Cave of Shadows

Rebirth

Chapter 1 – Connor’s POV

When I woke up, I was lying down on my side with my head resting on something soft.  The surface I was lying on seemed to be vibrating minutely, almost as if we were moving.  Then, I looked around, and realized that I was lying in a truck bed with about 6 other people.  One of them was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress with blood stains all across the front.  Her face was bleeding from a cut just above her left eye and her hair was slightly disheveled.  She was almost unrecognizable as the girl I had almost married.

Only then did I remember Rachel, and how I had absolutely no idea what had happened to her.  Quickly, I began to panic, and tried to sit up only to find that I was way too dizzy to do so.  In the process of lying back down, I saw what I was lying on.  Or who, to be more precise.

“Did you have a nice nap?”

Rachel was still wearing her maid of honor dress, along with her engagement ring, but her lip was split and bleeding, and all over her arms, chest and neck were bruises in the shapes of handprints.  What had happened to her?

“Are you alright?”

“Can’t complain.  Well, I mean, I could, but considering the circumstances, what exactly do you think that would achieve?”

I rolled so that Rachel was on top of me instead of the other way around and put my arms around her.  From this new vantage point, I could clearly see that the bruises were much more widespread and numerous than I had first thought.

“Rachel?  Where did all these bruises come from?”

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret, now would it?”

I took her chin gently in my hand and turned her face towards mine.  “It must be really bad if you don’t want me finding out about it,” I said seriously.

Rachel took a deep breath before speaking, as if she were trying to summon the courage to do so.

“Under the Justice Building, there is a secret network of holding cells where… where…”

“Where what, Rachel?”  I was beginning to get really worried, because she wouldn’t look me in the eye, and the smile she had had when I first woke up was replaced by a blank, unreadable expression.

“Where they do things to people.  They took me there after the wedding, and when I woke up from the chloroform, I was tied down to this gurney.  I was alone for a little while, but then the door opened, and half a dozen huge guys came in, and they-“  Her words were choked by her tears, but I had already gotten the picture.

"What did they want to know?"

"They wanted details of our dealings.  How we met, whether or not the baby was actually yours, what our plans were for escape.  I think they thought we had some kind of malicious plot worked out or something, and they wouldn't listen to me when I told them that it wasn't true."

She continued, bawling.  “And I fought them, so they hurt me, and I still fought, so they hurt me worse, and when I still wouldn’t cooperate, they knocked me out and continued on their merry way, I assume,” she wailed.  “And then they dragged me to this truck, and I woke up to find you in a very scary pool of blood on the floor of the truck about 15 minutes ago!”

“So then you dragged me up here off the floor and on top of you, right?  How did you stop the bleeding?”

She seemed grateful for the change of subject, because the sobbing abated considerably.  “My dress is made of a nice gauzy material that’s perfect for bandages.  I just used some of that.”

I smiled at her.  “You’re a resourceful one, aren’t you?”

She grinned sadly.  “You have no idea.”

Then she was kissing me, and for just a few minutes none of the rest of the world mattered.  It didn’t matter that there were 6 other people in the truck, one of them being my almost wife, or that the truck we were on just happened to be speeding towards our doom, or the fact that the love of my life had just been tortured and I was powerless to stop it.  None of that mattered right now, because all that mattered in this moment was how much we loved each other.  I don’t think we ever would have stopped if someone hadn’t come at me from behind and violently yanked her off of me and pulled us both to the truckbed floor.

The EM kicked me in the stomach repeatedly until I was coughing up blood.  He then turned to Rachel, grabbed her by her hair, and dragged her off the bench to the ground.  He then proceeded to sit on top of her, and pulled a knife out which he then brought up to her left forearm.  That’s when I saw red.  I went for the guy’s throat, but he seemed to expect this and was ready for me with a punch to my windpipe.  I gasped for air.

“Shut up and stay out of this,” the man said.  He then started to carve something into Rachel’s arm, who responded with a piercing scream of pain.  After a while, he stopped carving and put his knife away.  Rachel had passed out around halfway through, and she lay motionless on the ground with blood running down her arm.  The man pulled a spray bottle of something out of his pocket and sprayed the fresh wound with it.  I got a glimpse of what he carved into her arm: 745310.  A serial number.  They were marking us before we were entered into the system.

  He held up Rachel’s arm for my inspection.

“I’d say this will scar nicely, wouldn’t you, Antony?  Oh yes, Cleopatra’s arm will be scaring up real nice.”  He dropped her arm on the bed of the truck carelessly, and then came over to me.

“You’re next, Antony.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author’s Note

Well, guys, here is the first chapter of the new book.  Its title is a reference to Plato’s Allegory of the Caves that the Minister mentioned in the last chapter of Bread and Circuses.  Here’s a refresher on what it means, since it’s kind of important to like THE ENTIRE BOOK.  The video is posted on the side.  It’s really cool Claymation, very Wallace and Grommet.  Enjoy!

I don’t really have much to say today in the way of begging, threatening, bribing and pleading with you to vote, comment and fan.  I just really wish you would, is all I’m saying.  It would really make me happy if you saw fit to vote, comment and fan, and if you don’t, well then, I just might cry.

This chapter is dedicated to RahneStorm for her unwavering loyalty.  Unlike many of you, she actually votes and comments and fans!  She's also awesome.  For that reason, I have dedicated this chapter to her.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to vote, comment and fan!