Elian fell to his knees, his hands clawing into the damp earth as a wave of hot agony rippled through his chest. The violet veins under his skin throbbed with a terrifying, rhythmic intensity, casting a sickly glow over the wet ferns. Every heartbeat felt like a hammer striking an anvil inside his skull.
"Turn that machine off," Sarah yelled, her pistol aimed directly at the pilot’s chest. "Turn it off right now!"
"I can not do that, lady," the pilot said. His voice came through the speaker of his respirator with a heavy, metallic rattle. "If I turn off the frequency dampener, the carrier signal will stabilize. He will start writing over his brain. I am actually keeping your friend alive."
"You are torturing him," she screamed, her knuckles turning white on the grip of her gun.
"He was
