Star Wars IX- Balance Of The Force

Chapter 13 - Within The Cell

Rey sat slumped against the prison cell wall, head in her hands, her elbows perched up, resting on her knees. How long had she been here? The dim lights in her cell never went off to give a sense of day or night. There had been no real food either to provide a time frame once some basic rations and water had been delivered. The agonised distant cries had been another constant, at times, there had been breaks, and Rey had tried to reach out with her feelings to check if Ben was still alive, but she was still numb, and she couldn't sense a thing. Sometimes, the screams came with a furious shaking of her surroundings, Ben's abilities returning, Rey guessed, but the roars of pain that followed were just that- roars. They were keeping him deadened from the Force during his torture; no risks were being taken. During one break in the howls, she'd meditated and started to feel that same awakening sensation she'd felt on Ahch-To, shortly after though the chrome stormtrooper had entered the cell with two other stormtroopers. Rey had been restrained against the wall, and the sharp prick on her arm and the numbing sensation confirmed the drug had been re-administered.

Several times, the chrome woman had entered with Hux and a Knight of Ren or a contraption- a dark metal globe that hovered on its independent repulsors. Metal arms protruded from its side, each equipped with delicate but barbaric instruments. With the Knight present, they had asked questions, and every time Rey had remained silent, the Knight had hit her- ribs and stomach mostly but also her legs and back. When the contraption was present, her silence had invoked its monstrous purpose. She had managed to restrain her outcries to muffled sounds against that particular interrogation. Her body ached now, and her face was moist from her tears; however, the tears were not for her physical pain. She'd been considering a way to escape, but everything involved being stronger or having the Force to trick a guard and then what? She felt hopeless even if she had the Force rescuing Ben, and the two of them escaping while injured, him badly, seemed utterly impossible. She'd escaped before but had used the Force. Poe had escaped before, but with Finn. She needed help. Would Poe come for her? Were resistance members on this ship? They were her and Ben's only hope.

It was quiet around her cell now, eerily so and had been for quite some time. No more screams, no roars, no vibrations, and Rey feared the worst. Her breath became unsteady as she tried not to panic. As if in answer to her unasked question, the door to her cell opened. She looked up and then stood. What was it this time? More injections? Maybe some food and water? She was hungry and weak, she had to admit, but that, indeed, was the least of her problems.

Two stormtroopers stood in the doorway, holding Ben, his legs dragged behind him, his head hung down, and his arms were being held above him by the troopers who were gripping him at the elbows. They unceremoniously flung him into the room, then another trooper from behind them placed a tray of food and water into the room and then closed the door.

Rey rushed to his crumpled body, "Ben? Ben?" she cried as she gently swept the hair from his face. He was unconscious but breathing, though it was shallow. Looking from his face, she permitted herself to look at the extent of the damage to his person. What she saw was worse than she had imagined seeing him from the other side of the screen, attached to that table with the machine above him. His body was a map of torture: deep red and yellow sores and blisters from the acid. Multiple puncture wounds riddled his arms, torso and legs from the needles and the dark purple veins were painted across his entire body, making his already fair skin seem translucent. A sizeable, angry red wound ran up the length of his back, weeping slightly. At least it didn't look infected; it had been stitched, although unskillfully. They'd also made a weak attempt to redress him, having only partially dressed him in simple black trousers; nothing was covering his torso, and his feet were bare.

Rey stood and retrieved the rough sheet from the metal platform. There was no way, even if she wasn't injured that she'd get him onto the bench- he was not a small person and lying on the floor, Ben's body seemed even more significant as his unconscious form filled the cell floor. Rey would have to do what she could for him where he lay. With a considerable effort, she managed as gently as she could to flip him over onto his back with the blanket beneath him. She rested his head upon her lap to support his head. Rey moistened the edge of the blanket with some water from the beaker and smoothed it across his face. Surprisingly his face was the one thing they'd left untouched, though his one eye was swollen from the fight in the hangar. She moistened the sheet again, parting his lips and squeezed the water in. She did this a few times, and eventually, he opened and closed his mouth on his own. Pulling the blanket over the top of him, cocooning him, she now brought the beaker to his lips and allowed small trickles to enter his mouth. It continued like that for a while, and then his eyes fluttered, and he looked up at her.