but if you are still
too weak…” His voice trailed off condescendingly.
“Jason, tell
him you need more time. Tell him you should wa —”
“I’m ready,” I
stated, cutting off Jeremiah’s plea for me to wait. He could be right, but I am
tired of waiting for something to happen. Maybe in the process of testing I can
escape. And at the very least I can get up and stretch. I’ve been confined to
this bed for days, and I need to move.
Watching me
carefully, the Doctor said, “Very well. I have armed guards, so don’t try
anything foolish.”
Trying anything
was definitely not on my agenda. At least not yet. The stiffness I still felt
told me any attempt to run would be stupid.
To keep my captor
calm, I stayed very still as he approached the bed and removed the restraints.
“Let’s go,” the Doctor urged.
He stood back and
watched while I struggled to get to my feet for the first time in days. Sitting
up on the edge of the bed, I rubbed my wrists. Based on the scarring around my
wrists, I could tell the restraints here are definitely not the worst I’ve had.
“You should be
used to this kind of thing, kid,” the Doctor laughed. He eyed my scars as if
amused by the pain I must have gone through.
My mouth quirked
in annoyance, but I didn’t respond.
He stopped
laughing. His hand waved impatiently. “Get up. You said you’re ready, so let’s
go.
I took a deep
breath and pushed to stand. Black spots appeared in my vision, but they
disappeared after a few moments. “Where to?” I asked with forced lightness.
“Follow me,” the
Doctor said, leading the way out of my prison.
Guards stopped and
stared as I walked past, one gave me a compassionate look, and I wondered what
caused his reaction. Why would a person who worked with kidnappers show
sympathy to their captive?
“Some of our
guards are… sympathetic to those who have withstood torture. For what it’s
worth, that is not what we’re about here,” the Doctor assured me.
“No, just wrongful
imprisonment,” I stated mildly, keeping my eyes down. Making him mad could only
be bad for me, but I couldn’t stand the lie he was trying to sell. He seemed to
want me to believe he wasn’t all bad. That holding a person, people, against
their will was not a bad thing as long as it furthered his goals.
He paused for a
moment, and I felt his heart speed up slightly. “You’re upset?” I scoffed. “Put
yourself in my shoes for a minute, Doctor.”
Once again, the
Doctor paused. “How were you aware I felt upset?”
Wincing, I
realized I gave myself away with my last comment. “Tell me, Jason. What told
you how I felt?”
I considered
lying. I thought about explaining that he was bound to be upset by my truthful
comment about the criminal nature of his activities. I thought about it, but he
was watching me so closely. Lying couldn’t be an option, and I didn’t believe
his assurances that they were not about torture. He had already warned me about
punishments, so he knew torture of some sort was already on the table.
If I lied, what
kind of punishment would I receive? It wasn’t worth the risk, so I let out a
huff and answered, “Your heartbeat.”
“Fascinating. Your
ability to feel things through the ground is even more sensitive than we were
led to believe,” he muttered softly.
“Led to believe by
whom?” I asked, unable to hide my interest.
“The Hunter,” he
answered in an off-hand way. “He knew about your abilities, but never told us
everything he found out. Strange that he would have hidden it. The knowledge
would have driven up the price.”
The Hunter. The
man involved with the last case I worked. He was the one who was going to sell
me to the highest bidder. Apparently, he had buyers lined up, in case he
decided not to kill me. Nice. Not only were my captors guilty of kidnapping,
but also human trafficking. I no longer believed there was a level they
wouldn’t stoop to.
The Doctor jotted
down a couple more notes
too weak…” His voice trailed off condescendingly.
“Jason, tell
him you need more time. Tell him you should wa —”
“I’m ready,” I
stated, cutting off Jeremiah’s plea for me to wait. He could be right, but I am
tired of waiting for something to happen. Maybe in the process of testing I can
escape. And at the very least I can get up and stretch. I’ve been confined to
this bed for days, and I need to move.
Watching me
carefully, the Doctor said, “Very well. I have armed guards, so don’t try
anything foolish.”
Trying anything
was definitely not on my agenda. At least not yet. The stiffness I still felt
told me any attempt to run would be stupid.
To keep my captor
calm, I stayed very still as he approached the bed and removed the restraints.
“Let’s go,” the Doctor urged.
He stood back and
watched while I struggled to get to my feet for the first time in days. Sitting
up on the edge of the bed, I rubbed my wrists. Based on the scarring around my
wrists, I could tell the restraints here are definitely not the worst I’ve had.
“You should be
used to this kind of thing, kid,” the Doctor laughed. He eyed my scars as if
amused by the pain I must have gone through.
My mouth quirked
in annoyance, but I didn’t respond.
He stopped
laughing. His hand waved impatiently. “Get up. You said you’re ready, so let’s
go.
I took a deep
breath and pushed to stand. Black spots appeared in my vision, but they
disappeared after a few moments. “Where to?” I asked with forced lightness.
“Follow me,” the
Doctor said, leading the way out of my prison.
Guards stopped and
stared as I walked past, one gave me a compassionate look, and I wondered what
caused his reaction. Why would a person who worked with kidnappers show
sympathy to their captive?
“Some of our
guards are… sympathetic to those who have withstood torture. For what it’s
worth, that is not what we’re about here,” the Doctor assured me.
“No, just wrongful
imprisonment,” I stated mildly, keeping my eyes down. Making him mad could only
be bad for me, but I couldn’t stand the lie he was trying to sell. He seemed to
want me to believe he wasn’t all bad. That holding a person, people, against
their will was not a bad thing as long as it furthered his goals.
He paused for a
moment, and I felt his heart speed up slightly. “You’re upset?” I scoffed. “Put
yourself in my shoes for a minute, Doctor.”
Once again, the
Doctor paused. “How were you aware I felt upset?”
Wincing, I
realized I gave myself away with my last comment. “Tell me, Jason. What told
you how I felt?”
I considered
lying. I thought about explaining that he was bound to be upset by my truthful
comment about the criminal nature of his activities. I thought about it, but he
was watching me so closely. Lying couldn’t be an option, and I didn’t believe
his assurances that they were not about torture. He had already warned me about
punishments, so he knew torture of some sort was already on the table.
If I lied, what
kind of punishment would I receive? It wasn’t worth the risk, so I let out a
huff and answered, “Your heartbeat.”
“Fascinating. Your
ability to feel things through the ground is even more sensitive than we were
led to believe,” he muttered softly.
“Led to believe by
whom?” I asked, unable to hide my interest.
“The Hunter,” he
answered in an off-hand way. “He knew about your abilities, but never told us
everything he found out. Strange that he would have hidden it. The knowledge
would have driven up the price.”
The Hunter. The
man involved with the last case I worked. He was the one who was going to sell
me to the highest bidder. Apparently, he had buyers lined up, in case he
decided not to kill me. Nice. Not only were my captors guilty of kidnapping,
but also human trafficking. I no longer believed there was a level they
wouldn’t stoop to.
The Doctor jotted
down a couple more notes
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