A MECH-X4 Story: Rescue

Chapter 9: Alliance

THREE days later the screaming stops. As soon as Ryan's screaming quiets there is an eerie silence. Mark, Spyder, and Harris sit quietly on the floor of their cell for what feels like hours. The only noises they hear are their own heart beats. Mark's heart,especially, pumps hard with anxiety over the unknown condition of his little brother. His nerves are killing him and he is about to begin screaming Ryan's name when the bars of the cell finally open.

The man with the messed up face walks in with an unconscious Ryan in his arms. The three boys jump to their feet and rush over to him. They each hesitate when they get a few inches from the man who walks over to Mark and gently puts Ryan in his big brother's arms. He then turns around and walks out of the cell. It locks behind him.

"Rest up, Ryan," he says over his shoulder as he walks away.

"Well that was different," Harris says.

With Ryan in his arms, Mark makes his way over to the back wall, turns his back to it and slides down to the floor. Spyder and Harris keep their distance. They don't want to disturb Ryan's sleep. Mark tries to be gentle, but it is hard to move with another body in his arms, even if it's a little one that barely weighs 120 pounds. Ryan groans with this rough movement to the floor and his eyes flash open.

"You're awake!" Mark shouts. Ryan shifts in his brother's arms and lets out a yelp of pain.

"RYAN!?!?" the boys scream simultaneously. Spyder and Harris rush over and stand above Ryan and Mark.

"What's wrong? What-what did they do to you?" Mark asks. He's scared to know what was done to Ryan while he was gone. His screaming terrified Mark. He can't possibly image the horrors he went through.

"I couldn't fight them," Ryan says, his voice cracking. "I had to make a choice. There was no other option."

"What did you do?" Harris asks.

"I told them the robot and I would work for them, if they let you three go."

"What!?" Harris and Spyder yell.

"Why would you do that?!" Mark screams angrily at his brother, shaking him in his arms.

"Argh!" Ryan yells out in pain. His bruised body can't take much more. "You don't know how hard I wanted to fight. You just...don't." He closes his eyes and his body goes limp.

"Ryan!" Mark screams. He wants to shake him awake but refrains from the violent action.

"What did they do to him?" Spyder asks. He looks down at Ryan's sleeping body as Mark holds him tightly.

"It had to have been pretty horrible. Check his body." Harris says, noticing the bruises on his neck and a slowly healing bruise on his cheek.

Mark lifts Ryan's shirt and notices slow healing black and purple bruises layering his brother's body. He gasps in shock at what he sees. He slowly rolls his brother onto his stomach and sees his back is just as damaged.

"They said his mind did this to him!?" Spyder yells. " There's no way man! "

"Well at least we know he has a good reason for giving in, but what now?" Harris says.