\u201cBold words,\u201d the woman\u2019s voice said, her tone musing and unimpressed all at once. \u201cWe\u2019ll see if we have to put them to the test.\u201d She paused, and he could almost see her nodding to their captors in his mind\u2019s eye, though he was still dazzled, blinded by whatever trick they\u2019d used. \u201cBring them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom momentarily calculated the odds of all four of them escaping if one of them made a move and dismissed the idea almost immediately. Blinded with no hope of coordination, they didn\u2019t have a chance\u2014one of them might make it away, maybe two, but not all four of them.<\/p>\n
Their captors frog-marched them deeper into the camp. Thom\u2019s vision began to clear around the time he was shoved roughly into a small, half-burned building with holes in its roof large enough that he could see the sky through the blur of his tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cThought you\u2019d be friendly,\u201d Cameron said as he was shoved down into a chair. The former soldier was looking around, now, clearly able to see but apparently content to let their captors keep the upper hand for now. It made sense. There wasn\u2019t much<\/em> reason to antagonize them much more than they already had been by sheer presence of the four men. \u201cThought you\u2019d be glad to see another living, breathing, friendly<\/em> face coming in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnce burned, twice shy,\u201d the woman said. She was a small thing with ice-blue eyes and short-cropped white blonde hair. \u201cWe gave a man shelter briefly and then things<\/em> came.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of things?\u201d Seamus asked, his voice hoarse.<\/p>\n \u201cMonsters,\u201d the woman said. \u201cMonsters came. Monsters wearing the skins of men. We know better now than to trust what we see with our eyes. We\u2019ve learned our lesson and learned it well.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh damn. Maybe this wasn\u2019t a good idea after all.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cBold words,\u201d the woman\u2019s voice said, her tone musing and unimpressed all at once. \u201cWe\u2019ll see if we have to put them to the test.\u201d She paused, and he could almost see her nodding to their captors in his mind\u2019s … Continue reading