Lifeboat

26. Back Again

I kicked and lashed out, screaming at the attackers. Dante caught me with a glancing blow to the shoulder as he thrashed beside me to get to them.

"Argh!" I yelled more out of frustration than pain.

The net closed in tighter, scraping my cheek raw. I grappled with the ropes and attempted to smack away one particularly big person with their hands on one end of the net. They were pulling it down, pushing us off balance.

Dante was the first to crumble. Two assailants beat him to the ground with thick batons. My poor Alessandro had no strength left to fight anymore and he went down hard.

Roaring at them, I launched myself over his body to repay what I could for him. The sheer number of them overcame me in the blink of an eye. I hissed through the closely constricting ropes. Now my body was pinned to Dante's back, my movements controlled.

I forced my head up and received a crushing blow to the skull. The impact rattled my teeth, a dull pressure of heat grew steadily on the right side of my head. Through blurry eyes I caught sight of Marco. Behind the line of attackers, his arms waving, he strode up and slapped one of them across the back.

My eyes faded and my head swam. I collapsed fully onto Dante, no longer in control of my body.

*****

Bubbles. There were bubbles. Clicks and bubbles.

I could hear them around me. Pops and surges of liquid. My head throbbed and my face ached. Testing my limbs, I raised my arms to touch my sore cheeks. A strip of material covered my eyes. I pulled at it and tugged it down so I could take a look around.

Tied around my waist by synthetic bonds to a metal chair, it hurt me to move abruptly. I took a deep breath and regulated my heart rate.

I had been brought back to the room I had first escaped into after waking up to the medic with the needle. That would explain the bubbling sound. Checking my assumption, I tipped my head back and saw the large cylinders directly behind me.

So much for trusting Marco. Sneering to myself, I scanned the room available to my limited range of vision for signs of Dante. A flush of panic seized me as I recalled how hard he'd fallen under the blows.

At some point I had been dressed in a figure hugging black, long-sleeved top and leggings. My feet were still bare, but with the addition of creams and stitches across numerous lacerations. As I flexed them, sharp stings warned me not to over exert my wounds.

A click to the left alerted me to the fact that someone had opened the door in the wall. The door I had come through in what seemed like weeks ago.

I blinked rapidly, clearing the mist in my eyes but not the fog from my brain.

He stood about six foot five. Lean and dressed in a long coat of deep purple. His coat and trousers must have been made from an expensive material such as velvet, they moved softly as he strode towards me. The man had short blonde hair that spiked up from his pale skull. His elongated face subtly reminded me of Dante's, only slimmer.

Once he was standing in front of me, I realised where I had seen him before. Grey-blue eyes glared coldly into mine.

The Stare.

Sighing heavily, the man leaned down to me and grabbed the arms of my chair. A clinical scent, some form of chlorine wafted from him.

Transfixed under his scrutiny, a shiver shook my shoulders. I gripped the band around my waist, the tense muscles in my arms screamed in protest. A brief flash of recollection from my nightmare sparked me into action.

You're not hurting me this time.

I mustered all my strength to my legs, coiling the anger ready to strike. They'd left my legs untied.

Big mistake.

Kicking up with everything I had, the force of my effort flipped the chair backwards, crashing me to the ground. The man had let go of his grip and sprung away before I could hit the delicate targets between his legs.

From my position on the floor, I heard him clap his hands and laugh. A cruel loud laugh. Attempting to push myself upright, trapped strands of my hair ripped out painfully from my scalp. I ceased the struggle and listened to his solid steps as he approached.

Kneeling down beside me, he bobbed on his haunches, resting his arms on his thighs with hands clasped together. Steely eyes twinkled at me as he ran his tongue over his thin bottom lip.

"My, my, Miss Tander. You have come a long way."

His light, lyrical voice threw me off balance. It didn't match his stare.

"I'm glad your journey is over and you have made it back to where you belong. Congratulations, Poll. Job well done."

He rose to his full height and slammed his booted foot into the base of the chair. Shock waves of force rattled my buttocks and shot up through the base of my spine. For the first time, my cocky retorts froze in my throat. I had nothing.

"I can't wait to put you out of service."

What service?

My throat croaked wordlessly. The connection from my brain which was bursting with questions and anger had been severed. I couldn't speak! Was it stress? Injury? I thrust my hands across my throat searching for signs of damage. Nothing.

Grey-blue eyes stomped his path away from me. The vibration of his heavy footfalls reverberated in the back of my skull while I lay there, stricken on the floor. He called back to me in that weirdly attractive voice.

"Let's see what we can get out of the good Professor when he sees you here. You can seal her in now, thank you, Engineer."

Seal me in where?

Somebody else must be with him.

The title of 'Engineer' did nothing to calm my nerves. Tears welled up automatically. I fought them back, angry with myself for allowing them to sneak in.

Taps of a lighter pair of feet trotted my way. The top half of an older, much rounder man in a white lab coat came into view. His once black, curly hair peppered at the sides with grey. Red glasses perched on his large nose, his dark eyes exaggerated in size by the strength of the lenses.

"Come now, Poll, time for bed."

Even though his manner and tone were sympathetic, the words he'd used turned my blood cold. I wrenched my mouth open, begging my vocal chords to obey me. Nothing.

The Engineer pulled me up in the chair by my legs. Setting me straight again. Tears now streamed freely down my cheeks, rolling off the curve of my chin. My shoulders dropped and my entire body gave in to sudden intense fatigue. I had no fight left in me.

Through his magnified round glasses, the Engineer's gaze softened.

"Won't be long, Poll. One minute then you can rest."

Again, his reassuring words set me on edge. He slid behind the chair and moved my mess of hair to the side. I had a hot sensation on the base of my neck, between my shoulder blades and then... Nothing.