Ok, the next few chapters will be focusing on Elizabeth. I'll get back to John and the others soon, but I just couldn't bring myself to skip all the imagery I had of Elizabeth's journey. I hope you're not upset and that you'll stick with me on this one! And once again, thanks for the reviews! It definitely helps!


An hour after the sun sank below the hills, the group finally stopped for the night. Elizabeth sank to her knees as soon as her captor halted his mount, grateful for the rest at last. They had walked for several hours without even a water break, and she was utterly exhausted.

It was obvious from the well-worn campfire area this was one of the slave team's regular check points, and one of the men immediately started work on a fire. Elizabeth's captor untied the rope from his saddle and held it loosely in his hand.

"Over by the fire," he instructed, focusing intently on something in the distance so as to avoid meeting her gaze.

Elizabeth suddenly realized she was shivering even with her jacket, so she obediently moved toward the growing campfire. When she reached it, she sighed and sat cross-legged on the ground, stretching out her numb hands toward the warmth.

She felt a slight tension in the rope and looked up to see that the man was gathering the rest of the rope into one hand. She studied him as he concentrated on his task while periodically glancing at the other men in the camp.

He seems different from the others, like he actually sees us as human beings. He looks like the moral part of what he's doing here might actually be bothering him. He looked up then and shifted uncomfortably under Dr.Weir's scrutiny.

He gestured at her legs as he said, "Sit back, and put your hands on your knees." She narrowed her eyes slightly, but did as she was told. Her piercing stare stayed fixed on him as he knelt in front of her and began to knot the rope around her ankles in a way that meant she wouldn't be able to lift her hands from her knees. It wasn't an entirely uncomfortable position, but it made any effective attempt at escape practically impossible.

She decided to take a chance and break her silence. "What's your name?" she asked quietly. His hands stilled, but he didn't look up at her. He finished the knot and started to stand up. Elizabeth bit back her disappointment, but at that moment he stopped and turned back to her. "Elos," he said, "My name is Elos." He met her gaze, and she briefly saw sympathy in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a forced hardness that told Elizabeth she would receive no help from him. He stood abruptly and stared down at her.

"Sleep," Elos ordered gruffly. "You'll need it tomorrow. It won't be an easy day for you." With that, he stalked off to join the men at another campfire a few feet away.

Elizabeth let out a frustrated sigh, and tried to keep her thoughts away from Elos' last statement. It took some maneuvering to lie down without the use of her hands, but she finally found a semi-comfortable position that she didn't think would cause any neck pain come morning. Despite the rope bound tightly around her wrists and ankles, Elizabeth fell immediately into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Elizabeth awoke the next morning to the unfamiliar sounds of men clanging around a campfire, and momentarily had no idea where she was. She tried to get up to look around, but the ropes prevented much movement. Immediately, she remembered where she was and what had happened. I really need to work on my early morning memory recall skills, she thought absently.

She struggled to sit up, and her captors heard her shifting about. Elos walked toward her carrying a small wooden bowl. Setting it on the ground beside him, he untied the rope from Elizabeth's ankles, and held out the bowl to her. She cocked her head suspiciously, but took the bowl from his hand. After smelling it, she decided it would be bad business for him to poison her now, so she began to drink the warm soup. Elos watched her a moment, then began to get up again.

Elizabeth wiped her mouth on her jacket sleeve and looked up at Elos. "Thank you," she said softly. He glanced down then looked toward the other slavers before he said, "Eat quickly. We'll leave soon, and we should reach the town today. Try to eat it all; I've seen where we're going, and this might be the last decent meal you get for a while." She opened her mouth to ask a question, but Elos was already walking away.

Troubled by Elos' information, Elizabeth finished her soup in silence. Moments later, she was once again tethered to the horse and walking toward one of the larger hills that suddenly seemed much too close.