Page 89 of Heart’s Prisoner

Lana's heart jolted. "Oh my god, Xerus, get out of there!"

The Scibots turned on simultaneously and violent sparks of electricity shot down the wires into the floors. The room ignited. Electricity flashed through the room like a lightning storm, bathing the area in a brilliant white. The men died instantly, their bodies seizing then going limp. Xerus bent forward, letting out an ear-shattering roar.

Lana winced but kept the headset on her. "No," she cried. "Xerus!"

Sparks flew and the bots started going up in flames. When the electricity finally sizzled out, Xerus fell to the ground, unmoving.

"Xerus!" Lana called to him but he didn't respond. Panic spread through her body. She continued to call out to him because it was all that she could do.

Xerus didn't move no matter how much she pleaded. All she could do was sit and stare at the screen with horror, thinking he was dead. Her throat tightened, it was becoming hard to breathe.

"Xerus, please get up. Please!"

There was nothing.

A moment later a group of men stepped into the room, guns drawn, aimed right at Xerus. Lana couldn't make out what they were saying and she realized it was because Xerus’ headset was fried. He wouldn't have heard her anyway. Wide-eyed and cold as ice, Lana watched Galger's men enter the room. Galger and Torrence entered last.

They talked for a moment as Galger ordered his men to tie Xerus up, binding him with thick chains. Helpless, Lana watched as they stood over Xerus' body and wrapped his tail around him so that his spikes dug into his abdomen, using his own body against him. They cut the bag of bombs from his neck and, as they tied his tail to him and secured the binds, they took the ends of each chain and dragged Xerus from the room.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Just remain calm, Lana. Don't panic. You can't lose control now," Lana said to herself as she paced the room, repeating the words over and over. But her voice cracked and her body shook because inside her head all she could think about was what they were going to do with her alien. Who risked his life and put aside part of his mission to help her save others. It was her fault. And now he was going to be...

Lana leaped for the Scibot's screen and switched through the feeds until she got to level three. Her breath quickened and her throat tightened as she searched the rooms. A tiny cry ripped from her throat as she found the team entering their hub with Xerus, dragging him over to the back wall and hooking his chains to a set of self-made handles, taken from spare metal parts and welded to the ground. Lana cursed herself. She should have been watching Galger and his team closer. She had every opportunity to observe them but she had been too busy with helping Xerus to take heed of what they had been doing. They knew Xerus was one of the last of the specimens left and had been planning all along to trap him. If she hadn't had him go out and look for others he might have avoided them entirely. Tears stung her eyes as she now watched Xerus being tied to the ground and wall. One of the soldiers then came forward and roughly slipped a sizable black cloth over Xerus' face to blind him.

They wouldn't have done all this if they thought he was dead so at least she had the small relief of knowing he must be alive only unconscious. It did little to ease her. Because deep down a horrible dread filled her. She had a very bad feeling she knew what they were planning.

Torrence and Galger talked among themselves, Torrence's face twisted with annoyance though he nodded his head, forced to comply with Galger's orders. The men drew away from Xerus, leaving him to hang. They seemed to be taking a moment to collect themselves, watching Xerus intently, waiting for him to wake up.

When he did finally awaken, their guns were instantly aimed at his head and torso. Xerus' body jerked, pulling at his chains. Lana couldn't hear it but, as his head bent forward and he went perfectly still, she imagined he growled low at them. The men moved closer and Galger came to the front. He gestured with his hands and Lana knew he was speaking, addressing Xerus in some sarcastic, demeaning way. Though she didn't know what he was saying, she could guess what his speech was about. They weren't going to kill him. Not yet. They wanted information as Galger promised General Vearez he would get. Xerus only had to answer and they might let him die quickly and painlessly. If he didn't, they would try to force him any way they could. And with Galger's method of torture, they wouldn't start gently.

Lana knew Xerus wouldn't give up any information easily. She was certain he would die before telling them a thing. As one of the men handed Galger a knife, he stepped forward to stand only a foot away from the alien and pressed the blade against Xerus' stomach. Lana cried out as he made to slice through Xerus' skin. As theorized, the blade didn't cut through and Lana wrapped a hand around her throat in relief. Galger was testing him. Experimenting in his own sick way. Which blades would be sharp enough to cut? What tool could pierce such skin?

Xerus' body was still. He didn't so much as flinch as the knife grazed against him. Galger traded the simple knife for a torchblade, a laser tipped knife that burned hotter than fire, used for cutting thick metal and stone. Lana tensed as he brought the glowing blade toward Xerus.

Lana wanted to do something, wanted to stop them. But how? If she went to level three they would capture her and she would be forced to watch, only closer and tied up. Then they'd just kill her after. She tried to think fast, tried to form some semblance of a plan as Galger teased Xerus with the blade.

Xerus tensed as the blade went across his torso, leaving a black slash over his scales. His hands curled into tight fists but he moved little. Lana was glad now she couldn't hear because she didn't think she could take the sound of Xerus' roars of pain if he did make any sort of noise. Galger let the blade graze slowly against Xerus' side, leaving singed stripes. He would pause, say something and wait, then do another. Xerus wouldn't give in but his body wouldn't last forever. The tears that threatened to spill over finally did and Lana wept as she watched Xerus' skin go from a deep red to dark purplish-black, the dead scales falling to the ground, leaving a naked gash. Small trickles of blood fell from the wounds as the knife pierced the first layer of skin.

When Xerus still wouldn't answer even after Galger's assault, Galger waved at the men beside him. They took up the ends of the chains and pulled hard, dragging Xerus' head downward from a thick chain tied around his neck, forcing him to bend awkwardly. Then, with the torchblade, they began to cut at one of his horns.

"No," Lana moaned. "No. Dammit, Xerus, just tell them!" she screamed at the monitor. "Just tell them, don't let them do this." She hit her fist against the screen, no longer able to see clearly as her tears blinded her. She shut her eyes unable to watch, unable to think. There was no plan, only her despair. Xerus wouldn't give in. And they wouldn't stop.

***

Lana sat in silence, frozen and hollow, her throat sore, her eyes sunken pits as they stared at nothing. The torturing was over. For now. They'd kept at it for several hours before Galger finally stopped. What was left made Lana want to vomit.

Most of Xerus' beautiful scales were gone. In their place was charred, purplish skin. Some areas bled, others didn`t. Several of his horns and spikes had been hacked off, leaving jagged stumps, the ends scattered all over the ground. Some of the men had taken them as souvenirs, playing with them and throwing them across the room. At one point Galger had torn the black cloth down from Xerus eyes, making sure to keep his mouth covered lest the alien try to bite him. Then he took the blade to Xerus' face, leaving a long black scar across his left eye. Whether he was blind in the eye was uncertain but it was closed shut.

The only places left untouched now were his mouth and tail. And only because they couldn't get to them without the possibility of getting attacked. His tail still remained firmly tied around him, the end cutting into his backside. If they tried to unravel it, Xerus would instantly try to use it so they didn't take their chances though it was known Torrence still wished to have the tail's tip.

In time he might just get his wish. Because once Galger was finished resting, he would go at the alien again. And next time they might try to find a way to get to the parts they couldn't.

Lana could hardly look at Xerus without wanting to burst into endless tears yet again. But tears were pointless and did nothing to save him or help her. Instead she sat, staring... thinking. Galger and his men looked like they were going to call it a night, some already finding places to lay around the gear and weapons. Galger had ordered some of his men to go back out and do some more "investigating". Just because he was in the process of torturing his prisoner didn't mean the rest of his mission would fall to the wayside. The men had gone out looking for others. And they had found their targets on level two. The guards were taken out before they could even speak, leaving the soldiers to take from the food supply what they wished just as they had before. They had come back not long after with everything they could need and their orders carried out perfectly. They would go out again in time to the other levels, not knowing yet that they were all empty save for level one thanks to her and Xerus.

Lana couldn't save those in the city sector now. Not without Xerus. Worse, most by now might be infected. The bandaged man had been there long enough now that some must be. But she couldn't think of it now. All she could think about was how she could save Xerus before it was too late.

Slowly Lana rose from her seat, her body shaking, feeling like she might collapse to the ground. She steadied herself then walked carefully toward the bathroom. She relieved herself then re-wrapped her bandages even though Xerus had already done it a day ago. She just needed to focus on something else to keep from losing it yet again. After, she came back to the main room and looked around. It was silent and she felt so alone. She shivered despite the warmth of the unit, the dim, calm lighting doing nothing to ease her.

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