Our Time Bomb

Chapter Twenty-nine ~ Officially A Prisoner

The next day...
I struggle as a Gyardican I've never seen before grabs my arm and drags me out of my cell. There are five of them. I'm half awake and my mind is in a funk. "What's going on..."

The man holding my arm answers,  "This is a requirement for prisoners. I'm sorry." He has got dark hair and eyes and he looks only a bit older than my twins, perhaps he is Seventeen or Eighteen?

I sigh and let him take me with him. The other gyardicans stick close to us.

They take me deeper into the prison to an area I don't recognize. There aren't any cells here, just a concrete room. At one corner, there's a chair and a furnace and some other odd furniture items.

The man (more like boy) motions for me to sit down. I groan but don't say a word. I study their faces.

"We'll get this over quickly. It'll be painful at first, I won't lie, but the pain doesn't last long." one of them says.

"Tie her up Miles..." an older guy says.

The boy nods and straps me to the chair, a look of concern in his young face.

I watch their every move, wondering what they will do. Then I see them take something out of the furnace. My skin crawls immediately. They are going to brand me.

Miles puts his hand on my shoulder, holding me back in case I try and struggle. One of them yanks my torn sleeve down, exposing my upper arm. "Do it." he says.

My breath catches in my throat as the one with the hot piece of iron nears me.

"Please no..." I gulp, trying to swallow my fear.

I scream as it presses into my skin. In a panic of pain, I struggle with all my might in order to free myself, to escape the searing pain. They draw the red hot iron back. The pain doesn't cease. I bite my lip so hard I feel blood drip down. My scream catches in my throat and makes an awful sound of pain.

I see Mile's face, it is intense, as though he is remembering something awful. Then he shakes out of it and his face takes on a regretful expression.

He lets go of my shoulder and unties me.

The other men put the iron back in the furnace. After a couple of seconds, they drag me back to my feet. I stagger, my arm throbbing and quaking with pain.

Everything blurs before my eyes, yet I spot Miles walking ahead of the rest of us. He is striding quickly away.

Everything is black...

Chris's pov (present time)
It's morning, it must be, though you can't tell from underground. The realization of where we are kicks in like a punch to the stomach. We're in the Shadow Nation compound.

I sit up quickly and look over to Luna. She is lying on her side with her back to me on a cot on the floor.
Quietly, I crawl over to her and gently scoop her tangled hair aside from her neck. "Luna..."

She wakes with a start, must not have been sleeping very soundly. She groans, "Chris?..  Argh..."

"Are you okay?" I ask.

She rolls over stiffly, "Sure..."

I gasp, "God you look awful. Your cheek is purple and your eye is bruised."

She chuckles, "And that's just my face."

I laugh a little and we are both silent for a moment until I break it again.
"You remind me of mother a bit."

"What? How?"

"That feisty demeanor... The way you threatened Syra last night."

She grins slightly,  "Not sure if that's a good thing. I've always tried not to be like her all my life. I always knew she had some dark secret."