Call to Arms: Betrayed

The Executioner

    Alyssa awoke, her wrists bound together. She shifted slightly and then hit a soft body. She let out a stifled scream from behind a bit of duct tape and then tore it off, wincing. Laying next to her in the back of a van were Jeremy and Andrew, both bound and gagged. They seemed to be drugged. Alyssa shifted so that she could reach her boots and then pulled out her knife. She sawed through the rope and then flexed her bruised wrists. "Jeremy?" she whispered hoarsely, poking him. He only groaned, belching loudly. She coughed and then lay down again, her hand on her knife. She lay still until the van stopped. She heard a couple people get out and then walk around to the back. She heard them talking in Russian and then they opened the doors. She felt one get in and then stabbed him in the leg. He let out a strangled yell as his partner jabbed a needle in Alyssa's leg. She let out a growl of pain, but then felt herself becoming sleepy. "No!" Alyssa thought as the man she'd stabbed pull the knife out of his leg. "Bitch," he snarled as she passed out again.

***A couple hours later***

    "Wake up, little one," a man says as Alyssa jerks awake. She finds herself face to face with a smiling Russian man. His cruel blue eyes bore into her light grey ones. "Wow, you're stronger than your boyfriend. He's still snoring like your president," the man said as he laughed, making her flinch. "I haven't hurt you yet," he mocks as she sees a man limping, blood staining his uppermost leg. "Did you stab Petrov?" he asks as she just stares at him. "Let me ask it again," he says as he pulls out a knife. He stabs her in the leg and then twists, making her squeal. "Did you stab Petrov?" he asks as he pulls it out. She nods, tears falling out of her eyes. "Ah, don't cry. I haven't really done anything yet," he says, wiping her tears away. He kisses her lightly on the forehead and then licks his knife, making her shiver. "I'll be back when your boyfriend wakes up, pretty one," he says as he walks out. Alyssa shakes a bit and then feels a few tears leak out of her eyes and fall down her face. She looks up and notices the shackles on her wrists were attached to the ceiling. "Why? Why me?" she thought as she settled into an uneasy sleep.

***Few hours later***

  "Rise and shine, Blackwell," the man says as Alyssa opened her eyes. She saw that Jeremy was awake and looking around with big eyes. "Welcome, my friends, to Hell. And I am your devil. You may call me either the Executioner or Lieutenant General Kowaleski," Kowaleski said as he drew out a knife. "Where's the president?" Jeremy asks as Kowaleski hits him. "Your president is being kept busy," he says as Alyssa clears her throat. "Whatever punishment he gets, one of us will take it," Alyssa said as the Executioner laughed. "Of course, pretty one," he mocks as General Harkov walks in. "General Westgate?" Jeremy asks as he smiles. "I am no longer Westgate to you, asshole. You may now call me General Anton Harkov, leader of both the Russian army and Spetsnaz divisions," he said as he stares at Alyssa. "You're probably wondering why I pretended to be the American general, yes? Well, it's simple. Our recent conflicts with Ukraine have left us unable to contend with them. When I was about to give up, I hear a really odd story. I hear that nearly 14 years ago, there were Americans forces in Ukraine. So, I dig a bit deeper and find the general who supposedly sent the troops: General Jerome Hardbrook. I trained myself to speak English for this assignment and then left control of my army to my closest comrade and Lieutenant General, Grigorii Kowaleski. And through a few well placed bribes, I managed to become Terry Westgate, new recruit and Hardbrook's Brigadier general. It took me a few months to find out, actually. I asked him, but he told me to keep my nose out of it. Finally, I got him drunk and how he sang! I found out about the operation and the people involved. I asked who he'd recommend for a foreign service of the situation arose and he gave me three names. One, he said, was dead, but then I found the other two. Jeremy Burkhart and Alyssa Blackwell, he said, had braved Pripyat and survived. So, I disposed of Hardbrook and contacted Jeremy. I have to say, he rather jumped at the chance to serve again. And after drawing in one fish, it was easy to catch the other," Harkov said as both Jeremy and Alyssa paled. "What did you do with Hardbrook?" Jeremy asked as Harkov smiled. "I shot him in the head and dropped the body in Chernobyl," he said as they both went pale. "And now, my offer to both of you. In return for your president's safe return to the United States, I want one or both of you to join the Russian army," he said as he stared at them both. "May I tell them my rules?" Kowaleski asked as Harkov shrugged. "When I begin my game, you'll address me as Sir. The games end when you scream. 'Course, when you scream, I'll kill you. But since Harkov wants you to join his army, the sooner you scream, the higher the rank he'll give you," Kowaleski said as Harkov sighs. "Alyssa, I'm going to answer your question as to where I'm from. I was born in Novosibirsk, a city in central Russia. We're currently standing in Novosibirsk," Harkov said as he turned and left. "So, shall we begin?" Kowaleski asked, holding his knife.