Mia lay in the small bed, wrapped in a soft blanket. She was not alone. No one would leave her alone. Two alien medics, one male and one female, stayed in the room with her.

She was grateful that they tended her wounds. She was no longer in pain. They appeared to know what they were doing. She was also happy that they fixed her vocal cords. She was no longer mute. She knew she couldn't try to talk yet. It might mess up what they had done. It needed time to heal before she tried to speak. It gave her something to look forward to... being able to talk again.

The door opened, and the male medic came in; he had the tubing device used for feeding in one hand. Fear filled her eyes. She did not like being fed using that. It was painful, and it made her choke. She felt like she would die when they had used it on her earlier.

The male medic also brought in a bowl of something. Steam rose from the bowl, like wisps of smoke. There was an unidentified utensil, probably a spoon, resting inside the bowl with its contents.

The two medics sat next to her; the male spoke gently. "Try to eat. This is good. It's a cream soup made with mushrooms," he told her.

Mia swallowed hard and gave a sideways glance at the feeding tube. She couldn't help the fear of it showing in her features. Her eyes were wide with fear of it being used on her again. The male seemed to have noticed. "We only use that if you cannot eat this," he stated gently, his voice soft, trying not to frighten her more than she already was. They had brought it in, just in case she was unable to consume the soup normally.

Hearing that, Mia felt a little relieved as the male medic sat down and stirred the soup with the spoon. "Be careful; it may be hot," he cautioned.

Spooning a small spoonful, he fed her. The soup was fantastic and reminded her of the homemade cream of mushroom soup that her grandmother, Terrie, used to make every weekend, serving it with her homemade seed crackers.

The medic watched her closely. He could tell that the only reason she was cooperating as he fed her was fear of being fed through the feeding tube. He could see the apprehension in her features as she kept glancing over at the offending device.

"I will never hurt you," he told her gently. "My name is Renn. That over there is Rai," he said, pointing his chin over at his female partner.

Mia looked between Rai and Renn. She remembered how Rai had pulled her out from under the desk. Recognition showed in her features before she instinctively backed away when she looked at her.

As Renn watched Mia, he realized what was wrong. Feeding her another spoonful, he spoke gently to her. "Rai had to get you out so that your arm would not be damaged more than it already was. She didn't want to force you, but she needed you out so we could help you," he explained gently.

He realized he wasn't explaining very well. He was never good at explaining things, so he decided not to say anything more about it. He continued to feed her the soup until the bowl was empty. "All done," he told her. Touching her chin to ensure she was looking at him. "Would you like me to get you more?" he asked her.

Mia stared into Renn's black eyes, not sure what else to do. She couldn't speak, so she couldn't tell him if she wanted more.

"Are you still hungry?" he asked as she continued to watch him.

Realizing she didn't have to speak to answer him, she finally nodded slightly. Rai immediately walked over, taking the bowl. "I'll get it. She's far more comfortable with you," she said, quickly taking the bowl and leaving Renn alone with her.

"When you can speak again, you can tell me what food you prefer," Renn told her, smiling, trying to ease her fear. His voice was gentle. He could tell that she did not like being left alone with him. He determined it was most likely because of what the man, Travis, had done to her.

Rai walked in moments later with a fresh bowl of soup and handed it to Renn. He took it and stirred it, letting it cool for a moment before feeding it to Mia.

She quickly finished that bowl, too.

"Are you still hungry?" Renn asked her. His voice remained gentle. It was like speaking to a scared child. He was trying to be as nonthreatening as possible.

Mia shook her head, still watching Renn closely. She wasn't sure if she could trust him.

As soon as Renn had set the bowl down, Rai picked it up and left the room with it. Mia stiffened, alone in the room again with the male.

"I won't hurt you," he told her, seeing her sudden change.

The door slid open, and another walked in. Renn stood, facing his superior. "Medic Kaul, Mia has had two bowls of soup. She has not been able to speak yet, but that is good. She needs to heal before she tries. What are your further instructions?" Renn asks Medic Kaul.

Medic Kaul pulled a scanner out of his lab coat and walked to Mia to scan her without speaking. She backed away immediately, knocking over a lighting device. It fell on its side, nearly falling off the small table and onto the floor. Her eyes were wide with fear as she backed away from Medic Kaul. This was the one who liked to experiment using the prisoners as lab rats.

Kaul sighed; his jaw was tight. He set his scanner to the setting needed and then handed it to Renn. "Scan her, then hand it back to me so I can look at the results," Medic Kaul ordered.

Renn took the scanner and quickly scanned Mia. Mia didn't show the same fear toward him as she did toward Medic Kaul. When he was done scanning her, he handed the scanner back to Medic Kaul. After looking at the small screen, he faced Mia. "Your DNA is different. I want to know what is different about you," he told her. His voice was tight, fighting back his anger.

Mia didn't speak. She couldn't, even if she wanted to talk; she couldn't.

"We will have this conversation, or you will be sent back to the prison cells," he told her evenly, his anger spiking. "You are still a prisoner until it is determined that you are innocent."

Renn moved in front of her, blocking Medic Kaul's view. "She cannot speak yet, sir," Renn pleaded. "If you send her back to the cells, she will only get worse."

Medic Kaul gritted his teeth, his anger rising further. "Yet if she doesn't speak, she's going back now," he growled. "She is still a prisoner."

Mia backed away, nearly falling to the floor. She had seen what this one does to humans. She knew he wanted to do the same to her. She figured she shouldn't have eaten. She could have died before he decided to study her in the same manner he did with the others.

Medic Kaul pushed Renn out of the way roughly. "Speak!" he demanded; his eyes narrowed at the frightened Mia. Tears were streaming down her face.

Mia tried to speak, but failed. The attempt made her cough. Since her vocal cords weren't healed, she coughed up blood. It ran down her mouth, dripping onto the white sheets. She couldn't speak.

"Guards!" Medic Kaul yelled. His eyes narrowed on Mia. There was a clear hatred in his eyes.

Four guards entered the clinic's private room, surveying the scene before them.

"Take her back to her prison cell," Medic Kaul demanded before any of the guards could say anything.

The guards looked at Medic Kaul in shock. This wasn't like him. They had to follow orders, however. Gently picking Mia up, they left with her to go to the prison.

When they reached the prison, they entered, walking past the rows of cells. The prisoners looked up, and so did the guards who had been watching them. All of their eyes zoned in on Mia. Seeing the blood running down her chin, many gave her pitying looks.

One tall male guard opened the cell door. The guard who was carrying her walked her in, setting her gently on the floor. The cells had no beds. They were all just empty cells. The guards weren't allowed to give the prisoners a blanket or anything to comfort them.

The guard looked down at her, crouching beside her, before he left. "I will call our leader, Council Leader Vorik. You should not be in here. You should be in the clinic being treated for your injuries and cared for."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.