remain as calm as possible.”
Utter. Bullshit.
All of it. Her having sex with Brad the day of her Biology II final. Her marrying Brad as soon as she realized she was pregnant. Her trying to kill herself because Brad died in an accident.
Alone once more, she stared at the food on her tray: mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes, some kind of sandwich, and soup that was a disgusting shade of gray.
It doesn’t make sense.
The baby chose that moment to move.
Lisa was slowly growing accustomed to it. She was also getting used to seeing lumps—a knee or an elbow perhaps—slide across her belly as the baby shifted position.
Sighing, she reached for the fork. It just doesn’t make sense.
What doesn’t? a male voice asked in her head.
Startled, she sucked in a breath.
It doesn’t make sense.
Taelon woke slowly.
It just doesn’t make sense, the female voice murmured in his head. It was her, the woman he had heard just before the butchers had shocked him again.
What doesn’t? he asked, groggy from the drekking drug.
Silence.
He opened his eyes, unsurprised to discover he was lying where he usually did, strapped down on a cold metal table. Chill bumps formed on his exposed skin. Shivers shook his bare body, increasing the pain from the latest wounds the butchers had inflicted.
The room was empty. Had he imagined the voice?
What doesn’t make sense? he asked again. He needed something to take his mind off the pain.
Who said that? the woman responded. Her voice in his head was pleasant. Very expressive, too. He could hear the fear in it.
I did, he replied.
Who are you?
Was it a trick? Had his torturers found a telepath with whom they intended to manipulate him? Were there telepaths on Earth?
The Sectas hadn’t mentioned any, but there must be. He was talking to one.
Or was he speaking telepathically to her and merely hearing her response? A person didn’t have to be telepathic for him to communicate with him or her.
Once more he wondered if this was a ruse of some kind. Earthlings were very well versed in deceit, so it wouldn’t surprise him at all. I am a prisoner here, he replied. He wouldn’t give her his name. If he did, she might tell the butchers so they could use it to force his sister to do their bidding, wherever she was.
If she was.
Once more, grief assailed him at the thought that Amiriska might be dead.
A prisoner? the woman repeated. In the psych ward?
What is a psych ward?
The part of a hospital where they put patients who have mental or psychological issues.
This isn’t a hospital.
A pause ensued. He waited patiently to see if she would respond, if she would say something that would reveal her to be either a lure meant to elicit information or a fellow victim. The information he’d received from the Sectas indicated that Earth dwellers seemed to look for any excuse at all to treat each other badly. So it wouldn’t surprise him if they subjected fellow Earthlings to the same horrific live dissection he experienced.
This isn’t a hospital? the woman asked hesitantly.
No.
I don’t understand.
He frowned. Her confusion seemed unfeigned. You thought you were in a hospital?
Yes. I mean… sort of.
I don’t know how you could have confused this place with a medical facility. It looks nothing like one.
I’ve never seen the outside of it, she said, her words rife with worry. I was unconscious when they brought me here.
Ah.
If this isn’t a hospital, then what is it?
A military base.
A what? There was no mistaking her astonishment.
It’s a military base.
Why the hell would they lock me up in a military base?
I don’t know. Did you express displeasure over some military action they took, or perhaps protest your government’s rule? He wasn’t certain how their system worked.
No. Are you sure it’s military?
Yes. Haven’t you seen the soldiers?
I just woke up a couple of days ago, and they won’t let me leave my room.
Does someone bring you food? They didn’t deign to prepare him meals. They just fed him intravenously… when they wanted to. There had been a long stretch in the early months of his captivity in which they had starved him to see what effect it would have, how quickly it would weaken him, if such would kill him.
Yes.
The next time they do, try to see more of the hallway when they depart. But be subtle. They like to watch, so there may be cameras monitoring you.
Okay.
Minutes passed.
Are you still there? she asked.
Yes.
Why can I hear your voice in my head?
I’m telepathic.
Another pause. Did