The needle stings as it enters my arm. The pain is so intense I begin to lose consciousness.
Chapter 21
Scorched, cracked granite falls from the sky as the woman in orange runs down the smoke-filled hallway. I turn my head slightly to the right; soot covers Magda’s face as she runs out into the night. The air is cool, steam rising from our hot skin as we go uphill and away from the fire. I can still hear the screams of my friends as they burn alive. Magda turns to her left, heading towards the forest that flanks the east side of the complex.
A few others have escaped as well, we find them huddled together to keep warm. Claire is cradling Kedua as she screams from a burn on her face, Midge standing behind them. Kedua continues the noise long after she’s healed. Several men I don’t recognize stand guard outside our hideout. Three other men, including Dr. Hersher and two little boys, scurry up the ridge. Magda sets me down on a rock to tend to one of the men, who’s cut his leg badly.
The boys flock over to Kedua, who’s still crying, watching her in rapt silence.
“Devlan,” I hear Dr. Hersher call out, as a tall thin man runs up to the group. “Where’s Eunice? I thought she was with you?”
Devlan pants, bending over at the waist trying to catch his breath.
“She went back for Trea. The building collapsed just as she entered,” he spits out.
“I have Trea,” Magda says, pointing over to me.
His face grows pale; he ages twenty years in a matter of seconds. He slowly walks over, dropping to his knees in front of me. Tears well in his eyes and spill over as he brushes my check with his rough hand.
“Meg,” he whispers, as his body is overcome with emotion, “remember that your mother will always love you.”
“My name is Trea,” my young voice squeaks out.
“Not anymore.”
I awake bent over and strapped to a thick stone table. My tops have been removed and my flesh is pressed against the cold stone. My arms are tied along the side of the table, dangling downward while my legs remain standing. I try to move my head, but my neck won’t rotate so my face remains pointing to the wall on my left. The air around me feels cool and damp; the only light is from the fixture above the table.
“Hold still please,” I hear the little man say to me, as he stands to my right.
My skin begins to burn ferociously as something is slid under the flesh on my back. I try to scream, but Rabaan is there and shoves a leather strap into my mouth. Spasms begin to take over my muscles as my body tries to heal itself, but the multiple devices being inserted are preventing it. I watch out of the corner of my eye as Parson Mathan walks around me placing small clay pots on the floor around the table. Liquid begins to roll down both of my sides. I hear my blood hit the bottom of the pots.
I scream with the strap in my mouth, tears streaming down my face as a total of five implants are placed. Parson Mathan walks around me one more time, then everyone leaves.
It seems like hours pass by as I lay in the dim light with no one coming to check on me. The pain is so intense I’m on the verge of passing out. The hard surface of the table continues to dig into my abdomen as my legs grow strained from standing, my neck muscles growing tighter.
I cry softly until thin rays of sunshine begin to peek through a small window near the top of the wall. Parson Mathan is the first to enter my cell as soon as the streams of light touch the floor. He hums to himself as he walks around the table, checking the pots. He seems satisfied, and calls for Rabaan and the doctor to come in and remove the implants.
I’d spit the strap out at some point during the night, so Rabaan places the strap back into my mouth. The doctor begins to remove his gruesome contraptions. Rabaan smiles deeply, taking great pleasure in watching me flinch. The doctor is taking slow and methodical steps to ensure he inflicts the most pain. I feel myself beginning to heal once the metal has been removed, but still ache all over. Parson Mathan gathers the pots as Quin enters. Once the room is clear, Quin frees me from my restraints and hands me one of my tops. I feign being much weaker than I am, and slip halfway to the floor as if exhausted. I feel my fury building inside at what has been done to me.
I welcome Trea.
Moving slowly, I slip my arm through the sleeve of my black top, draping it over my head as I place my other arm through. When my face emerges I lean towards Quin as if still weak, and he comes closer to help. I take hold of his shirt and slam his head onto the stone table. He crumples to the ground. I know he won’t be out long, so I quickly exit the room and go down the hall on my left. As I round a corner I hear shouting behind me, so I quicken my pace, although I have no idea where I’m heading.
I turn my head to see if anyone is directly behind me when I run into a Morrigan. Trea is about to break his neck but stops when his face is revealed in the light. I know him.
“This way,” the man whispers, pushing me further down the corridor and through an opening that hides among the paneled walls.
As the door slides back into
