Chapter 11

Aaron held up a hand and I stopped, looking down at the edge of the table. Did I say something wrong? I thought back over what I said and then it snapped into clarity.

Nick.

I told him Nick was an escaped POW.

Oh god.

Nick.

Nick, I am so sorry.

I risked a glance up at Aaron, expecting him to demand more information about Nick on the spot. He only smiled gently and lowered his hand to the desk.

“You’re afraid,” he said.

“I’m committing treason, should I be smiling?” I asked. “People are being hurt because of what I did, should I be laughing? Why would I be happy, if people lost their lives because of me?”

He doesn’t want to know more about Nick?

Aaron’s lips pursed and he leaned back in his seat. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, well…he stared at me, I looked back for a little while before pretending to become extremely interested in one of the scorch marks on my leg.

“You are safe here, Tawny. Those things should make you feel guilty, not afraid,” Aaron said. “What are you afraid of?”

My lip began to quiver as the words filled my throat, threatening to spill over my lips in a heap.

“Are you afraid of what is going to happen to Nick?” Aaron asked.

“Neither military will take him! You won’t be able to ransom him. He fought for your side with the resistance, you can’t punish him! You just can’t!” The words came quickly, spilling out before I could stop them. I found myself standing with both hands slammed down on the table. The blanket fell to my ankles. My cheeks warmed up as I hastily sat and looked down at my feet once more. “Where is he?” I whispered.

“He’s calming down in a holding cell,” Aaron replied. “Nobody has decided what’s going to happen to him, yet. He broke out of a high security prison camp, injuring several guards in the process; we have every right to punish him.”

“Please, don’t punish him,” I whimpered.

“He is an enemy soldier, why shouldn’t we?” Aaron asked.

“I’m an enemy soldier, are you going to punish me?” I asked. “How do I know you aren’t just going to use what I am telling you against me?”

Aaron sat silently for a moment. “Tawny, I need you to trust me. You have valuable information, I know it, but if you don’t trust me, more people could die.”

“I could trust you and still get screwed,” I said.

“I wouldn’t screw you, Tawny,” Aaron said.

“None of my friends are punished,” I said. “That’s my only condition.”

“I cannot promise—”

“You’re a commander, aren’t you?”

“I am a commander, yes,” Aaron nodded. “That doesn’t mean I have control over who does or doesn’t go to a POW camp.”

“None of us are punished for crimes committed,” I said. “Or I stop talking right now.”

Aaron pursed his lips and stood, “I will see what I can do.” He walked out of the room.

I picked up the blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders once more. I rested my forehead on the cool desk and breathed out. I’m so sorry, Nick.

Time dragged on and I began to drift off, my eye lids growing heavy. I forget the last time I actually slept. I slipped into darkness and began to drift.

Something touched my shoulder, something cold and hard, jolting me awake. My hand shot out, striking whatever it was away as I pushed back. The chair vanished from beneath me and pain shot through my hip as I struck the floor. Captain Becker stood in front of me, his face twisted in a psychotic smile. His uniform was in tatters, covered in mud and blood. I pushed back away from him.

“How’d you get in here?” I cried. I looked up to the camera, frantic. They had to see him, they had to!

“Oh, they can’t help you,” Becker said walking towards me.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” I whimpered, pushing away from him until my back hit the wall. Panic began to build in my chest as I looked for a way out. I sprinted for the door only to find it locked.

“You can’t apologize for this,” he snarled and withdrew a long knife.

“Let me out!” I screamed, slamming my hand against the door.

“Tawny.” I barely heard it, almost a whisper.

“Let me out! Let me out!”

Pain ruptured in my back as the blade sank into the muscle. Synthetic nerves screamed as they were severed and my left side numbed. Becker pressed his weight against me, his hand pressing my face against the door. His breath warmed my ear. “I told you, they can’t help you,” he whispered.

The blade freed itself from my flesh, only to plunge into me once more. This time he twisted and an inhuman scream split the air.

“Tawny!”

I found myself sprawled on the ground next to the table, Aaron kneeling beside me. I twisted, my hand going to my back expecting to feel blood, only to find none. I became aware of pressure on the back of my scalp and reached up to find his hands on either side of my head. His fingers laced together behind me. I squirmed, trying to get away from him.

“Stop moving,” he said.

Fuck that. I continued to squirm, breaking free of his grasp and shooting to my feet a little too quickly. The world spun around me as I threw my hand out for something to grab onto. A pair of strong arms closed around me.

“Freeze!” Aaron barked.

My entire body froze at his command and tears began to streak down my cheeks. Just a dream, it was just a dream. Dreams shouldn’t feel that vivid. Dreams can’t be that vivid. I choked on my sobs as Aaron supported me. Once I started, I couldn’t stop crying. At some point, Aaron sat down, still holding me. I think he was whispering something to me to calm me down, I’m not sure.

Sitting back in my seat some unknown time later, my eyes and throat burned. I wanted to keep crying, I really did but it hurt now. I didn’t have any more tears, just hitched breaths and shaking hands. Aaron pulled his chair around and sat next to me, his hands folded neatly in his lap.

“Tawny, what was that about?”

“Huh?” I asked.

“You were screaming in your sleep,” he said.

“Why can he still hurt me?” I whimpered. “He shouldn’t be able to do that.”

“Nobody can hurt you in here,” Aaron said. “You are safe in here. It’s just you and me. Nobody else. Nick and Victoria, nobody is going to hurt them either. They’ve been given a tentative immunity for any crimes committed that you bring up. Same for you, nobody is going to hurt you, not while you are here. I promise.”

I nodded looked down at my hands. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Hitting you,” I whimpered.

“Where’d you hit me?”

Didn’t he know? I motioned to my lip where his was beginning to swell up. He reached up and touched it, smearing some of the blood.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” he said. “Now, your friends have immunity, you have immunity. Will you continue with your story? Please?”

A/N

So, there are going to be a few chapters like this scattered throughout, when Tawny stops telling her story because of some interruption in the real world and I am considering changing them to 3rd person limited from Aaron's perspective, to make Tawny more of a mystery. What do you guys think about that? Leave your answer in the comments below.