Incarceration

Several months have gone by since that fateful day that led Ken to his current situation. For more days than he has been able to keep a record, Ken has been left alone in this small, dark room. His meals have been handed to him on a plate that is passed through a small slot at the bottom of the door. He gets two meals a day. This has been his only contact with the outside world. For Ken, he has lost track of whether it is ever day or night. He has also lost all meaning of time. For, on some occasions, he has not been fed for two days. But, since his only method of determining time is the meals he is fed, he never knew how much time had passed.

His time alone has also allowed him to think on many things. In particular, he has thought considerably about the war. He has wondered if it is necessary. He has also wondered if it was the Independants that started the conflict. The propaganda he last heard told that the Independants started fighting for no reason. And, at the time, he believed what he heard even though he had seen some evidence to the contrary. But, the government was always there to help people and he believed in government. However, since his incarceration, he has had a new outlook.

No truly just government would allow him to be imprisoned for following his conscience as he did. And, if they did not come to his aid, it is very likely that they could have started the war as the Independants say. What he could not figure out in his time here, was what the government did that started the war. On this subject, he would think. Sometimes, he would think on it for days at a time, trying to see it from every angle. However he mulled it over, he still could not find the reason.

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Months later still, Ken continues his routine of eating when they give him food, sleeping when he needs it, and thinking the rest of the time. Things are progressing much as they always do for him when he starts hearing strange noises from outside his door. Having not listened much to the noises around him, he is having trouble discerning what he is hearing.

After several minutes, he can tell that the something making the noise is touching his door. It sounds of a high pitched, but quiet whine. The noise gets louder as his ear rests on the door when the pitch changes slightly. The change startles him and he runs to the other side of the cell.

His reaction was timed just right as a small piece of the door, just above where his ear was pressed to it, falls inward and what looks like a drill follows it through the newly formed hole. The drill leaves the hole in the door and a bright light shines through it, searching the cell. The light moves away and then a shadow closes the hole. Ken cannot tell what has blocked the hole again.

Then he hears a voice, "He looks to be ok."

Another voice, a woman, responds, "Ok, open the door."

The door opens and a flood of light comes into the room. Ken is blinded for an instant before he can cover his eyes with his sleeve. He has not seen so much light since he was locked in the cell. Suddenly, he feels strong arms grab him under each arm. He tries to struggle but is quite weak. He is again blinded by the light as they pick him up off the ground. The hands holding him keep him restrained as another hand, much softer, takes his cheek.

She speaks softly to him, "It's ok Ken. It's Jessica. You are going to be fine. We are going to get you out of here."

Her soft voice, missing from his life, calms him right down. He tries to open his eyes to find that they have turned off their flashlights, which allows him to see. When he fully opens his eyes, her beautiful face sits in front of him with the most glorious smile he has ever seen. He looks into her eyes and sees a pain and joy he has never seen before.

The moment is short lived as her face turns suddenly serious. "Come on, we have to get you out of here." She turns to the men holding Ken, "Let's go. We are on the clock."

They move swiftly through corridors that seem to Ken to have been from another life. He remembers them, but only vaguely. He has lost track of where they are going when suddenly he feels a rush of wind. When he opens his eyes again, he finds that they are outside the building and that there is a vehicle there apparently waiting for them. Jessica opens the door as the men get Ken into the car before entering themselves. Jessica follows them and closes the door. The vehicle starts to move very quickly. But, Ken knows that they are at a military facility and they would never let him out.

He hears some loud clicks and looks over to them. He sees a new compartment in the car that should not be there. Jessica looks to him, "Get in Ken. You'll only have to be in there for a little while. I'm sorry it's cramped after what you've been through. But, it's the only way we can get you outside the gates."

Ken looks at her for a moment, wondering now if she is telling the truth. He is about to protest when she smiles at him again. He can see in her eyes that she means him no harm. He quietly moves into the very small space as they lock it above him. From this space under the car, he can feel every bump in the road as they move along. After a few minutes, he can feel the vehicle slowing and then coming to stop. He cannot hear anything that is happening outside. The vehicle is still for what feels like a long time to Ken before it starts moving again.

After a few more minutes, the hatch to his new cell is opened. He looks out to see Jessica's smiling face again. A hand from one of the men reaches in to help Ken out of the space. As he is climbing out, he asks, "How long were we stopped?"

One of the men answers in a kindly voice, "Just two or three minutes, about the norm for a gate checkpoint."

Sitting in the seat again Ken says, "Wow, it felt a lot longer down here."

Jessica puts a hand on his arm saying, "I'm sorry about that."

Ken puts his free hand on top of hers, smiling for the first time that he can remember. "It's ok, I understand. Thank you." He suddenly thinks of the General. "Where are we going? You won't be able to hide me from Him long."

She puts her free hand on his cheek again, "Don't worry about it, Ken. Everything has been taken care of for us. You will be safe."