by Greg Curtis
“David.” Voices had been calling his name for some time from beyond the door, but he had ignored them all. He could barely hear them over the noise of the rush of blood in his ears. But finally came the voice he had waited to hear. It was Cyrea. His heart soared and strength flowed back through him again. She was still alive and she knew his name. Whatever the creature had done to her, it hadn’t finished the job and his relief was infinite.
“Come in.” And for once he was reasonably intelligible, somehow managing to speak without moving his jaw. It wouldn’t last, but when he wasn’t understandable he knew his prisoner would make him so.
She entered the room, walking easily, no sign of pain in her eyes, just concern. Make that panic. He saw the whites of her eyes bulging as she laid eyes on him.
As she saw him and took in the scene, saw the way he was armed with a laser, and holding the Leinian prisoner by the throat as a hostage, she grew very frightened. But not for herself, nor him. For his prisoner. He felt a gut wrenching shock.
“Ohh my God, David, what are you doing? Have you gone mad? And what’s happened to you?” It was the last thing he expected to hear, and for a few moments he didn’t believe he had. Could they already have twisted her mind so far that she didn’t know what had happened? In his arms his hostage started wriggling frantically, understanding his confusion and no doubt knowing it would go badly for him.
He tried to tell her how it was, that they were escaping, but finally his voice had packed up. The jaw had given up all movement, and what came out sounded like a stampede of wild monkeys rather than language. But his hostage understood that too.
“Ayn Cyrea, he believes you’ve been held hostage and brainwashed. He’s trying to escape and he wants you to go with him.” David let him speak, listening, though not well. The corners of his vision were starting to go grey as he stood there. The rest of the world was completely red. He hoped they didn’t notice.
“Escape what? Why? And what the shit has happened to him? Who the hell did this?” Cyrea was confused and scared, but not of him at least. She saw the blood, the damage, and knew he was in a bad way. But she didn’t know how bad. Even David was beginning to understand it was worse than he thought. Unconsciously he had started leaning on the little Leinian, and pushed the laser even more firmly into his temples. In his heart he wanted to push it so hard his skull crunched, but somehow he restrained himself. The little monster was still his only hope of getting out of there.
“Tell her.” It didn’t sound anything like speech, but his hostage understood him perfectly. The nearness of death had made him almost telepathic. And he was going to die shortly, David promised himself. For whatever he’d done to Cyrea, he couldn’t be allowed to live. For her already to not know what they’d done, it smacked of brain washing. Pure evil.
“My fault, all mine. I’m so sorry. I needed to know how tough he was, how far he could push himself on human adrenaline. But he wouldn’t fight. He needed a reason, so I gave him one.” There was something almost deceitful in the way the little Leinian was telling the truth, and David started listening carefully. Or tried to. But his thinking was becoming fuzzy around the edges and there was a terrible roaring growing somewhere behind his ears. Yet he still knew he had to be very careful around the little monster.
“He heard your voice, a computer production, and thought you were being tortured, and I used it to make him fight the synthetics to save you. I’m sorry. I’m so terribly sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody.” His prisoner was babbling, actually trying to speak faster than his mouth could move. But at least he could speak. David was starting to lose hearing as well as speech. The roaring in his ears was getting louder as though a crowd was massing somewhere behind him. Even though he knew there was only a steel wall there, he had to fight the impulse to look.
“But he beat them. It should have been so easy. But he destroyed them all. Five synthetics, two of them tens, and he destroyed them as if they were made of paper. He left them in pieces. He tore the last one in half. Then he smashed the room apart and escaped. He’s insane and he wants revenge. He’s going to kill me. Please Ayn save me. It’s all my fault but he’s still insane, a wild beast. He’ll kill me and then he’ll kill everyone else. You have to kill him.”
David saw the look of shock on Cyrea’s face as she heard his prisoner ask her to kill him, and he knew a moment of joy. However, far they’d gotten with her, she still didn’t want to kill him and that was worth anything. For the longest time he could think of nothing else. Not even his prisoner’s continual pleading.
“Please. I don’t want to die, please. I’m begging you. I’m truly sorry. I’ll tell you everything. But he’s crazy. He’s going to kill me. Then he’s going to kill us all. Save me.” He was screaming by then, trying to convince both her and all those others outside the door. His words triggered something in David, but with his thoughts as confused as they were it took a little while before he understood. The Leinian was trying to turn Cyrea against him. Trying to get the others outside to attack. Once he realized what he was doing though he knew it couldn’t be allowed. He didn’t even have to think about it. A simple flex of his arm and the doctor’s jaw was as broken as his. The Leinian screamed in pain and fear and then started sobbing uncontrollably, but at least he couldn’t lie any longer.
Unfortunately David couldn’t speak either. He couldn’t explain. He saw the look in Cyrea’s eyes and knew she was shocked by him. Shocked at watching him hurt his prisoner. She didn’t understand. She couldn’t with the brain washing. But she was going to do something, something he didn’t want her to do. She had seen him crush the doctor’s jaw, and she thought he’d gone mad. He wanted her to understand, but there was no way to tell her.
Then he saw a sudden look of determination in her eyes. She was going to try and save him. But not David, she wanted to save his prisoner. His ticket out of this hell hole.
“David, please give me the weapon.” He called to her to stay back, to come help him, or just to stay with him, but all that came out was random noise and blood. A lot of blood. He saw the redness spitting out on his arm wrapped around his captive’s throat, and knew it was a bad sign. There was too much, and it wasn’t just from a few broken teeth. Somewhere he’d punctured a lung.
“I don’t know what’s happened, but I promise you we’ll fix it. We won’t hurt you. You know that. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.” She was advancing on him slowly, and behind her he could see other heads poking around the corner.
“No. Go away.” It didn’t even sound like that to him let alone anyone else, and more blood sprayed out his mouth and over his hostage. Too much blood.
“You’re hurt, very badly. We want to help you, but you need to go to the hospital.” Her voice was so calm, so measured and precise that he almost found himself agreeing with her, even though he knew she was only doing exactly what was in all the text books. And he wanted to believe her, with everything he was. But he knew it was a trap. If he stayed he’d die here.
“No.” The sound was nothing like speech and he could barely find the ability to shake his head, but he had to tell her she was wrong. Either she didn’t understand or she wouldn’t accept it. She came closer still, forcing him.
“Please give me the laser David, and then we can go to the hospital.” She was within hands reach, and her hand was gently stretching out. It was then that he finally understood that she was still too far under the doctor’s brain washing. She wasn’t on his side anymore. Whatever the little monster had done to her, it had gone too far. She was his enemy. It was a bitter understanding.
He knew he had to kill her. All his years of survival training told him that. It was that or death. But even as he reached out with the laser to shoot he knew he couldn’t. She might be his enemy in truth, but he couldn’t kill her. Never. He couldn’t hurt her at all.
His hand stopped not even a fraction of an inch towards her, and she grabbed it. Quick pressure with her fingers and the
laser fell from his senseless fingers on to the floor. He couldn’t harm her but she could disarm him in front of his enemies.
He suddenly understood that he was trapped. That he wasn’t going to get away any more. That he was probably going to die here in this room, and that Cyrea had betrayed him. That was what truly hurt. Whatever they had done to her, they had already had turned her against him and it was beyond his ability to fix. Cyrea was no longer his ally. She was no longer his lover, nor his friend. She was his enemy. She might be brainwashed, but it made no difference. She had still ultimately betrayed him, left him defenceless against his enemies. The bitterness in his mouth grew stronger as he realized his life was over. Even if he did survive, there was little point.
Then hands were all around him, grabbing at him, and he hadn’t even seen them enter the room. Fear brought what little remained of his wits back to life. The hands were his death sentence. Some were hers, some belonged to the others behind the door, and he knew he was caught. The doctor was ripped from his grasp, crying like a baby. He suddenly realized he had no hostage, no weapon, was running out of strength and his situation was hopeless. Soon they would have him again in that little chamber, and would send more tin men to kill him. To finish the job. He had to escape.
A final surge of energy flowed through him and he flung a few of them off him as he tried to run. He knew it wasn’t enough but he also knew he had no choice. He was not going back. He would die soon, but he would die on his own terms. Not those of the maniacal little sadist. Not those of his enemies.
David let the panic and desperation build within him, knowing it was his only remaining ally. He needed the strength only desperation and fear could give. It seemed to help as he threw a few more of them around the room, and made first for the door and then the corridor. Hands were slipping off him with every step. But he was so weak. Kitten weak.
In the corridor he heard screaming, lots of screaming, and the sounds of feet running, and even through his limited vision he could see small figures running away. As if by magic he saw the corridor clearing before him. His way out. He began his run fearing it would be his last. The best he could manage was a shambling gait, as he took five and then ten steps towards the stairs and freedom, but at least he was moving and no one stood in front of him. For a second he almost dared to hope.
But even that hope was taken away as someone leapt on him from behind and brought him crashing to the ground. Another bruising impact that tore the breath out of him. But that didn’t hurt as much as the knowledge that it was Cyrea who had decked him. He had heard her voice as she screamed something incomprehensible at him, and saw her face as she tried to roll him over.
He tried to flee and he would have done it on his hands and knees if had to, but for some reason he found that his arms didn’t work any longer. Then he saw her hand on his shoulder and realized she was using a nerve pinch. A move he had used a hundred times before. It still wasn’t enough. Even as he recognized the move, he knew the counter and immediately shook his entire body, bringing some life back to his battered arm, and throwing Cyrea off in the process.
Even as she was landing he was trying to get up again, but he was not doing too well. His legs were no longer working correctly and he had to lean against the wall just to stay upright. His vision was getting darker as well, but he could still see the stairway in front of him. Ten more yards or so.
He began staggering towards it, knowing that once he reached the stairs, he was at least on the road out of this hell hole. Four flights up and another hundred yard corridor.
A dozen more steps brought David to it and he discovered with wonder that it had a hand rail. Something he was badly in need of. He leaned heavily on it and got his first foot up on the first step. But that was as far as he got.
More heavy shapes grabbed both his arms from behind and he was pulled backwards back to the floor. Once there they held him down, four or five Leinians pinning his arms and legs beyond his ability to move. Another shape landed on his chest, and as her face came into his view, he saw it was Cyrea. And she had something in her hands. A gun of some sort, which she put to his neck.
“Love.” At least that was what he tried to say, praying that she might remember enough and let him go. Let him die on his own terms. But his mouth felt strange and he finally discovered he couldn’t hear anything over the roaring in his head. Not even his own screams.
There was a sudden bang and then her face screaming something at him. That was the last thing he saw as the remains of the light left his vision.
Chapter Ten.
David woke, and the universe reeled around him drunkenly. He had no idea where he was, the bed was wrong, the ceiling was wrong and he was confused. His head was groggy, his eyes were spinning and nothing made sense. But there was one thing that did; the glorious weight on top of him. He had just enough sense to recognize Cyrea, and thank her for her comforting weight as she stopped him from flying off into the ceiling.
“Good morning, love.” She kissed him awake as she had so many times before, her voice filled with cheer and passion, and he celebrated in his very soul, knowing that soon he would be expected to make love to her. Cyrea was a morning person, and paradise to wake up to. Slowly the room slowed its chaotic movement and some measure of awareness returned to him. Just enough to understand her words, but that was enough. He smiled and kissed her back, glad to have her with him. He didn’t yet know why he felt so bad, but at least she was with him and he was grateful.
Her presence and her kiss soothed him, allowing some calm to return. But that returning order brought with it memories, and the previous day loomed large in his mind. He remembered her screaming and a bolt of fear shot through him. She must have seen it in his eyes. She’d obviously been waiting for it.
“I love you. You're safe. The bad man is gone.” She repeated the same three sentences over and over again, making sure he heard the words, making sure he listened. Slowly they sank in, and while more and more questions started surfacing from the murky depths of his memories, he slowly accepted the truth of what she said, and his questions became less important.
“But -.” That was about as far as he got when she suddenly lowered herself right down on him and kissed him, hard.
“Uh uh.” He knew she was distracting him, deliberately taking his mind away from the garbled memories of the previous day, but for the moment he didn’t care. She loved him. Whatever his memories said, she loved him and nothing else mattered. The only thing he cared about was answering her passion with his own.
It was about that time that he discovered he was pinned by her, in a very familiar position. She had her legs looped around his, while his were pulled slightly apart, and her hands were holding his wrists far beyond his head. He was her prisoner again. The only difference from the first time she had pinned him this way, was that this time they were both naked. There would be no clothes to get in their way.
He knew he was at her mercy, yet he found no fear within himself. He didn’t struggle, not because he suspected it would be pointless, but because he had no reason. Cyrea was still Cyrea. She still loved him, and that was all that mattered. It was a nice position to be in.
Instead he just enjoyed her attentions, thankful that he could. When he thought of how close he had come to losing her, everything else seemed unimportant. Everything. All the while his confusion receded into the background and his hunger grew. As did hers. Exactly as she’d intended. It gave her time to say what she had to say.
“Love. Bad things happened yesterday, and I knew nothing about them. Neither did any of my people, bar one, and he will be punished, severely, this afternoon.” She squeezed the words out between kisses, making sure he heard but giving him no chance to respond. She wanted him to hear, not try and deny her words.
He believed her. Perhaps it was naïve or foolish, but he did. He wanted to believe her, he needed to, and so he let her words become his truth. Maybe later he would start to question, maybe not. But
for that moment he simply had to love her unconditionally and know she returned it.
“For now I need you to know you can trust me. I need you to know that I love you. I need you to know that even Dr. Roze didn’t really mean you as much harm as he pretended. But I need to know you won’t hurt anyone. People are scared.”
