Chapter 2

As the pink dawn touched the horizon, spreading fingers of flame over the receding night sky, I stretched and winced at my bruises, and turned to check on Caryn.To my shock, Caryn was sitting up in the gloom of the cave, looking very much alert and not at all incapacitated. She said,

"Sorry, love, but I have to keep you with me for a while." With that, Caryn rabbit punched me on the temple, and the world went dark.

When I awoke, it was night again outside the windows, so I had been out of it for some time. "Hang on .. windows?? In a cave??" I sat up warily, shaking off the dizziness that came and went, and looked around.

I was on a bed of some sort, in what looked like a surgery. As I went to swing my legs off the bed, I realised I was securely cuffed hand and foot to it. My heart starting to pound, I wondered where I was and what in the world was happening to me?"That's the last time I play the Good Samaritan game," I thought to myself as the door opened.

A short blonde woman in camouflage gear entered, marching sharply over to the bed and coolly looking me up and down. She didn't say anything, but pressed a button near my head, and the wall behind the bed opened up.

The bed started to move into the wall ...

My bed entered some sort of white tunnel. After a moment I figured it was one of those medical scanning machines. It began to hum and I did my level best not to become a screaming psychomaniac in such a claustrophobic lack of space.

After an interminable time, the humming stopped and my bed moved back out of the wall. The blonde woman had been joined by a darkly complected man in more camouflage gear. Still nobody said anything, but the dark man leaned over and unlocked my handcuffs.

Still silent, the camouflaged pair took one arm each of mine, and marched me through the door into another room, where there were a large number of what seemed to be army issue bunks, most of which obviously held a sleeping person.

I was firmly but gently sat down upon one of the empty bunks, and my feet were shackled again to the bed; however, this time, my hands were left free. Without a word, the two then turned and marched away, leaving the bunk room.

Still somewhat confused and headachey after her blow to the head then waking in such strange surroundings, I decided to rest my weary head and fell asleep.

Dawn came and I woke when the welcome sunlight touched my face.I looked about me and the bunkhouse was empty. I badly needed to go to the toilet, but was still shackled to the bed.

Eventually, just as I thought I was going to have to just let my bladder go, the short blonde strode into the bunkhouse and, avoiding my eyes, unshackled me and led me to the bathroom. I was finally able to go, but was uncomfortable under the blonde's gaze.

"Could you please .. err .. turn away?" I asked.No answer. Oh well. I undid my jeans, sat down and did my business, doing my best not to blush.

As quickly as possible, I was done and washed my hands, whereupon the blonde guard led me outside into the blinding sunlight.

I was taken to a very solid outdoor timber table and bench combination, and was again shackled there. The blonde woman went to a nearby block building and came back with a tray.On the tray were rockmelon, apple and banana all cut up into a fruit salad, a bowl of muesli, and a small jug of milk. There was also a glass of orange juice. I ate and drank it all, realising just how very hungry I was after all that had gone on before. My headache receding, I looked around more attentively.

The grounds of the area I was in were very clean and tidy, with surprisingly attractive clumps of tropical type trees here and there, bordered by oddly colorful plants.There were block buildings here and there, including the bunkhouse building with the medical room I had first woken up in.There was no one to be seen but myself and my silent blonde guard. However, I sensed that there were many people nearby. Definitely too nearby to risk attempting to punch out the blonde guard and unlock my shackles to make a bid for freedom.

I decided to sit this one out as long as I was not physically harmed, and see what opportunities showed themselves to get myself out of wherever I was.

Now that I was finished what was evidently my breakfast, the blonde guard took the tray back to the block building, assumedly a kitchen. She then returned, unshackled me, and, gripping my arm firmly, marched me to a well worn path between the trees.

We emerged from the shadow of the trees into a well sunlit grassy arena, where there was a bunch of sad, defeated looking people in the middle, surrounded by persons of the blonde guard's silent ilk, all in camouflage.

As I watched amazedly, a prisoner was dragged from the bunch and shoved in front of a dominant personage at the edge of the grassy arena. The personage was gowned in a white robe and had a judicious expression on his otherwise noble features.

The prisoner was made to stand in front of the personage, near where I stood with my blonde guard.

The tall personage stared at the prisoner for a while, then turned slowly and picked up a sword from a table nearby.

He swung back to thrust through the prisoner.