Parallel Wars

Chapter 2

Laying in bed was beginning to get very boring, but the door was locked. Not suspicious. Now that I think of it… My own room? Not the hospital? No windows? Locked door? This wasn’t good. 

I stayed in bed, considering the only other thing to do was painfully pace the floors. Waiting for someone to come and explain what was happening. I had jeopardized a lot of things… But nothing bad had come of it, and that didn’t really qualify as something worth locking me up for, did it? 

It seemed to be forever before the door finally opened, and an obviously high-ranking official walked in followed by two guards. What’d think I was gonna do, fight my own side? 

“Do you know why we’re here?” He asked, stopping at the foot of my bed. 

I sat up, holding back a wince. “No, sir.” 

“Are you sure about that?” 

“Yes. Yes, sir.” 

“Does this jog your memory at all?” He held up a slightly blurred image of me, sitting at a table across from a man. We were both smiling, and appeared to be having a normal, possibly romantic conversation. Which was far from the truth. 

“That was my mission, was it not? Gather information from him? Which I completed.” 

He scowled, leaning forward. “And this?” He held up a second image, of us hugging. 

“Yes. Upholding my cover, as an old friend? Would be a little suspicious to not act close, correct?” I quite honestly had no idea where this was going. What exactly had I done? Could these people not cut to the chase? 

He looked like he didn’t believe me in the slightest. “There was an attack not even an hour after you finished your meeting with him. On the squadron heading in to plant explosives around their armory. They knew suspicious amounts of information pertaining to the position and size of the group.” 

“...And you think I had something to do with that?” More terror flooded through me than I’d felt running from the foreign police into a potential dead end. “I would never-”

“Then how exactly do you explain this?” He moved swiftly to the side of my bed, sticking his face in mine. “There is obviously a rat here, and you would seem to be it. You had the information, an opportunity to give it out, and even beside that point… Your escape was a little miraculous.” 

“I am no traitor.” I insisted through gritted teeth. 

“There’s no proof of that. Who else would it be? Who else had the vital information and an opportunity to leak it? That hug would’ve been a perfect opportunity. Or any point during your conversation. And no one, I repeat no one, who knew of the operation was so much as out of the base. Except you.” 

“I didn’t-” 

“Liar!” He slammed his palms onto the bed, looking as though he might spit in my face. Instead, he turned to the guards. “Take her to the interrogation room. Get a confession, as well as what other information she might’ve given away or gotten.” 

My stomach churned as the guards closed in, pulling me up and tying my hands behind my back. I didn’t fight it, I wasn’t guilty, and I didn’t want to give them any more reason to think I was. I let myself be pulled out of the room, paraded through the halls full of people I knew, and into the room. 

Concrete walls and floor, only a metal chair with leather straps in the middle of the room. A glass window at one end where I could be watched. Dark stains on the floor that could never quite be washed away. I might puke. 

Once the door was closed behind me, they untied my hand, just to push me into the cold, hard chair and strap my arms and legs to the metal. I closed my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, and trying to maintain what dignity I had. From then on, as the guards left the room, I kept a cold and disappointed stare on my face. How dare you accuse the great Ashley Smith of such a thing? 

Another eternity passed before the guards returned with a friend. A tall boy with close shaved blonde hair, looking at me in disbelief. 

“Hey Marv, what’s up?” I flopped a hand as a greeting, unable to properly wave it. Pretending I wasn’t tied to a chair. 

“Ash. Why?” 

“Not you too,” I rolled my eyes, “I didn’t do anything. I swear.” 

“Come on,” He came closer and knelt in front of me, “If you confess, they said they’ll go easy on you. You won’t die, or have prison for life. I don’t want that for you.” His green eyes searched my face, desperation showing clearly. 

“I don’t have anything to confess!” I snapped. 

“Ash,” He begged, “We could have a life together. Once you’re done with the light punishment, I could ask for a discharge, and we could move out west and build a new life.” 

“Marvin, I have nothing to confess. I am not going to lie!” 

Pain twisted his face, then his features seemed to ice over. “We’re not worth it?” 

“We were never a thing. No. You know we would never work.” 

“Fine.” He stood up, “Do what you have to.” He said to the guards as he left, not even looking back. 

I pointedly looked away from them, right into the faces of the people watching through the glass. Like I was some form of entertainment. 

“You can give us what we want, or… You know how this goes.” One of the guards said. 

“I’ve given you the truth, and you won’t take it. What you’re asking for is lies.” I said. 

Pain exploded in my jaw as a fist collided with the side of my face. “Give us the confession.” 

The metallic tang of blood pooled around my tongue. “I already have.” 

Another blow to my face sent black dots crawling around my vision. I glanced back at the window, seeing another familiar face. Lilia’s hand covered her mouth, shock written across her face. I gave her a weak smile. She tried to return it, but only came out with a grimace before she ran. I didn’t blame her. 

“What’re you grinning about?” The gruff voice of a guard asked, grabbing my hair and yanking me around to look at him. 

“My audience. Everyone loves a good show, might as well give it to ‘em. You cover the violence, I do the humor and smiles.” 

“Unless you give us what we want, you’ll never smile again.” 

“Oh, is that a threat?” I smiled again, unable to help myself. Blood dribbled out the side of my mouth; I was fairly sure a tooth was gone. 

“What else did you share with the enemy?” 

I spat a wad of blood in his face. “Nothing!” I yelled. “And no amount of pain will change that.” 

Another blow to my stomach had me doubled over in pain. More questions fired my way, but I stopped answering. They wouldn’t listen to the truth, and I would not feed them lies, even if that’s all they deserved at this point. 

I’d probably die here at this point. In this concrete room, strapped to a chair, killed by those who used to be my allies, nothing more than a spectacle to gawk at. 

That’s if I was lucky.