More Than Human

Chapter 53: Life in Captivity

Gaz was getting tired of pacing. And the taste of the false sun soaking into his skin.

He was doing his best to keep himself alert and stretched out. He knew that's what Price would have him do. It had been a few days, at least that's what his best guess was, since he had been separated from the rest of the team.

In that time, he had been stripped of his clothes and belongings. The only things he wore now were some new burn scars from their last round of testing. They had been curious how quickly his flesh burned compared to that of a human. The answer was more. It hurt a lot, and it spread. After a day without water, so that he was dry, they had placed him in a clear chamber and had let it get all the way up his arm before sucking out all of the oxygen and CO2 inside. Killing the fire, but also leaving him inside until he passed out to see how long he could last.

He had just been glad they had used his right arm and not his left. He had managed to hold onto Tara by absorbing the dandelion into his skin. The stem wrapped around his whole arm like a tattoo, the blossom rested on his shoulder. It wasn't comfortable for the little plant, but Gaz was sure they would just throw him out otherwise.

He was grateful for the minimal company. His room was bare otherwise. There was a small pot full of fertilizer in the corner. He would occasionally stick his hands in it to absorb some of the minimal nutrients. It was the closest thing he had to food. They occasionally sent someone in to change to soil, shocking him until he collapsed to the ground to keep him away.

Outside of that, he continued to pace. It was the only way he could ignore the oppressive feeling of the walls that boxed him in on all sides. He was feeling steadily more and more anxious, and not just because of his captivity. Most dryads always had a connection to their deity or patron. It was one of the reasons that they hadn't given him some sort of plant companion. He ought to be able to just pray. But these people obviously didn't know about his situation.

He could handle time spent away from Price, but he was beginning to deteriorate. No proper food, little water, UV light instead of the sun, injuries, and his lack of contact with his Captain on top of all that was not helping.

He could always change. There was the pot with the soil after all. He could conserve energy between testing, and better absorb nutrients through his roots. But he was already scared and weak. He hated to change ever since going dormant. What if he couldn't change back? What if he got stuck like last time? And in his current state, it was much more likely that he would.

Either way, he might have to if this kept up.

He just needed to hope that they were found and retrieved before it came to that.

For now though, he continued to pace.

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Alejandro wasn't sure what to do. Rudy had previously told him that he knew he was safe as long as he was with him, but now his presence was actively making it so their captors could safely do him harm. But there was nothing to do except comply with Makarov's demands. He wouldn't let Rudy wither.

It must have been a week by now. Twice a day they would enter and drag Rodolfo out, hissing and thrashing as much as he could. Alejandro tried to fight them each time, but was eventually shocked enough that he was kept at bay. He could change without the need to drain something to change back, and he couldn't risk not being able to feed Rudy whenever he was returned to him.

Rudy was steadily weakening. He was covered in injuries, bruises, cuts, and burns. His Rodolfo was one tough son of a bitch, and took some serious damage before he would allow any tears to fall. Alejandro began to hope that he would fight a little less, he hated to see him like this and be unable to prevent it.

After their first harvest of tears, Rudy had come back with a gag over his mouth in addition to his neck shocker. Alejandro guessed that he had attempted to use his voice, or maybe even just his teeth. It was making him harder to feed, he didn't have lip access. He had to press all his kisses to his face.

Their cell was a cold tiled space. Alejandro wondered if it had once been a shower room. They had been provided one of the holding tanks, similar to the one Rudy had been trapped in when Alejandro had first met him. It was filled with water, and while sirens could withstand colder temperatures than most, with Rudy's energy constantly so sapped, he couldn't regulate his temperature like normal. The room was cold, and he quickly became miserable.

Alejandro would sit by the side of the tank and lean over slightly to cradle Rudy's head and feed him. Rudy could do nothing but shiver and whimper as the cold and dirty water aggravated his wounds.

"Not much longer, amor. I'm sure of it." Alejandro encouraged, against his temple. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself of it.

Rudy reached up and clung to his arm, squeezing his eyes shut. He could only hope that it was true. He did his best to hum around the gag, there was a little piece of metal that was clamped down on his tongue and extended farther back. He nearly choked trying to make a sound and wanted to sob. Alejandro gently shushed him and picked up the tune for him, rocking him gently.

He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.