Their Darkest Hour

Chapter Twenty-Six

Alien Detention Camp

United Kingdom, Day 36

The first few days in the detention camp were unpleasant. Alex wasn’t sure why the aliens hadn’t bothered to provide shelters for their prisoners, which meant that when it rained — as it did every night — the bedding became soaked and refused to dry until the morning. A number of the prisoners were already suffering from exposure and were at death’s door, but the aliens didn’t seem concerned. When she was feeling charitable, which wasn’t very often, Alex guessed that the aliens liked the rain and believed that the humans would like it too. The other explanation was that the aliens were deliberately torturing their captives and breaking their will to resist. It seemed as likely as any other possibility.

She had spent the first day studying the alien base, what little she could see of it from behind the wire. It seemed to be a small military base, although it was definitely not as active as Bastion or any of the other major bases she’d deployed to before the aliens had invaded and turned the entire planet upside down. Judging from the way they’d extended the wire several times since the invasion — several of the prisoners admitted to have been behind the wire since day one — they might just have intended it as a prison for rebellious types.

The next few days had been worse. She’d wondered endlessly who’d betrayed them — and why? Had the traitor been terrified for his life, or the lives of his family — or had he merely wanted thirty pieces of silver? The conditions outside the cities were better than inside the cities — at least if the internet was to be believed — but no one had been very safe. Perhaps the traitor, hearing stories about entire towns being blasted from orbit for daring to harbour resistance fighters, had decided that Long Stratton would be left unmolested if the resistance was handed over to the aliens. Absently, she wondered if Archer or any of the others had made it out safety, or if they’d been caught by the aliens. She tried to form mental pictures of them blasting their way through entire alien formations, but she had to admit that they weren’t particularly likely. Archer had suggested heading into the national parks or other undeveloped parts of Britain and setting up long-term bases there. She hoped — prayed — that they managed to get out and carry on the fight. They would have to do it without her.

Every time she heard a noise in the sky, she looked up, wondering what she would see. Sometimes she saw the massive shuttles the aliens used to land troops from orbit, too large to fly without some kind of antigravity device; sometimes their attack helicopters, larger than the outdated Russian helicopters that had been flown around Afghanistan. She allowed herself to hope that one day she’d see a streak of light shooting down one of the helicopters, but the resistance seemed to be very thin on the ground around the detention camp. The aliens, according to some of the older prisoners, had simply uprooted thousands of humans and ordered them away from their bases. Remembering some of the havoc caused by dickers — civilians who reported British military movements to the enemy — in Afghanistan, Alex couldn’t blame them, even though the mobile phone network had never been restored.

She shook her head. The Taliban had never scored a major victory, but they’d kept up the pressure and they might have won in the long term — if the aliens hadn’t invaded. But the Coalition had been bound by rules of engagement dreamed up by decent — if ignorant — politicians. The aliens didn’t seem to care about civilian casualties and they were perfectly willing to obliterate entire towns to punish resistance. Weaker forces had defeated stronger forces before — or had at least convinced them to withdraw — but Alex couldn’t remember if they’d ever done it when the stronger forces had also been the barbarians.

When the call came, it took her by surprise. A pair of aliens were standing by the gate, bellowing for her in their toneless voices. She hesitated, considering hiding within the crowd, before realising that it was pointless. Bracing herself, she strode out with as much dignity as she could muster and stopped in front of the aliens. One of them pointed his cannon-like weapon at his chest, as if he imagined that she was a threat. Alex couldn’t keep the giggles from forming deep inside her chest. She was half-naked, half-starved and completely unarmed… and he thought she was a threat?

“Turn around and place your hands behind your back,” the alien ordered. Alex obeyed, unsurprised to feel a metal tie contracting around her wrists. They weren’t taking any chances, all right. Their voices were almost robotic. “Walk with us. Do not attempt to escape.”

The alien strung her around and marched her towards the gate, which clanged shut behind them. Despite her growing nervousness, Alex was privately glad of the chance to inspect the rest of the base. A number of human-designed buildings were still intact, but others had clearly been knocked down and were being replaced by prefabricated alien buildings. She caught sight of what looked like a futuristic car at the end of one building, before her escort marched her onwards, half-pulling her whenever she tried to slow them down. The sound of alien voices speaking what had to be their own language — it sounded like grunting to her ears — caught her attention and she looked up. A small group of aliens was staring at her, their dark eyes wide. Surely she wasn’t the first human they’d seen…

And these aliens were smaller. For a moment, she wondered if they were children, before realising that they were differently proportioned than her escort. Alien females? She’d assumed that the aliens had their own version of keeping women barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen, but maybe they made better use of female labour than some human societies. Their clothing was different too… she wondered, absently, how the aliens mated, before pushing the thought aside. It was clear that she was about to have far more serious problems.

A human designed building loomed up in front of her and the aliens pushed her right into the darkness. For a moment, Alex was completely disorientated before her eyes adjusted to the gloom. There was a chair in the centre of the room, bolted to the floor, and the aliens pushed her down onto the cold metal. She yelped as they stubbed her bound wrists, before, fixing a bar around her chest and walking away. The door closed behind them with an audible clunk.

“Well, well, well,” a voice said, from the darkness. “What have we here?”

Alex started, peering ahead of her. In the gloom, she could make out two figures, both clearly human. They didn’t seem to be restrained. The light came on suddenly, almost blinding her. The two men definitely weren’t restrained. Alien collaborators… or something else? But what else could they be?

“Who…?” Her throat was dry. She could barely speak. “Who are you?”

“Our names aren’t important,” one of the men said. They were both wearing masks to cover their identities, but the speaker was clearly taller than the other. “All that really matters is satisfying our masters.”

He stood up and advanced towards Alex, rubbing his hands together. “You’re been a very naughty girl,” he said, mockingly. “The government surrendered — and you kept the war going all on your own.” His mouth, what little she could see of it, leered. “But now the war is over and you’re a prisoner. No one even knows where you are.”

Alex braced herself, remembering the dreaded Conduct After Capture course they’d been put through during training. The Geneva Conventions had become a joke after the end of the Cold War and the MOD had — reluctantly — admitted that British personnel would be tortured and forced to talk by their captors. They’d been given guidelines, but the decision on how much to say and cooperate had been left with the captured personnel. Alex remembered seeing captured personnel broadcasting from Iran and shuddered. At least a personnel broadcast from her wouldn’t have any effect on the rest of the resistance. She barely knew anything that could be used against anyone else.

“Cooperate with us now and you will be well-treated,” the interrogator said. She could feel his breath on her ear. “We have good food and you can rest. You did your duty — now it’s over. You can relax.”

His finger reached out and traced her chin, gently pulling her head up so she was staring into his eyes. “It’s over,” he said, gently. “Who else was involved with your resistance cell?”

Alex looked down and shook her head. “Come on,” he said, gently. “There’s really nothing to be gained by further resistance. We are going to get it out of you, one way or the other. Why not make it easier upon yourself?”

He stepped back and reached for a small tray lying on his desk. When he stepped back into view, he was holding a small bar of chocolate in his hand. “You know, you used to be able to get as much chocolate as you wanted for a few pounds,” he said. “Now… now you can’t get chocolate at all, unless you have connections.” He spoke the last word with another leer as he opened the packet. “Wouldn’t you like some chocolate?”

Alex recoiled as he held a piece out under her nose. After a few days in the detention camp, part of her wanted the chocolate — and part of her refused to take anything from her interrogator. He held it closer, just above her mouth, waiting to see what she would say. Her mouth was watering, but she shook her head. Perhaps he was right, perhaps it was hopeless, yet she wasn’t going to break so easily. She swore to herself that she wouldn’t break at all.

“You seem to believe that you can remain silent,” the interrogator said. He popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth and ate it with evident enjoyment. “But believe me, you will talk.”

Without warning, he slapped her across the cheek. Alex gasped in pain, feeling blood trickling down the side of her face. Her entire face hurt. He leaned closer and pushed his face against hers, almost as if he intended to kiss her. When he spoke, his voice was a dull whisper.

“You will talk,” he said. “We have all the time in the world to break your resistance. You will be broken apart and then you will tell us everything we want to know. Do you understand me? Resistance is futile.”

He slapped her again. Alex felt an unholy ringing in her head, which faded slowly. She hadn’t had anything like enough to eat over the past few days. Chances were they’d held her long enough for hunger to set in and weaken her resistance. Her lips felt bloody and broken after the two slaps. The strap around her chest seemed to be contracting, squeezing the breath out of her. It was all she could do to remain aware and alert.

A glint of light caught her eye and she froze as the interrogator advanced towards her with a knife. He was going to cut her throat… for a moment, she was gripped with absolute terror, just before realising that they would hardly let her go that easily. She felt a tug as he pulled at what remained of her shirt, slicing it away from her bare skin. Her bra followed, leaving her breasts exposed to their gaze. She cringed back as he pinched her nipple, before turning his attention to her trousers. When he had finished, she was naked and exposed — and helpless. No amount of struggling would break the tie they’d put around her chest.

“Do you understand me?” The interrogator whispered. “You will talk, one way or the other. Talk now and we won’t have to hurt you any longer…”

Alex tried to lose herself in thought. Where had the interrogator come from? She knew that some policemen were collaborating, but surely they would draw the line at such an interrogation… But the aliens had presumably taken the prisons as well. They’d have plenty of volunteers for an interrogation crew if they broke open the cells containing violent offenders. Some of the stories she’d read in the newspapers over the years had been horrific, like the brother who had casually tortured his own sister to death. He’d been jailed for a very long time — but had the aliens freed him and put him to work?

They didn’t seem to enjoy making people suffer themselves. The aliens stamped hard on resistance, and they were indiscriminate when it came to applying heavy weapons, but they didn’t have the sadistic urges that many human despots had indulged. But if they’d found humans who did enjoy making people suffer… the thought was sickening. If someone had suggested it to the aliens…

A hand grabbed her breast and squeezed, hard. Another reached down and clawed between her legs. Alex screamed for the first time, trying to bring her leg up to kick out at her tormentor. He slapped it down and then yanked at her breast. Alex felt her mind start to blur as he slapped her time and time again, the pain threatening to drag her down into the darkness. She’d lost track of time. How long had she been tortured… she heard a hiss and opened her eyes, in time to see a single jet of blue fire right in front of her eyes.

“You won’t be such a pretty face when I’m through with you,” her interrogator whispered. There was no doubt at all that he was enjoying himself. Alex cringed back as the heat came closer and closer to her face, only to be pulled away just before it started to burn her skin. “Do you know how many women I’ve beaten and broken here? How many are nothing more than my slaves, dependent upon me for everything?”

Alex tried to speak, but it was so hard to concentrate. She wanted to give in, and yet some stubborn part of her nature refused to surrender. The pain was growing; she was suddenly aware that he’d freed her from the chair, only to roll her over so she was bent over the chair, her buttocks lifted up for his inspection. Something sent a wave of pain over her rear and she screamed again, feeling a desperate desire to be sick that sent a tidal wave of vomit out of her mouth. Everything she’d eaten in the camp, as mushy and tasteless as it had been, seemed to be spilling out of her.

She felt his hands on her rear, spreading her thighs. And then she felt him pressing his hardness into her… the pain and humiliation overwhelmed her, sending her crashing down into darkness. Her last thought, shining out against the blackness, was that she’d told them nothing…

“Are you all right?”

Alex opened her eyes slowly, unsure of what had happened to her. She found herself in a small cell, staring up at a naked girl. The bruises on her skin told their own story. Every single piece of Alex’s body hurt in ways she would have thought unimaginable. It hurt to try to open her mouth and speak. The pain around her breasts was horrific.

“Remain still,” the girl urged. “He’s cut you, the bastard. I don’t know if you’ll recover…”

Somehow, despite the pain, Alex managed to pull herself up into a sitting position — and instantly regretted it. Her buttocks felt as if they were on fire. Carefully, she inspected herself and saw red marks and cuts covering her skin. Some of them looked to have broken the skin, only to be allowed to heal on their own, without interference. She glanced around the dirty cell and realised that there was a good chance that one or more of the scars would become infected. And then… she doubted that they’d give her any medical treatment. Maybe the infection would finish her off quickly.

“What…?” She managed to say. Her mouth still hurt, even when she touched it. They’d slapped her, she recalled. Maybe they’d knocked out a tooth or two. Or maybe… hadn’t she read a book, once, where the hero had had his teeth removed to make him talk? She didn’t seem to be missing any teeth, but her mouth hurt too much for her to be sure. “What happened to me?”

“They dumped you in here,” the girl said. “I don’t think you told him anything. He was proper raging when he left you here and told me to take care of you. I think he’s probably afraid that the Leathernecks will be angry with him for failing to get anything out of you.”

“Good,” Alex managed, finally. Maybe they’d send him to be interrogated instead. A taste of his own medicine would teach him a lesson. “Where… where did they get you?”

The girl hesitated, and then shrugged. “My brother was killed by the bastards and I was taken away,” she said. “When I woke up, I was here — at his mercy. You… you don’t know what they’ve done to me…”

“I think I can guess,” Alex said. The bastard had raped her, just as he’d raped Alex. Part of her wanted to crawl into a corner and die, but the rest of her wanted revenge. There would be a chance to kill the bastard and she intended to take it. It was the only thing left to her. “Do you have more water? Something to wash?”

“There’s a shower over there, but the water’s always cold,” the girl said. Alex pulled herself to her feet, despite the pain, and staggered towards the little chamber. “They do it on purpose, the bastards.”

“Probably,” Alex agreed. Her body was stained with blood — and his seed. She wanted to be clean again, even though she felt as if she would never be clean. “But we will get them, one day.”