Part 34
Beka wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep but she had woken up with her head resting against Harper's shoulder, and she had to admit it was the most comfortable position she had been in for days. As her memory returned she remembered that she had originally been lying against his back, but at some point in the night Harper must have shifted his weight onto his back, and now his arm was around her, protectively almost, as she used his shoulder as a pillow.
"Awake?" Harper murmured, and to her surprise.
"Yeah," Beka answered, slightly confused still by the position she found herself in and hoping the others hadn't seen it whilst she had been sleeping.
"What's wrong with this picture?" Harper then asked softly, as if reading her thoughts.
"Tell me," Beka couldn't help but smile knowing Harper as well as she did, she could sense he wasn't being serious by the tone of his voice.
"I'm still fully clothed, and so are you," Harper returned expectedly.
Beka smirked, and moved to sit up so she could look at Harper properly. "You're obviously feeling better after your little episode yesterday."
"Thanks to you," Harper smiled without further comment.
"Actually I think you should thank Zal and Rhade," Beka offered with a frown. "They brought you back here."
"I think Rhade's ready to kill me," Harper sighed, and rubbed his face. "And hey, I thought Zal was bad, now you want me to thank him?" Harper then looked concerned. "But I think I'll pass if its ok, he might, you know, kiss me again," he then smirked.
"Are you going to get up?" Beka asked, as she adjusted her sitting position.
"Hurts too much to move," Harper grimaced. "My muscles are on strike, can I stay here today?"
"Roll over," Beka ordered.
"Huh?" Harper raised his eyebrows.
"I'll give you a massage," Beka offered brightly. "Loosen those sore muscles."
"I don't know," Harper showed concern, and looked slightly uncomfortable.
"It will help relax your muscles, it will be purely therapeutic," Beka insisted, seeing Harper wasn't taking to the idea like she thought he would.
"You wake up in my bed, in my arms and now you want to massage me?" Harper questioned incredulously. "Either I've been an incredibly good boy, or I only have hours to live and you can't bring yourself to tell me," Harper mocked. "I've had long term girl friends that have shown me less affection!"
"Liar," Beka returned. "You've never had a long term girl friend," she teased and gently encouraged him to roll over.
"I have!" Harper insisted, as he settled on his front with his head resting on his crossed arms.
"How long is long term?" Beka asked, as she tentatively began to massage the back of Harper's shoulders.
"Ow," Harper grimaced and tensed under Beka's gestations. "Be a lot nicer if you avoided the bits where they struck me with a big stick, maybe?" Harper suggested helpfully.
"I didn't say I was good at this, just offered to do it," Beka returned knowing Harper was teasing, and moved her hands to another part of Harper's back, unable to see precisely where he had been hit due to the shirt he still wore, and she wasn't prepared to ask him to remove it.
"Oh, oh," Harper then offered.
"Hurting you again?" Beka quickly asked and stopped.
"No, no, keep going, that's good," Harper grinned, and Beka continued to massage the side of Harper's back.
They were both aware of people joining them but chose to ignore it until they spoke.
"Is that appropriate behaviour for a first officer on a chief engineer, captain?" Rhade asked with mocking tones towards Dylan.
Dylan looked perplexed. "I thought that was only reserved for the captain," he smirked.
"My ancestor used to be your first officer, I really hope you're not speaking from experience," Rhade then noted disgust.
Dylan simply grinned, before moving towards the window. "Thought you two should know that the Gilads are in the area," Dylan then offered, looking out with caution.
"Ow," Harper offered with distraction.
"Sorry," Beka returned, knowing she had hurt him inadvertently again.
Rhade moved over to where Beka was working on Harper's tense back. "Let me," Rhade offered.
"No freaking way!" Harper protested immediately but Beka pushed him back down when he tried to get up, allowing Rhade to move to the human's side.
"Trust me, Rhade does know what he's doing," Beka stressed to Harper.
"No uber is going to massage the Harper, ok?" Harper continued to protest and finally pushed himself up and he quickly moved away from Rhade and Beka, suddenly more mobile.
Beka could only frown at Rhade, who simply offered a defensive pose and moved away from Harper to give the younger man some space. Beka sighed and then moved to Harper's side.
"Was that necessary?" Beka asked.
"Yes!" Harper snapped, his knees drawn up to his chest as he hugged his legs tightly.
"I thought you were in pain, that your muscles were killing you?" Beka continued calmly.
"They are, but," Harper began but sensed Beka wasn't happy, and relaxed his mood slightly. "I couldn't, not an uber, ok?"
"This isn't about Rhade is it?" Beka guessed, and she sensed that Rhade and Dylan were listening in as they quietly observed from across the room.
Harper shifted his weight and took a deep breath. "Whatever," he simply spoke. "It's just a stupid massage."
"They're coming this way," Dylan then spoke up from his position at the window. "The Gilads," he then added. "Rhade, stay with Harper and no objections, Mr Harper," Dylan ordered, and Rhade moved without question when Harper didn't protest.
All too soon a group of men, led by Buz arrived in the house. They moved towards Harper until Rhade and Beka blocked their way.
"Move aside," Buz ordered.
"Make us," Rhade countered.
Buz only laughed and gestured to his men who turned their attentions to Dylan, rather than Rhade. Dylan attempted to back away but was soon surrounded.
"Move," Buz repeated. "Or your captain will suffer."
Rhade glanced at Beka, then Dylan, seeing that the captain was in no fit state to use his arms to fight the other men off.
"Tell us what you want with Harper," Beka requested.
"I can tell you that he will not be tortured," Buz offered calmly. "No physical harm will come to him, I can even promise that."
Beka looked at Rhade, and then to Dylan. "Will I be able to come to?"
"Eventually," Buz agreed, then held his hand up and Dylan received a strong punch to the stomach, doubling over in pain. "Now, move aside."
Harper was now on his feet and he pushed between Beka and Rhade. "Leave Dylan alone, I'm here, I'm coming," Harper announced softly.
"I like co-operation," Buz smiled and put his arm around Harper's shoulders, but Harper promptly pushed the arm off him, as he quietly walked towards the exit.
"Seamus, you don't have to do this," Beka called after him, and attempted to move after Harper, until one of Buz's men stopped her. "Harper," she called with concern but he ignored her, as Rhade put his arms around her.
They could only watch as Harper left with Buz and his men, of his own free will. Rhade turned with frustration once they had moved out of sight.
"Why did he do that, we could have held them off!" Rhade snapped.
"My fault," Dylan spoke, still recovering from the blow to his stomach.
"It's not your fault, it's no ones fault," Beka countered, and looked upwards. "Just sometimes Harper plays the hero, thinking it's the right thing to do," she frowned in frustration.
"We could go after them," Rhade suggested.
"No, Harper is with them now and we know what the Gilads are capable of, Buz said they would not torture him this time," Dylan stated.
"Yeah," Beka dismissed. "They've taken him on a sight seeing tour of the city, I'm sure of it," she mocked and moved into the other room, needing some space.
They had been walking for nearly half an hour and Harper couldn't fail to miss the stares of pity and sorrow that he saw, as he walked past the various Edenian residents along the way. It reminded him of those first steps into Edenia that now seemed a lifetime ago.
Buz was quiet, as were the rest of his men, as Harper walked without comment. The sun beat down on him when the shadows of the buildings were lost, and Harper realised they were leaving the built up area of the city and entering the fields, as he glanced over to the burnt out area in the distance that he had contributed to.
"Where are we going?" Harper finally asked, feeling dirt under his feet for the first time in weeks, and relishing the wide open space away from the stone.
"Somewhere quiet, so we can talk," Buz answered, gesturing ahead to a clutch of trees that provided the only point in the whole city where the surrounding wall was partially hidden by the thick foliage.
"Talk?" Harper brightened, with a mocking air. "Now talk is something I can do," he grinned until he caught the sinister smile that Buz wore.
They reached the very edges of the woods and Harper was pushed ahead, almost stumbling as the terrain under foot became more rugged. The branches from the trees above them now sheltered the small group from the sun, and the air was fresher, away from the heat.
Under foot, Harper was careful to avoid the natural hazards of the woodland and his mind filled with the excitement he had first felt when he had arrived on the planet. It all felt like a distant dream now, and he found it even harder to believe he had wanted to come on this mission, if it could still be called a mission.
They came to an opening in the woods, an almost circular patch of ground surrounded by the long intimidating trunks of the trees. There was evidence that this was a regular meeting point, with burnt out pieces of woods to suggest past camp fires. Harper could hear some wild life now, birds and the calls of other creatures echoing through the woods, as he stopped on orders from Buz and he took a moment to take in his surroundings.
"We're going camping?" Harper ventured a guess.
"We're not," Buz answered.
"Ah, no gear, you forgot the tent," Harper pointed out helpfully.
"We didn't forget anything," Buz smiled and Harper noticed for the first time the rope that one of the men had carried, as he dropped it to the dusty ground.
With simple nods of the head, Buz directed his men and Harper found himself being pushed to one of the trees. He began to struggle when they took hold of his arms, and all too soon it became clear what the rope was for, as they began to tie the end of the rope around one of his wrists.
"What's going on?" Harper demanded, trying to regain control but was easily overpowered.
"Isn't it obvious?" Buz mocked. "You're going to be at one with nature for a while."
Harper's right wrist was now wrapped tightly by the rope and then he was pushed back against the trunk of the tree. His other wrist was brought back sharply and the rope was then tied around it, securing him around the trunk, once there was no give they cut the rope and began tying the remaining rope around Harper's chest, and down around his stomach until it was nearly impossible for Harper to move his upper body. Harper's legs were left free, but it meant very little as he tried to test the ropes around him. There was no movement, he was tightly secured and only just about had the room to breath.
"The port," Buz then spoke to Harper's surprise, so consumed by his latest predicament. "Tell me more about it."
"I don't feel much like talking anymore," Harper sneered, and Buz stepped closer.
"What can it do?" Buz asked, but Harper remained silent, staring with contempt at Buz. "Failure to talk will mean you force me to talk to your pretty friend, I will enjoy talking to her," Buz turned away.
"It doesn't suit you," Harper now smirked. "Playing tough guy, you look stupid."
"Let's see if Beka feels the same," Buz countered quickly, continuing his threat.
"Beka will eat you for breakfast," Harper predicted. "You'll have a tougher time with her."
"Is that so?" Buz questioned, almost looking ready to take the chance. "Maybe I should focus more on her, because you, you're just no fun anymore, now Beka, she looks like a lot of fun to be had, by all," he gestured to his gathered men.
Harper took a deep breath, as much as he could with the rope constricting his body. "There's a whole heap of uber you'd have to get past first, and I don't rate your chances," Harper answered, attempting to remain stony faced, but inside he was beginning to fear what Buz was suggesting for his friend.
"Make this easier for you, and for Beka, by just answering my questions," Buz then suggested.
Harper looked away, resigned to the fact that it didn't really matter if he talked or not. They were already screwed by this city and he didn't feel that information about the port could harm anyone, considering its uselessness on the planet, and the fact it was damaged as well.
"What do you want to know?" Harper asked with a bored air.
"How does it work?"
"Via a cable, or a transmitter, both of which don't exist within a thousand light years of this dump, so it's pointless telling you," Harper stated.
"Zal told me it allows you to interact with machinery, physically," Buz then spoke.
Harper couldn't hide the smirk. "Getting kinky ideas?" he asked innocently until Buz backhanded him, with a stinging blow across his cheek. Once the bells had stopped ringing inside Harper's head, he focused on Buz once more. "Zal talks too much," Harper concluded.
"So it's true?"
"Maybe, depends, on a lot of stuff that would mean jack to you," Harper answered.
"For someone tied to a tree you have a lot of bravado," Buz noted.
"Took years of practice," Harper countered. "I have being held 'hostage by freaks' down to a fine art, and out of all those freaks, you sure are up there with the best of them, maybe even beating that damn rat faced one," Harper idly continued until another stinging blow across his jaw stopped him dead.
"This is another test," Buz then announced. "Your friends concern us, they appear to be more trouble than they are worth and we need to know just how much."
"You really should have done your homework before inviting us here," Harper grinned, ignoring the taste of blood in his mouth.
"We never invited you," Buz reminded him.
"Well that's ok then, because if you did, your hospitality sucks," Harper stated and felt his head being pushed back against the bark of the tree with force, dazing him for a moment.
When he focused again he saw Buz talking quietly with his men and pointing to various points in the woods, away from him. Then he saw the box on the ground, and vaguely remembered seeing one of the men carrying it on his back as they had walked. His natural fear began to rise as he observed them busily talking amongst themselves, and basically ignoring him.
Looking up, Buz smiled before finally turning his attention back to Harper. The look he now aimed at Harper, sent shivers down the human's spine.
"We're going to go now," Buz then announced.
"Huh?" Harper could only respond.
"They say a storm is brewing, we've had quite a few lately," Buz continued with a grin. "Maybe you caught the tail end of the last flurry of storms we had when you arrived?"
Harper remembered the rain, remembered his joy at being able to simply stand and embrace the weather. He remembered the nagging from Beka, but he had had the best time just standing in the rain that first night he had spent on the planet. Now he felt something different, and he absently looked upwards seeing the cover in this part of the woods was sparse compared to other areas. The previous storm has been tough and hard, the rain had been heavy and unrelenting, and he had had a shelter to return to once the novelty had worn off.
Now he was secured tightly to a tree, with no possible means of escape, and he knew they were just planning on leaving him there. Harper then felt a hand around his throat, pinning his head back against the tree's bark, and he stared at Buz.
"You won't leave this place until you beg to be released," Buz sneered.
"Will never happen," Harper stressed. "My friends will find me long before I beg for anything!"
Harper then glanced over to where one of Buz's men tested the barrel of what looked to be an old fashioned gun, the kind Harper had seen sometimes on Earth during mistimed rebellions, the kind with bullets instead of laser fire.
"We'll be watching you, but you won't know where," Buz grinned and produced a thin strip of cloth and without hesitation he covered Harper's eyes, as the human attempted to struggle and moved his head to try and stop the cloth behind tied, but to no avail.
Buz grabbed hold of Harper's hair, getting his instant attention. "Any of your friends turn up, and my men are under orders fire at will."
"No," Harper realised the situation immediately, and then felt a piece of cloth being forced into his mouth, before another strip of cloth was put over his mouth and tightly tied behind his head, preventing him from making any loud noise.
Harper felt more rope then being tied around his head and shoulders, so if he couldn't move before, he had no chance now. Relying on sound alone now, Harper tried to work out what Buz was doing, all he could hear was low voices and a lot of movement.
"You look quite something," Buz remarked as Harper grimaced in pain, they had really tightened the ropes with their last effort and the rough bark was digging into him. "Let us give you something to make things a little better," Buz then announced and Harper was suddenly hit by a very strong smell, and he tried to move his head away but realised he couldn't.
The effects of feeling light headed were immediate, as Harper's head felt as though it was swimming. The aroma was obviously toxic, and very strong. Harper remembered the breathing apparatus he had to wear before arriving in Edenia, and briefly wondered if the plant from outside was also inside, as he had no way of knowing if Buz and company were now wearing face masks. All he did know was that thought was becoming harder, and he felt weak and helpless unable to move, see or say anything.
"I think he's had enough for now, make sure he gets regular hits, I want him talking to the fairies by the time he leaves these woods," Buz ordered. "Then he might have that reason for never wanting to leave," he stressed before his voice became distant to Harper, and the human realised he was now alone, just as the first drop of rain began to fall.
TBC