Prevail (The Pike Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free

material into tatters. He couldn’t count them but thought there must be hundreds of those things in its mouth.
    “You smiling at me?” said Kevin. “Want to be friends now?”
    The interrogator looked back at him without responding, teeth still on display.
    “Keep smiling you ugly fuck. One day soon I’m gonna fix that smile for you.”
    The interrogator spoke in a low growling tone. They used a translator that had quickly analyzed Kevin’s speech and language, facilitating communication.
    The interrogator said, “You believe you have power, even now when all is lost. You make threats with no hope of fulfilling them. Do they help you endure?”
    “Sure. I know your time is coming. You just wait and see.”
    “Unfortunately for you, that time is not today. I have something special planned instead.”
    “You hitting on me now? I knew you were weird but this is messed up, even for you, don’t you think?”
    The interrogator barked a command and a door opened. Two Kemmar soldiers escorted one of the Marines, Private Denney, into the room. Denney was naked. He had restraints on his wrists and ankles, forcing him to shuffle along rather than walk. They pulled him hard causing him to trip, and when he did they beat him with batons. He had been hit by those things before and knew they carried an electric shock with each blow. Denney dropped and writhed on the ground. The guards kicked him a couple of times and lifted him to his feet again. The shuffling continued. When they reached the middle of the room a cable dropped from the ceiling. The two Kemmar attached it to Denney’s wrist restraints and it retracted, pulling his arms up over his head and then his whole body until his feet no longer touched the ground.
    “Chief, what the fuck are they doing?” said Denney, clearly starting to panic. They could take the beatings. That was simple. Sooner or later the beating would end, or you would be dead. Either way it would be over. The anticipation of torture was another matter entirely. Stringing up Denney like that, making him wonder what was coming next, was the worst part. That was when your fear spiked. The unknown was the worst torture of all.
    “They’re just trying to scare you,” said Kevin. “Remember your training.”
    “His training will not help him,” said the interrogator. “The only thing that will help him is you. Tell me about your ship. How does it travel such great distances?”
    “Don’t tell him anything, Chief,” said Denney. “Don’t worry about me.”
    The interrogator turned to Denney and said, “Your Chief will worry about you. He will worry a great deal.”
    “Let him go you piece of shit,” said Kevin.
    “You do not wish to answer my questions?”
    “Go fuck yourself.”
    “That is an unfortunate response,” said the interrogator, baring his rows of sharp teeth again. He then turned and prowled up to Denney, growling.
    “Get the fuck away from me,” said Denney, kicking out with both feet at the interrogator, who sidestepped the blow.
    Kevin strained against his own restraints, trying desperately to get to him. His muscles burned with the effort and the restraints dug into his wrists, but he couldn’t break free.
    Denney kicked again. This time the interrogator caught his legs and bit down on Denney’s left thigh, ripping off a chunk of flesh and muscle. He let go of Denney’s legs and they swung back, hanging uselessly from his hips. The bite had left a large, hideous wound in Denney’s thigh. Blood gushed out of it in heaving spasms. Worse than the wound was Denney’s screams, their effect more fearsome than any torture. The interrogator turned, blood dripping off the hairs on his face, and let Kevin watch as he chewed and swallowed.
    “You sick bastard,” said Kevin, unable to watch the horrific display any longer.
    “Will you answer my questions now, or will I finish my meal?”
    Kevin clenched his teeth and remained silent, looking away from the gruesome sight.