Book 2 Chapter 57: The Heat
The hunger of the first several days was not as bad as Id experienced in the past. As it was since Id entered the deadzone, the radiation that surrounded me seemed to be sustaining me somehow, though it wasnt perfect, and I found myself hoping another rat would wander into my cell as my stomach ached. The First would visit over those three days. Talking at me as he ate a massive plate of fresh meat a few feet from my cell. I had a feeling he knew that wouldnt be enough to break me, he was just enjoying himself.
On the fourth day, five men came to my cell. I stayed perfectly still as they dragged me out, waiting for them to get close and make a mistake, but they were careful. They kept their hands away from my mouth, covered my eyes immediately, and beat me to keep me disoriented. I was hauled across the building and felt myself slammed onto a table. Each of my limbs was removed from restraints individually, then slapped into thick metal cuffs on the table. Once that was done, my clothes were cut off and cold water was thrown on me. I was grateful, Id been forced to sit in my filth for days at this point, and that was the closest thing Id had to a bath in a long time. Besides which, the black cloak Id taken from the Bunker in Ren territory had been shredded, and the rest of my clothes were no better after the last few months.
A few more buckets of water were thrown on me. The cold was a shock, but I managed to catch some in my mouth to soothe my dry throat. I heard a light whistle start up on the other side of the room, and the sounds of a tray being moved slowly over to me. I had flashbacks to my experience with Jantai. I decided to strain against the restraints, putting all my strength into it as I did so, but they didnt budge. Unlike the last few times Id been restrained, this time they didnt underestimate my strength.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. No need for that. This is only an introduction, and we havent even started yet.New novel chapters are published on
It was a womans voice. High pitched, and friendly. I heard the tray move closer to me.
We wont get to the really exciting stuff until I can determine exactly what your healing threshold is. Mary seems to believe its at the high end and she paused, and I felt a number of uncomfortable pokes and prods, Im inclined to think shes correct, but we still need to determine exactly where on the high end you are.
I reached out and grabbed the bars of my cell again. I focused, drawing the heat in to myself, and this time, rather than letting it leak out from all over I tried to direct it, tried to move it through my palms. I felt it build, and build, the heat increasing until my hands were burning from the heat even as it flowed from them. I pushed it hotter, and thats when the metal started to glow, and bend. I pushed, and the bars started to give way, but not enough. They were too thick, even with my strength and new ability. The name energy dispersal made a lot more sense now.
I sighed and sat down against the wall. It wasnt enough for the thick bars of my cell, but that didnt mean it wouldnt work on thinner metal. The manacles and chains Id so recently been bound with for instance. It would be risky, but not any more than trying to escape from a belowground cell with only one entrance and exit. Besides that, even if it didnt go how I was planning, I could still almost certainly guarantee a free hand and a few seconds, which would be at least enough to buy a bit of satisfaction.
I stood back up and stretched, finally able to fully extend my body after days of being restrained was very appreciated. At the same time, I let the heat flow out of me until it was in balance with the radiation I seemed to be absorbing passively. In spite of my hunger and recent torture, I found myself in better spirits than I had been in some time.
I had a path forward, and a way out. I worked out a loose plan in my head. I didnt want it to be point by point, as there was too much that I didnt know and Id certainly need to improvise at points, but there were a few key factors I needed to manage no matter what. Id need to escape my restraints, find my gear, ensure I couldnt be tracked again, and get back to the explosives Id stored. Id need firepower to kill the first, and I wasnt certain he could be killed by anything else I had access to. I wasnt sure he was the fighter I was, but whether he was or not wouldn't matter if I managed to get the drop on him with bombs.
I still hadnt heard anything about what Id done in the weapons factory in the west, which meant that either the former slaves had made a run for it, were too afraid to do anything after all, or were moving carefully, doing what they could to maximize their chances. I hoped that it was the last option, but they owed me nothing, and I knew I couldnt rely on whatever distraction they might cause, particularly as deep as I was in a deadzone.
I stretched out one last time and started taking deep slow breaths. I wasnt sure when Id be able to sleep again once things started back up. I needed to take my rest where I could get it.