Omega Sanction

Chapter Twenty-seven

Terri woke to the sound of shouting and boots tramping down the corridor. Doors slammed open, the steel thudding against concrete. A girl screamed and Terri ran over to the door and pressed against it, listening. A man was yelling in a language she had never heard before.

Terri fell into the hallway as her door was suddenly jerked open. A boot swung and hit her in the ribs, knocking the air out of her lungs. She scuttled away from the boot as it swung once more at her. Several men in light-colored camouflage had the other girls in the corridor. The man who had just kicked Terri reached down and grabbed her by the neck, hauling her to her feet.

She kicked him and earned a throttling in retaliation. Terri gasped for air as the man's hand tightened down, cutting off the flow of air to her lungs. With bulging eyes she stared into his dark-skinned face.

She realized she was going to die; that this was the last minute of her life. She kicked with weakening legs, feeling them strike his body, but there was no loosening of the hand around her neck.

She didn't want to die. That was the only thought that resonated through her mind. Her vision was fading, the sounds becoming muted.

A man's voice rose above the commotion, screaming something in the strange tongue.

The hand released and Terri collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. She felt the boot kick her once, twice, a third time, but she didn't react; she was so grateful to feel the oxygen in her lungs, to know she wasn't going to die.

She looked up. A tall man was striding down the corridor, yelling at the men in camouflage. This man wore a dark green uniform, with numerous badges on it and gold epaulets. She could see guards kicking the other girls, all of whom were on the floor like she was.

With a kick to get her attention, the guard who had choked her gestured for her to stand up. Terri got to her feet and the guard threw her back into her cell, slamming the door shut.

Terri sank down onto the floor, back against the door. She was hyperventilating, and with great effort she forced herself to stop. She got the breathing under control — barely — and curled up in a ball on the floor, sobbing. She could hear the other girls crying and for once she didn't call out to comfort them. She barely had the strength for herself.