Lost Clans of a Hidden War

Chapter 21

Puppet Master

As sounds and sensations started to return to me, I wondered blearily at the fact that a significant portion of my new life seemed to be getting knocked unconscious in one way or another. It was almost as if some warped and twisted author got some kind of perverse pleasure in beating on me. Perhaps the entity that had spoken to me was responsible? Hell who knew anymore. My life had turned into a yo-yo ride of emotional trauma mixed with a healthy dose of getting my ass beaten on in one form or another.

Ever so slowly, I started to take stock of my new situation. I didn't open my eyes, only relied on my other senses so as not to possibly give away the fact that I was awake. From what sounds I could hear, it was fairly apparent I waw in a large echoing room of some kind. The smells in the room were damp, musty and slightly acrid. I could just barely make out a scent that brought to my mind the image of Samantha and another that brought the image of Cynthia. Apparently I was getting better at the whole scent thing. Experimentally, I gently attempted to move first my arms, then my legs and was met with minimal success. It seemed that both my ankles and my wrists were bound in some fashion. Cracking an eye open, I peered around my surroundings taking everything in.I seemed to be in a small cave-like room. There was a rough, wooden door in front of me and an old table in front of that separating me from the door. I listened hard to see if I was alone in the room, and feeling as though I was, I opened both eyes and looked around. I was in a small room in a cave after all. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all natural stone and glistened damply in the low light of a torch, an actual honest to God torch, which was fastened to the wall of the room. Looking down, I saw that my hands were cuffed with friction straps and so were my ankles. Between the two friction bands was a length of spun carbon fiber connecting them.

"Well, this sucks," I muttered to no one in particular.

Struggling would be useless. Friction bands used a special polymer weave that created a 100% friction connection between each point of contact on the band allowing for absolutely zero movement. Once the ends were joined together, a special lubricant had to be used to change the friction from 100% to 0% and of course, that lubricant wasn't anywhere in sight. Sighing I slouched back in the chair I was bound to and just relaxed getting as much rest as I could before  things got hectic and I knew they would.

I think I may have drifted off a bit but after an hour or so, I jerked awake at the sound of echoing foot falls from the other side of the door. "Awake or asleep?" I muttered. "Ah fuck it, let's see what happens."

The door opened after the sounds of a chain being removed and Mr. Black, along with two uniformed guards, came into my little room.

"Ah, Mr. Maxwell, so good to see you awake," the rat said urbanely.

I made myself relax before speaking. "Commander Black, what brings the traitor to Clan Home here?"

The old rat snorted but otherwise seemed unfazed by my accusation. "I have only betrayed the idiots running Clan Home," he said with a shrug of his slender shoulders. "There are many in Clan Home who support this as well as those who carry the charge." Black pulled up a seat and sat on the other side of the table from me making himself comfortable. "Mr. Maxwell, Max, can I call you Max?" he asked. I just nodded and he continued. "Max, we aren't the bad guys here," he explained in a congenial tone of voice. "We simply want to be able to be part of the world again without losing who and what we are. Why should we have to change to be a part of the world again?" he asked. "Why can't the world change instead?"

Arching an eyebrow I asked, "And what will happen to the U.S. if you force the change on everyone?" I asked. "The chaos created by everyone changing all at once will cause the collapse of the entire U.S. government. We would be easy pickings for anyone wanting to use such an ordeal to invade and take over."