Forums → Art, Music, and Writing → Another partical story

Here is part of a story that I started a few months ago and forgot about. I'm sorry that it's only a partical but I feel stuck and don't like the way it sounds right now. Any sagestions? Please comment.





Story

They had told her that she should stay behind, that she was to valuable to risk on such a routine mission. To that she had responded that if it was only routine then the risk was minimal, and they had allowed her to go, so long as she was heavily guarded. As of now all of her guards were dead, save the two that crouched beside her, weapons trained on the door, in the center office of the building they were to destroy. She wished she had listened.
"Is there any way out?" her voice didn't betray the panic that fluttered like a trapped bird in her chest.
"No," Alex, one of her regular guards spoke, his gaze never wavering from the door as it splintered from the weight of the bodies being thrown against it.
She let out the breath she had been holding, "I thought not," her fingers went for the small communicator at her waist. Her hands shook as she turned it on and spoke to the man who's image popped up on the tiny screen, "This is solder 56679, Eleane Stern. With solders 34278, Alexander Gyle, and 27634, Nathan Briggs."
"Continue Solder Stern," the man said.
"The mission has been a failure. They were waiting for us," she added the last at his angry look, "We are trapped in a center office, there is no way out."
"What do you mean there is no way out," the words came out emotionless.
"We are going to be taken," her voice shook slightly and her eyes burned with tears, "I ask your permission to prevent that from occurring."
"Of course," his voice held a hint of so unidentifiable
"Thank you sir," she said this even as she reached for the small vile that contained a small pill. She felt the other two do the same. Without hesitating she pulled the stopper off the top with her teeth and started to let it fall into her open mouth just as the door bust open in a shower of wood. Someone tackled her, sending the pill flying, "No!" she shrieked struggling beneath the body that pined her to the ground. There was a thud beside to her left as Alex, too was forced to the ground.She turned her head to the right and found that her face was only inches from the empty face of Nathan. Foam dribbled from his lips, he had gotten to his pill in time.
A hand knotted in her hair, forcing her head to the side. There was pain in her neck as a needle sank into the skin above her pulse. Immediately she felt the drugs clouding her mind and, within a few seconds, they claimed her and she sank into unconsciousness.
***
She floated in and out of the darkness. She was only vaguely aware of the movement of being dragged across a rough, uneven path.
"He will be pleased with this," someones voice broke through the dark haze around her mind, "We finally got her."
"Yes, there will reward for capturing the rebels most prized possession," a second voice joined the first.
"I'm looking forward to interrogating this one, she seems like one that will be hard to break."
"All the more fun," they both laughed
Her blood ran cold. Interrogation? The single word floated through her thoughts just before the drugs took her again into the cool darkness.
***
When she was finally to tear free of the drugs, she was lying on her back. Carefully she opened her eyes and found herself staring up at a
bleached ceiling, surrounded by blinding lights.
Slowly, against the protests of her sore body, she sat up. The room she had been put in was small, three of the walls and floor made of the same smooth material as the ceiling and inlaid with lights. The fourth was glass and it gave her a view of a hallway lined with rooms like hers. It made everything too bright. There were no furnishing, only three white walls. Beneath her was a metal drain. She didn't want to think of what it could be for.
After a moment she stood and went to the glass. Across the hall she could see that Alex, too, was waking from the drugs. There eyes met and she could see the fear there. She drew back and hit the glass, more out of desperation than the thought that it would break. Pain shot up her arm and again she struck out at it, throwing her whole body against it. Low animal snarls came from her throat with each hit.
Finally, after several minutes, she stopped, her body unable to take anymore abuse. Panting and exhausted she sank back to the ground. ****, **** ****. she thought, looking back up at the pure whiteness above her. How could I have been so stupid, I let myself be captured. This is going to hurt. The thought came on its own accord, causing a shiver to rip through her. But they will come for me. James and the others, they will come. On the heals of that came, What now?
As if to answer, there was a harsh grinding sound. She turned in time to see a white panel slide down from above to cover the glass. The room fell silent after the wall hissed into place and she had time to take in the fact that she was completely isolated before everything went dark.
Her muscles tensed, her ears straining to hear anything, her eyes searching the dense darkness. Her breath quickened, she had always hated the dark. Her teeth sank into her lip to stop herself from screaming, they were watching, of that she was sure of, searching for any form of weakness to use against her.
There was no passage of time in this darkness but her body grew stiff from remaining in the same spot for an extended period. Just as she grew used to the dark light exploded before her eyes, sending pain through her head. She sat up rubbing her burning eyes only to be cast back into darkness. After a few seconds the light blinked on and then back off. After five blinks the switch from light to dark quickened, going from a second to instantly.
Panicked, she scooted back until her back met the wall. She closed her eyes against the changing light but she could still see it flashing behind the thin membrane of her eyelids. This continued for an hour before the screams started.
A high piercing screech echoed through the room, shrieking through hidden speakers in the walls and floor. She pressed her hands to her ears but it did little to block out the sound. She felt a scream claw up her throat and she tried to force it down.
Every minute felt like an hour in this hell. She felt her control waver, her scream threatened to rip her apart. And then, as quickly as it all started, everything stopped, silence pressed against her ears and the lights dimmed and stopped flickering.
She remained huddled against the wall, shaking, to stunned to move. The panel that had covered the glass slid up, reveling the hall. From where she lay she could see Alex in the same possion as she was, curled into a ball with his hands clamped over his ears.
Her body trembled from being clenched so tightly for hours but she didn't dare move, fearful that any movement would cause them to resume the assault on her mind. Surely that can't be all. The thought came as she began to relax. They have to have more than that. She closed her eyes again, letting her mind drift. I thought it would be worse.
Sleep tugged at her mind. Just as she scummed to the weariness of the past Hours? Minutes? the screeching resumed, her heart pounded, shooting adrenalin spiked blood through her veins, yanking her from her near-sleep. It only lasted for a few seconds before she was once again cast into silence; and, like before her body began to relax. It's so warm in here. She started to slip back into sleep; and again she was pulled from it by the sound.
For the next few hours it became a game. She would start to drift into sleep only to be awoken. By the time the glass slid open she was shaking from fatigue and far away in an almost sleep-like state.
Rough hands grabbed her and flipped her so that she was on her stomach. She came back to herself enough to fight just as a knee dug into her back and her hands were tied behind her. She was hauled to her feet, struggling against the ropes that cut into her wrists. More hands grabbed her, lifting her before setting her down in a straight backed, wooden chair. Her hands were secured against the back of the chair, her legs to its legs.
When that was done the solder who had tied her stepped back. She saw that he was a man, as were all of the five solders that surrounded the chair. All of them had the same nondescript brown hair and eyes and all had empty, expressionless faces. One leaned foreword and took her chin in on of his gloved, carefully tilting her face from one side to the other, as if he were an artist studying a blank canvas. He withdrew and very slowly pulled off his gloves, still watching her.
She saw the fist as it struck the left side of her face. Her head jerked to the side and there was no time for her to recover before another fist caught her in the stomach. Her breath whooshed out of her. She doubled over wheezing. A fist connected with her chin as another struck her chest. And so the beating continued a constant volley of blows rained down on her. Their fists drove into her chest, breaking ribs, more into her stomach, forcing the air from her lungs.
How long it lasted she don't know, but, just at the point when the pain became unbearable, the beating stopped. She slumped forward, it was only the ropes that kept her sitting. She was only just aware of the ropes loosening. her body hit the floor, sending a wave of pain through her battered body. Blood spewed from her lips, staining the pristine white floor.
The man who had began the beating looked down at her as he slowly put his gloves on. She expected him to speak, to question her now on her knowledge of the rebels, but he didn't. Instead he cocked his head to the side, observing her, "You lasted much longer than expected," he said it as if discussing the weather, "Congratulations." Without another word he turned and left, the others trailing behind him. The glass slid back into place after they left.
She lay there, her body starting to register of extent the pain. And that, combined with the day without sleep, is what brought unconsciousness down upon her...
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***
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Her body ached. Every cell in her body throbbed. She didn't move, she wasn't sure that she was able. The cell smelled of human waste and blood. How long? She wondered No more than a few days. She couldn't be sure though, time had no meaning in this bright prison. Yes, no more than a few days. Only one more beating... and then the lights start. She thought ideally, lack of sleep and dehydration making it hard to think.
She closed her eyes once again trying to slip into an unconsciousness that wasn't caused by unbearable pain and, as had happened the countless times before, a sharp sound broke into her consciousness, effectively pulling her from sleep. She pressed her hands to her ears but the sound only increased. She screamed, curling up tighter, "Please!" she begged, "Just let me sleep!"
As if in acknowledgement to her plea, silence filled the cell. Will I really be allowed to sleep. The thought was fuzzy as darkness fluttered at the edges of her mind. Just as sleep swooped down and wrapped itself around her she caught the unmistakable sent of flowers.
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She awoke slowly, dragging herself from her dreamless sleep. No, not dreamless. She had dreamed that she had been captured and thrown in a cell, beaten, deprived of sleep, and starved. See and there's the hunger, Alex always tells me that I shouldnât skip dinner. She groaned and tried to sit up, the urge to urinate pulling her farther from sleep.
Her eyes flew open when she felt rope cut into her wrists. No. her mind screamed, as the days she had spent her came back to her. She had been tied, spread-eagle on a stainless steal table, the kind used in surgery. Wires stuck to her bare body and were connected to a large, humming machine. A blanket and several buckets of water sat on the ground beside it. She struggled against the bonds, feeling them dig deeper into her flesh.
"I wouldn't do that if I were in your position," the voice, a mans, came from behind her, "You see the ties are rigged so that the more you struggle, the tighter they get," he stepped into view a smile toying with the corners of his mouth, "I designed it," he continued, calmly walking so that he stood to her right and lightly placed his hands on the machine, "it makes things a bit more interesting during the interrogation," he paused "Here's how this is going to work, I'm going to ask you questions and you're going to answer them."
"And if I refuse?" she glared up at him, letting him see the hatred in her eyes.
His smiled, gingerly touching one of the buttons, and leaned forward, "Then we have some fun." He hit the button and then lightly placed his fingers on one of the dials, the one that was labeled with numbers zero through ten.
"Where are the rebel camps," he ask softly, the look in his eyes eager.
She strained against the straps so that her face was a few inches from his, "I don't know what you're talking about." She said it slowly, staring into his eyes.
Very calmly he picked up the blanket and placed it over her then he grabbed a bucket and pored it over her. He turned the dial so that it pointed at the number three. Pain bowed her back as the electric current passed through her. She screamed in agony. It continued until she was sure her back would snap under the strain. He returned the dial to zero and the pain stopped.
"Where are the rebel camps?" he asked again.
"I don't know," a fine tremor had entered her voice, but her loyalties to the Resistance remained unshakable.
He dumped a second bucket over her, the dial turned to five. Her teeth snapped together. Her body wrenched upwards, straining against the bonds. The pain was almost unbearable. Low gurgling sounds issued from her throat. As quickly as it started, the pain receded until it was only a slight throbbing throughout her body, "Where are the rebel camps?" an almost lustful expression had entered his eyes, he was enjoying it.
"I-" she didn't get a chance to finish. Another bucket, another turn. There was no sound, no feeling, save the pain, only the spasm as her body jerked uncontrollably. When it stopped this time, her vision blurred, her skin felt nerveless, her ears rang. Above her, was the outline of the doctor, she could just make out the movement of his lips but couldnât respond had she wanted to.
The blurred figure above her paused and placed something over his face. Again came the sent of flowers and again she felt herself slipping into an artificial sleep...