Snippet #1199345

Dr. James could tell Fintan was feeling anxious for Peri, but it was for her sake he could not allow distractions. They needed to get their plan underway if they were going to escape soon and prevent a long future imprisoned behind these bars.

"Fintan," he said in a low voice, "Concentrate. If we're going to get out of here quickly, we need to plan carefully. How long should it take to be ready?"

Peri shuddered as Dr. Nahoko stepped back to his station behind his control panel. She wondered how long it would take her to fold this time. As per usual, Dr. Nahoko would ask her to unfurl her wings. When she refused and sat motionlessly in the chair, he would come and put a helmet on her that send shoots of pains directly into her neural pattern. She usually gave in pretty quickly after that, but she had a new resolve in her this time. Though she should be compliant to avoid suspicion, she found she didn't want to anymore.

"Now," Dr. Nahoko said, "Let out your wings." Peri didn't say a word. Instead, she picked a spot on the floor in front of her and stared at it, hard. Dr. Nahoko sighed, used to this much defiance and, like usual, fixed the helmet to her head.

"I'll give you one last chance," he warned. Peri continued to stare at that spot, a little black mark on the white tiles. She knew the moment her turned the dial, because it sent a painful shock to her brain. She didn't cry out, didn't move, merely stared at the spot. Dr. Nahoko cranked up the strength, but not by much. He merely wanted her to comply, not be in excruciating pain. Peri took a deep breath and let it out in a shaky but steady stream, not removing her eyes from that spot. He turned it up once more, warranting an almost-whimper from Peri that had her biting her lip to stay quiet.

"Why are you being so stubborn today?" Dr. Nahoko asked with impatience. He cranked it up another notch, but Peri didn't budge. She was in a cold sweat now, and her tears were leaking involuntarily from the pain. Her resistance incited anger in Dr. Nahoko, and he turned the dial up two marks this time. Peri felt like her head would explode, but she continued to stare at the spot, the little black mark going fuzzy in her vision. She still refused to cry out, but she couldn't help but move now, trying to clutch her aching head. One last shot of pain hit her all at once, and the black spot grew, engulfing her vision as she slumped forward. Her last thought before she went unconscious was how proud she was not to have folded or screamed, for once.