THE END

Chapter 21

It's been hours.

Everyone left besides the maniacal man with the ice cold eyes, who I've learned is called Leonard. He's run countless tests on me and Neil, including X-rays, and all different kinds of scans.

Eventually he puts a curtain over Neil's cage so we can't even see each other. Then he walks toward me with slow steps and a menacing smile.

I look around for any sign of help, or reassurance, but there's none.

He reaches my table and uncuffs just one hand at a time, quickly recuffing them. In this manner he removes my jacket and boots roughly, leaving me in a tank top and pants. I suppose this way I'll be subject to even more tests.

His ice cold eyes pierce my gaze, and he says, "Now that I've got the basic tests out of the way, we're going to play a game."

His smile broadens and I do my best to shrink away as he comes closer. He whispers, "I'm going to get inside your mind. And if you won't tell me what I want to know, I will pry it out of you."
He sticks something to the back of my head, and then something to his own. Then he adds a second cord to my head, which I notice runs all the way across the room to a large black box in the corner.

"Are you ready to begin?" He asks.

I don't reply.

He flips a switch and suddenly I feel a sort of buzzing coming from the patch on the back of my head. Then without warning there's a humming sound in my mind, and then I hear his voice. His lips aren't moving, but his voice echoes through my consciousness.

I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you're going to answer, or else this will get... interesting. First question: Who was the leader on Jupiter?

I don't respond, or show any sign of hearing what he said. He glares at me. Suddenly I feel a burning sensation in my head, like he lit my thoughts on fire. It hurts to even keep my eyes open, or register anything he tells me.

I will ask one more time. Who is the leader on Jupiter?

I say nothing again, barely even hearing his words. I feel myself drifting into unconsciousness from the pain, but the pain is in my consciousness so it doesn't stop. It hurts to hear him speak, as if his voice is physically piercing my mind.

I know you want to tell me. Wouldn't it be nice to have the pain stop? To just give in and make everything better? You're only hurting yourself by resisting.

Another wave of pain hits me and I feel myself cry out, although I can't hear or see anything. A vision of his cold, cold eyes comes into my mind and the pain gets stronger. I gasp and gasp for air, just praying the pain will stop.

Fine! I cry out in my mind. I'll tell you what you want to know.

The pain immediately lowers and I drift fully back into consciousness. I open my eyes to see his staring back at me, the lines on his face twisted into a cruel smirk.

Just as I thought. Now, who is the leader on Jupiter?

I take a moment to phrase my answer, not sure how much to tell him. There were multiple leaders. The one that stood out to me the most was Allon Starboard, but he was killed in a fight against your people. The Mars men shot him through the heart with an arrow.

What of the other leaders?

I don't know what's become of them. I assume a few are still alive, but they didn't have much of a plan for Jupiter. We knew we couldn't win against Mars, it was a suicide mission.