Page 5 of Fighting Gravity
“Syfer,” I rasped. “They give us syfer to power the Nexus.”
“For what? What are humans worth to them?”
“Fuck you.”
He reached around to the back of his belt and pulled something out. I didn’t know what it was until the sharp edge of a blade was cutting across my chest. It was shallow and short and swift, but I felt it. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming my surprise.
“You fucking coward.”
“What do you trade?” he asked.
“Military! Word is they have a thinning population, so we’ve allied our military.”
“Are you part of that military?”
“I’m a pilot. That’s all I am. I fly ships.”
He released my hair and stepped back, shaking his head. “There is more. Military is not worth that much syfer. If they wanted military power, they would have paid the monrians for it. Cehthos knows they have the means to do so.”
“Yeah, well, if there’s more, it’s above my pay grade to know. I told you. I’m just a worker. I don’t know everything. All I know is my work schedule and my break times.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying. You went through my Buddy. Whatever is in that thing is all I know. You’re wasting your time.”
“Maybe,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me. Then, he turned toward the door. My shoulders were already burning and my wrists were raw and the shithead was leaving? “We’ll see what you know in a few hours.”
“Hey!” I shouted, watching him disappear into the hall. “Hey!”
The door slid closed and the chamber fell silent. I was alone, bound in a very uncomfortable position. My jaw was throbbing. My wrists ached and the cut on my chest was starting to sting as sweat dripped into the abrasion. I hissed, realizing how screwed I was.
Guess I could check off “torture and interrogation” from my non-existent bucket list.
3: Quinn
No, I didn’t fall to sleep standing up. I dozed a couple times, but the moment any weight was on my wrists, I braced and tried to wake up. After hours of being bound that way and turning my throat raw yelling for someone, I thought I might just pass out. It was then that the door finally opened again. I saw the gek through blurred vision as he walked into the chamber. I was too weak to stand let alone fight. I felt my wrists peel off of the binds and my numb arms just flopped right down. Only my body didn’t fall to the floor.
Instead, I folded over a broad shoulder. The gek’s shoulder. And once again I found myself being carried through an alien ship half-conscious and in a whole lot of pain.
When I started to come to, I realized I was laying down. I’d never been on a more uncomfortable bed. Soon, I noticed it was because I wasn’t on a bed. I was on a flat, metal slab like something you’d find in a morgue. I pried my eyes open against the crusty residue of a deep sleep and found myself staring up at a yellowish light.
Why did everything have to be yellow?
Turning my head to one side, I saw black metal walls and yellow symbols glowing along them. On the other side, the same thing. I decided to try and lift my head, but that was a mistake. I was stiff as hell and sore all over.
God, I hope I still have my kidneys. And everything else, for that matter.
If I couldn’t lift my head, I had to try lifting my arms. I raised one first, then the other, and was happy to know that I wasn’t strapped to the table like a damn science experiment. Once more, I attempted to raise my head and that time I succeeded. I found myself dressed in a loose, gray nightgown sort of thing that felt four sizes too big. But it wasn’t my sweaty jumpsuit, so that was great. For the moment, at least. I wasn’t going to enjoy being without real clothes for very long.
Then, I sawhim. The green giant himself. The gek. He hadn’t introduced himself yet, so I decided to make up a name for him. He was mean. He was green. He was an absolute villain.
Green Goblin.
Except, that was a mouthful.
So, Norman Oswald.
Also, a mouthful.
