"Get up" a soldier growled as he dragged Alex to her feet.
Stumbling, she struggled to comply. What else could she do? With nowhere to run, there was no point in a struggle. Not that she had the strength or energy for it anyway. Beaten, zip-tied, blindfolded, and then tossed on the hard floor of a bouncing truck trailer where she rode for God knows how long, had sapped it out of her.
"Move," He jabbed what felt like the barrel of a gun into her back. It wasn't very many steps. Maybe 50 before her boots stumbled from the dirt into concrete. A buzzer sounded. Some sort of alarm she guessed. Another 100 or so steps and the gun was then placed at the back of her skull.
"Kneel," the bastard barked.
This is it, she thought. They weren't going to allow her the decency of a death out in the open where her friends might find the remains. Some small bit of closure for her family. No, they were going to execute her here. Just another nameless body in a mass grave.
But then the cunt had done something she hadn't expected. He cut her hands free and removed the blindfold.
Alex found herself kneeling on a dingy green linoleum floor. Two other women were on her right. Though the one furthest had dried blood caked around her hairline, neither appeared to be combatants. The one next to her, a pretty blond perhaps in her early 30s or late 20s, was even wearing a goddamn dress and heels. Sympathetic civilians? Alex guessed.
"Ladies, do you know where you are?" the soldier asked with a grin. Alex noted that he was certainly a cocky shit with that AR15 of his pointed at them.
The two other women shook their heads, but Alex remained still. If she was being honest, this was largely out of fear, but she liked to tell herself it was also habit. As a rule of thumb she never dignified condescendingly stupid questions. And, it was obvious none of them knew where the fuck they were, hence the god damn blindfolds.
Of course this nonconformity immediately singled her out.
The soldier had raised his brow. "It looks like we got a smart one here." He positioned the gun's barrel directly in line with her forehead. "Tell me sweetheart, where do you think you are?"
"I don't know."
He'd snorted. "Then why didn't you answer me?"
"I just assumed you were about to tell us."
"Well you certainly are a smartass, but don't worry, we'll get that sorted out." He'd then paced several steps toward the blond girl, locking eyes with her. "This, ladies, will be your new home. Behave and you may one day get to leave. Don't and you'll get to leave a lot sooner. Though, I promise if you choose that route you won't enjoy how we say our final goodbyes." He winked at Alex.
Two more soldiers then entered, each carrying sets of metal cuffs and manacles.
"Now ladies," the cocky one wielding the machine gun continued. "We do like keeping our residents here comfortable, and I can promise you these are far more comfortable than the zip cuffs. If you will each stand up one at a time, my friends here will get you situated. Decide to be difficult; we're more than happy to give a fresh set of the plastic style. Your choice."
The woman with the bloody scalp stood first, though with great effort.
A concussion possibly? Alex surmised from her unsteadiness. To be fair it could have just as easily been a combination of dehydration and low blood sugar, a potent combination Alex herself was succumbing too. She just prayed her own gate would be sufficiently steady when they finally got around to her.
The two soldiers were actually quite gentle with the bloodied woman. One of them even grabbed her shoulders to steady her, while his companion moved on to the blond. Still steady on her feet, she seemed in best shape out of three of them. No visible bruises or cuts. Though Alex knew that didn't mean a whole hell of a lot. The gun butt to her back and multiple kicks to her ribs were easily concealed by her shirt. From the neck up, she probably looked nearly as good as this girl.
Unlike the first woman, who was now being half-walked half-carried through an ominous pair of metal doors to their right, once shackled the blond girl was made to kneel again. Then it was Alex's turn. Though getting up took her longer than usual, she was grateful to find her balance steady and the man efficient at his job. And, in a matter of seconds she too found herself kneeling again. With his task done the soldier quickly left through the same doors as his companion and the bloodied woman.
Alone with his captives, the cocky gun-wielding asshat smiled. "Don't worry ladies. Your turn with the doctor will come soon enough."
What the fuck was that supposed to mean? They weren't seriously torturing that poor woman now? What would they even get out of her? Alex very much doubted the lady could maintain the coherence for speech more than a few minutes. All the same, she listened out for her screams. Thankfully none came.
Twenty or so minutes passed before the metal doors once again opened, and the two soldiers returned.
"Your turn blondie," said the cocky cunt with a wave of his gun.
She briefly locked eyes with Alex. Desperate for something to say, a simple nod was all Alex could muster. She told herself that words would have been bullshit anyway. What was she supposed say? Everything was going to be okay while they sawed off the woman's fingers?
They ended up taking their time with her. Alex couldn't be sure for how long. All she knew was that her knees were killing her by the time the soldiers returned.
"Now you, smart ass," the cocky shit announced.
Stiffly, Alex rose to her feet. Let's get this fucking over with.
The two soldiers led into a surprisingly sterile looking exam room where she was greeted by some fucking giant Dr. Mengele. Towering over her by more than a foot, the bastard had to be at least 6'4". Mengele, or Dr. Roberts based on the black embroidery stitched across the breast pocket of his scrubs, grinned at her.
