Myra sat against the wall with her forehead resting on her knees. The room itself was very small. It was originally a cleaning closet, but had been hastily modified. Giant foam pads were placed along all the walls, ceiling, and floor to absorb the sound, which made the room even smaller. There was a small hole placed at the bottom of the door for food, and a larger hole placed in one of the walls for an air conditioner.
She wanted so desperately to sleep, but couldn’t. There were 3 primary reasons for this. First there were bright lights mounted on the ceiling. They were so bright it hurt her eyes to look up, even if she didn’t look directly at them.
Second, there was loud music playing non-stop. It was something with a heavy base line. The vibrations not only shook the entire room, but also seemed to penetrate to Myra’s bones. She hadn’t paid attention to it for days. It might as well have been machinery or a jackhammer.
The final reason was that it was very cold. There was an air conditioner installed in this tine broom closet of a room and was running non-stop since they put her in there. To make matters worse, they also took all of her clothes.
When they first put her in this room, she use to try and hide her body from the video camera, and wonder who was watching her and what they were doing. That seemed like weeks ago. It had been a long time since she cared.
Now she would gladly let whoever it was watch her in person just to have some human interaction. She had no interaction from anyone since they put her in this room. Food arrived from a small slot under the door, just bread and water. The music kept her from hearing anything outside of this room. She had convinced herself that the aliens had attacked and killed everyone already, and that they decided to leave her in this room forever. She prayed for them to find her and kill her. The room was completely empty or she would have done it herself.
The door suddenly opened. Myra’s heart leapt to her throat. She was so glad they didn’t just leave her in the room forever; she wanted to jump up and hug the two men that entered the room. They both wore masks so she couldn’t see their faces.
Neither man spoke as they grabbed her and half pulled, half dragged her out of the room and down the hall. They took her to another room that was much bigger and much darker than her cell. The men sat her in a chair at a table near one end of the room. The men then disappeared behind a bright light that was shining directly in her face.
She could see movement behind the light, but couldn’t tell who or how many people were there. She couldn’t help but smile. She was just grateful to be around people, anyone, again.
She wrapped her hands around herself, not to hide her nude body, but to try and warm up. The room was much warmer than her cell, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from shaking.
A man sat down across the table from her. He was white and wore a suite. He seemed to be quite tall, perhaps 6 and a half feet, but she couldn’t make out his face. He didn’t say anything for a full minute.
“Usually guys buy me drinks before I allow them to see me naked,” Myra said between chattering teeth. The man didn’t react at all to her. “I can’t even get a pity laugh?” she said. Still the man ignored her. “Well at least this is going better than most of my dates,” she said. “Oh come on, that one was pretty good!”
The man handed over a plain vanilla folder. Myra just stared at it. Truthfully she really didn’t care what was inside. The man reached over, opened it, and put it right under Myra’s face. She glanced at the first page. Her father’s signature caught her eye.
She read the document from the beginning. It was a document ordering her torture, and was signed by her father. She closed her eyes and began to cry. She wanted to be angry, but she just didn’t have the energy. Tears fell freely down her cheek and dripped onto the papers.
“Nobody believes your Myra,” the man said. “Not even her own father.” Myra was barely registering his voice. She felt as if she just learned her father was dead. No, it was worse than that. It was like she had been tricked into believing she had a father, but it turned out to be a lie.
“Tell us who you really are, and why you are here,” the man said in a forceful tone. “Tell us what you are planning.” Myra ignored him. Her tears continued to pour onto the table.
“Answer me and we will let you talk a warm shower, and let you sleep in a bed,” the man said in a gentle tone. “Just admit who you really are, and we will let you sleep tonight.”
“I’m a Biaz soldier,” she said. She would have said anything to make it all stop. She knew they might kill her if they believed her, but she didn’t care.
“If your telling the truth, then tell me your real name,” the man said.
Myra tried to think of a way to convince him, but she was too tired. Instead she just remained silent.
“Tell us the truth,” he said. He reached across the table and put his hand on her shoulder. “I can make this all go away, if you just tell me the truth.” He had a soothing voice. Myra enjoyed listening to him speak.
“I’ll tell you what ever truth you want, just let me go,” she said. He withdrew his hand. Myra still couldn’t make out his face, but she could tell he was disappointed.
He turned and motioned to someone behind him. The two men in masks came from beyond the lights and grabbed Myra again. They took her to a small metal tub in the corner of the room, and threw her in.
Ice-cold water pierced her skin. It felt like she was punctured by thousands of needles. The shock forced her to take a heavy breath. Before she could breath out the men forced her under the water. She struggled against their grasps, but lacked the strength to overcome them. They held her there for what seemed like forever.
Finally they allowed her to raise her head just above the water. She continued to struggle, but they held her in place. The man that was questioning her came forward so she could see his face. He was an older gentleman, mid to late 40s. He was bolding, with hair along the sides of his head, but none on top. He wore glasses with thin brown frames.
“Just tell us why you are here,” he said in a soothing voice. “Just do this for us, and we will give you clothes, and a warm bed. We will even give you hot chocolate if you want some.”
“Please make them stop,” she pleaded. “I’ll do whatever you say. I promise. Just make it stop.” The men held her under the water again for several minutes.
“You’re the only one that can make it stop,” he said sympathetically.
She wished she were an alien come to destroy the world. She tried to think of something to tell them that would make them stop. She could think of nothing, so she just continued pleading with the man through her tears.
Another woman appeared behind the man. Myra couldn’t quite make out what she looked like. It was too dark near where she was standing. “Please,” Myra pleaded to her “Make them stop. Please. I’ll do anything.”
The woman walked towards Myra. As she stepped into the light shock forced Myra to stop her pleading. The woman looked exactly like Myra. Every detail of her, from they way she looked, to the way she moved, to her choice of makeup and hairstyle. She even had on Myra’s favorite clothes.
The woman knelt next to the tub and put her hand on Myra’s face. It felt warm and comforting. A strange contrast to the ice water she was in, which was still causing sharp pain across her entire body. She gave Myra a warming smile, but Myra saw something sinister in her eyes. It frightened her. “Who are you?” Myra asked.
“Now is not the time to worry about who I am,” the man said, thinking she was talking to him.
The strange woman broadened her smile, but didn’t answer. “Can you make them stop? Please, I’ll do what ever you want,” Myra asked.
“I’m afraid I can’t sweetie,” she said. “I wish I could. What I can do is make you stop.”
Myra wasn’t sure if she meant by that, but she didn’t much care either. The woman reached out with her other hand to Myra’s face. The moment she touched Myra, Myra lost consciousness.
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