“Did he mention a mission for KadEN?”
Again, she said nothing.
“You’re a stubborn female. I know what to do to get a warrior to talk; a small female like you won’t be able to hold up. Of course, I can really enjoy myself with you in ways I wouldn’t with a male,” the leader said as he ran a finger down her cheek.
She would have spit on him like she had the other guy, but her captors expected that and jerked her back. Tera really hated these guys. She’d never felt such hate for anyone before.
“What do you want us to do with her?”
“Take her to our holding facility for now. When I’m ready I will send for her to be taken to my cabin. I need to speak with our new recruits first, to make sure they understand their position.” The leader gave her one more calculating look before he turned and walked away.
Tera was dragged away toward the opposite side of the compound. “Where are you taking me?”
One of the men stayed silent, but the other saw no reason not to answer her. He must not believe she would live through this experience.
“We have several cabins set up to hold prisoners or less cooperative recruits. A few hours in there and you’ll be ready to talk.”
What did he mean by ‘less cooperative recruits’? She wanted to ask him, but just then they came to a halt at one cabin. They opened the door and dragged her inside.
It was dark, and the smell of the place hit her hard and made her gag. It was filthy, with urine, feces, vomit, and something else she couldn’t quite identify and didn’t really want to. She was dragged to the back of the cabin, passing by other men who were tied up to posts. The posts ran from the floor to the roof of the cabin. Thick ropes were hooked into the top of each post. The ropes were only long enough to allow the prisoner to sit or stand. One man’s rope was pulled tight, keeping him in a standing position and almost suspended.
My God, that must be extremely painful.
She took in the state of the prisoners. There were about five of them: two on one side of the cabin, and three on the other. She was taken to the very back of the cabin, where there was an empty post on the left side. Her captors tied her to the post so that she could sit or stand, but that was as far as she could move. She watched her captors leave before she started to work at the ropes.
“Don’t bother,” a voice said from across from her.
It was so dark that she couldn’t make out the man’s face, but he sounded old and weary. “Am I supposed to just sit here and wait to be tortured?”
“Pretty much. The rope is reinforced, so only a sharp blade or a blaster can break through it.”
“Damn.” She had hoped maybe she could get loose and escape. She needed information, though. “I’m Tera. Who are you?”
“My name is RedENkalachu.” He spoke with a broken accent.
“Wow, that’s...a long name. Can I call you Red?”
“Sure. It’s not like I’ll be around much longer to care either way.”
He sounded resigned to his fate. She wasn’t, not yet. “How long have you been here?”
“The males from my village were brought here a few months ago from the mining colony we lived on. I’ve been in this cabin most of that time. I understand now that this is where I will die.”
He’s been a captive for two months? Why didn’t they just kill him? She couldn’t imagine how horrible being imprisoned here was. She had only been here a few minutes, and she was itching. “Why are they holding you like this?”
“I and some of my fellow village elders did not believe in what these traitors are doing. They took the males of my village to train them to fight against the Kiljorn ruling family. They want to attack human females and kill them to send a message to the Katieran Nation that the females are not wanted here. Attacking the Prime Leader and females goes against our beliefs. They brought us here to the cabin to torture and kill slowly, to teach the younger ones a lesson. Either they fall in line or they suffer the same fate. You are one of the females from Earth?”
“Yes.”
“How did they get their hands on you? You should have been protected by the Katieran and Kiljorn warriors.”
“They think I know something, but I don’t.”
“From what the rebel leader says, he doesn’t think females from your planet hold any value.”
That stung to hear, but she ignored it. “I don’t think much of him, either.”
“What do they think you know?”
