“The only reason you live here is because we let you,” the man says. Heavy footsteps approach my door and his voice drifts closer. “Put your headphones on for all I care. The compound’s being watched.”

“Don’t you touch me—” There is scraping and shuffling from a brief struggle from just beyond the door. The woman whimpers, and I assume he’s putting her in her place. I tense up, the fear blossoming in my stomach. In a minute, I’m certain this brute is going to be focusing his attention on me.

“You only make it harder on yourself,” he says as he opens the door. For the brief moment before the man shuts it behind him, I can clearly make out a female form on the floor of the hallway, hunched over and trembling.

Then I’m alone with him.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 23

KILA

“Infiltrating this fort would be suicide,” Mori states once he’s completed a scan of the area. “And I have no positive indication that Ella is inside based on these scans. In fact, there is no chip technology anywhere on this property.”

We are seven miles away from the town of Piney where the research facility is based. We’ve arrived at the address provided by Vic Williams. This area is less populated and predominantly wooded, but it wasn’t far to go in one of the human’s cars. Jen offered us one of the facility’s vans, implying that her assistance was not to be acknowledged publicly. The vehicle is primitive, but Vala seems to enjoy driving it.

“Are you telling me this was a waste?” I ask, immediately wondering whether the spineless human lied to us. If he did, I’ll make time once Ella is safe to punish him. I tap on my seat, impatient to find her. It’s been far too long now, and I can’t imagine how frightened she must be. I sit in the seat beside Vala, while the others are seated in the open area that makes up the larger back compartment of this van.

“I am telling you that this area is stocked with enough human guns to kill us all a hundred times over,” he says. “And there are some Alliance made weapons as well, just to be clear.”

“Not a waste,” Pakka says. “It’s clear based on that data that this is a base for the group that was behind the break-in and Ella’s kidnapping. It just so happens they are not keeping her here.”

“It makes sense,” Kiva agrees. “This is a known organization and it is associated with this address. Therefore, bringing her here while the authorities are searching would be inadvisable.”

“That’s true. In fact, there are two vehicles parked on the south side of this property with multiple heat signatures and weapons inside. That is likely the authorities, on watch for any suspicious activity,” Mori posits, gesturing at his scan. “Too bad they are bound by silly human laws requiring ‘legally procured evidence’.”

I turn to Kiva. “What can you tell us? You’ve been researching the information that Vic provided. Is there anything we can work off of?”

He turns pale once he’s under my gaze. “Kila… I… It will upset you.”

“I am upset already,” I say. “Brief me.”

“The names the man Vic provided are associated with an organization whose mission is to convince the public to join the Anti-Alien, Anti-Alliance, Pro-Sovereignty movement. They call themselves the Exile Squad. Mainly they focus on exposing the lies that they believe the Alliance government is spreading. They have a popular website called AlienLiesExposed.Com to which they upload many videos showing supposed ‘confessions’ made by aliens and any prominent Pro-Alien figures they can get their hands on.” He turns his tap-pad around to show us the main page of their website.

“So this is what they plan to do,” I whisper, fear freezing every ounce of the Ka within me.

He taps play on a video, which shows a close-up shot of a Verguli woman. She looks horrified, but shakily begins to say, “I’m here to tell you that the war in Sector 5 is a lie by the Alliance government officials meant to sway the public—” Her voice breaks and she hesitates, yellow eyes glazed over.

“You get the idea,” Kiva says quietly, exiting the page. “In any case, for the past month they’ve been posting articles claiming that the Kar’Kali genocide is a lie as well, and they specifically mention Ella and quote her, saying she’s a government puppet.”

I slam my fist against the small box that occupies the space between Vala and I.

“And here we are with a dead lead,” I growl. “What will we do? You are certain Ella is not being held on this compound?”

“Certain,” Mori nods. “Not a single translator chip in sight. Not many humans in the less populated areas get chips. It would even still appear in this scan if she were d—”

Vala shoots him a glare to silence the end of that thought.

“No,” I say, thinking on that. An idea strikes me. “No, and these kidnappers wouldn’t have translator chips, would they? Because they are too suspicious. If she is not here, she must be close by. Keep expanding your scan radius, and when you get a hit, I am confident it will be her.”

***

ELLA

Rip. Question. Slap. Question. Slap. Question. Rip.

He’s done this before. He’s controlled, practiced, and perfectly timed.

I cannot see my captor’s face, but I know I will never forget him now. He’s stamped in my mind, un-erasable— his open palm as it approaches my face, his gruff, hateful voice, and the threat of his body which towers over me. His knife slices at my clothes. He asks me questions, and then either hits me or tears at my clothing like some kind of disturbing dance routine.

“Is Kar’Kal a real place? Or have you just believed what they told you?”

If I don’t answer him at all, I learned he will pin himself on top of me with the knife to my throat and whisper horrible things in my ear. At least if I answer him wrong, he only slaps and tears my clothing. For now, anyways.

“It’s real,” I whimper. I tried not to cry for a little while, but that ended quick. He pulls back his arm and I flinch, but he doesn’t strike this time. Every once in a while, he does this. I guess he just likes to fuck with my head, that extra little bit.

I don’t know how long it’s been, but my clothes are in tatters from his little rips. One by one, the rips have accumulated and I’m wondering how much longer they’ll last before my clothing slides away and leaves me naked. Somehow it’s even creepier when I realize he doesn’t seem to be all that interested in sexual violence for his own personal enjoyment. He dishes it out coldly, like a weapon. If he catches a whiff of resistance or bravery from me, he reminds me how easily how can overpower me. He knows I fear that unspoken possibility, so he uses it. The suggestion of what he could do to me hangs in the air, making me shake with anxiety.

“Oh really? Have you been there?”

“No.” Slap. The pain in my cheek explodes.

“You stupid naïve bitch. Then how are you so certain?”

I bite down on my lip and sob.

“I said, how are you so certain?”

I can’t control myself. I start sobbing so hard I can’t even speak. He sighs and sits back. What will he do to me now?

“Let’s take a break,” he says. My captor’s voice changes completely, turning to a relaxed tone.

I tense, eyes widening. I’m sure it’s some kind of trick, but I try not to react. I focus on tamping down on my ugly sobs that I had been holding back for far too long.

“I want you to know I don’t enjoy doing this. You might even thank me. You’ve been brainwashed, and it’s the only way to deprogram your brain,” he tells me sadly, even patting my knee sympathetically. I twitch away from him, and the jerky movement causes my pant leg to finally give way and shred in two. “I’ll have our mutual friend bring you some food, but then it’s back to business. I am hopeful that we’ll be able to help you.”