Reborn: A Science Fiction Thriller by Aaron Hodges

Author:Aaron Hodges [Hodges, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780995142275
Published: 2021-08-15T22:00:00+00:00

Forty

Sam groaned as the first tingle of consciousness tugged at his mind. He fought against it, clinging to the dark cloud of oblivion, desperate for its cold, numbing comfort. But slowly the light trickled in, casting out the black, dragging him back to reality, and the agony of his body.

He winced as lances of fire twisted in his muscles, and another groan tore from his lips. A low gurgle started in his chest and made its way up his throat, until the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. Rolling onto his side, he spat it onto the concrete. He swallowed hard, and felt the cold steel collar pressing against his throat.

Lying there with his eyes closed, his memory started to return. He saw again Ashley’s fall, her wondrous white wings folding in on themselves as she plummeted to the snowy ground. He remembered lifting her broken body into his arms, his whispers as he begged her to fight, to live. Then the short flight from the cliffs, his wings straining hard to keep them both aloft, the ground rising up to meet him.

And the guards waiting, their rifles held at the ready, watching their approach.

They had taken Ashley from him the moment he landed. Sam had made no effort to resist – the doctors in the facility were the only ones who could help her now. After securing Ashley, the guards had turned their attention on him. The hulking captain had stepped forward and slammed his rifle into Sam’s stomach, driving the air from his lungs. As he crumpled, something hard had struck the back of his head, toppling him to the ground. Steel-capped boots had descended on him then, smashing him in the face and ribs, slamming into his back and crunching the fragile feathers of his wings.

Unable to defend himself, Sam had curled into a ball and waited for death. Finally, a blow had caught him in the side of the head, and he’d gladly given way to the darkness that rose to claim him.

Hours later he had woken in this room, to a group of hard-faced men in suits standing over him. At his first signs of movement, two guards had sprung forward and pulled him to his knees. His head still spinning from the beating, Sam had met their questions with stony silence.

Who was Angela Fallow working with?

How did she free you?

Where are they going?

His refusals to answer had been answered by fists. A blow had caught him in the forehead and sent him reeling sideways. But as he tried to roll free of the guards, the collar around his neck had pulled him up short. Only then had he noticed the short length of chain connecting his collar to a bolt in the ground. Helpless, he had looked up in time to catch a hard boot in the side of his face.

For days now his captors had tormented him, until he no longer knew whether it was day or night. Time lost all meaning – only the presence of his tormentors mattered.

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