* * *
I woke up with a start, my head bobbing low on my neck and startling me awake. Everything was stiff and sore: my neck, my hands, my head… There was nowhere on my body that didn’t ache from being bruised and battered, or from sitting in the same position for hours on end.
Looking up I found the commander was still with me.
Had I slept for long or just a minute?
A second thought occurred to me: was it sleep or had I been unconscious again?
Sitting here – staring at each other in silence – was worse than the incessant questioning. Even though I wasn’t going to answer his questions, I couldn’t help but wonder why they had stopped.
I hated it here so much. Oh, to get away. Far away, to a place I had never even seen before – anywhere but here with these creatures.
Even if I couldn’t get up and physically leave the table, I could escape a little couldn’t I? I let my eyes glaze over, staring unseeingly at the blank grey wall and imagined.
Cassie…Cassie…
I could see her in a school lesson, chewing on her lip nervously before giving a presentation…so self-conscious, not aware of how beautiful she was… At the park, lying beside me in the grass, eyes closed, skin pale but luminous…smiling to herself at some unspoken thought… Kissing her…
I smiled despite myself when I remembered how easily Cassie would blush when we drew near. She did make me laugh. More memories: my heart swelling inside my chest when I recalled how it felt to have her touch my skin and press her body to mine…
That’s right, I coaxed myself, just drift away from here and think of Cassie, safe and alive.
“Balik.”
I heard my name, but it sounded a long way away. And it wasn’t Cassie speaking and so I didn’t really care.
“Balik!”
The voice was more insistent now. I opened my eyes and found myself staring at a grey wall. Thick fingers gripped my face and pulled my gaze towards the face of a man. Blinking a few times, my vision cleared and I recognised the commander. I knew where I was again.
“I’m leaving, Balik. To find Cassie, just like we discussed.”
Discussed?
Had I talked to him about Cassie? No! I wouldn’t have. No – Cassie had only been here with me, inside my head. She was just a picture now, a beautiful memory from when I’d felt something wonderful…felt something other than pain and confusion.
“There are Medics coming to see you. They need to do some tests to find out what’s been going wrong with you, and then…well, you don’t need to think about that really.”
My stomach lurched and I rocked forward, heaving. Nothing came out of my body, despite the spasms gripping me and it was a long while before I got my breath back.
“It’s a good thing we’ve not been feeding you isn’t it – that would have made a real mess.” The commander leaned in, grinning at me. “Who would have though that you and Joel were such good friends? You seem very upset that he’s dead. He liked your girl you know? He liked Cassie a lot.”
His words dredged up images from my brain that I wished I could destroy.
“You should have seen the things Joel wanted to do with her…I did.” He tapped his head. “I bet she wanted it too you know, they probably did all the stuff I saw in his head when they were alone together on their placement. It felt more like memories than fantasy, you know.”
“Shurrup,” I slurred, unable to put any strength into my voice.
“What’s wrong – don’t you want to hear about your girl, Balik? I thought you liked talking to me about her.”
I didn’t – I hadn’t – couldn’t have.
“Or is it thinking about your friend Joel that’s got you feeling secretive?”
My stomach rolled again. Somewhere, between the questions and the beatings, I had been taken from this room and carried somewhere. I knew it was outside the four walls of my prison, but I couldn’t say where – and they’d shown me Joel. As an inducement to help me answer his questions, the commander had shown me what happened to us when we weren’t needed any more. I had been forced to watch as Joel was put on a table and cut open like an animal. They removed his organs – the heart most important of all – before piercing him with tubes to draw out as much of his blood as possible.
Joel had been unconscious when it happened to him: he didn’t move as blades sliced his skin and they began to pull him apart. But, the commander had promised me as we watched, that I would not have that courtesy. For killing his men he would see to it that I was dealt with properly…
There had been other things happening in the room: more people working at tables in the background, with similar shrouded shapes laid out on them. Through exhaustion and fear I couldn’t focus on anything beyond the horror I had been brought to see. I watched Joel die. I’m sure that would have been enough for anyone.
“It would have been easier if you had just done what you were supposed to Balik: grow up, fall in love and die – not too much to ask is it?” The commander pushed himself away from the table, obviously ready to leave. “I will back with the Medics soon,” he promised, as he walked out of the room.
The Rainbow Maker's Tale Page 46
