That last thing she remembers is giving S.I.D permission to use her body to escape the aggressive guard. She was pushed into immersive mode and watched a thing that looked like Dernel, Apex...he was being tortured and then the connection shut off and she was trapped in a void of silence. Why had she been shut away then forced awake in that pit of wormy creatures?

She represses a shudder. ‘Did I die again? What the hell did that computer do this time?’

Instead of the expected silence, Dernel replies to a few of her inquiries. ‘We seem to be hanging upside down. We were restrained by the mercenaries. We have many injuries that are in varied stages of healing.’ The words sound like a whisper, but they make her cringe as if he shouted. The words fill her mind to the brim and make it feel cramped.

Sia doesn’t respond. Instead, her breathing increases and she tries to adjust the position of the ropes around her wrists without moving too much.

‘S.I.D,’ Dernel continues projecting his thoughts into the space shared between them. ‘S.I.D to APEX connect. Password verification: N-Y-Z-9-2-8-4-9-3-4-5.’

‘Get out,’ It’s a sliver of thought compared to the Underlings, but he still hears her.

‘This isn’t my will. I...I would never force my way into your mind, but...’ He is hesitant to finish the thought.

‘Get out.'

‘I seem to be stuck.’ He finally admits.

Silence.

‘What did you do?!’ Sia’s rage aids her in projecting that thought as loud as possible. It’s a tsunami of pain, fury, and disgust. It surprises the Underling, the shock makes his control on his own mental faculties slip and a burst of hurt and confusion projects back at Sia. Though it happens within her mind, the feelings settle in her chest as if they were her own.

A slight feeling of burning spreads through her nose and a lump forms in her throat, her lips pout before she gasps out a sorrowful moan.

‘I...I did nothing. I was in pain. S.I.D must have seen a need to-’ Dernel pleads his case.

“Mm...,” Tears stream down her forehead and into her scummy hair. ‘What is this?! What the hell are you doing?!’

‘I’m sorry.’ Dernel resumes control over his personal feelings, they all slip back into the steel bubble he has created within her mind, to stop integration. And just like that, the feelings are gone, and the ache inside her chest is gone. Her eyes dry up, only her anger and pain remain.

‘This is crazy. This can’t be happening.’

‘Sia, this is a mistake. Something grave must have occurred to compel S.I.D to initiate this program. We both must have been in grave danger. Several factors must be taken into-’

‘Shut up.’ Sia can’t take it anymore. She wiggles until her body begins to sway from side to side.

‘You don’t seem to understand. S.I.D can’t initiate a program of this magnitude unless certain conditions are met. Its’ objective must be to-’

‘This isn’t that crummy computer. This is you...isn’t it? This is what you always do. Wait for me to need help and take over my body. Send me images to feel bad for you then use me like some sort of puppet. What did you do?’

Her ankles burn as the sway increases into a slow swing, back and forth...back and forth. Her back begins to ache. She doesn’t repress the groans that spring up her throat and strain against her teeth, the teeth that grind down harder as she feels cool blood run down her legs.

Her efforts to squeeze a hand out of the ropes bound around her wrists are futile. The ropes are cutting off the circulation in her hands, so tight she fears that soon all sensation may be strangled out of them. Several floors down are large blocks of rubble of varying sizes stacked up against the side of the building. Sia looks down at the rubble with a fierce look in her eyes.

‘We are very high. Please calm down. I don’t think we’ll survive a drop from this height with the S.I.D’s processors preoccupied.’

A loud cry rips from Sia, the pain in her ankles has traveled down her legs. The thick rope rubs against flesh and muscle while she continues to make herself oscillate away from the brick wall, swing back toward it, then veer off to circle around. The vibrations run up the rope to the railing it is tied around, it won’t give.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

‘Calm down?! What did I tell you?’

Silence.

‘I said if you took over my body again, I’d end this one way or another! Did you think I was lying?! Do you see me as a fool?’

Sia’s shoulder grazes the facade of the building as she continues to jerk her body to and fro...the speed picks up and so does the torture being wrought to her ankles. The rope tied around the railing quivers a bit to the right, a bit to the left, but it won’t give. Sia doesn’t care who hears her, she yells in agony as she twirls in a circle and collides with the wall. Her swinging comes to a stop and she screams in outrage.

‘Sia please...I don't know what’s going on. All I remember is the lab.’

‘Don’t go on...I know this already. Sia, I need your help. The only way to solve this is to do what I say and work together. Find me Sia, listen to me Sia, I’m your only hope Sia. I saw what state you’re in. You’re pathetic. How could you help me? We’re both trapped. I’ll never get home. I’m going to die here.’

The whistling in the distance has stopped. If she focuses, she can hear noises of people far away. Pots and pans clattering, water...a car engine.....so she isn’t as far from people as she initially thought. The vehicle doesn’t sound very far off. They’re coming.

She blinks rapidly as tears flow down her forehead. It hurts to admit it. All of this has been for nothing. She’s been trying to not to swim against the current, blend in -hide her identity and these abilities, lie her way to gaining the mercenaries trust, and steal whatever she needs to achieve her goal.

But that’s not her. She’s not like these people. She’s not a thief, she’s not a killer...she’s barely a grown woman. She bites her lower lip and shivers as cool tears blind her from seeing a truck pull up beside the large misshapen cement blocks.

‘This is it. I’m done. I can’t do this. It’s over.’ A chill runs up her spine as she imagines how they will treat her. “Mmm...Daddy.” She should say her farewells now while she has the chance.

‘Please...take a moment to....digest this situation and you will see that this must be S.I.D malfunctioning. Something is wrong.’

“Daddy...I wasn’t enough and I’m sorry.” She should have told him she wanted to see him more. That she didn’t mind seeing his new wife. That she would deal with it, if it meant she could see him more often. That she wasn’t jealous of his new family, that he’d always be her father. That she loved him.

‘Sia, please.’

“Mommy. Aaliyah, I miss you so much. I only wanted to see you one more time. I lied to you. I lied. I didn’t know he had her. I didn’t know, Mommy.” Her heart beats loudly in her ears. She freely sobs, gasping and coughing, her body shutters and sways gently from side to side. She can’t hear the heavy footsteps in the building beside her.

“It’s over. They’ve come for me.”

Dernel wishes he could leave her to mourn the distance from her pod in peace. He knows more than anyone how draining it is to be so far from home and those that love you. He knows her pain...but if she loses the will to fight, he will lose his only connection to the outside world. His only way out.

‘Is there not one doubt? You are so very important to me, Sia.’ Sia gives a wet scoff at that, but Dernel continues. ‘You saw the condition I was in. I am very weak, that is why I need you. That is why I would not torment you like this. You saw where I am, what they were doing to me. You saw...’

“It’s over,” Sia closes her eyes and visualizes the laboratory room. The form on the leather chair strapped down and writhing against the bindings. “It doesn’t matter.”

‘But did you see WHO had me? Who has done this to me? They are to blame for all of this. Not I.’

She remembers the room. How familiar the setup looked compared to her jobs own biopsy labs. She remembers the words on the sheet of paper pinned to the wall. EXPLORERTECH INDUSTRIES.

‘They’ve broken me, Sia. I am pathetic. I cannot get free. I am a prisoner within my own body, within my own mind.’ Dernel loosens his grip on his emotions for a moment and Sia gasps at the feelings of shame and regret.

‘You are a dear ally to me. I want the same as you...to see my family again. But it won’t work if you’re broken too. I need you.’

“Of course...of course,” Sia’s hoarse voice spits out with disdain. Her mind flashes to her family, the wanderers, the mercenaries...and finally Dernel. Everything they said they needed. More space and time, more information and goods, more patience...more of her body. “No.”

‘These people may have hacked S.I.D. Do you know if they have contact with the Deep Society Syndicate...any of their operatives?’

‘Oh my god! Stop talking, nothing you can say will convince me. Third times the charm. You’ve really pissed me off the deep end.’ She chokes on her next cough. He just won’t stop. He won’t leave her alone. ‘Enjoy this while you can cause the first...the first....actually they have a doctor. I’ll tell them everything...I’ll tell them and they’ll-‘

Footsteps walk through the open doorway across from where the rope secured to Sia’s legs is tied. Several pairs of feet stomp through and disrupt the overall silence.

‘Please Sia, why would I want you in danger? I need you safe. I need you. Why would I work against you in such a way?’

‘How should I know?! You created this f*ck! I’m sure you have some twisted alien logic!’

Dernel ignores the insult that he, a being bred from one of the oldest species that have existed on this earth even longer than homo sapiens, could be an alien.

‘I don’t know how we got into this situation, but...My survival instinct would surely condemn me from killing off my only ally. I know this. You are innocent of all charges that my captives are guilty of. I think you have been mistaken to believe that you are at a disadvantage to anyone. You have abilities that these people would kill to acquire.’ Sia pauses at that thought. ‘The lead is yours. Your family is waiting for you. Stop hiding, Sia. Stop running. We can do this. Our goals are the same, my friend.’

But the cocking of a gun disrupts their discussion and wipes Sia’s mind clean of all thoughts.