A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Here's the next chapter. It's a short one, but I wanted to publish something today.
Chapter three
Drowsiness plagued Evan Lorne. Not anything as extreme as fatigue or exhaustion. Just drowsiness. The kind of drowsiness that often targeted the emotionally drained. Curled up on his side, as to avoid his sore back, he drifted off into a dreamless sleep, partly brought on by his rising fever.
Laura Cadman sat silently and watched sleep overtake her CO. She hated to see him in any kind of pain, especially the kind that she knew she couldn't fix. He was usually so aloof and coy that it was nearly impossible to read his face, but right now, pain was etched into his expression.
She hobbled slowly over to where Ryan Parrish and Ben Reed were sitting awkwardly in the corner. They couldn't help but feel like they had interrupted something when they joined their team-mates. "What time is it?" Laura asked.
Ben looked at his watch. "2:30. We were supposed to check in at 4, so we've got two and a half hours to go."
Laura bit her lip, glancing at Evan. His pale face showed both pain as well as fever. She really hoped that, by some miracle, help would come soon. It was alarming how quickly Evan's condition was worsening, but what was more alarming was how little he was doing to hide it.
The small door to their small room was slammed open. Their captors sauntered in. Laura doubted whether they even knew what they wanted. They didn't seem to have any plan.
"Are you ready to tell us who you are?" one of them snarled.
"We told you before. We're just travelers, looking for people to trade with. We answered your question, now you need to answer mine. Why are you holding us here. Why not just talk to us, like adults?" Laura asked, getting frustrated.
"Because last time we let strangers come into our villages, we lost 38 lives, and have lived in fear ever since," he answered. Laura was surprised at the answer. She had expected something more, well, unhelpful.
"That's awful. But you have to understand that we weren't the ones who did that. You have no right to keep us here," she said. "Now, just like the strangers who killed your people, you guys are killing my people." She pointed at the quickly slipping Major in the corner.
"That's not our problem. You shouldn't have come here."
"We're sorry. We won't come back, once you let us go," she continued, desperate.
"We can discuss this further with the prince. He wishes to speak to your leader. Which one of you is the leader?"
Laura bit her lip. She knew Evan would be angry, but she had no choice. "That would be me," she said. Their captors grabbed her arm and began dragging her to the door.
"What are you doing, Lieutenant?" came a weak voice from behind her. "I'm the leader. I outrank all these people. I'll go talk to the prince." Now the strangers were confused. They leg go of Laura and reached for Evan.
"He's delirious. He answers to me, take me," Laura argued.
"She's always wanted to be in charge. She likes the power," Evan said.
The two captors looked at each other, and then roughly grabbed both of them. They made their way out of the building, and into the daylight. The sun was torture on Evan's throbbing head, and he moaned, closing his eyes. It wasn't a long walk until they found themselves in a bustling village. At the end of the long street, there was a beautiful mansion.
They were led up the steps and in intricate double doors. There was a throne, and a bitter looking man sitting in it. "Bring the prisoners here," he said viciously.
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