Christine thought of Jenn to distract herself. She imagined Jenn in her hospital bed with Charles seated next to her, holding her hand. Jenn would try to move or take a drink of water and he’d jump up to help her. She would wave him away and he’d scold her about letting him help. All the while, Jenn would look at him with love and he would worry about her endlessly. These warm and happy thoughts gave Christine comfort.
She took a deep breath. What the soldier did was in the past and nothing could be done about it. There was also the possibility that he’d made up the story about the Doctor to gain more control. It would be like him, the bastard.
“Would you like to say hello to Dr. Jason Angelo?” The soldier’s drone cut through Christine’s musings. “He is directly below you, there, in the front. He has the blue charred shirt and silver watch. See how frail his hands were? Wrinkled and useless. I’ll miss him though. I’ve enjoyed our talk, Christine. I hardly ever get to talk to people this much before I release them. Now, would you care to tell me the code to get into the vault?”
The abruptness of his last question surprised her. This was where the real interrogation would start, then. She didn’t speak.
“This is another test, Christine. It has but one question. What is the code to the vault?”
He activated the pain again and left it on. It was on a low enough setting that Christine wasn’t going to black out this time. She’d either have to answer, or be forced to endure. Don’t scream.
Time passed slowly, the pain building in her mind as her body grew tired of coping. She tried everything she could think of to distract herself from the pain. The dreams and time she had with Jenn played like movies in her mind. All of it gave her strength, but time stretched and stretched. How long would the soldier let this go? The pain was starting to overwhelm her. Every ounce of concentration she could muster was being used to keep her body still and remain silent.
“Christine, would you like to be released into the pile now?”
“No.” She kept her voice calm and steady. Don’t scream.
“That is good. I’ve realized that, because you are showing the ability to resist my efforts for longer than should be possible. You must be hiding something important, indeed. You now have my interest and I will officially start my interrogation. Things will be less pleasant going forward. For this, I apologize, because I’m beginning to like you.”
Begin the interrogation? she thought with desperation.
The solider stopped in front of her, hands clasped behind his back. His flat helmet gave no indication of where his eyes were focused, but she got the feeling he was really looking at her for the first time.
“You do know the code to the vault. That is good. You, however, know some other things just as important. You are guarding those secrets well. I commend you. It’s too bad you didn’t escape. I regret to inform you that I will keep the device you’re attached to activated for the rest of what’s left of your life. You will never know another moment without pain and suffering. This is all very unfortunate. I really do like you, Christine.”
He turned and continued his walk. The pain began again.
Christine itched to lash out at him. Her fingers twitched inside her restraints as she imagined her hands closing around the soldier’s stupid throat. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want any more pain. Perhaps if she gave in, told him everything, he would just kill her, and this would all be over.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. Thinking like that wasn’t helping anyone. She had to do this for Jenn.
When she opened her eyes, a vision of Jenn and Charles appeared a few feet in front of her. Her eyes widened in shock. How was she seeing this? Jenn was laying on the same hospital bed that was in the last dream. She had several pillows behind her back and head. Her legs were spread wide and exposed. She was in visible pain as she leaned up towards her legs and strained as hard as she could. Christine assumed the pain medication had worn off. A doctor, wearing a mask, was between her legs giving instructions. Charles was on the other side of Jenn, holding her hand and looking concerned.
The soldier had finished a lap and proceeded to walk right through the vision. Where he walked, the image skewed and warped around his body. He continued on, oblivious to the scene.
“Christine, I’ve seen that look from people before. Sometimes people see things that aren’t there when under this kind of stress. Some people can’t cope with it and their mind creates hallucinations. You think you’re seeing something, but I must caution you: it isn’t real and in the end it will gain you nothing. In fact, many people lose their will completely after the hallucination ends.”
Christine ignored the man and watched the vision closely. Jenn was having another contraction. She strained as hard as she could, but kept her mouth tightly shut. Her lips never moved. She seemed to look at Christine for a brief moment. Their eyes met. Unwavering determination burned in Jenn’s eyes like a fire. She wouldn’t quit, and her closed mouth told Christine something else. Jenn was determined not to scream. Christine smiled in awe at the strength and resilience Jenn was demonstrating.
Charles was still talking to Jenn, trying to soothe her. Christine read his lips and her smile grew. “You’re not alone. I’m here with you.” He repeated the phrase to his wife over and over.
Christine closed her eyes. Strength she didn’t know she had flowed through her like a drug. For the first time, she truly felt she wasn’t alone. Jenn was with her. Jenn had always been with her. Together, they would get through this. The soldier would not defeat Christine, even if she died defying him.
She opened her eyes again and the vision was gone.
The soldier continued his walk and remained silent for a long time. Christine remained silent as well, staring straight ahead. She smirked. Two could play at this game.
Christine counted 43 laps before the soldier spoke again.
“What is the code to the vault door?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. Have you tried knocking?”
“You’re lying, Christine.” A new, short jolt of more intense pain shot through her body. “What is it that you’re hiding from me?”
“Your ass looks fat in that outfit.” A longer jolt of more intense pain. She gritted her teeth against it.
“Christine, I like you, but I can’t release you to the pile unless you tell me what I need to know.”
“You’re wasting your time, flat-face. I will tell you this though,” she coughed and paused before continuing, reveling in the sense of excitement the soldier gave off at the thought of her actually telling him something important. “Don’t eat hummus. It’s gross.” More pain, but she smiled through the extended jolt. The smile could’ve belonged to a wolf.
“Very well.” The soldier stopped walking and looked up at her, then turned and walked to the offices in the back of the room. He gathered as many loose papers as he could and dumped them on the pile. Fear stabbed at Christine’s chest at the sight. He was going to start the fire again - with her roasting above it.
He made several trips for more flammable materials and dumped each on the pile, then began arranging them to create an even burn. He took his time, tucking the papers artfully between the burnt corpses. It was as if he reveled in the brutality of it, in the dance of oncoming death. He rolled up a single sheet of paper and stuck it into a burnt-out eye socket. Christine tried not to gag as he stepped back and admired his handy work. He looked up at her as he pulled out a small silver lighter from a compartment in his armor.
“Do you remember Dr. Jason Angelo? Yes, of course you do. He gave me this present. He told me he did something called smoking. It sounded disgusting. No wonder he was so frail.”
Christine was beginning to resign herself to the fact she was going to be burnt alive. It wasn’t exactly the way she would have picked to die, given the choice.
“I will give you a choice because I like you, Christine.” She rolled her eyes. “You’ve really done well. I’ve
never had anybody last this long before. The choice before you: burn while alive or burn after you’re dead. I’m going to light these poor people on fire again and activate the device almost to its highest level. You’ll probably become unconscious, but that won’t last long. The pain will jolt you awake. While you’re awake, you’ll see the smoke rise around you and take notice of the heat beginning to increase beneath your feet. If you say the phrase: “I’m ready to be released into the pile”, I’ll give you ten seconds to tell me the code and anything else you know. After ten seconds, I will have the device kill you, then I’ll let you go. If you don’t answer, I won’t release you and you will burn alive. There, you see, I am giving you another chance. You’re lucky I like you, Christine.”
He struck the lighter and bent down to light the paper, but when Christine broke out in laughter he stopped and looked up at her. He cocked his head as if puzzled. Christine’s laugh subsided, and she glared down at him.
“You must think I’m weak and stupid, flat-face. You can’t kill me. I’m the only one left alive here. You think you’ve beat me. You think I’m going to give in at the last second. You just don’t understand.” Another peal of laughter left her lips. “You messed with the wrong person, asshole! I’ll keep this code inside my head till the sun goes out and I’ll do it just to piss you off!”
The soldier stared at her and barked a short laugh. Christine raised her eyebrows. It was the first actual emotion she had heard from the man.
“Christine, you are exceptional. You’re under severe mental and physical duress right now and you remain defiant. I’m very pleased. I can’t explain how happy I am.” Christine believed the man. He actually seemed… happy. “Oh, Christine, I can kill you and I will. Even if you don’t give me the code, the rest of my Attack Squad will eventually break through that shield and then we’ll just blow the door off the vault. I wanted the code so there was no chance of damaging whatever device is in there, but we’ll take that chance. It will likely be destroyed, but we’re quite content to deny your people the technology as a secondary objective. Oh, and Christine, you’re not the last one alive.”
He walked out of the large room and into the outside hallway. Christine heard a lock click and a door open. She then heard something being dragged across the floor. The soldier appeared in the doorway, a young man with his arms and legs bound trailing behind him on the floor. His head was covered with a ripped lab coat. It was covered with blood. The soldier pulled up a loose chair and shoved the young man into it, pulling the make-shift mask off his head. Christine gagged. One of the young man’s eyes had been removed. Blood was smeared all over his face. He looked weak, but alive.
“This is Trey Johnson. He tells me he’s an intern here. I kept him alive because you never know when you might need one more person to kill. I like to be prepared.”
The young man, Trey, looked up at her with his one good eye, then let his head fall back down onto his chest. He looked to be college age. He was taller than the soldier, but his physique was miniature in comparison. He had very short black hair. She couldn’t really see his facial features well because he was almost completely covered in cuts, bruises, and blood. He had on a formerly white lab coat, now soaked with blood stains.
Christine had to look away from him. She could be strong for herself, but to have another person’s well-being hanging in the balance was something else entirely. She didn’t know if she could take it.
“Trey Johnson, this is Christine. I assume you’ve met. She thought she was the last one alive in here. Do you find that humorous? Yes, indeed, it is. You two are going to spend some time together.” He turned back to Christine. “You’re special, Christine, so I’m going to do something I’ve never had to do before. I’m going to give you yet another chance. If you tell me the code to the door and the other information you know, I will let Trey go. I’ll unbind him, take him to the entrance of the facility when the shield is taken down, and free him. No tricks. No deceptions. We will spare him and let him live. This I promise. You know what happens if you don’t answer my question now, right, Christine? Oh, yes. I think you do. Very good.”
Christine made herself look at the young man. He hadn’t moved at all during the soldier’s talk. He was either too weak or had been completely broken mentally and didn’t care what happened any longer. Christine’s mind raced. What could she say that would make the soldier let Trey go? She knew her worry was pointless. Even if she convinced the soldier to release the boy, there was no way he’d keep his promise to let Trey live. The young man was going to die because of Christine and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She could not let them get into that vault no matter what. Jenn said the device was too powerful and many more people would die if it got in their hands. One had to die for many to survive. The thought didn’t comfort her.
“I’m sorry.” Christine choked out the words. In a way, she felt defeated, but there was nothing she could do for the young man. She would not let Jenn down. She couldn’t let these barbaric people get the device.
“Christine, we’ve reached the end of our time together. I’m going to give you ten seconds to respond or I end this for both of you. Are you ready?”
The dam on Christine’s emotions finally broke. “You’re a psychopath, flat-face!” Her voice cracked as she screamed at him.
“Good. Good. This is going to be entertaining. First, the pain.” He cranked up the device to the highest level and left it on.
Christine had never felt such pain before. Every part of her body was being ripped apart. Don’t… don’t scream.
“10… 9… 8…”. The world went black.
Christine
Jenn held her daughter up to her shoulder and patted the baby’s back. She made a quiet shushing sound and touched her cheek against the baby’s head. It was just feeding time and the child wiggled around in her mother’s arms, tiny limbs moving as if they had a mind of their own. Jenn continued to pat her baby’s back until she heard a louder than expected belch.
“Yup. She’s my daughter alright! Good job, little one!” Charles laughed from the love seat.
Jenn walked in circles around the piece of furniture while she held the baby. Christine knew immediately from another memory of Jenn’s it was because the baby was never content being still. She would eventually fall asleep on her mother’s shoulder, but Jenn had to keep moving or the baby would pop her eyes open and fuss.
“It’s okay, baby, your daddy’s not really that silly. He just likes to act that way to annoy Mommy.” Jenn continued walking, occasionally tapping the baby’s back and whispering comforting sounds in her ear.
“I don’t intend to annoy you. I just have a natural skill for it. It just happens.” Charles shrugged. “Kind of like breathing. It may actually be the thing I do best in the world. Huh… I’ve peaked.”
Jenn gave him a half-hearted dirty look over the baby’s head. “You’re lucky my natural skill is patience and a high tolerance for foolishness. We make the perfect couple.”
“Yup. I’m glad you finally admit it. It’s taken longer than I expected. Eight years together and twenty-eight days of parenthood.”
A hue of frustration colored Jenn’s voice. “Twenty-eight days of this precious little girl not having a name. I —"
“No.”
“I wasn’t going to —"
“Nope.” Charles cut her off again, lips pursed.
Jenn sighed, but didn’t speak more on the subject.
Christine knew Charles wanted to wait the full thirty days before they picked the name. She could recall the couple having several conversations about it, but Charles was adamant at keeping their agreement. He wanted to announce it during a one-month birthday party with their friends and family in attendance. They would decide the morning of the party, then let everybody else know later. Charles wanted to make the event special and memorable. He had even been learning to play the guitar, so he could play a song for his daughter during her party.
&n
bsp; Christine would have wanted the name settled even before the birth, but she didn’t fault Charles for what he had planned. The idea was unique and adorable. Especially the part about playing the song for the child.
“I’ve got to get ready for this interview.” Jenn ended her loop around the chair and started walking towards her room to get ready.
“Jenn, hang on.” Charles got up and walked over to her, putting his hands on her arms and looking deeply into her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to talk to you like that. You don’t deserve it. I’m just looking forward to it so much. Look, our little princess will have a grand ball and be introduced to the world. It’s going to be something we remember forever.” He paused for a moment and leaned his forehead against hers. “Jenn, I don’t say it enough, but I want to say it, and even more in the future. I love you. I love you and this little girl more than anything in the world.”
He reached around Jenn - careful not to disturb the now sleeping baby - and hugged her. Jenn spoke softly in his ear while he was close. “I love you too. You’re just a dork.”
They held each other for a few seconds until Charles pulled away, kissing her on the lips.
“I’ve got to go in a while, too, but I’m all ready. I’m sorry you’ll miss her second checkup, but I’ll make sure to pass along everything I hear from the doctor. She’s perfectly healthy, so you have nothing to worry about. You got to go to the first one at least. Anyway, this interview is important. If you get this job, you’ll be doing what you’re interested in and it isn’t that far away. It’s a good gig and we need money for diapers and your book addiction.”
The Harmony Divide- Never Alone Page 7