Martial

II.

I wiped away any tears I still had on my cheeks and sniffed. As I was about to stand up, loud booming voices erupted from down the hall and the individual from the cell in front of me began to gain consciousness.

"Get up you traitorous pieces of shits!" A brute yelled as he guided his electrical baton across the bars. He was largely built and the armor only made him look huge. I pushed myself off the ground and looked as four more brutes followed in pursuit.

However they halted and separated themselves into pairs. Two stood in front of my cell and the other two stood in front of the other. The remaining brute stood at the far right, eyeing all of us. I was small compared to these guys so escaping wasn't an option, trying to fight them wasn't an option either. The only one that made sense was to follow their orders unless I wanted to die.

"Confirm!" Shouted the brute to the right. I assume he/she is the leader. These brutes have voice changing masks. It could be a woman or a man behind the armor and we wouldn't know. The voice changers make everyone speak with a deep voice.

One of the brutes in front of my cell pressed a button on their holo-watch and my whole profile came into view. I gulped and took a few steps back as they began to read it.

"Jo Salice Valencia, 19 years old. She's of hispanic descent, parents were Maya and Cristopher Valencia. Has-had a younger brother and grandmother living with other refugees. All terminated. Became a member of the C.A.T.O group on January 22nd, 2210. Captured on June 11th, 2217," Finished one of the brutes. He tapped on his holo-watch and my profile disappeared.

The leader began to chuckle and shake his head as he signaled the other brutes to confirm the other individual.

"Silas Dean Archer, 20 years old. He's of European descent, parents are Rose and James Asher. No siblings. Grandparents are deceased. Attempted to convince group of workers to join his militia for weeks. Captured June 11th, 2217."

With our profiles having been read, the place stood quiet until the leader began to walk back and forth in a straight line.

"Rebels like you should have been terminated on site. The kinds like you are a waste of our resources. To have you run amongst those dedicated to Kane is a disgrace," he said.

I breathed in and out, calming myself down. I wanted to speak out but I wasn't going to. I was not about to test these waters.

"You fools. Your oppressor is using you. He's brainwashed idiots like you to be with him! To rule against us. You're nothing but slaves to him! His little puppets! He's getting rid of us but you'll be next. You think that he is going to protect you--he won't," Silas spoke out with such venom in his voice. I could only see his hands grip the cell bars as the leader stopped in his tracks and turned to face him.

A wave of nervousness hit as I walked closer to the cell bars.

"Are there any executions for today?" The leader asked. My hands began to shake and my legs felt weak. Closing my eyes, I held back tears.

What did this guy just do?

"Executions for Rose and James Asher are set to take place today," one spoke and I let out a small breath of relief while Silas began to kick and shout.

He tried to grab a hold of the lead brute but was met with an electric baton on his arm. He screamed in pain and fell back, holding his arm close to him.

"They weren't involved in anything! Let them go!" Silas shouted in between breaths. He frantically walked around his cell as the leader turned to look at me.

"You evil pigs," I muttered as he jerked his head back as he laughed. Looking back down, he tapped his holo-watch and he was immediately connected with someone.

"Executions are to be made public for the sector at 1800," he sternly said as he began to turn away. Silas was still gripping onto his arm which had severe burns on them. His face was flushed with tears, saliva and redness.

"Copy that," replied the receiver.

His eyes fixated themselves onto the leader and I could only imagine what he was thinking. He was breathing profusely and walked closer to the bars.

What is he doing? Trying to get himself killed?

"And make sure Silas Archer has a good view," the lead brute finished, disconnecting the call after the receiver confirmed the order.

Silas' eyes widened but he didn't speak. I could tell he was emotionally broken. He fell to his knees and was in complete shock.

"You fucking monsters. Killing innocent people and for what? For show? For Kane?" I spat, pushing one of the brutes away from the cell. He immediately grabbed my arm and whipped out his baton, striking down on it with such force. I cried out and pulled my arm back, attempting to soothe it but to no avail, it hurt like a bitch.

"Anyone associated with rebels," the leader said, walking towards my cell, "will face punishments and our favorite punishment is death."

Disgusted and in pain, I backed away. My back hit the wall and I slid down, completely defeated.

"Have fun today," he chuckled as he left, disappearing from sight. I laid my head back against the wall, wanting to scream and shout. The agonizing pain was becoming unbearable. I needed something for this but I highly doubt that the aids would come in and help us and if they do, they'll take their sweet time coming here.

Soft sobs and mumbled words filled the cells as Silas and I began to lose our minds. Here and then he would crack a smile, revealing his dimples but it would quickly fade as tears streamed down his cheeks. Must be remembering something. He wiped away the tears and his eyes fixed on his burned arm that now had blisters on them.

Shortly, Silas and I heard footsteps and a cart being rolled down the hall and that made us spring up from the floor. Hesitantly, I walked to the bars and felt relieved when two aids in grey outfits appeared. They had the medic crest on the sleeve of their outfits and masks covering their identities.

Thinking that they'd unlock the cell doors, I waited but they start prepping the tools they were going to use on us.

One aid came to where I was and pushed a small entry door open. My thought is that this opening is only for food trays. She gestured for my arm and I let out a quick breath.

Still in pain, I lifted my arm up and softly placed it on the surface. The aid checked my arm for bruising and swelling. With my right hand, I gripped one of the bars ever so tightly and peeked to see the aid delicately applying some sort of cream.

The cream was definitely only limited to this sector as it quickly healed the bruise. We didn't have this back home. It would have taken days for any sort of home remedy to have subsided the pain.

I looked over at Silas who was grunting in pain and trying so hard not to yell.

The aids took at least half an hour helping us and once they finished, they communicated with the receiver.

"They're ready."

Confused, Silas and I both looked at each other for a second before looking back at the aids.

"R-ready for what?" I asked, swallowing deeply.

One of the aids grabbed the cart and walked off while the other sighed and tapped on their holo-watch.

"The viewing."