Page 48 of Guardian's Soul

I stared at the screen he pulled up. Several Ohrurs were inside what was definitely a lab, a very high-tech,alienlab, surrounded by test tubes, and in the background stood an array of large cylinders with forms floating inside. Forms of different sizes and very Space Guardian-ish looking.

"Oh, Thrax!" I exclaimed, reaching for his hand. He let me grab it but shook his head.

"It's not real."

I frowned. "Not real? How can you tell?"

"Because I'm not atest-tube baby," he replied with conviction. "I feel it in here." He pointed at his heart with his free hand.

"Ok-ayyy," I drew the word out skeptically.

"Trust me?"

I looked him in the eyes. "With my life."

His smile was deep and genuine. "Good."

"This is going to take time. I need to win his trust, make him believe that I?—"

I shook my head. I didn't know how or why, but I was certain that time was the one thing we didn't have. "You said Ohrurs are as good as immune to pain, right?"

He nodded, waiting for me to continue.

"What about fear, terror?"

"I don't know. I imagine they're as susceptible to this as any other creature in the universe."

I couldn't believe I was thinking this. I had been appalled—and still was—when I first heard about it on the news years ago. But I couldn't shake this nagging sensation deep in the pit of my stomach that urged me on, that told me this was the right thing to do, even though it was so fundamentally wrong. The Ohrurs were keeping a dark secret, and for some reason, I felt justified that it would be right to use any means to get it out of Possedion. I wondered if others before me had felt that same way, and that was why they had done the unspeakable things they did. I prayed I was right and not condemning my soul to hell.

THARAAX

I wasn'tsure where she was going with this, but I trusted her and listened.

"I don't know why I'm feeling this way, but there's something inside me that's urging me on, like… we're running out of time," she said, looking embarrassed.

"Strange." Now that she mentioned it, I felt it, too. It had been there since we stepped into Possedion's cell, but my desire to terminate him had been the stronger emotion, and it had taken all my willpower to keep it under control. "I feel it, too."

Relief crossed her features. "Well, I'm glad you do, too, although I'm not sure if that's not creeping me out even more. This… what did he call them,Soulweb Glyphs?" She waited for my nod. "I'm still having a hard time accepting it. I mean, I love you and want to be with you, but…" She looked down.

"It's a bit off-putting," I agreed, fully understanding her feelings. By the nebulas, it had taken me a long time to accept that there seemed to be a higher power out there, choosing our paths. It still didn't sit perfectly right with me, but if I got Hannah out of this arrangement, I was willing to accept it.

Her eyes met mine, and a small grin spread over her face. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

"What were you going to suggest about Possedion?" I brought her mind back to our original conversation.

"Oh, yes." She scrunched up her face, disliking whatever she was going to suggest. "There are two techniques. Well, there're probably more, but these are the two I've heard of being used by the CIA and the military."

I didn't interrupt, even though most of what she said didn't make much sense to me, but she seemed to need to talk herself into whatever she was about to suggest.

"One is sleep deprivation." She held up a finger.

"Sleep deprivation?" I rubbed my chin, feeling the stubble that needed to be shaved.

"We could take turns, or you could program a computer or something that would wake Possedion up anytime he was about to fall asleep. It makes people talk."

"Okay." I nodded, liking the idea. It was less violent than what I had in mind, but still, it would take time.

"The other we could use in combination with it is waterboarding." She bit her lower lip uncomfortably. "Basically, we'd have Possedion lie down and put a towel over his head, then we pour water over his face. It makes the person feel like they're drowning. I heard it's very effective."

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