Relative Strangers (Book 2) No Man Is An Island

31. Captives

All E and Matt's belongings were confiscated off them almost immediately, but not before E sent out a distress signal, that she hoped would be picked up at the ARC.
In case something went wrong on the mission, she had left a piece of tech at the ARC that could open an anomaly onto the island.
When activated it would sound an alarm until someone at the ARC pressed the button that would open the anomaly.
It was a simple device that E knew Jess would be able to use.
But even with that activated, E couldn't fully bank on someone coming to rescue her and Matt.

"This must be a touching reunion for you and this room" mocked General MacNamera.
E looked around at the cell she had spent several weeks locked inside, and she shuddered.
She was knelt on the floor with her hands tied behind her back, and Matt was knelt opposite her.
There were 4 men in the room, not including General MacNamera, and they were all armed. And E expected that there were even more men outside the door.
"So, are you going to tell us your name this time?" Questioned General MacNamera.
E looked up at him trying not to show any fear in her face.
"My name is Elizabeth, and this is my island you are trespassing on" she announced.

This response got E a slap across the face.
"E!" Shouted Matt, as he tried to get to his feet only to be knocked down by the guard behind him.
E spat blood on the floor, before looking back up at General MacNamera without any pain or worry on her face.
"I thought I showed you last time I was here, that I cannot be broken by force" E said smugly.
General MacNamera frowned at her before punching her in the stomach.
Other than feeling rather winded, E was O.K, but as she looked up she saw the concern on Matt's face, clear as day.

"What kind of man hits a woman" spat Matt.
"Don't worry about me Matt, I can take anything these losers throw at me" reassured E.
General MacNamera picked E up by her hair, before slamming her face down onto the floor.
This made E feel rather dizzy, and she tried to focus so that she didn't throw up everywhere.
She expected that she now had a bad concussion, as she couldn't seem to see properly, and she could feel a trickle of blood sliding down her face from her forehead.
"E! Let her go! Please don't hurt her" begged Matt desperately.
"So, you're going to give us the answers we need then?" Questioned General MacNamera.

E's stomach dropped, "No Matt. Don't tell them anything, I'm not worth it. Besides, I can take anything, so don't be weak and give in to them just because you don't like seeing me in pain. Turn your head if it upsets you so much. Because I'm nowhere near to giving in".
"You think you're so tough, don't you?" Sneered General MacNamera, as he leaned over E.
"Tougher than you, that's for sure" taunted E.
"Maybe you're not as good as you think, because this time you didn't come alone" replied General MacNamera, as his head turned to face Matt.

"I don't need him, he's just here because he followed me. I don't have any real connection to him" lied E.
"I don't think that's true at all. Perhaps you are strong physically, but are you as strong mentally?" Questioned General MacNamera.
General MacNamera punched Matt in the face, causing E to lurch forward instinctively.
She didn't want to watch Matt get hurt because of her.
This was the kind of situation she had been trying to avoid all her life.
E didn't want to become attached to anyone, because she didn't want them to be used against her.

But Matt was different to anyone E had been close to in the past.
He was willing to jump through an anomaly to protect her, even on their first day of meeting.
He was prepared to do whatever it took to keep her safe, even though she had promised him nothing in return.
The pair had become so close that E completely trusted him, which is something she had never done before.
If Matt was willing to take beatings to protect her, then what kind of person was she if she allowed him to do it.
E didn't want to give away any information to General MacNamera, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could watch Matt suffer for.

General MacNamera continued to beat Matt up for several minutes, and E had to be held back by 2 guards to stop her from jumping to Matt's defence.
She was desperate to stop his suffering, but she didn't want to be a hypocrite and do the very thing she had told Matt not to do.
Giving General MacNamera what he wanted had to be avoided at all costs, because keeping the ARC a secret, was vital for its continuation.
"Maybe you are stronger than I thought" sighed the General, as he took a step back from Matt.
Matt lay on the floor, and made no attempt to push himself back up into a kneeling position.
E could see bruises forming on his face, and blood dripping from various places.

"But you are still not as strong as you think" announced General MacNamera as he removed a pistol from its holster on his belt, and pointed it at Matt.
E felt as though time had frozen.
Any moment General MacNamera could pull the trigger and end Matt's life.
She knew that he was a soldier through and through, so would have no qualms about murdering Matt.
E hated how weak Matt had made her, but she knew that she couldn't watch him die.
"Please don't kill him" begged E.

General MacNamera lowered his gun, "See, that wasn't hard was it".
Before he could ask E any questions, the door suddenly opened and one of his soldiers came over and whispered in his ear, before leaving the room very hastily.
"Well, it seems that you and your little friend didn't come alone" continued General MacNamera.
E's heart skipped a beat as she thought about Becker and his team, who were out there risking their lives, doing the job that she was supposed to be doing.

For a moment she prayed that Becker would rescue them both, but that thought quickly disappeared when she remembered that MacNamera had more men than Becker. And Becker also had no idea where they were.
"It looks like we are going to have to make a hasty exit and leave our precious cargo behind. But that doesn't mean that we are going to leave empty handed. I'm sure Mr Wolf would like to question you personally, to find out how you managed all this. There is a chopper waiting for us on the roof, so let's get going" announced General MacNamera.

E shook her head, "I'm not going anywhere with you, so you'll have to kill me".
"That's a shame. Because I really didn't want to have to kill two people today" sighed the General as he pointed his gun back towards Matt.
"E, let them kill me" Matt said quietly, speaking for the first time since his beating.
"I can't Matt" admitted E.
"I don't want you to become their prisoner again, because of me" replied Matt.
"And I don't want to watch you die"
"Then don't look".

E didn't like having her own words parroted back at her.
"If you die, he's going to have to kill me too, because I will not become his prisoner again" revealed E.
E pulled herself from the guards grasp and moved towards Matt.
She placed her head onto his shoulder, since she wasn't able to move her arms, as they were still tied behind her back.
"If we die, we die together" she whispered.
"Together" Matt whispered back.
As E closed her eyes, waiting for the bang of a gun, the door suddenly flew off it's hinges and all hell broke loose.