A.N. I'm very sorry this took so long to write. Lots of stuff happened that kept me from working on this diligently. Plus, I wrote an entire section and then took it out, and blah blah blah, long story short, another very short chapter. Title for this and chapter two's titles, together, mean "It is meet and just to die for one's country."
For Indiana Englishgirl, Miss Melaine. August 11, 2008. Your suitcase is always packed.
Chapter Five: Pro Patria Mori
Science Officer Kira Argmanov—Kira Onalopov if that indecisive jerk Alexi would grow the balls to drop the question—was last in a long line of prisoners that were currently chained to the wall in a cellar of the Bluff Eversmoking Monastery. From the look of things, she was the only prisoner they had who wasn't seven feet tall with an extra pair of arms growing out of her ribcage—which explained why the entire regiment of guards were clustered around her, poking her skin, pulling her hair, and clattering to each other when she yelped and whimpered like a lost puppy. They were miniature versions of the beasts that attacked her team members back in the Sunspire, but they still towered over her, and their teeth were just as sharp. To top it all off, she was still shivering from the harrowing experience of crossing a ridiculously narrow land bridge while being buffeted from side to side by subzero winds. She practically had hand to walk toe-to-toe to keep her balance, but her lack of confidence rested on the fact that she was chained, via a metal collar, to all of the other prisoners by the same link, meaning that if one of them had lost his step, everyone would have fallen.
She bit her lips and kept her eyes on the ground, knowing full well what kind of danger she had gotten into. She knew she should've stayed by Alexi and Karl—but when she had seen those monsters come at her teammates, the courage went out of her. It was like her legs started moving on their own—but now look where they had gotten her. She sighed. She hadn't even made it all the way up the staircase before she had caught the blunt end of a spear with her forehead. Her temples still smarted.
The team should've stayed in Spire Village, she thought wretchedly, but then the memory of that four-story monstrosity stomping into the herding grounds quickly erased that idea. Four months of smooth living with the Nali ruined by a Titan, which was the only creature they had encountered besides the green-skinned lizard men. These tongue-y monsters, however, she had no clue how to deal with, or who they were allies with—certainly not the ISV-Kran crew, and definitely not the Nali. She had to feel sorry for the nervous things—they didn't have a fighting chance, even on their own planet. Neither did we. She closed her eyes against the memory of Karl's scream. God, I hope they're okay.
The Nali standing at her left shoulder shifted imperceptibly closer, and, barely moving his lips, muttered one of his strange words to her. It's no use, she thought as he met his dull golden eyes and shook her head. I don't understand a word you're saying. The translator's turned off. Alexi had given her his universal translator for safekeeping before they had entered the Sunspire. It was priceless when they were in the Spire Village, where every word the Nali spoke was played back in somewhat garbled, though understandable, Russian. Likewise, all Kira or the other two had to do was to speak into the built-in microphone and play it back in the language of their choice, and they could communicate rather effectively with the four-armed aliens.
This means of communication, however, would surely cease once the monsters who had captured them found the square of metal in her flight suit pocket. She hoped to God that they wouldn't think it was a bomb, but anything could be used as an excuse to run her through. The thought turned her blood to ice, and she tried to slow her rapid breathing by inhaling through her nose. Her sinuses tingled at the rush of cold air. It was barely warmer in here than it was outside.
The guards that had escorted them into the room suddenly turned their attention to the door. Kira had barely registered their movement when the wooden gate swung open and a shadowed beast stepped into the room. Kira's knees buckled when she recognized it as being of the same species as the ones that kidnapped her here. Except this thing was a monster. Twice the size of the guards, and maybe half a foot taller than her original assailant. She felt bile rising in her throat. The creature turned to the sentinels and barked something at them as it took out an electronic screen from a side holster and started furiously tapping buttons on the screen. Once in a while it looked up, counting the number of prisoners in line, but otherwise it paid them no heed. The guards, in the meantime, began unsnapping the chains of every two prisoners, so that, while the line was broken, each prisoner had a partner chained to them by the throat.
They're splitting us into sample-sized pieces, Kira thought grimly. Probably to feed to that ugly bastard over there.
The 'ugly bastard' looked up suddenly, and a spear of terror lanced through Kira's frame as he began walking towards her. Her knees quaking, she took a shuffling step backwards for every one of his forward strides, until she was blocked by the wall behind her. Mental images of her head bouncing along the floor after a well-aimed swipe from the alien's claws had her close to tears.
It was standing right in front of her now; Kira was surprised that the wooden floorboards didn't crack under its weight. It bent its neck and stooped down to her level, so that its dark-rimmed eyes bored into hers with quiet intensity. It took all of Kira's strength to keep her knees from buckling.
After the span of a few nervous breaths, the creature's back straightened and, with a final series of inputs into the electronic log, backed away from the line of captives. Turning its massive head over its shoulder, it opened its razored mouth and barked an order to the lesser guards. Spears were lifted and snarls ensued; one of the guards reached out and grasped the chain that connected her to the Nali and fairly dragged them out of the room. The Nali gave one last desperate cry to his fellow villagers before the dark hallway enveloped them both. Due to the difference in their heights and the shortness of the chain, Kira's collar had lodged itself under her jawbone, making it impossible for her to look down and see where she was going. However, she soon noticed that her boots were splashing through something soft and slimy, and the smell of the air had taken on a coppery tang. She held her breath as best as she could as they continued down the dark hall.
All too soon they began to slow down; the darkness was pierced by yellow lamplight as the guard led them into a large dual-level chamber. There was a large padlocked gate at the far end; off to Kira's left there was a bench and four chairs, all occupied by guards. Along one wall and on the second floor were plain wooden doors, windowless and without handles. Kira's stomach dropped. It's a prison.
The guard led them up the stairs to the last doorway and stood in front of it; barking down to one of his fellow prison-keepers, he waited until the latter got up from the bench and pulled the lever that unlocked that specific cell. As soon as the threshold was opened, he rammed the butt of the spear into the Nali's back. The Nali flinched inside, and Kira stumbled in after him.
The door was closed before she hit the ground. The Nali, dragged down by her dead weight, landed on his hands and knees next to her. The cell was dank and pitch black; Kira couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face—but she had an idea. Fumbling in her flight suit pocket, she breathed a sigh of relief as her fingers brushed across the smooth surface of the translator. Her hands shook as she felt around for the power key; she found it, pressed it, and whispered a quick prayer of thanks as the luminescent screen bathed the tiny cell with fresh green light. She cast a glance at the Nali's amazed face, and gave him a small smile of reassurance as his dull eyes questioned hers. She whispered into the translator and pressed the playback button. "It's all right; I've got friends coming to help me."
The Nali shook his head. He answered and the translator beeped the message back to her. "If they are not here, they are already dead."
The words sent a quake of dread through her, but she tried to brush the feeling away. What did this Nali know, anyway? He was just as clueless and as petrified as the rest of them. Instead, she spoke again, rather sharply, "I think perhaps we should keep this off and save the batteries. We don't know how long we'll be here, anyway."
That gunshot she heard—couldn't be—couldn't possibly be—and they both said that they'd get her if their trio was ever broken up. Didn't they?
They're coming. They're going to come. They're going to rescue me. They're going to come. They're here, now, calling my name. All I have to do is listen. All I have to do is breathe.
She flicked the power switch off, and, in the quiet darkness, fought against despair.
Dark Arena
He was holding on to the collar around her neck, the weight of his arm bending the metal into an oval shape. She wished that it would snap and strike her in the head so she wouldn't have to feel—this—again. He had mounted her from behind this time, forcing her upper body to the ground as her knees and shins trembled and jerked, struggling to support his weight. Her cheek was bleeding from being scraped against the wall. Thankfully, Norianna was out of her line of sight; she could only hope that her cellmate was ignoring the sounds. She was trying to keep silent as best she could, but Shas had buried the full length of the talons on his free hand into her torso and was yanking backwards on her body with each forward thrust, and she couldn't help but hiss in fury and pain.
None too soon there was the familiar bite of acid along her inner walls, the final humiliating thrum from the Skaarj behind her as he pulled out and kicked her body out of his way. She lay prone on the ground, panting for breath, as Shas slammed the door shut behind him.
The cell was quiet for a while, until Happy heard Norianna stirring somewhere off in the corner. A cool hand laid itself on her bruised forehead; she winced at the contact. "Hey, kiddo," Norianna whispered gently. "You all right?"
"Right as rain," Happy answered hoarsely, trying to push herself off of the floor with her forearms. Norianna, however, moved her hand to the small of Happy's back and pushed down. "Nah-ah-ah, don't you move. Jesus, I've never seen so much blood come out of such a little thing." She bit her thumbnail as Happy collapsed back onto the ground. Her eyes were drawn to the ragged marks on Happy's side. "Shit. These puncture wounds are ridiculous. How are we going to fix these?"
"We're not," Happy struggled for breath. "Now please. Keep your voice down."
Norianna cast a glance to the opposite corner of the cell. "You know, you don't look much better than our dead friend."
"Thank you. I realized that."
Norianna's voice betrayed her smile. "It's nice to see that you can still appreciate a sense of humor after you've had your vagina ripped open."
Happy coughed, and tasted blood. It's so easy for you to laugh when it's not happening to you, isn't it? Her weak anger, however, dissipated when she felt Norianna running her fingertips back and forth over her shoulder blades. Her bruised body remembered the feeling and registered it in her mind. Nice.
"I'm sorry I can't do anything more for you," Norianna said quietly, staring at the doorway. "How long have you been going through this?"
Days. Months. Years.
"It started a long time ago. It's not as bad as it looks."
Norianna snorted. "You're lying to me." She moved her hand up to run her fingers through the matted clumps of her cellmate's hair. "I like the color of your hair," she remarked absently. Then she smiled. "Has Shas brought you a ribbon yet? You'd think he'd get you a present for being such a willing fuck."
The words stung until Norianna began to laugh. "Imagine," she squeaked out. "The bastard galumphing in here with a party bag full of ribbons. Oh, shit, that would be priceless."
Happy shifted her half-lidded eyes to the side. Norianna had clearly been mentally affected by the situation. "Norianna, please. Shut up."
Instead, Norianna got to her feet and stretched her lean body luxuriously. "What if I told you that I know a way to get out of here? Would you like me to keep talking then?"
Out. The word ignited a tiny spark of hope within Happy's consciousness; at the same time, the last memory that the word 'out' brought flashed into her mind, and she became angry. With a huge effort, she rolled onto her side and thrust her mutilated arm up for Norianna to see. "Do you see what 'out' got me? Do you see the result of my escape attempts? It's not going to work, Norianna, so don't bother. Hope doesn't exist here."
Norianna's eyes flashed with an unknown emotion. She lowered her body so that she was balanced delicately on the balls of her feet, and stared directly into Happy's face. "You're right," she said quietly, seriously. "It doesn't exist here." She gestured around the room. "But," she continued, "it exists here—" pressing her forefinger against Happy's forehead, "—and here—" pressing her finger to Happy's chest, "as long as you're living. You've just forgotten it, is all."
Happy didn't answer. Norianna stood up again. "You are human. You are strong and intelligent and you're still living. You're still alive, even after all this—do you think that you're still breathing because your body isn't as fucked up as it really is? You're living on hope! Because somewhere underneath all of that superficial stuff is a beautiful, free, happy human being, just waiting to be released. You're caged for now, yes, but your mind is telling you to just hold on, just a little longer, and you'll be triumphant over Shas and his band of bastards. Tell me I'm wrong, Happy. I dare you to tell me I'm wrong."
Happy met Norianna's gaze. The woman's blue eyes bored into her own. "But how?" she said brokenly.
"'How', what?"
Happy had to struggle to get the words around the lump that had formed in her throat. "How can I h-hope when all I can feel is—is—"
"It's not going to be easy all the time." Norianna interrupted her. "And you have to be realistic. We haven't been fed in three days, you just got raped, and there's a dead chick in the corner. But don't you see? We're at the very bottom—the only way to go is up!"
Norianna paused. Happy's gaze had drifted towards the doorway. "Yes, I know, you already tried the door technique. Ah—er, Happy?"
Happy's body had stiffened; she seemed to shrink into herself, trying to make herself a small a target as possible. The door to their cell was thrown open forcefully; before Norianna could register the sound she felt a hand grab the collar of her flight suit and fairly lift her off of the ground and toss her into the opposite wall. She collided with the half-decomposed woman and had to bite back a shriek of disgust as her foot sank into the girl's rotted flesh when she tried to right herself. In an instant, though, her attention was riveted on the action in front of her.
It was Shas. He reached down and wrapped his hand around Happy's collar, lifting her into the air to his eye level. Happy's hand came up involuntarily to grasp her assailant's wrist; with a snarl, Shas drew back his arm and slammed his captive into the wall. The prisoner's mouth twisted in a breathless cry for help; her eyes met Norianna's, but failed to register any recognition.
Shas glanced over his shoulder at Norianna and turned to exit the cell. He was met in the doorway by another Skaarj, who reached out and grasped Happy's handless wrist. He seemed to consider it for a second before Shas brushed past and pulled the gate shut behind him. Norianna rushed towards the door and beat her fist against the lock. "Bring her back, you fuckers! Don't you dare kill her!"
She could hear their footfalls travelling down the hallway; a door opened and illuminated the corridor as the two Skaarj dragged Happy into a room adjacent to the cell block. Norianna waited, breathless, and when the first familiar, desperate screams rang out, sank to her knees and covered her ears with her hands.
The noises did not stop for a long time.