A Hero In The Dark

Chapter 29: Layers of Dread

I can hear voices pass by us as I am dragged to somewhere unknown.

The ground that I am dragged on seems to change from the polished floor of the ship, to soft grass, to rough gravel that hurts my skin.

The sound echoes and I assume I've been taken inside somewhere. The ground is cold – colder than it was before – and uneven. I groan when I go across a bump in the path.

The time being spent hauled along stony and jagged grounds is long and aching, causing my entire body to become sore.

Until eventually, I am dropped.

I lie on the ground with my wrists bound tightly behind me and my vision obscured. I hear a deep grunt and I am picked up and chained to a wall with steel bonds, my feet unable to touch the floor.

I sense someone in front of me though I don't know who they are.

They rip the blindfold off my head but leave the gag. My head jerks forward at the sudden motion.

A Mogadorian. Tall, pale, dark eyes that may as well be black in the near darkness, and a bald head.

The Mogadorian exits the room, leaving me to dangle alone by my wrists in silence. If I could scream, I would. If I could cry out loud, I would. But I can't. All that shows are wet tears leaking from my fearful eyes.

I try to pull away from the chains, but they don't budge. There is nothing I can do but wait; stay here and wait for something to happen.

It isn't long before the door to the room opens and the same large man walks in, the light from outside allowing me to make out his menacing figure. The door shuts behind him and he approaches.

I can't speak a word, yet I can feel my heart pounding with fresh nervousness. The chains around my wrists rattle with fear. The man must notice because he smiles at me. It's infuriating; though I'm far too scared to be angry right now. I just want to go home.

Slowly and delicately, he stretches a hand toward my face. I try to inch away from him, pinning my back firmly against the cold stone, but in the end, it is pointless.

His hand touches my cheek and I wince at the cold of his fingertips.

Finally, he removes my gag and speaks, "This can be painless, Emily."

Just hearing him speak my name brings a chill up my spine.

"Who are you?" I ask, my voice very much trembling.

"My name is Setrákus Ra. Leader of the Mogadorian Empire. Conqueror of Lorien. Commander. Beloved Leader," he answers directly without emotion. 

Another chill shoots through me. The Enemy of the Loric. Threat to my people. Murderer. Villain. He has just called me by name.

"How do you know my name?" my voice communicates without thinking.

He smiles; replies, "I know much about you. I know much of your past, the present, and your future," he says.

Everything about him terrifies me.

"Wh–what do you want?" I stammer, tears flowing down my cheeks.

"You shall not be afraid dear child. All you must do is answer one question. Then you are free to go," he begins.

I'm scared. I don't know what to do.

I start thinking of John. What would he do if he were in my situation? It's easy to find an answer. Fight him of course. He'd never back down when faced against the enemy of his people. But John has legacies. He's more capable of getting out of this situation than me. I don't have powers. I'm only human; and there's nothing I can possibly do to get out of this alive. Just thinking about it makes me sob. My entire body is trembling. My heart is pounding. There's no doubt Setrákus Ra can notice my fear; he can see me cry.

Between sops, I ask the question that I know he is waiting for me to ask, "What is it that you want?"

"Tell me where the Garde are hiding," he states coldly.

I was afraid he would say that; well, more accurately, I was afraid the moment he walked into the room.

I don't know how to respond to that. Setrákus Ra cannot know where the Garde are. I can't tell him the location of Nine's safehouse. But what else do I do?

No. I can't. Whatever happens, I can't give him what he wants.

"I'm not telling you anything. Just let me go," I say, full of tears yet trying to speak with a stable voice.

All he does is smile and says, "I think we both know that's not happening."

At that very moment, I feel a burning sensation in the both of my wrists. It's excruciatingly painful. I've never felt anything like it.

I scream.

As if a strange acidic substance is burning its way through my skin. I look up and can see they are nearly covered with a sickly green ooze.

I rest the back of my head on the cold cement wall and grit my teeth, trying to fight through the pain. I dread looking into the frightening Leader's eyes, so I don't.

"I have much more in store for you if you refuse to cooperate. This is your chance to comply. Otherwise, I am afraid your time here will be much more unpleasant," Setrákus Ra says as he watches me suffer.

I don't say anything other than harsh screams. It hurts all too much. 

"Answer my questions and I will let you go," he adds.

He's bluffing. There's no way he would let me go. I'm nothing than a valuable prize for him. Like a guy that struck gold in a casino. He has me captured; a girl who has access to all the information. All of Pittacus Lore's words. The answers. The mistakes. Everything. And he knows it. But he won't get anything. I will not tell him a single word. I know he won't kill me, not yet at least.

My breathing hasty and voice dim, I reply, "You're wasting your time. I won't talk."

He slowly approaches me once more and stops so he's inches away from my face. I cannot avoid looking into his pure black eyes. I gulp nervously.

"Then you will die," he says coldly and wedges his staff up to my throat, lifting my chin up so I keep his gaze.

I expect an immense pain to arise when the staff makes contact, but none comes. Instead I feel a numbing sensation and none at all. I can finally catch my breath. I'm thankful for the loss of pain. Apart from the staff wedged into my throat, I feel a sense of peace inside me.

"You shall consider yourself lucky girl. I am showing you mercy. Now answer the question," he tries again.

I take a deep breath while I can.

"I'm not- I'm not telling you shit," I stumble.

With a dissatisfied grunt, he rips the staff away and as soon as it leaves my throat, the pain returns. I scream again as I feel the green ooze sizzling into my flesh.

The torture lasts for two whole days. I haven't been let down. My arms are aching; I've lost all feeling in both of my arms hours into the first day of torment. I'm tired. I'm hungry; and I can feel my stomach growing lean. My wrists still burn in agony, even though I'm sure the green ooze diminished.

I haven't spoken a single word since that very first day. Most of the time, Setrákus Ra just leaves me alone in the room to hang by my wrists, stopping by only to ask one question and inflict pain on me.

It's always the same: where are the Garde hiding? Silence. Then pain. Always pain.

Sometimes I wonder whether he forgot about me, but Setrákus Ra always comes back. He doesn't give up; I kind of wish he would.

The door opens. For a second I think it's Setrákus Ra coming to see if I'm ready to talk. Soon to find out that it's not. It's a Mogadorian. He approaches casually to undo my shackles. As he does, I whisper weakly to him, "Please. Let me go."

He doesn't reply.

I know it's futile, but I had to try anyway. He releases me from the shackles, and I fall to my knees. As I rub my wrists to ease the soreness from the chains, he blindfolds me and grabs me by the back of my shirt collar, dragging me away.