Cog slowly blinked her eyes, trying to wake herself up. It was dark enough that she couldn't see more than two feet in front of her. She felt drowsy and lightheaded, and there was an unbearable itch on her forehead. For some reason, her arms wouldn't move to scratch it. Or her legs, for that matter.

"Hello?" she called out, hoping for a response from a familiar voice. The darkness gave no answers, even as her eyes adjusted to the environment. Panic started to set in a little.

Is this the nightmare again? She desperately tried to move her arms and legs again. They could shift back and forth, but not up and down. Almost like they were tied down.

She wheezed. The air was stale and damp. It had a strange, nasty smell, and it felt a lot colder than anywhere on board. A mixture of sweat and condensation ran down her forehead.

This seemed much more real than the nightmare. Besides, everything up to this moment was still a blur. All she could remember was practicing with the others for their speech, and then...

And then she went to help Lukas out with his art project. The revelation broke her heart. She fought against the seemingly unfounded doubts that he had ill intentions, just to be kidnapped by the very person she defended.

Why couldn't I believe Sail and Sprocket?

A single light in the middle of the room turned on. It was bright and blinding, illuminating the furthest corners. She winced and squinted her eyes until the pain went away and her vision cleared.

As her eyes readjusted, she saw her captor sitting in a nearby chair. In his hand he held a switch, and on his face he wore a smile. Fear washed over her when he stood up, revealing the armband she clearly remembered from her dream. There was no longer any doubt who she was dealing with.

Lukas was a Nazi.

Thump, thump.

For a moment, the two just held eye contact. It felt like she was the victim of some sort of sick game. In addition to being strapped to a chair, of course. Eventually, Lukas broke the stare and glanced down at his clipboard.

She used the chance to study the area. As she suspected, there was a drill hovering over her head, just two feet away. The floor appeared to be sterile black and white tiling you might find in any doctor's office, with the exception of a few discolored puddles and streaks. The walls and ceiling matched the rest of the airship, just with more peeling paint.

"Well, let's begin, shall we?" Lukas suggested, breaking the silence. Her attention quickly snapped back to him as he paced back and forth in front of her. With the clipboard sitting on his chair, he slowly and cautiously approached her.

"I was never told exactly what they did to you on the Island," he said, keeping his distance from her. He snaked around so that he was behind her restraints. "But, judging by the fact that you haven't broken out of the straps, I would say it isn't muscle stimulation."

"How do you know about the Island?" she asked, now trying to break out of the straps. They wouldn't budge, but she noticed one of the leg straps had a bit of a tear on it. "That's supposed to be a secret," she continued. "I don't even know why I was there."

He placed a fifth strap across her head and tightened it. It was now impossible to move anything but her hands.

Not that she could do much with them.

"You certainly are a nice person," he relented, "I'll have to give you that. But you're also the stereotypical American girl: blonde and dumb. Many times, especially after the chocolate incident, I figured my plans were done for. You just keep the surprises coming."

"Let me out," she demanded, trying to show as much anger as she could. All she actually felt was fear.

Her eyes told the truth.

"Amp won't let you do anything to me."

"Honey," he said, smiling, "Amp is gone now. He can't do anything about this."

-=[ ]=-

Gogs, Sprocket, and Sail quickly ran to the study hall, hoping to find Cog perfectly fine. They zipped by the teachers' lounge, but all the teachers had long since left, trying to round up panicking students. Amp's office door was locked, so she probably wasn't with him.

All three let their hopes up, but when they peered through the doorway, it was obvious nobody was inside. Only a painting inhabited the room, laid flat on one of the tables. The air reeked of some sort of chemical.

"Stay back," Sprocket told the other two. "That smell is chloroform."

Sail frowned at him with furrowed eyebrows and wide eyes. "How do you know what that—"

"No time to explain. He seemed to use a lot, by the smell of it. Hopefully, Cog isn't in there, because I don't have a gas mask. We need to search the entire ship. He could have taken her anywhere, and we won't have a lot of time. I'll get the dorm areas. Sail, search the restricted area and the teachers' lounge. Gogs, get any other random areas you can think of. Meet back in ten minutes."

With a shaky nod from each of them, they split up in search of their missing best friend. For a moment, Gogs and Sail were running next to each other, heading towards the same general area. They were both close to tears.

"I hope the Nazis don't come for us," she said, worried.

"I doubt it. We're like the government's babies. They wouldn't let anyone touch us." He didn't fully believe his own story, and that reflected on his face. "Besides, we're over American territory. They wouldn't dare attack us."

First, Sprocket went to check the male dorms, testing to see if Lukas dragged her back to his room. He didn't want to put too much thought into the twisted German kid's mind. The second-year halls were crowded with other teens, either talking, arguing, or nervously pacing. Many of the doors were wide open, revealing rooms with different arrangements and items. Most were hardly even decorated.

He desperately interviewed everyone he passed to see if anyone had seen Cog or Lukas, but nobody could give him any sort of consolation. A few hallways down in the first-year dorms, nearly every door was closed, and he did not know which was Lukas'. He started going door-to-door, seeing if anyone could help him out.

On the third door he pounded on, a younger student cracked their door open. They saw who it was and raised their eyebrows.

"Can I help you?" they asked, a little upset that he knocked so loudly.

"Do you know which dorm Lukas had? Das Gehirn, I think he went by? The German kid. Him. Do you know?" Sprocket was out of breath and his nerves were on full blast, but he had a mission to accomplish.

"Why do you need it?" the first-year probed, skeptical.

"I need it so that I can crush his little Nazi face into the floor and rescue my friend. He kidnapped her."

The kid blankly stared at him in response. Sprocket didn't have time to wait for answers. "Do you know where it is, or not?"

"Y-yes, sir," the younger kid replied, stumbling over his words. "Room eighty-four, all the way down and to the left."

Sprocket burst in, nearly taking the door off of its hinges in the process. Other than a few random and worrying objects, he found no evidence of either of them.

Displayed up on the walls were sketches and designs of airships, each branding a swastika and bearing different German names. Amongst them was the A.S. Mumba, the same one that was displayed in Hitler's interruption earlier. An open drawer contained seven boxes sitting neatly in a row. Six of the boxes were unopened and contained a red armband each. The seventh was open and empty.

His bathroom provided nothing of interest to him, but the bed was decorated with different posters and billboards, all printed in German. He could only assume it was all some sort of Nazi propaganda, given the symbols that were displayed on all of them.

"He really is a Nazi," he thought aloud, walking speedily out. Although his first guess for where Lukas and Cog could be was a bust, he had to continue searching. Next was the girls' dorm area. It was a brave and probably dumb spot to hide from the group, but counting the idea out wasn't an option. Luckily, he knew exactly which room belonged to Cog and Sail.

He opened their door with a little more care, but soon realized it was also empty. Nothing had really changed inside since he and Gogs had helped Sail move in. Frustrated, he left and jogged over to the study hall to report back to the other two. Hopefully, one of them would have more luck.

Lukas continued his procedural pacing in front of her, watching and waiting. He examined her movements, her breathing, and her emotions. Everything about her prompted curiosity. If he weren't on a time crunch, he would have loved to keep pacing and observing.

That would have to be a luxury for later, unfortunately. There were questions he had to ask at some point.

"Well?" she scoffed, stretching her hands in confusion.

"Well, what?" he replied.

"You said, 'let's begin,' and then you just started pacing again. If I didn't know better, Lukas, I'd say you're nervous or scared. Are you second-guessing kidnapping me? Another human? The one that's been the nicest to you on board?"

He really was nervous. There was a lot riding on him properly dealing with her and not being found. He had no doubts about his mission, though. Just because she had been nice to him doesn't mean the plan was going to be tossed out.

"Why on Earth would I be scared or nervous? Or second-guessing myself? No, see, I've got the upper hand here, Cog. If anyone should be scared or nervous right now, it's you. Especially if you don't answer the questions I've prepared for you."

"Well, ask me the darned questions, then. Your pacing is getting annoying."

For as hard as her heart was beating in her chest, at the moment, she felt more bothered than scared. Something about being tied up in a chair and forced to watch your captor pace the room repeatedly made you hypersensitive to the noise. To rub it in further, Lukas did somewhat of a tap-dance before beginning the interrogation.

"Earlier today, you mentioned an Ike," he recalled, once again turning his focus back to the clipboard. "Was it an Agent Ike, by any chance?"

She paused, all annoyance flushed out of her system. The feeling was replaced with fear again. "No," she answered, "he's my stepdad." That was top secret information. She couldn't just tell him the truth about Ike, even in an interrogation.

Besides, she reasoned, it's not like he has the actual tools for interrog-

Her eyes wandered back up to the drill above her, staring menacingly down at her. Never mind. He does have actual tools for an interrogation. That was a dumb thought.

"You see, Cog, you hesitated there," he pointed out, his disappointed voice contrasting against an evil grin. "I now know that you lied to me. Because this is the first time, I won't punish you. Don't try to lie to me again, or else. Now, for my second question: where is Agent Ike currently?"

"I don't know," she said, sheepishly glancing down. She desperately wanted to avoid the drill, but she also couldn't tell him anything. Legally bound to lie on the left, and in danger for lying on the right.

And here I am, stuck in the middle with you. Not the best position to be in.

"This time, there are two reasons I know you lied to me. You answered way too quickly, and you averted eye contact. Either become a better liar or face the consequences of lying. Where is Agent Ike stationed?"

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"How should I know!" she yelled at him. "I knew him for six months before he escorted me here, and I haven't seen him since!"

"A better lie, but I know you know where he is, because you already lied and said you didn't previously. This means torture time!" He pulled a square of sandpaper out of his pocket. It was high-grade and unused. She shivered at the idea.

"Okay!" she relented. "Last I heard, he went to the Pentagon for a debriefing, but he can't and doesn't share information with me! It's illegal, kind of like what you're doing to me!"

"If I were worried about the legality of drugging, kidnapping, and torturing someone in an interrogation, Cog, we wouldn't be here right now, would we?" He scribbled into his clipboard, and then focused back on her. His eyes were noticeably colder than usual. "Now, do you know a girl by the name of Purity?"

"Purity?" she asked, incredulous. She didn't know a single Purity, and it seemed totally random. "I don't think so. Does she go here?"

"No, she doesn't. What state were you born in?"

"Is this an interrogation or an interview with deadly consequences?"

"Answer the question!"

"Louisiana."

"Good. One more not-so-serious question. What's your real name?"

Real name?

She couldn't figure out whether she wanted to be mad or start crying. It was the second time he had suggested she was hiding her name. In reality, she didn't know what it was. Would he even accept that answer?

"I don't know," she relented, defeated.

He put on an evil grin and flipped the switch that was once in his hand. The drill above her buzzed to life, an ever-present reminder of her mistakes.

"You're lying."

-=[ ]=-

Gogs was rushing around, trying to pick areas to search. Despite the fact that curfew was steadily arriving, more people were out roaming the halls than usual. He passed Torque, who also seemed worried for some reason.

"Slow down, Gogs," Torque called after him. "The Nazis aren't even here yet."

"Actually," Gogs replied, "that's not entirely true." He continued running, peeking inside of classrooms and other random areas.

He tried ten different classrooms, each as empty as the next. Normally, the teachers would be stationed inside until pretty late into the evening, yet not a single teacher was in their room. In fact, he hadn't seen a single teacher anywhere.

He jogged towards Airship Operation, despite his adrenaline rush being long gone. There were plenty of noises coming from inside. Bolt and two students were unscrewing the practice ships from the floor and propping them against the wall. It didn't seem legal or safe, but there were other things to worry about at the moment.

"Hey, Gogs," Bolt said, "did you come to help? It's our defense against invaders, just in case."

"As great of an idea as that is, Bolt, I'm busy searching for a friend who was kidnapped by a potential Nazi."

"Sounds fun," Bolt replied, shaking his head with a smile. He went back to unscrewing one of the ships.

"It's really not," Gogs retorted, taking the electric screwdriver out of Bolt's hands. Bolt looked back up at him. Originally, he had assumed Gogs was joking, but his expression told him otherwise.

"Boys," he called out, directed at the two that had been helping him remove the airship guards, "keep up the good work. I'm going to go help him. If any Nazis come on board, flip the switch. Let's go, Gogs." He grabbed a bulky wrench from a nearby toolbox and followed Gogs.

"Thanks, Bolt. I've still got to check the classrooms on the east side before I meet back at the study hall in five minutes. Hopefully nothing has happened to her."

"Katie's not the one in trouble, is she?"

"No, it's Cog. We had some suspicions when the German kid said he needed her help, but it turned into a reality after Hitler went live."

They ran through the ship, searching for her everywhere they passed, but inevitably found nothing. Sail dashed by at one point, solemnly waving at the two of them. Both waved back.

"Wait," Gogs realized, "you're her brother, right?"

"Yeah," he laughed, "I figured she'd tell you guys. Guess she hides more than she lets on."

"I hope not too much more," Gogs commented. "Surprises aren't exactly welcome right now."

As if on cue, a scream came from somewhere on the ship. It was far off, but loud, and most definitely a girls' screech.

"Like that?" Bolt asked. They stared at each other for a split-second, then ran in the direction of the scream.

-=[ ]=-

As soon as she parted ways with Gogs the first time, Sail went straight over to check the teachers' lounge once again. The television was the only thing that lit up the room, its static dancing on the screen, adding to the empty feeling inside.

This time, there was a teacher inside. They appeared to be drinking coffee and staring blankly at the floor. He eventually saw Sail, right before she left, and snapped back to reality.

"It's almost curfew," the teacher said. "Did you want to ask me something? I don't remember having you in any of my classes."

"Actually, yes, sir, I do have a question. Have you by any chance seen Cog recently? She's gone missing, and my friends and I are trying to cover the entire ship."

"She's the blonde, right? I have seven kids in my Calculus three class, and I don't know any of their names but Neil, and that's because I'm his therapist. No, I haven't seen her since I had her in class this afternoon. Sorry. I can try to get in touch with other teachers and tell them to be on the lookout if you'd like."

"That would be great. Thank you, sir."

Next, she had to run all the way down to the restricted area and brave the darkness. If she could even remember where it was.

At some point, she ran right by Gogs and Bolt. She waved at them, wasting no time to see if they waved back. I see Gogs recruited some help, she noticed.

Her first idea was to retrace the path Trotter had shown them on his first day back on board. It was a winding path from hallway to hallway, and she was pretty sure she had gotten herself lost while hunting for it. She gave each aisle a quick glance as she ran past, to see if any of them seemed familiar. In one, a wall vent was leaning against the wall.

That's odd, she thought to herself. She cautiously stepped down the corridor, and sure enough, she was met face-to-face with the restricted area's dark staircase. It was just as foreboding as it had been the other day during their little field trip.

"Here goes nothing," she whispered to herself. Each step echoed ever so lightly. The wood creaked like old bones, and the air grew less fresh with every step.

At the end of the stairs, it was entirely pitch black. She walked along, tracing her left hand against the wall to prevent accidentally straying away. The wall turned, and with it, the hallway. There was a faint but noticeable light up ahead, the only source in all the pure darkness swallowing her vision. She carefully tip-toed over to the room emitting the light, and peered through a window.

It was the torture chamber.

She jumped back in shock. There were two people in the torture room. Somebody was standing up front, while the other occupied the chair in the center. Luckily, she was out of sight, but she dreaded peeking to see who the two were. Her best guess was probably right, anyway.

Why did Lukas bring her down here? Is he actually torturing her?

"What's your real name?" she heard from inside. Without a moment of hesitation, she scrambled full speed to the study hall to meet up with the other two.

That's when the blood-curdling scream echoed down the dark corridor. A drill had powered on as well, its own sound nearly drowned out by the wail. She ran faster than she'd ever ran before.

-=[ ]=-

Gogs, Sprocket, and Bolt were all three waiting for Sail by the time she came charging their way. Panic was etched into her face, and she was breathing heavily.

"That wasn't you, was it?" Bolt asked, embracing her as she slowed down. Her heart was beating way too quickly, and her adrenaline was on full blast.

"No, it was Cog," she huffed. "I think Lukas is torturing her. She's on that really spooky chair in the torture chamber, and he's got that drill thing, and apparently it can still activate. I heard him ask her a question, like an interrogation, and then the drill turned on, and her scream..."

She cried into her brother's shoulder, who appeared to be both angry and sorrowful. The other two furrowed their eyebrows and hung their mouths wide open. Sprocket hated being right.

"Boys, Katie," Bolt said, addressing the group, "I think we have a Kraut that needs some proper discipline, and a gal that needs saving. Y'all ready to kick some Nazi tail?"

Sprocket cracked his knuckles, and Gogs nodded. Sail let go of her brother and wiped her tears. "Let's go."

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!" The sound of the drill barely masked Cog's yelling. He was enjoying watching her, eyes closed, squirming to get out, wincing in fear. The drill hadn't even started moving yet. His twisted game was almost... fun.

"Fascinating," he remarked, turning it off. "Your reaction to me simply turning on the drill was truly fascinating. I figured out two things from that bit of enjoyment: you'll spill the beans under enough pressure, and you really don't know your real name. How long have you had this name, then?"

She wasn't about to tell him about her time on the Island, about Cal and her inability to speak perfectly, or about the warden and his heart of gold. She replayed Cal calling her "Coggles" over and over in her mind. It was her own mashing of the phrase "cool goggles."

"A couple years now." He'd already proven he knew about the Island. Hopefully, that was it.

"Great! I've got a couple more important questions, and then we're done here. How close were you and Agent Ike prior to being sent here?"

The way he asked the question got under her skin. He was using what she had said about being close to Ike against her, as well as being sent here and not coming here. The addition of "and then we're done here" also unnerved her. What do you do with someone you've just terrorized to get information out of after you're done?

You don't just let them go. She knew that much.

"Whenever he came over, we would always hang out," she recalled, trying not to reveal anything. "He never told me anything about his work, though. They can't."

She could sense he was trying to bring this to an end. Amid all her anxieties and fears, an idea came to her. It was incredibly risky, but it was the last option she had left. Carefully, she began shifting a little, hoping the old leather straps that bound her to the chair would loosen or break. Her previous shifting and squirming had already widened the tear on the one leg strap, but it needed to be a lot bigger.

"Next and final question," he said. "Where were you located until you came aboard the first time?"

"Baton Rouge," she repeated. He'd been told this. Where was he going with this?

"No, after Baton Rouge."

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Don't act stupid, Cog. I know they didn't bring you here right away. Where were you stationed until you arrived here in that helicopter?"

"Baton Rouge," she repeated, a little more intently.

"We're almost out of time," he vocalized, checking his watch impatiently, "so I've got to rush this last part. You see, I've developed a technology that can read what people are thinking."

He paused, letting the information sink in. Oh, God, she thought, he knows everything I've been thinking. That's how he knows I've been lying.

"But," he added, "you are the only person I can't get it to work on. For the past few days, I couldn't figure out why. Every single theory was debunked, except for one.

"There has to be something interfering with the signal, but I racked my brain trying to understand how or what. Finally, it hit me: there's something in your head blocking the reception. Unfortunately, that would mean removing the signal-blocker in your head." He walked up closer to her, drill switch in hand, with a gleam of evil in his eyes. "Coincidentally, I have what I need right here."

Cog struggled in the chair again, harder than earlier. Total panic flooded her systems. This time, he would not hesitate. She had already answered every question he'd had, except for one. The drill was his tool to find that answer, not the punishment for a wrong answer.

He grabbed a rag and tied it around her mouth, muffling her struggling noises.

"Our little bonding time together has given me some very insightful information. It should please you to know that you are not my priority target, and that she is still at large. Still, the next time you see Secret Agent Ike, ask why you've become one of his pawns."

In one slow motion, he walked back around to face her again. "Sorry, Cog," he said, "but secrets don't keep once they're airborne."

He activated the drill. Its loud buzzing filled the room and leaked out into the passages surrounding it.

"Stop!" Sail yelled, angrily bursting through the door. Lukas jumped, stunned by her sudden interruption. For a brief moment, nobody did anything. The three glanced back and forth between each other. Lukas was the first to move, his expression changing from stunned to disappointed.

"Oh, Sail," he pined, reaching into his overcoat, "you were so pretty, too. Too bad you had to be both Jewish and stupid." He pulled out the Luger, aiming directly at her chest. She paused, horror in her eyes. He was a Nazi to the core.

Cog struggled more, trying to break free before either he or the drill reached their target. It was a race against two timers. With one more forceful tug, the strap binding her leg tore, giving her one limb to fight back with.

"Don't do anything stupid!" Bolt yelled from behind Sail. He had his ratchet wrench in hand, but knew it was no chance against a gun. Sail ignored him. Without warning, she charged at Lukas, yelling.

He knew she was going to charge, but it registered a tad too late. Cog saw, and she kicked out as hard as she could. Her high heel connected with his knee at the same time he fired a shot, which burrowed into the wall near Sail. She took the opportunity to tackle him, sending them both to the ground. The switch flew from his hand and skipped across the floor, but he still clung to the gun.

He fired again, this time sending the bullet through the ceiling. Sprocket rushed in and also rammed him, this time removing the pistol from his hand. He twisted Lukas' shirt and lifted him into the air, pointing the gun at him. Sail grabbed the switch from the floor, unsure of what any of the controls did.

"You, sir," Sprocket growled, "are going to tell us how to turn that drill off, or you're trading spots with her!"

Lukas hesitated. He had to think quickly, or he would never escape. There was almost no way they would leave him alone, considering what he'd just done. Unless...

"Flip the left switch up to move it back to its original position," he instructed.

"Wait, don't!" Gogs and Bolt simultaneously yelled, as they were unstrapping Cog, though Sail had already flipped the switch by the time they called out. The drill sped up, moving even quicker towards Cog's flinching and squirming forehead.

Gogs ran over and took the remote from Sail, messing with its levers and buttons until the drill stopped. Almost everyone in the room exhaled a sigh of relief, and Cog had tears streaming down her face. It had stopped less than two inches away. With a little more fiddling, Gogs made the drill retract back up to its original position, far away from endangering her again.

Sail and Bolt both helped her off the chair, and Sprocket aggressively put Lukas in her place. He used the three working straps to keep him down and duct-taped the last one using a roll he found in one of the drawers. There was also a lot more equipment in there, and he suspected it had all been recently added.

"I knew we couldn't trust you, Kraut," he said, spitting the word out like it was poison. "The one person you get to be on your side in your entire life, and you kidnap and nearly kill her."

"Honestly, I'm surprised I wasn't stopped on day two," Lukas responded. "I've been setting this plan up since I received my acceptance letter to board the Globetrotter. Remember that noise you heard in the vents that you thought was strange? That was me. You see, I was putting a radar in the vent to prepare for what's happening next. The best part is, there's nothing Amp can do, being dead and all."

"What's happening next?" Sprocket asked.

"You killed Amp!?" Sail simultaneously yelled.

"Yes, I did. The day we learned about pipes in Airship Anatomy, I found the perfect way to finish my plan. He's dead and locked in his office, with nobody piloting the ship away from what's coming next."

"What's happening next?!" Sprocket repeated, irritated. Loud, blaring sirens answered him.

"Nazis," Bolt concluded. "Nazi airships."

"Yep," Lukas responded. The five went to run back upstairs, another panic already setting in. They left him alone in the torture chamber, unable to move. "Enjoy World War III!" he yelled.

Cog turned and re-entered the room. She took a deep breath, punched him as hard as she could, and ran back out without a word. He was left in the alarm's silence with a broken jaw.