Terranovus

Chapter XIX - Flynt

The first thing I felt was pain radiating in waves from the side of my head.  I groaned and pulled myself up from the cold damp floor, only to gasp and clutch my shoulder.  I gingerly glanced down and saw my clothes torn and drenched in blood. I gently lifted up my torn pieces of clothing near my shoulder and saw white bandages underneath. I grimaced, and pulled away at the bandage to inspect the damage but was surprised to see the wound stitched closed.  How long had I been unconscious for? 

I looked around and analysed the filthy small room I was in.  It was perhaps only three metres by two, and the only thing to keep me company was a small bucket.  There was a door directly in front of me so I crawled forward and tried the handle, but found it was locked - unsurprisingly.  There was no chance of escaping.

Groaning, I slowly sat up and hugged my arm pathetically.  First the shoulder was dislocated, and now it was shot at - I didn't have the best of luck. 

I sighed and rested my head back on the dirty wall behind me.   So many thoughts ran through my mind and I found I couldn't focus.  I wondered what time it was, if my parents had discovered I was missing, then I thought of Hyun and hoped he had escaped.  I wondered about Tommy, and was glad he and everyone back home was safe now that the missiles' programmes had been destroyed.  And I thought of Philon, and wondered how well he was taking my capture.

I glanced at my wrist and was impressed to find the Army had confiscated my Ingo.  Of course they would have.  They wouldn't have wanted a sixteen year old to tell Terranovus's elite and precious citizens the truth.  I ran a hand over my wrist, surprised by how naked it felt, I hadn't taken off my Ingo in years. 

Resigning to the fact I was probably going to be locked up in here for a good while, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to dream of a make believe world that was beautiful and full of nature and hadn't been tainted by death and despair.

I must have dozed off as the sound a loud buzz and a door bolt unlocking woke me.

The door opened, and the same man who I had attacked with a wrench and had knocked me unconscious stood at the doorway not looking impressed.

"Get up you slob, the Commander wants to see you," he spat.  I gulped.

"Who?" I said.  He didn't just say the Commander of the Army, did he?  The man grinned, clearly enjoying the look of fear spreading across my face.

"Scared now, are ya?" he said and yanked me to my feet.  I swayed for a moment and the man steadied me and handcuffed my hands together. His grip on my forearm tightened and he shoved me forward out of the cell.  I managed to catch a glance down the hallway and saw several other cell-like doors similar to mine. The walls were made of concrete and were leaking and covered in slime. I wondered if Hyun had escaped or was sitting in one of these cells.

"Move," the man grunted and he shoved me forward. My shoulder started to throb.  He led me to an elevator and as we stepped inside and watched the doors close, I reminded myself I wasn't in the wrong.  I wasn't a prisoner, I was a victim.  A victim who was a witness to the horrors the Army was capable of.

"How can you work for him?" I said.  "How can you work for him and know what he was planning to do to your friends and families from the Sectors?"  The man laughed and jabbed a finger at the elevator's buttons.  It started to rise.

"I ain't from the Sectors," he said, "and as long as I keep receiving my pay cheques I couldn't care any less."

"Where are you from?" I asked, immediately intrigued.

"That is not for you to know," he replied and suddenly the elevator stopped.  The doors opened to reveal a new hallway with a luxurious soft plush red carpets and nicely decorated walls.  Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and I gulped nervously.  The floor had to be reserved for executive Army officials only to look this fancy.