Eternal Echoes ✔

Chapter 39: The Cold Grip of Fear

Chapter warning: Litteral torture is being described, and serious violence is happening!
Skip this chapter if you can't handle it.

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By dawn, the house was surrounded. The group was startled awake by the sound of soldiers breaking in, their faces masked with suspicion.

"Get up! All of you!" a commanding officer barked. The soldiers roughly pulled the group to their feet, ignoring their injuries and protests.

Olivia was immediately thrown into a state of confusion and fear. "What's happening?" she cried, reaching for any familiar touch. She felt a rough hand grab her arm, yanking her from the sofa.

Her heart raced, and she instinctively tried to pull away, but the grip tightened. "Please, let go!" she screamed, her voice trembling with panic. She swung her other arm wildly, trying to hit her assailant, but her efforts were met with a harsh shove that sent her sprawling to the floor.

The world around her was a chaotic blur of sounds: heavy boots thudding against the wooden floor, her friends' protests and shouts, and the barked commands of the soldiers.

"Stay calm, Olivia," she tried to tell herself, but the words felt hollow. She had always been one to used her art to express and process her feelings. But now, she felt completely helpless in this moment of sheer terror.

As she was roughly yanked to her feet again, tears streamed down her face. "What's happening?" she cried again, her voice cracking. "Please just tell me something."

A soldier's voice hissed in her ear, "Shut up, or it'll be worse for you."

Her body shook with uncontrollable sobs, and she stumbled as they dragged her out of the house. "Rachel! Thomas! Michael!" she called out desperately, hoping for a familiar voice to guide her, to tell her she wasn't alone.

Thomas, hearing her distress, struggled against his captor. "Leave her alone!" he shouted, only to be silenced by a blow to his head. The group's attempts to protect Olivia only seemed to anger the soldiers more, resulting in harsher treatment for everyone.

Daniel tried to shield Rachel, but a soldier struck him across the face, sending him sprawling to the floor. "What's going on?" he demanded, his voice trembling with fear and anger.

The officer's cold eyes scanned the group, resting on Rachel. "Why are you traveling with her?" he spat. "Answer me!"

Emily, defiant even in the face of danger, stood tall. "We are friends." she simply said.

The officer sneered. "We'll see about that. Take them!"

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In a cold, dark strange room, Olivia's blindness amplified her terror. Every sound—footsteps, the creak of a door, the scrape of a chair—became a potential threat. Her interrogators' voices were menacing and filled with suspicion. They had tied her to a chair, her hands bound behind her back, and blindfolded her despite her blindness. The first wave of pain came in the form of electric shocks, delivered through crude electrodes attached to her arms. Each jolt sent searing pain coursing through her body, causing her muscles to spasm uncontrollably.

"Why are you traveling with her?" they demanded, their voices harsh.

"With who?" Olivia cried, her voice breaking. "I just wanted to go home! I can't see. please, I'm blind!"