't help but ask, forgetting her rule of caution and silence. He gave her a blank stare before continuing,
" If anyone finds you outside this room, you will be killed and so will I. I will undo your cuffs just as long as you promise to stay in here," he gestured to his small room. Anger appeared in her eyes.
" And do what, exactly? Please you? I would rather die," she spat and eyed him with murder in her eyes.
" No," he saw she didn't believe him. " I know it most have been hard for you but I…" he began softly.
" You know? You know about this?" Ororo´s voice was raising to a high pinch and her eyes blasted fury and behind that; pain. " You have been raped? You have felt hands on your body, touching you, tearing your clothes apart. Men laughing at your screams and attempts to flee, men bargaining over you about who to do what first. Being forced to….forced to…..," Tears rolled freely from her eyes now and she was crying hysterically, hugging herself.
" Ororo, I….I only wish to help," Black Thunder said gently and reached for her.
" Don't touch me! Stay away from me!" She tried to back away from him and he made it easier as he backed away from her.
" I know you are suffering…." he tried again, trying to make her see reason.
" You?" She eyed him with disbelief and contempt in her voice. " What do you know about pain? You have turned on your own, killing mutants and working for a government which holds slaves."
" You have no right to judge me," his voice had suddenly become cold but she was too angry to care about the warning signals he was sending.
" I have every right. So, tell me, how does it work? You kill disobedient slaves for the captain and get some free time with the goods?" She asked with contempt.
" What I do is none of your business. In case you failed to notice, I saved your life!" Black Thunder said and for the first time since Ororo had been introduced to him, he had raised his voice.
" Only to get something from me. So, get it over with. I'm a slave and do as I'm told but don't expect me to enjoy it," her words were in constant to her angry and defiant stare yet she meant every word. She'll rather she got this over with than wait for him to make a grab for her in the night.
" I don't need to learn a slave's place," Black Thunder said, his voice dangerously low. " I was born by a Native woman and a Ghenoshain man. They lived with her people. However the Ghenoshain government hated the Natives as much as your government did. They came to the village, killing and torturing everyone. My grandfather, Brave Eagle, didn't understand why they did it. He offered horses, all he owned in exchange for his peoples lives. The soldiers didn't listen. They forced him to watch as they killed my mother and tortured my father. They cut up his babies and when they were done, only he was left. He begged them to kill him too but they had something else in mind. Something worse. They let him live," Black Thunder had stood up and was now pacing the floor, his voice expressing emotions for the first time but it was hatred and bitterness.
" My grandfather didn't have anywhere to go. All villages he came to for a little food, turned him away. A warrior's pride is his life but in the end he lost even that. In his last years he begged for food before finally dying when some white villages accused him of stealing bread. It was later discovered that a young boy from the village had taken it, still too young to know he shouldn't have," he continued and his hatred for these men, these white villages were so strong that Ororo flinched. It was as if he knew her unasked question for he said,
" I wasn't in the village when the massacre happened. I had gone hunting against my father's wishes. I wanted to show my friends that even though I had fairer skin than them I was as good a warrior as anyone," Black Thunder stopped, getting lost in memories. A stupid wager with a friend had held him away. Had made him survive what he shouldn't have. Many times during his life, he had felt that it had been better if he had died that day. At least then, he'll be with his family. At peace.
"….and you?" Ororo asked softly. Hearing of his life had made her forget her own and all what had happened even for just a little while. She even found herself feeling sorry for him.
"The captain took me in. Trained me," his voice was even again, calm and he turned to face her.
" You grew up here?" She indicated the room and the building. He nodded.
" I have been a slave all my life," he simply said. All alone, never knowing the love of a mother or father for so many years. Ororo felt sympathy for him though she knew that even the best man could be twisted; especially if evil was all he saw. She had a feeling he wasn't telling everything but for now it would have to do. As he sat by her again, she really noticed the scar on his face. Following her curious glance he turned the side to her, giving her a full view of the ugly scar. He got up and went to the small table by the door. He took a scissor from the drawer under the table and took off his west. He clipped off his bandage and as he unfolded it she saw the dried blood on it and the fresh marks on his back, laying above layers of other marks on his back, speaking of years of abuse. As he turned his front to her she saw all the cuts, bruises and scars on his chest. She drew a sharp breath in horror.
" I'm….sorry," she whispered as he went to the other side of the bed. Black Thunder merely nodded.
" Don't be. I've seen and done worse," he said quietly and there was a warning to his tone though what exactly he was warning her against she did not know. She didn't know what to say so she said nothing.
"I will take off the cuffs if you promise not to escape. Even if you killed me, you'll have nowhere to go. As soon as you reach the hallway, the guards will either shot you or use the control over your collar," he continued and nodded to the collar they both wore. Ororo seemed to seriously think about it. She wanted to get away, she wanted to free the others. But he was right. She had seen the guards. She wouldn't come far and she'll certainly never reach the others in the cell. And even if she did that she didn't have the control to undo the force shield. She eyed Black Thunder. He had the codes to the shield. If she could get him to tell her….and then….Well, she wasn't sure but she'll think of something. She smiled sweetly at him.
" I won't try to escape," Ororo said and he went to her.
" Give me your word," he asked as he took forth the key to the cuffs.
" You'll trust my word?" Ororo asked disbelieving.
" Yes. Had you been white I probably wouldn't. Old hate dies slowly and the flame will always burn even when you think it died long ago," Black Thunder said seriously.
" Then I give my word," Ororo pledged. Now she had a problem. She didn't go back on her word when given. But then maybe she could find a way around that. If Black Thunder was on her side, it wouldn't be escaping. He undid her cuffs and moved away from her, feeling his nearness still made her uncomfortable.
" Can I use the bathroom?" Ororo asked.
" Yes."
When Ororo came out Black Thunder went to the bathroom. He came back and looked from Ororo sitting in a corner to the only bed in the room.
" You take it," Black Thunder said and he didn't have to tell her twice. It had been long since she had felt a real bed beneath her and felt just a sense of security about it. Soon she was under the covers. As Black Thunder got ready to sleep on the floor she felt sorry for him.
" You can…..we can share," she said and made room for him on one side of the bed. The shiver which ran through her didn't miss his eyes.
" Are you sure?"
" Yes," she lied. It had seemed like a good idea before. Now, she regretted it. Black Thunder went to the other side but before going to bed he took the pillow and two others from a drawer and put them on the bed as a wall between them. When he laid himself on the bed on the other side of the pillows Ororo couldn't see him and she felt calmer, more secure.
" Thanks," she mumbled softly.
"….Welcome," he finally said. There were a long silence before Ororo said,
" I know of the similarities between the way the Ghenoshain and the American government treated and still treat the Native population. I…I just wanted you to know that I have nothing to do with it. I grew up in Africa," There was a long silence and she thought he might have fallen asleep.
" I knew a woman of such courage and beauty could not be like that. Besides you have been blessed by The Great Spirit," His voice too, was low but a sense of kindness had entered it.
" What do you mean?" Ororo whispered.
" The Great Spirit let the sun shine so brightly on you and your people that you gained a even darker colour than my people, marking you as one of His favourites of all creations," Black Thunder explained. He had thought he had forgotten that old tale long ago.
" Hum, you should have told Hitler that. Or quite a few people in America and around the globe," Ororo said with a small smile.
" We all have skeletons in our closet," Black Thunder said mysteriously and she knew that meant the discussion was over. When she closed her eyes, her dreams were confusing, one part a nightmare of men reaching for her and one a picture of Black Thunder, standing at the end of a tunnel, waiting for her. She'll run to him but never reach him. Had she been able to remember the dream when she woke up, she'll have wondered if the dreams were a sign of things to come or a picture of what had been.
TBC
