Before Jack could reply a sharp, searing pain struck his temples, increasing with murderous frequency. Darkness followed.
Chapter Twenty: Prisoners
Jack awoke to a bright, pulsing light, stabbing away at his eyes. He felt nauseous, sick.
“What are you doing that for?” he asked, looking at the space torch as it danced about the room. “I’m not a tent.”
“Soz,” said Gaz. “I thought…”
“You thought what?”
“Nuthin’,” said Gaz, stomping moodily across the room.
“We’re still on the spaceship, I see,” said Jack, noticing Vyleria and Jorge for the first time. The space SEALS were nowhere to be seen. “What are they planning?”
“I don’t know,” said Vyleria, looking pale. “Ros and his new friends didn’t see fit to tell me.
“Well what are we going to do about it?” asked Jack.
“There’s nothing we can do,” said Vyleria. She sounded worn-out, defeated, hollow.
“That isn’t like you,” he said. “You’re normally the last person to give up.”
“Yeah well, things are different now.”
“How so?”
“Well we’re trapped for one thing.”
“That hasn’t stopped us before.”
“Perhaps this is one time too many Jack. Perhaps this time we lose. Goodness knows it’s time.”
“But if we give up now,” said Jack, “it’s not just our future that’s going down a black hole, it’s Earth’s too. They are our responsibility. And don’t forget the Scourge, they’re still out there, even if the Asvari aren’t looking for them. They’ll strike when they least expect it.”
“What do you suggest?” asked Jorge.
“We could make a break for it down the corridor and aim for the control room. I think that’s our best shot.”
“It’s hopeless,” said Vyleria. “We’ll get captured for sure.”
“You don’t know that. Besides, we’ve no handcuffs or restraints of any kind, it should be easy.”
“Jack, they’ve done that for a reason. They obviously think we’re secure down here, wherever we are. We still don’t have our space pistols either. We’ll be sitting ducks.”
“Perhaps that’s just hubris, over-confidence.”
“And if it’s not?”
“Then we still have to try,” said Jack. “There are billions of lives at stake. Quitting is not an option.”
Jack crept down the snaking corridor, closely followed by Vyleria, Jorge and Gaz, the soft, metallic floor crumpling soundlessly beneath their footprints.
“I told you that there would be no alarm,” said Jack. “The Asvari think they have us locked-up tight. We should make for one of the transport rooms. I know we’ve not used them in ages, not since we discovered the pan-spaceship transport function, but they should still be in fine working order.”
“And if they’re not?” asked Vyleria.
“We’ll cross that intergalactic bridge when we come to it,” said Jack. “Until then…”
“Yes?” asked Gaz.
“Shh! Can you hear that?” asked Jack. “Voices. From down the other end of the corridor. English, I think. Quick, follow me.”
“Jack, wait up,” said Vyleria, hurrying after him. “It could be a trap.”
“I don’t think so,” said Jack, running as fast as he could.
“Told you,” he said, looking at the space SEALS through the window of their cell. They were sat in a row with their back to them, still dressed in their military fatigues.
“Why haven’t they escaped then?” asked Vyleria.
“I don’t know,” he said, putting a hand to the door of their cell.
Jack’s hand fizzed with electricity. “Ouch!” he said, shaking his right arm. “It’s electrified.”
“Are you sure?” asked Gaz.
“Do you think I made that up?” asked Jack. “If you don’t believe me, give it a try.”
“Okay, I believe you. But then why is their room sealed-off and not ours?”
“They obviously consider them a bigger and graver threat,” said Vyleria.
“One which they’ll rue,” said Jack.
“Don’t be so sure of that,” said Vyleria.
“Will you quit it with your defeatism?” said Jack. “Try looking on the bright side for once.”
“Well it’s kind of difficult when you’re trapped in space with no hope of rescue.”
“Fine, I’ll try and get us out of this then. Hey!” he shouted at the nearest space SEAL. “What’s going on?”
No answer. Eyes forward. Heads bowed.
“Hey, Captain Peresma, it’s me Jack. We are going to try and get you out of there.”
More silence.
“Why aren’t they answerin’?” asked Gaz.
“They can’t hear us,” said Jorge. “The room is probably muffled for sound. There could be a rocket taking off next to them and they still wouldn’t hear a thing.”
“I don’t think so,” said Jack, manically waving his arms. “I think they can hear us just fine.”
“Then why are they ignorin’ us?” asked Gaz.
“I don’t know,” said Jack.
“Perhaps they’ve been told to,” said Vyleria. “By the Asvari.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense,” said Jack. “Why would they do that?”
Because they’ve been taught the meaning of respect.
Jack spun around immediately. Before him was a grey, snake-like face, teeth chiseled into fine points.
It was the Asvari who had interrogated him earlier. He was taller than he remembered. And meaner too. Like a Rottweiler or a piranha or both. He was flanked by several dozen other Asvari, all of whom looked at him with a mixture of loathing and malice.
You were right, Ros. He did try to escape and help his friends. You know him so well. Are you sure you’re free of his taint?
“Must I prove my loyalty again?” said Ros in a voice that sounded in Jack’s head.
No. It is I that will forge the chains today.
A huge and violent force suddenly punched Jack in the chest, sending him hurtling down the corridor. He staggered to his feet, only for an invisible hand to thrust him back down. It was like he was being grappled by a hurricane. Once more he tried to stand up before being shoved back against the wall.
Obey me!
“Never!” Jack shouted.
Invisible fingers clutched at Jack’s throat, clawing for his jugular.
Obey me!
“Never,” Jack half-shouted, half-moaned.
Still the hands grappled and twisted at Jack’s heart, throat and lungs. Then suddenly he was flying again, banging from one wall to the other like a child’s rattle. Once, twice, three times. His body thrummed with pain. One of his arms was bent at a right angle. His forehead bled uncontrollably. He couldn’t take much more, he was going to pass out. The pain…
Obey me!
Jack shook his head as much as he could, chest heaving for air.
And then suddenly he was on fire, flames darting about his body, singeing his clothes, his skin, his eyes. The pain was unbearable, unending, like a planet-wide tsunami.
Obey me!
“Yes, yes, please,” he begged, surprised at the desperation and terror in his own voice.
Jack gasped for breath, gagging for air, only for the tidal wave to hit him again, fire surging throughout his body.
Obey me!
“I obey, I obey, I obey, I obey,” Jack cried. “Please, just… just stop.”
A new feeling gushed over Jack’s body. It was like a thousand aquifers had erupted at once, dousing the flames, erasing the pain. He opened his eyes. His sight had returned somehow.
If you disobey me again, dog, then the pain will return. Do you understand?
“Yes, yes, I’ll do anything.”
Good dog. Now send the girl to me.
“Of course, anything you say. I’m sorry Vyleria, I… I tri
ed.”
“What do you mean?” asked Vyleria as Jack ushered her over to her torturer, his new master.
The moment Vyleria began to howl Jack’s heart broke.
Chapter Twenty-One: Futility
Jack looked around the room anxiously. He kept expecting his hands to explode into flames at any moment. How long had Ren tortured him? Minutes? Hours? Days? He couldn’t tell, it was all one long stream of pain and agony. Would it happen again?
“Vyleria, are you awake?” he asked. “Vy…”
“Go away,” she said, rocking back and forth, her bright red head lodged between her knees. She was shaking uncontrollably. Jorge was consoling her as best he could.
“I’m sorry,” said Jack, the sound of her screams reverberating in his head again and again. “I had no choice. It all happened so fast… and… and I thought you could switch off your pain nerve, so that you wouldn’t get hurt.”
“He bypassed it,” said Vyleria.
“What?”
“If I knew that I wouldn’t have felt the pain, would I? All I know is that he got past it somehow, burning away my ability to ignore pain.”
“But how?”
“It doesn’t matter now. It’s done. No thanks to you…”
“Vy…”
“Just leave it, Jack,” said Jorge. “We’ve all suffered enough. Let’s rest for now.”
“But what about escaping?” asked Jack.
“Are you crazy?” asked Vyleria. “Look what that monster has done to us, he’s destroyed everything that we are, taken away our ability to think independently. We’re his now.”
“No, I don’t believe it. We can do this; we can beat him!”
“Can we? It was you that handed me over to him, remember?”
“But that was different, I was…”
“You’re making excuses.”
“No, I’m not, I’m…”
“Look, if you want to try and escape, then be my guest, but I’m staying here. Jorge too. I’ve had enough of your little games.”
“Vyleria…”
“I’ll go with you.”
“You?” said Jack, staring at Gaz.
“Yeah me, you got a problem with that?”
“No, I just didn’t expect you to, that’s all. We aren’t exactly the best of friends.”
“Well things change,” said Gaz. “Besides, I want to get out of here just as much as you do. What’s your plan?”
“Run.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah,” said Jack, glancing at Jorge’s fingers as they brushed against Vyleria’s hair, stroking the small of her back.
“Good enough for me,” said Gaz. “Let’s find out what we can then scarper. Maybe there’s a ship around here we can use.”
“Yeah maybe,” said Jack, still looking at Vyleria’s lava-like eyes - eyes that used to mean so much to him. “Let’s make for the transporters, they may yet still be in operation.”
Jack inched down the corridor, closely followed by Gaz, their eyes looking furtively around the corridor, searching for a sign of the Asvari.
“Why’s no one around?” asked Gaz.
“I don’t know,” said Jack “Perhaps there’s not that many of them. Maybe they’ve got to leave some of the corridors empty.”
“It’s weird,” said Gaz.
“I know, it could be a trap.”
“No, I don’t mean that. I mean me and you here, together, like this, we’re almost…”
“Don’t say friends,” said Jack, rubbing the nose that Gaz broke all those months ago. The memory of his blood-soaked t-shirt was still fresh, even now.
“Why not?”
“Because you bullied me,” said Jack, turning round to look him in the eye. “Every day. You made me feel weak, unimportant, you all did, you and your friends. I’ve never felt so worthless, so empty in all my life. If it wasn’t for this spaceship…”
“Okay, maybe I went a little rough on you…”
“Gaz! You broke my nose, splattered it in fact. And it wasn’t the first time either. If I could go back in time, I’d teach you such a lesson.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“Well when I get round to inventing a time machine I will.”
“Why wait?” said Gaz, snarling like a pitbull. “If you feel that badly about it me and you can go right now.”
“You’re serious?”
“Damn right, I am,” he said, squaring up to Jack, hot breath flush in his face. “Do you have any idea what you put me through after you were gone?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Jack, after you disappeared they thought I murdered you, that I beat you to death and stuffed your body in one of the lodges. I was sent to prison! My mum had a stroke because of it, she’s in a home now. If it wasn’t for meeting General Stormborn, she’d probably be dead too. They’ve paid for all her medical expenses, and even some of my Dad’s, though we ain’t seen ‘im in years, the rat.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise,” said Jack. “After I went aboard the spaceship everything just happened so quickly and all of a sudden I had these friends and I was going to all these planets and having all kinds of adventures and before I knew what had happened several months had passed.”
“Yeah well, whilst you were having your fun, I was inside getting seven bells knocked out of me every time I stepped out of my cell.”
“What? But…”
“But I’m tough is that what you were going to say?”
“Well yeah.”
“Hard enough for you, that’s for sure; but inside it’s different, harsher, more violent, if it wasn’t for General Stormborn giving me a fresh chance in life I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
“Sorry, I didn’t realise it affected you that much. To be honest General Stormborn told me about you being in prison a few months ago, but I…”
“Did nothing?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to hurt you, punish you,” said Jack, thinking of all the dreams he had where he beat Gaz to a bloody pulp. “Since I couldn’t make you suffer directly. It felt like justice.”
“Justice? They were going to cut off my ears one day, on another they broke two ribs and knocked three of my teeth out. I was in the infirmary for a week.”
“Look, I was wrong okay,” said Jack. “When I found out about your incarceration I should’ve informed the police immediately. I used you as a convenient scapegoat for my own weakness. I realise that now.”
“Is that an apology?” asked Gaz.
“It’s a wait and see.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That we need change our behaviour towards one another first, otherwise it’s just words. If there’s one thing that I’ve learnt on this spaceship it’s that actions really do speak louder than words. Gaz, what’s wrong?”
Gaz’s head suddenly jerked backwards as if gripped by an invisible hand, before he was flung like a piece of garbage down the long corridor. Jack was about to run over to see if he was okay, but something held him in place, like he was caught in an invisible web. Then the web began to squeeze shut like a vice, pressing against his temples like mallets, squashing his arms, his legs. Just as his rib cage was about to burst a wave of electricity surged throughout his body, simultaneously activating every nerve, every cell. The pain was immediate, severe, like being plugged into the electricity mains. From somewhere far off he heard someone screaming – it might have been his voice, or Gaz’s or Vyleria’s, but he didn’t care, all he wanted was to be free of pain, of life.
And then just like that he was, his head hitting the floor with a loud crunch.
Nice dog, said a voice that came out of nowhere. You won’t disobey your master again, will you?
Jack shook his head violently and then threw up, his body seized by shivers. And it was true, he really wouldn’t. He was a good dog now, a true slave; Jack Strong had ceased to exist.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Slaves
The slave walked down the corridor as quickly as he could; he couldn’t afford to be late. He didn’t want to get punished again. He closed his eyes and imagined the fire creeping up his arms, his chest, his face. He could almost smell his own flesh burning, bubbling away. Not that, not that ever again.
“Put the plate down on the table and then get out,” said the Asvari, teeth bared like a row of daggers. “The armoury need your assistance with some equipment.”
“Yes master,” said the slave, keeping his head as low as possible, knees digging into the hard floor. “I’ll do my best.”
“You’ll do it perfectly or you’ll fry,” said the Asvari, before the slave’s skin crackled with electricity.
The slave jumped and hollered, pain shooting up and down his arms and legs. Finally, he collapsed, vomit staining his front.
“You can clean that up before you go!”
“Yes m-master.”
The slave staggered to his feet, wiped up the bile from the floor, then headed for the armoury. He started to run again, the dread of fire returning like an unwelcome letter. He had to get there on time, he had to.
“Slave three hundred and sixteen reporting for duty.”
“You were supposed to be here eighty nine point one seconds ago,” said the Asvari, eyes burning into him like coals.
“I’m sorry, Master. I was…” The slave looked over the Asvari’s shoulder. A large blue and green planet shimmered in the distance.
“You don’t know how much I enjoy this, do you?” said the Asvari, before the slave’s body coursed with fire. “To believe that some of us used to take orders from your kind. Soon you will either all be under our control or dead.”
“Master, I…”
The slave was gripped in a tsunami of pain, body and mind gripped by elemental forces beyond his control. This is it, the slave thought, pain unending, there’s no hope left. I’m done for…
“Shag, stop what you’re doing at once!”
The voice seemed familiar; it came from another time, another place. “Ren wants the boy. Now.”
Jack Strong: Dark Matter Page 9
