| Once inside the limits of the town, they hardly got twenty feet before the barrel of a rifle lifted out of the water slightly and pointed directly at them. They lifted their hands into the air in surrender as a man rose silently from the surface, gun still pointed at them. Keeping his eyes on his prisoners, the man called over his shoulder for someone on the bank. � Got two!� � Bring them!� So they were directed out of the river to a small grove of trees. They waited for ten minutes and then the resistance group leader came out to question them. He seemed as surprised to see them as they were to see him. � Sam! Emily!� � Fox!� They were accepted into the resistance group and led underground. � I�m sure I don�t have to tell you to keep this a secret. We have a full network throughout this continent and we�re getting ready to go back up to Canada.� Once they�d been given a brief tour of the place, he turned to them and frowned, as though he suddenly remembered something. � Hey, where�s Echo?� Samantha slowly went over and hugged her brother. � I�m so sorry, Fox. They carried a body bag out this morning. Her room was empty when I looked in and the doctors said the same thing. She�s dead.� He stiffened in her arms, then slowly slipped to the floor, taking his sister with him. � No . . . Princess . . .� Emily cleared out the room and made sure the doors were completely shut before going over and hugging him as well. Then and only then would he show his weakness and cry for his lost little Princess. Fort Defiance Slave Camp Fort Defiance, Arizona Friday, October 12, 2001 2:14 P.M. She sighed heavily. She wasn�t ready to look at anyone else right now. She wanted to just sit back and relax for one day. The body bag proved the person was dead and she really didn�t want to look at another cadaver for the rest of the day. What could it hurt if the body sat there one more day? But in the interest of her life, she unzipped the body bag, jumping back when she saw who it was. � Oh my God! Sam!� To further her surprise, the body responded and shifted minutely. There was a moment of quiet, then the eyes opened, quickly shutting at the invasion of the strong overhead light. � Shit! My head . . .� She pushed the bright light away and bent over the living human being, touching the pasty white skin gently. � Sam? Can you hear me?� The hazel eyes opened tentatively, ready for another stream of painful light. When it didn�t come, the eyes opened more. � Damn spots.� � Sam?� � Hang on, hang on. I can�t see.� � It�s Mom.� � Oh, hi Mom.� There was a confused pause, then the girl sat up. � Mom?!� Fresh pain caused her to hunch over herself defensively. She made the younger woman lie down. � Don�t move so much, Sam. I still haven�t been able to figure out what�s wrong with you.� � Don�t bother. I know already.� Echo rolled onto her side, relieving some of the pressure that had been forced on her stomach and spine and the tingling pain at her back. � Okay, I think I�m going to be sleeping like this from now on.� She moved around so she could look at her daughter head-on. � Sam, what have they done to you?� � Okay, for the record, my name is now officially Echo. And as for what they did to me, they implanted an alien embryo in me and now my body is killing itself to get rid of the embryo.� � Why?� � Because they also injected me with anti-rejection drugs. So yeah, I�m dying as I lie here on this exam table.� � There�s nothing that can be done?� � Nope.� � How do you know?� � Aunt Sam did some tests. My body�s being taxed too much.� She frowned. � Aunt Sam?� Then it hit her. � You mean . . .� � Yep. She was a doctor at the Fort Lyon laboratories.� A pause. � Don�t worry, I have a present for you too.� � Oh?� � Yeah. I met her at the slave camp I was taken to in Utah. It�s why I changed my name to Echo, in honor of the camp. If it can be considered honor and not total loathing.� At her mother�s blank look, Echo said softly, � I found her, Mom. I found Emily. Alive and well.� � . . . Are you joking?� � No, I am not joking! Come on, Mom! You think I�d joke about something like that?!� � Where is she?� � Don�t know. I left her back at the camp.� � In Utah?� � No, in Colorado. At the Eagle Slave Camp.� � Isn�t that for men only?� � Yeah, but Emily and I got on the inside through major good-girl jobs. I was sent to the Eagle Slave Camp as commander and brought her along as my secretary and Aunt Sam as our personal doctor. I found Dad and Uncle Skinner and checked up on the rest of you regularly.� Fort Defiance Slave Camp Fort Defiance, Arizona Friday, October 12, 2001 2:19 P.M. � Does your father know about your aunt?� � Yes.� � Good.� I let my eyes shut, trying to get sleep before the intense pain began to wrack my body again. But Mom wasn�t about to let me. � Wait a minute. Don�t go to sleep yet. Can you sit up so I can check you like they want?� � Sure.� I sat up and removed the large testing frock (or whatever the hell it is) they�d put on me. Mom gasped. � Doesn�t that hurt?� � My back? Well, no. But it itches. Why?� � You�ve been whipped.� I paused. � Yeah, I vaguely remember them doing that because prisoners escaped from my camp.� <--Division 7 Division 9--> |