Chapter 2

I returned to the main room and stared at the prisoner. He was still lying there naked, strapped to the table with his back to me, head lowered. I approached and he began to tremble and struggle violently.

I got closer and looked at his face. It really was the journalist much thinner than in the photos, but the same features, now filled with terror as he saw me.

I raised my gun into the air under his watchful eyes and told him to calm down. He looked at me, confused. I asked if he understood me, but he only stared back in fear. I placed a finger over my lips, signaling for silence, since it was clear he didn’t speak my language. I showed him the gun held high and far from him. Only then did he go quiet.

I walked around and went to his feet, which were tied and hanging from that strange table or chair, I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. I cut the strap holding them with my knife, stood up, and paused, staring at his naked body. What the hell had they been doing to this man?

I then cut the two straps securing his back and helped him stand. He staggered, clearly weak, and his hands were still cuffed. It was better to leave them that way for now he was still a prisoner to us too.

Once he was fully on his feet, he looked at me in terror. He backed away, pressing himself against the wall behind him, his face even more frightened as he said something. I instinctively raised my gun. He glanced at the weapon in my hand and shrank back, muttering something else.

I lifted both hands in the air, showing him I wasn’t going to shoot. He kept staring at me. I signaled for silence again and told him there might be more soldiers coming. I wasn’t sure if he understood me, but at least he stayed quiet.

Only then did my eyes drift lower. I saw it, his cock was locked in some kind of metal device, something similar to a chastity cage used in sadomasochistic practices.

What the fuck was going on here?

I grabbed a blanket I spotted nearby and approached him. Even though he looked like a skittish animal, I got closer and said:

“We have to get out of here.”

I placed the blanket over his back while looking him in the eyes, my gun still raised in my other hand. He allowed me to cover him. I wrapped the blanket around his body.

I repeated:

“We have to get out of here.”

He didn’t move.

“Let’s go!” I urged.

He flinches in fear and I lose patience. I point my gun at him and force him to move.

We are outside now, moving through hidden corners. I don’t want to get gunned down like the others. I notice more enemy soldiers arriving and quickly drag the prisoner into a concealed spot with me. We stay hidden for a few seconds. He lets out a low groan and I press my hand over his mouth.

Thankfully he’s still wrapped in the blanket. It would be weird being this close to a naked guy, but this isn’t the time to think about that. The enemy vehicle passes by. I realize it’s better to find a safe place to hide for now.

We walk a little further. It’s already getting dark when I spot what looks like an abandoned small school building, still close to the enemy base. The prisoner is losing strength, so I have to drape his arm over my shoulder to help him inside. I lay him down on an old mattress in what used to be a dormitory.

I can still see the lights of enemy vehicles patrolling the area. It’s safer to stay hidden here in silence until I can contact our base for extraction.

I try the radio, but there’s no signal and no response.

I look at the prisoner lying there. He’s trembling and murmuring words I can’t understand. I approach and place my hand on his forehead. With this fever, he won’t last long.

Some time later, the vehicle lights are gone. I check the Russian again, his fever is still the same. Shit. This guy is going to die here, and he’s the top priority of the mission. No matter how many of us died, he had to survive. I needed to do something.

...

I return to the laboratory and try using Henderson’s radio. This time I manage to send a message saying I have the prisoner and need immediate extraction, but I get no reply despite trying multiple times. I hope they caught the signal.

I search a bit more and find what must have been the prisoner’s cell. I grab some clothes and another blanket. In the bathroom, I open a small cabinet and find several small vials containing a yellow liquid. The label is in the soldiers’ language. I can only understand the word “chills.” I put them in my backpack and return to the lab.

I spot a folder, open it, and see the prisoner’s photo: Liak Vassiliev. I take the folder and also grab a laptop that still has some battery, then head back to our hiding place.

As soon as I arrive, I check the prisoner’s vitals. They’re weak. I open the folder and turn on the laptop, hoping to find something useful. In the documents, I read about experiments with a trial drug. Side effects include fever and chills. I find the recommended treatment for severe cases and see it matches the vials I took.

The laptop is on. There are several folders on the desktop with the prisoner’s name. I open Folder 1. It contains multiple videos. I play the first one. The date shows it was recorded three months ago, around the time he was reported missing after his kidnapping.

In the video, he is naked and looks much healthier than he does now. He’s strapped to a table while a doctor injects something into his arm. Minutes later, he becomes visibly aroused and starts writhing on the table, ignored by the entire team present.

The video continues like this until the end. The next videos are from later the same day, showing him being injected with the same substance again.

He remains painfully aroused. A woman in a white lab coat approaches the doctor who is observing him, and they talk in a language I don’t understand. She reaches down and strokes the prisoner’s cock. He twists and writhes violently on the table. She leaves. The video continues to the end, focused on the prisoner’s face, showing clear expressions

of pain.