sound of finality to it. Karina slumped on the bench, leaning back against the concrete wall. Exhausted from her hike, the six hour drive, and the stress of her capture, she fell asleep sitting up. When she awoke hours later, her back was stiff and her legs sore.
Karina got up and stretched. She walked around the cell, swinging her arms. She felt a little better. Her stomach growled at her, demanding food. She ignored it, unable to comply. She rubbed at her fingertips where the ink hadn’t come off completely, and pulled at the waist of the scratchy jumpsuit they had forced her to wear. Well, she may not be free, but at least Fred wasn’t alive. Somehow that made her feel better.
A few minutes later two policemen entered her cell, cuffed her hands and feet and led her to their vehicle, for what she assumed was transport to a court or prison. At this point, she didn’t care which.
As they drove along, Karina stared out the window. People were living their lives; going to work, going to school, playing, fighting, loving. She wondered why being a part of that was so hard for her. She hadn’t felt like a whole person in a long time. She had hoped killing Fred would remedy that, but it hadn’t. She still felt disconnected.
The car slowed and turned into an alley, surprising Karina. Some tough-looking men were standing around, but when the cops got out of the car and glared at them, they found it prudent to be somewhere else. Pretty soon the alley was deserted. The driver turned and opened the back door, sliding in beside Karina. His partner did the same on the other side, squashing her between them. The driver pulled a pre-filled syringe from his pocket and grinned evilly at her.
Realizing this was not standard procedure, Karina began to struggle violently. The driver’s partner held her down while the driver pushed up her sleeve and inserted the needle into her shoulder, pushing the plunger down. His partner continued to hold her down until she went limp as the drug took effect. The two cops then let go of her, got back in the front of the car, and resumed driving.
Karina swam in and out of consciousness until they reached their destination. They pulled her from the car abruptly, making her head spin. She tried to walk, but her feet wouldn’t obey, since the chains to the cuffs on her feet made it difficult to walk even when sober. She tried to struggle, but even that seemed like a lot of effort. The cops half walked and half dragged her into a large metal building.
Karina stared around the foyer with bleary eyes. Something bothered her about this room. It wasn’t the man standing behind the built-in counter, or the man standing in front of it. It wasn’t even the two guards positioned at one of the two doors in the room. The bright lights reflected off painfully white walls, and there was no furniture in the room. She suddenly realized it was the lack of windows that made her skin crawl. Karina resumed her struggles, feeling an overwhelming desire to get out of the building. The two men at the counter stared at her, one angrily, the other curiously and a little sympathetically.
* * *
Agnar watched as two policemen brought a woman into the foyer where he was waiting. She wore an ugly orange jumpsuit, and her hands were cuffed and chained to her feet. She appeared to have been drugged, as she was having trouble walking, and without the support of the two policemen accompanying her, would not have been able to stand. Still, she managed to struggle enough to make their job difficult. Agnar could see a fire in her eyes despite the dulling effect caused by the drugs. He turned to the man behind the counter. “Who is she?” he asked, pointing at the woman.
The man glowered at the sight of her, and practically spat her name out. “Karina McKay. She murdered one of our members. We’re going to use her to test the cryogenic pod we create from your
Karina got up and stretched. She walked around the cell, swinging her arms. She felt a little better. Her stomach growled at her, demanding food. She ignored it, unable to comply. She rubbed at her fingertips where the ink hadn’t come off completely, and pulled at the waist of the scratchy jumpsuit they had forced her to wear. Well, she may not be free, but at least Fred wasn’t alive. Somehow that made her feel better.
A few minutes later two policemen entered her cell, cuffed her hands and feet and led her to their vehicle, for what she assumed was transport to a court or prison. At this point, she didn’t care which.
As they drove along, Karina stared out the window. People were living their lives; going to work, going to school, playing, fighting, loving. She wondered why being a part of that was so hard for her. She hadn’t felt like a whole person in a long time. She had hoped killing Fred would remedy that, but it hadn’t. She still felt disconnected.
The car slowed and turned into an alley, surprising Karina. Some tough-looking men were standing around, but when the cops got out of the car and glared at them, they found it prudent to be somewhere else. Pretty soon the alley was deserted. The driver turned and opened the back door, sliding in beside Karina. His partner did the same on the other side, squashing her between them. The driver pulled a pre-filled syringe from his pocket and grinned evilly at her.
Realizing this was not standard procedure, Karina began to struggle violently. The driver’s partner held her down while the driver pushed up her sleeve and inserted the needle into her shoulder, pushing the plunger down. His partner continued to hold her down until she went limp as the drug took effect. The two cops then let go of her, got back in the front of the car, and resumed driving.
Karina swam in and out of consciousness until they reached their destination. They pulled her from the car abruptly, making her head spin. She tried to walk, but her feet wouldn’t obey, since the chains to the cuffs on her feet made it difficult to walk even when sober. She tried to struggle, but even that seemed like a lot of effort. The cops half walked and half dragged her into a large metal building.
Karina stared around the foyer with bleary eyes. Something bothered her about this room. It wasn’t the man standing behind the built-in counter, or the man standing in front of it. It wasn’t even the two guards positioned at one of the two doors in the room. The bright lights reflected off painfully white walls, and there was no furniture in the room. She suddenly realized it was the lack of windows that made her skin crawl. Karina resumed her struggles, feeling an overwhelming desire to get out of the building. The two men at the counter stared at her, one angrily, the other curiously and a little sympathetically.
* * *
Agnar watched as two policemen brought a woman into the foyer where he was waiting. She wore an ugly orange jumpsuit, and her hands were cuffed and chained to her feet. She appeared to have been drugged, as she was having trouble walking, and without the support of the two policemen accompanying her, would not have been able to stand. Still, she managed to struggle enough to make their job difficult. Agnar could see a fire in her eyes despite the dulling effect caused by the drugs. He turned to the man behind the counter. “Who is she?” he asked, pointing at the woman.
The man glowered at the sight of her, and practically spat her name out. “Karina McKay. She murdered one of our members. We’re going to use her to test the cryogenic pod we create from your
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