The Shattered Land by Gregory Mattix

Author:Gregory Mattix [Mattix, Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction
Published: 2013-09-23T22:00:00+00:00

***

Marcus pried open his gummy eyes. He felt numb all over and wondered why he had dreamt of that night for the first time in many years. His mouth felt as if it was stuffed with cotton. He looked around and saw that he lay on a hard cot in a large room. The building looked to be a rough-hewn stone structure. He was surrounded by the soft snores of people on a number of cots around him. Several small, dimmed lanterns provided light for the room.

At the far end of the room, four people sat at a table holding a quiet conversation. He saw a young man and woman and an older couple. A half-empty bottle of liquor sat on the table, and each of them had a glass. He didn’t recognize any of the people. Where am I? What happened? And where’s Liu?

Marcus tried to sit up but was overcome with dizziness. He put both hands to his head and felt a thick bandage was wrapped around his head. What the hell? After a moment, the dizziness passed, and he was able to sit up on the cot.

“Your Thorne man is awake,” the younger woman said.

A chair scraped against the floor, and the young man approached. “Marcus? How are you feeling?” The man sat on the empty cot facing Marcus. He had close-cropped dark hair and hard gray eyes.

“What the hell happened? Where are we?”

The man regarded him for a moment. “You were wounded in a firefight when you tried to get away from the slavers. You’re lucky to be alive, I must say. Not many people survive gunshots to the head. I’m no doctor, but I would say you have a good chance of a full recovery.”

Everything started coming back to Marcus. “The slavers! Did we escape?”

“Not exactly, but you’re safe now. We tended to you the best we could, but unfortunately, morphine was the only thing Hank and Rhonda had for the pain. Do you want some water?” Marcus nodded, and the man got up and walked back to the table. “You can call me Reznik, by the way,” he added over his shoulder.

The other three were regarding him as well. The older couple looked at him with pity while the young blond woman looked disinterested.

Reznik handed him a glass of water, and Marcus drank greedily. “Don’t drink too much, or you might throw up,” Reznik cautioned. “The other captives said they hadn’t been fed in days, and you look like you’ve missed a few meals yourself.”

“Yeah,” Marcus said. He remembered Liu falling and the weasel-faced man with the smoking gun. “Where’s Liu? Is he okay?”

Reznik shook his head slightly. “I’m sorry… he didn’t make it.” He patted Marcus on the shoulder. “You should get some more rest. We can speak again in the morning.”

Marcus just sat there, crushed at the news. Liu had been his best friend for as long as he could remember. They had grown up together in the compound, and both had become interns at Thorne Industries Bio-tech Division together.

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