Chapter 41
The next day………
Elrond had slept little and was woken early. He was given food, porridge. Well, it wasn't especially nice, but at least he recognised what it was, unlike some of the foods he had been given the previous evening. And tea, he discovered he was thirstier than he had thought, and his jailors seemed happy to refill the tea pot for him, in fact they were both nice today, and it worried the half-elf, for he had the feeling neither really liked him.
Once he had eaten, he was removed from the room, and marched down many long corridors, around corners, in what he soon understood to be a deliberate attempt to confuse him. Obviously these people hadn't dealt with elves, and their incredible memories before.
He was eventually taken into a room filled with machines, and several chairs and beds. A tired looking blonde woman wearing a white coat indicated Elrond should sit. He did so, and the woman asked Mac and Redfern to leave. Reluctantly, they went and stood outside the door, telling the woman that at the first sign of trouble they would be in the room, and deal with their captive how they saw fit.
The woman introduced herself once the two mercenaries were outside, 'Hi, I'm Kate Williams, I'm a doctor, and I'm in charge of doing some tests on you today, and maybe tomorrow'.
'I am Elrond', he responded, 'Can you tell me where I am, and what is wanted of me?'
'Those two crazies outside told me you are an elf', Kate whispered.
'I am', said Elrond, equally quietly.
'This will be interesting', she remarked. 'How different are you from normal people? What are your physical abilities? Clearly you eat and sleep pretty much the same as anyone else.'
'Yes, I do', he said. He leaned back in his chair, and looked Kate over closely. Mortal, reasonably attractive, mid to late forties in age, he guessed. Nothing remarkable here. Except his feeling that she was as much a captive as he.
'How long have you been held captive, Kate?' he asked, his voice a whisper.
Her blue eyes widened a fraction, 'How do you know?' she whispered back.
'I did not. I think you would call it a lucky guess', he replied.
'I have to do these tests on you. If I don't …..' she shuddered.
'What are these tests you speak of?'
'Various things. Heart and respiration rate. Tolerance to heat and cold. Physical strength, intelligence, memory, and a few other things. Nothing harmful, or particularly painful, just an inconvenience would be the best way to put it'.
Elrond considered her words carefully. 'If I refuse to co-operate what will happen?'
'We will both be punished', her face was white, and real fear reflected in her eyes.
Elrond made a decision. So far he had been going along with all that had happened to him. The time was not yet right to resist, he needed more information.
'Then shall we begin?' he said.
Relieved, she agreed. Elrond was then given a pencil, and piece of paper. He looked questioningly at Kate, who smiled. 'I know you can read our writing, I assume you can write our way, too'.
Stunned, Elrond spoke 'How did you know?'
'I was watching you rather more closely than you realised. I know you read, and understood, the signs on the door, and on some of the medical equipment'.
Elrond folded his hands on the table in front of him. 'Now what happens?' he asked quietly, understanding it to be pointless, even dangerous to lie, and deny his knowledge of modern writing.
'I ask you some questions, and you write down your answers,' Kate's eyes were fixed on Elrond, 'Of course, we can use this to talk more freely than our captors know'.
He gave a brief nod of comprehension. As he understood that in this grim place he had found a friend, so she realised that she found someone who might be able to help her escape this place, too.
So, she asked questions, and Elrond wrote down his answers. Some of her questions surprised him, but he answered as honestly as he was able. Then he was given tests for his eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell. As Kate had to work in close proximity to Elrond, they were able to hold a whispered conversation.
Finally, Mac came back into the room, complaining of the length of time Kate took in conducting her examination of Elrond. He took Elrond from the room, telling Kate that Elrond would be brought back the next day to complete the tests.
Back in his lonely room, Elrond read the small note Kate has slipped into his hand during the hearing test. He had hidden it up the tightly fitting sleave of his tunic. He read it twice, to commit it to memory, and then disposed of it in the only way open to him, he tore it into little pieces, and ate it, as many years ago in the Last Alliance he been forced to do so with a small command instruction from Gil-Galad.
Elrond then waited a little while to see if he was to be given an evening meal. It soon became apparent that as Kate had given him food late in the afternoon, it was considered unnecessary to feed the prisoner again. He waited until the Evening Star arose, and repeated his prayer of the previous evening, that Illuvator and his father Earendil aid him. Then he laid down and tried to rest.
At the abandoned airstrip it was now dark. Brin was dozing, and Glorfindel staring out the window. Jessryn was checking his arrows, and Rory making a meal for everyone. From the window, Glorfindel spoke, 'What are these beasts, Rory. They look like the monkeys we saw in trees earlier today, but these are bigger and walking on the ground. They are coming this way'.
Rory walked to the window and looked out. 'Baboons,' she said. 'A large band of young males out for trouble, we'd best shut and barricade the windows and doors'.
This was greeted by laughter from the Dwarf. 'These little beasties dangerous! Girl, you're playing a prank on us here.'
'No, Brin, I'm perfectly serious. I'd rather tackle a hungry pride of man- eating lions than these guys! They'll break in for the food we carry, and kill us if they can'.
The smiles of amusement disappeared from three faces as Rory's companions realised she was in deadly earnest.
Glorfindel and Brin helped Rory barricade all opening in the buildings' walls, while Jessryn checked and readied all weapons. They decided to eat, as the food was ready, and then took up defensive positions about the room. While they waited to see what would happen, Rory was asked for more information on the animals outside.
'Near where I lived with the lion people, a man eater claimed the lives of several native people, and one of our own animal behaviour specialists. We thought the killer was a leopard, for the dead people were attacked from above, and killed by the animal driving it's canine teeth through the top of the skull, and base of the neck. The killer was dropping from a tree onto it's victim, killing the person, and dragging them some distance to consume the kill.'
Horrified looks were mirrored on the faces of her companions, and a little disbelief. "I know it's true, I was nearly killed by this beast, it was a large female baboon who had been thrown out of her band a few months previously. A hunting party killed her the next day, and investigations showed she had killed 17 people in as many weeks'.
'Another person I know had to launch a war on baboons. The local band had been getting increasingly bold, stealing food led to raids on the house, killing of pets and livestock at night. Finally, a woman and baby were murdered in broad daylight, and eaten within sight of the house. Enough was enough. War was declared on the baboons. A force of forty men deployed to destroy the animals using gas grenades, guns and explosives. Three days and four dead men later the baboons were wiped out, a very few survivors escaped upstream and joined another band. These animals are strong, smart and have the ability to plan their actions. There is a drought here; the baboons are hungry and desperate. The danger to us is real.'
Brin spoke from his corner, 'What happens if they break in?'
'We will not survive to see the dawn', said Rory.