Not long after the soldiers boarded the pirate ship, she and Gunner had been cuffed and carted off. A day had gone by since then and she’d been left alone in a small room with nothing but silence to pass the time.
The biggest difference, though, was that this cell had solid walls on every side except for the opening. That aspect, despite all that had happened, hadn’t changed.
There were a few other notable differences. She was clean, she didn’t have to pretend to be someone she wasn’t, there was a soft cot and a toilet, and she received regular meals throughout the cycle. No one bothered her, and it was beginning to drive her crazy.
She paced the small space inside. Her confinement would’ve been easier if she knew what had happened to Gunner and her dad.
Countless men had flooded the hallways of the pirate ship, boarded from elsewhere, and they had neutralized everything within. That’s where they had found her and Gunner, and the rest of the men from the brig that had not made it into the escape pods.
Her fingers touched the healing bruise on her arm. The throbbing ache of it had already begun to fade.
The soldiers had taken her away from Gunner and brought her to the medical bay on one of the ships of the small armada that had come to their rescue. She’d seen some of the other prisoners from the brig throughout, but for the most part, they’d been kept separate from each other.
The quiet man who had been in the unit across from her was alive though. And she hoped, in some way, she had helped make that happen.
Gunner made that happen.She buried her face into her hands and thanked the stars that it had been the Peace Keepers that had picked up on the distress signal, and no one else. Elodie tensed and released her muscles, hoping—mentally screaming—that Gunner was okay. She hadn’t seen him since their capture. Maybe they realized these cells couldn’t hold him and took him somewhere more secure.
Her eyes darted around her cell, over the creature comforts that she now had. Her life could’ve ended up so differently.
She touched the walls and the contraptions, feeling the gears and then feeling herself just to reassure that this wasn’t all a dream. That she wasn’t just about to wake up and be back among the smoke and men; returned to her cell on the pirate ship.
Elodie knew when she dreamed; dreams were in sepia, not white, like the room she was in. But she couldn’t stop clenching the bedding in her hands and feeling the smooth walls to save her life.
She knew her sleep would be haunted by her time aboard the pirate ship; the recruitments, the beatings, the fear. But it gave her hope that Gunner was also in her dreams.
Her Cyborg with sharp ears and sharp teeth.
“Hello?” Elodie called out after pulling her hand away from the wall. No answer. Hours had gone by with no answer.
She moved to the bars and gripped them. There was a small hallway leading from her cell, white and crisp, clean and gleaming, and there was a door several yards away that remained shut.
The soldiers didn’t know yet whether or not she was part of the pirate crew. She couldn’t blame them for being careful. Those that could vouch for her were also under suspicion, probably being held somewhere else. Maybe they kept the women in separate cells from the men.
Elodie released the bars and cupped the back of her neck, kneading the strain from her muscles.
Suddenly, the door opened, and she dropped her arms.Please let it be Gunner.
An unfamiliar man in a dapper black suit entered the space. Buttoned and ranked. The proof was on his jacket lapels. All the soldiers on this ship looked the same. They blurred together with their stiff, tailored clothing, and their regulation shaved heads.
“Elodie?” he asked, approaching her.
She cleared her throat and nodded. “Yes. Is Gunner okay?” she blurted out. “Have you found the escape pods that shot out of the pirate ship? Why am I being held? Where are the others? Please, tell me if Gunner is okay...”
The man continued on as if her questions had never been asked. “Have you, at any time, been in cohorts or affiliated with Captain Juke’s crew?”
“No... Never except for my dad. I was forced onboard and locked up in the brig.”
He looked at her steadily with a face she couldn’t read. It was handsome even in its coldness, but it didn’t have guns on its cheeks so it meant nothing to her.
“Have you, at any time, remained loyal or connected to someone who joined his crew after your arrival?”
Elodie rubbed her hands. “Yes.”
“Who?”
“My dad, Chesnik. We were brought aboard together and after several weeks of incarceration, he accepted recruitment.” Her mouth dried up as she said it. Was she saying too much?
“And did you remain in contact with him after he joined Juke’s crew?”
