What Following Brings (6 page)

Aaron
opened the door
and went
still
. Sergeant Dale whipped around, appearing just as horrified to be caught visiting her as Aaron was. The two of them eyeballed each other, and Sergeant Dale cleared his throat.

“
What are you doing here,
Corporal
?
”
Sergeant Dale asked.

“
I
'
m sorry, sir,
”
Aaron said
.
“
The door was open.
”

Eden
gazed
from Sergeant Dale to Aaron and then back again. The two of them shifted positions awkwardly.

“
I have something to do downstairs,
”
Sergeant Dale said, cutting his eyes to Aaron and appearing gruff again. He shoved Aaron aside and walked out the door, but he did not shut it. Eden heard his footsteps as he disappeared.

“
Whoa,
”
Aaron said, his head still
down
.
“
What was he doing in here? He didn
'
t hurt you, did he?
”

“
I think he
'
s on our side, Aaron,
”
Eden said.
“
Or, at least, he
'
s beginning to be. I
'
m not one hundred percent sure what
'
s the matter with him. But more importantly, tell me what
'
s happening with Adanna. Is she okay?
”

“
Yes, she
'
s in a cell on the bottom floor,
”
Aaron said.

So the digging Satan Spawn didn
'
t get her.
Thank heavens
.
Eden sighed in relief. At least she didn
'
t have to worry about
Adanna
anymore, but she did have to concentrate on getting out of this cell b
efore General Yuri got here
—
or before she became crazy.
Whichever
came first.

Eden bit her bottom lip and stared at the floor. Aaron walked over and hugged her before she had time
to digest what was happening. For a moment he patted her back and she felt so awkward she moved her hands
over his back
several times, unsure of where to place them. Finally Aaron let her go and she exhaled a sigh of relief.

“
What was that about?
”
Eden asked, frowning at him.

“
I just thought it looked like you needed it,
”
Aaron said, grinning at her.

I hope he doesn
'
t do that again,
she thought, running her hand through her hair.

“
Listen, have you figured out how to get me out of here?
”
Eden asked.

“
Only the sergeants and above have keys,
”
Aaron said.
“
I
'
m trying to figure out a way to get one
permanently. I didn
'
t lie to Sergeant Dale. I
'
ll be suspected if I use this key and let you out, so I think it would be best to figure out a better plan of action.
”

Her eyes widened as a plan formed. She knew how to get out of here. She just had to figure out how to do it.

“
No, Eden, do not try to get the key off of Sergeant Dale,
”
Aaron said.
“
He
'
s been here a long time.
He won
'
t give it to you.
”

“
It
'
s the only way,
”
Eden said, staring at Aaron in determination.
“
And besides, he owes me. I bet,
in
some time, I can convince him to get us out of here.
”

“
Remember what happened with your plan with the Raiders?
”
Aaron asked.
“
You were goin
g to lead them down to the camp
and then you
'
d rescue your friends? Well, you did that, and you got capture
d anyway. It
'
s going to happen again.
Do not
risk it, Eden. General Yuri is coming tomorrow and he is bringing a hundred men. On top of that, he
'
s known for being paranoid. You won
'
t be able to get around him with a scheme like this.
”

“
Do you have any better ideas?
”
Eden asked.
“
You know I have
to get out of here. I have to do whatever I can.
”

The next day
,
Eden heard the sound of
someone unlocking her door
;
sh
e sat up quickly and then watched as Sergeant Dale opened
it
. At first she thought it was a personal visit and
grinned
at him but
then
she saw the dark, tense
,
expression on his face
and knew
he was
in her cell
for work purposes.
It made her cringe.

As Eden
gazed
at him, Sergeant Dale said,
“
General Yuri
'
s here, and he
'
s going to meet with you. Now.
”

Eden gulped as fear filled her from her toes to her head. She imagined General Yuri. Probably he was a lot like Commander Donavan with hard, cold eyes and pale, pasty skin. The type of man who would eat his own children for breakfast.

Sergeant Dale walked into her cell and grabbed her arm, knocking her from her thoughts. He pulled her forward into the hallway where she was met
by
guards, ones she had never seen before.
They each wore a pendant with two swords crossing each other
, and they all wore serious, no
-
nonsense expressions.
Yuri
'
s men,
Eden realized, shooting a worried look at Sergeant Dale.

“
We will take the girl from here,
”
one of the men said, stepping forward.

“
I think it
'
s best I come too,
”
Sergeant Dale said, squeezing her arm. Protecting her.

“
No,
those aren
'
t your orders
,
”
the same man said.
“
Leave the girl.
”

Before Sergeant Dale could protest again, the man reached forward, seized Eden, and forced her arms painfully behind her back before she had time to blink. She felt rough rope around he
r wrists and whimpered as the ma
n bound her. Eden shot a fearful look at Sergeant Dale who watched her with his arms slack at his sides. She was forced to turn away from him, though, as Yuri
'
s men began to march, dragging her with them.

They reached the end of the hallway where there was yet another flight of wooden stairs. A soldier pointed a sword at her back.

“
Go up them,
”
he said.

Eden scurried up the stairs, startled by how much having her hands bound could cause a problem for her balance. Once she reached the top step, she
gazed
down the hallway and saw there were no cells here. Unused doors remained open, revealing that the rooms inside were similar to a doctor
'
s examination room.
She heard the distant sound of buzzing and whispering, as if she was not alone.
Realization struck.

I
'
m about to get tortured, aren
'
t I?
She gulped.

“
Keep going,
”
the soldier said, kneeing her forward.

Eden scurried forward and walked down the hallway.
The party stopped at a door that was ajar, and Eden saw the hands of a man balanced on a wooden table inside.
His
knuckles
were clenched.

Before Eden had time to
react, one of the soldiers opened the door all the way. She was pitched forward
into the room. She lost her balance and fell over
. As
she straightened up, she felt fear radiate through her entire soul.

“
General Yuri, this is the girl,
”
the man said.

“
Thank you, Lieutenant Murray,
”
Yuri said.
“
Shut the door. I don
'
t need you for this.
”

“
Yes, sir.
”

Squeaking with fear, Eden straightened up and got her first view of Yuri and was stunned. She had expected an older, cold
-
eyed man. Instead Yuri was young, probably in his mid to late twenties. He had light brown hair and blue-green eyes. He was thin and tall, probably about six feet. He and Commander Donovan were different, she realized. Donovan had coldness and emptiness in his eyes, and Yuri had sadness, melancholy, and anger.

“
So you
'
re the woman
who has
been giving us so much trouble,
”
Yuri said, frowning at her.
“
I am surprised.
”

“
So am I,
”
Eden blurted out.

Anger filled Yuri
'
s eyes
, and she knew she had said the wrong thing
.
She bit her bottom lip and stole a fleeting look at the door. She wasn
'
t sure what Yuri was capable of.
For a moment he shut his eyes as if to calm himself and then opened them again,
appearing less agitated
. He was in control of his anger
.
His control
did
n
'
t
mean, though,
that
he
was unwilling
to hurt her.

“
Don
'
t think about it,
”
Yuri said, also looking at the door.
“
I would catch you before you even had it open.
”