Authors: Kurt Bartling
“Yes
… I think so.
Thank you.
” Rena
responds
curiously
, t
hen she thinks to ask; “The young man brought in with me, can you tell me where his quarters are?”
“Yes ma
’a
m. He’s right across the hall
. Is there anything else,
ma’am
?
”
“
No…thank you.”
As the young
soldier
starts to leave,
he
remind
s
her
to be
in
the dining hall at 6:00PM
for dinner
, explaining
that
the
door will unlock at 5:45
PM
.
D
irections to the
dining
hall foun
d in the procedural manual;
she need only follow the rest of the people.
The
door relocks after he leaves.
Rena
,
starving
,
lifts the covers and
considers the food. As she expected, high in nutrition, low in taste. The meal included chicken breast, white rice, bread and some fruit.
It a
lso included
a small cup of
pills and a
pouch with a
powder
inside
. She had expected this too
,
likely basic nutritional supplements and some sort of
protein
drink mix. Until she knows what these are, she’ll
refrain from taking them
, eating
everything else.
She sit
s
down on the couch with the
Protocol and Procedures
manual.
The wall compu
ter chimes,
5:30PM.
Rena perused most of the manual, read
ing
all procedures regarding scheduling, meals, dress, living quarters, merit system and punishment.
Closing the manual and returning it to the desk, she
waits
nervously
for 5:45
.
W
hen the door unlocks
, she opens it
cautiously.
Across the hall,
the door opens and
Michael dressed similarly
,
steps out.
He smiles at her
,
intent on conveying
reassurance
.
Rena half smiles back, as p
eo
ple start passing between them.
Michael stic
ks his head into the hall, checking to see
if entry is safe. He looks up and nod
s.
They step out together
without saying a word
,
turn an
d
proceed down the hall in the same direction as the traffic.
They follow the current of people down the stairs, into the lobby, then through a double door behind the stair
well into a large dining hall.
A line of people
had
formed
at
the far e
nd
of the
expanse
,
along a buffet. The hall
is large and
filled with round table
s
,
each with four
chairs
positioned around
it
,
s
everal
already
occupied.
Michael follows Rena into the
buffet
line
,
a sense of danger driving him to scan
the room
, taking in everyone and everything
.
They pick their way through the offering
s
and head for a
n
empty table
near
the
center
of the
hall
.
Sitting
across from one
an
other
,
their backs
facing the long
walls
running the depth of the
room
,
both of
their eyes vigilantly sweep the expanse
, only
periodically
finding each other.
At the far end
, a
bove
the
buffet
, Michael observes a second floor with a
glassed in
conference
room set back from an open
railed
landing.
S
everal people
present
inside
enjoy
their meals
and converse
freely
. Michael can see both Commander Still and Angela.
Stairs along both long walls lead from the hall main floor
up to the balcony with
g
uards
positioned at the top of each.
Redirecting his attention to their immediate proximity, Michael
looks around at the other tables.
M
en and women of various origin and age populate the large
chamber
, m
ost
in conversation
and several
have noticed
them
.
He
takes notice of three tables
in particular
. The occupants hav
ing
taken
an
elevated
interest
in
he and Rena
. One table
,
with
two men and
a
wom
a
n, a
ll in their forties
, converse excitedly amongst themselves, continually glancing their direction
. The second table
,
two men and two women
,
around
the same
age
as he and Rena
, regard them
warily, almost
distrustfully
. The third and most concerning, located at the rear corner of the hall
,
four
very
large
men
,
two Hispani
cs, a black man and a Caucasian,
‘
r
oiders. These four watch
them
with
a look Michael has seen in wild pack animals, like wolves, as if being sized up before the kill
.
Casually eating her meal,
Rena survey
s
the hall
as well
.
Catching
her at
tention, Michael
nods to
the corner. She turns her head inconspicuously
over her shoulder
, than back to
him
.
He’s
confident
she understands his implication.
K
eeping an eye on the t
able in the corner
,
Michael inattentively
eats his dinner
.
Rena
,
periodically surveying the rest of the
hall
,
finishes
hers
. Neither make
s
an effort to talk to the other
, consumed with the task at-
hand
,
b
oth of the same mind.
One of Hispanics
gets up and walks
to the buffet
,
passing along the wall
behind Rena
. Michael’s gaze follows him.
The distraction worked,
for
when
he
returned his attention to
the corner
table,
a second seat
is
vacant. He knows immediately
,
and
Rena’s eyes confirm his suspicions
.
Jumping
to his feet
, Michael
turns to face the man
approaching behind him, the two squaring
off. The largest of the four men
, the
other Hispanic
grins,
pointing
at Rena. “So wha
t,
they
let you bring your whore wit
h?
”
When informed they would
eat in the dining hall
, Michael had
expect
ed
th
e
altercation
. As
he
also
predicted
,
the par
ty from the glass room
relocate
to the balcony to
observe
.
He
grumbles to himself,
“
So evaluation start
s
now.”
He
holds
his ground
,
waiting for the
aggressor
to make his move.
The
‘roider
remains still,
then
smiles, looking past Michael.
He
knows before even turning around, the other Hispanic that
went to the buffet
,
was not the only
distraction.
Slowly,
Michael
half turns,
find
ing
Rena
in the grasp of the othe
r
soldier
.
The ‘roider has his
huge
right arm around
her waist
, trapping
her right arm
between them
, his left
arm
around
her neck. Standing behind this small female
, t
he large
Hispanic is
a head taller than
his quarry.
Then the unexpected occurs,
Rena
looking directly at Michael
winks and
smiles
subtly
.
Michael
catches
the gesture,
confusing him for a moment
,
then
turns
back
to face his
challenger
.
As soon as Michael turns,
Rena
’s
right arm
reaches
down
and grabs the man by the groin. He
lurches
forward
in pain,
putting
his
weig
ht on top of her. She responds
by snapping her head back,
the crown driven into his nose,
smash
ing
it
instantly.
As
his head r
e
coils
backward, she half turns her hips under him,
stepping her ri
ght foot back, behind his left
, rotating
her neck
out of his grasp
.
With h
is body weight mostly on top of her,
u
s
ing
his upward momentu
m
while
still holding the man’s groin
,
she
lift
s
up with all her strength.
Then, s
traight
ening
her back
,
she knocks
the man further off balance.
F
alling backward
out of control,
instincts take over and
he releases her
.
As the man’s body starts to
move
away,
Rena drives her
right kn
ee up hard into the back of his
hamstring. Screaming
in pain
, he half-
flips backward
,
onto the floor behind her, blood pouring from his broken nose.