Chapter 8

Zimran awoke as the buzzer sounded the end of the meal. Izri stood and headed toward the lifts. Zimran caught Babbles' sleeve as he stood. Babbles turned. Zimran sighed and began mouthing, "I'm remembering less and less. I don't know if I'll be awake again here." Babbles nodded as he understood. "Thank you," Zimran said silently, extending his hand.

Babbles nodded and accepted his hand. They shook and then Babbles left in silence. Zimran joined Raamah and the others in their group and waited for a lift. The six rode up and walked themselves back to their cells. Zimran lay on his bunk and fell asleep. If he had remained awake, he would have lost consciousness. As it was, he did lose consciousness and within an hour dreamt that he was in the SD tank. This time, however, it didn't end and he believed himself to have wakened in the SD tank. Soon the insanity crept on and he lost touch and began thrashing. In truth it was a dream but he really was thrashing with furthered insanity.

Raamah awoke with a start as the thrashing became more violent. "Zimran!" Raamah yelled but no visible change could be seen. Zimran fell to the floor and continued to thrash. Raamah sat up worried. He knew this to be the last step of SDC sickness. He rushed to the gate and yelled down the corridor for a guard. Zimran continued to thrash on the cement floor and soon started bleeding from cuts. Raamah slowly approached and bear hugged Zimran. With his arms clamped down to his sides, Zimran thrashed less but did continue. Raamah continued to hold him away from the ground until two guards finally showed up.

"What?" one asked.

"He's lost it. This is the last stage of SDC sickness. He needs a medic," Raamah ordered.

One guard radioed to the medic on duty who soon arrived with a sedative. Finally after two injections the thrashing lessened and he fell limp. One of the guards opened the gate and picked Zimran up. The gate closed again and the four made toward the lift.

In the medical wing the guard deposited Zimran in a padded room and left with the other guard. The medic and his assistant entered the room. The assistant held Zimran while the medic drew a blood sample. He set this aside and then cleaned and bandaged the cuts on his face and hands. When this was done, the two left and tested the blood sample.

When the tests were done, the medic looked at the readout. He shook his head. "No faking here. Make a report and send it to Leech. We'll have to hold the other one a few days and watch for further progress. Then we can send the two together. The assistant nodded and went to get the report form.

Zimran woke up lying on the floor of the medical wing room. His body ached and he waited a few minutes before sitting up. When he did he remembered his dream. He ran his hand through his hair and found it completely dry. Confused he tried to reason it out. He failed and out of boredom watched the hallucinations walk around the room. Lydia sat beside him and hummed a song she had liked.

Zimran laughed to himself. Now why couldn't he have had these hallucinations when he was still in solit. Zimran looked around the room and decided this just as boring. He yawned. One of the pads moved out of the room and a face appeared in its place. Zimran looked at it confused. When the face saw him it disappeared and a door's size of pads swung away providing a doorway with a guard standing in it.

The guard entered followed by a medic. The medic carried a clip board and a needle. He set both down and looked at Zimran. "Do you know where you are?" Zimran nodded. "Do you want to name an address?" Zimran shook his head. "Good, you're fully awake." The medic picked up the clip board and wrote a time down. He set it down to his left and picked up the needle. The guard stepped closer.

"I'm just going to take a blood sample," the medic assured Zimran. Zimran really didn't care and didn't have a choice. His go ahead motion showed this. As the medic worked, Zimran spied a look at the clip board. He read that he had been unconscious for nearly eighteen hours, and thrashing for about three hours distributed throughout the time. He decided that explained his sore muscles. The medic pulled the needle out and picked up the clip board. He left the room, followed by the guard. The pads were replaced and Zimran again faced a completely monotonous room. Zimran's focus returned to the hallucinations. Quickly he fell asleep.

Babbles sat in the cafeteria as it slowly filled with the various work details. Raamah had told him about Zimran being brought to the medical wing the dinner before and he sat hoping Zimran would walk through the lift doors. Finally Raamah stepped out followed by four other men. When the doors closed Babbles turned away.

Izri brought two trays to the table. "Babbles, you have to eat. This is foolish."

Babbles stared at the tray before him. "No."

Izri just sat and ate his meal as the others gathered. McEscher joined the group at the table and watched Babbles. All had arrived, minus Zimran, when Raamah stood at the end of the table and looked at Babbles. Babbles refused to look up.

Finally Izri asked, "What is it, Raamah?"

"He still hasn't returned. I don't think he will again." Raamah shrugged and left.

The group sat silent until one man in the middle of the group spoke up. "So who will lead?"

Some turned to Blyden, some to Izri and some, including Izri, turned to Babbles. Babbles shook his head. "I will not lead."

Another man spoke up. "You were his right hand. You choose the leader."

Babbles looked at Blyden and Izri. "I don't have to. Zimran did before he left. He chose Izri."

All eyes fell to Izri. Izri's remained on Babbles. "Oh."

McEscher stood and looked at Izri. "I follow Zimran's choice. I follow Izri."

"Easy for you to say, Escher," Zeri sneered from behind the group. On either side stood five men. "Without Zimran, this group is nothing. I offer free alliance with me to any who see the wisdom of it. Except for Babbles, you I will not accept."

Blyden stood defiantly. "I follow Izri." Babbles stood and echoed the same. One by one echoing became a rush as all stood in defiance.

Izri slowly stood and turned to Zeri. "I'm afraid we can fight just as well and no one likes your offer much." Zeri turned dark and glared at Izri. "Your death eye doesn't work on me, Zeri."

As if cued all in Zeri's group attacked and those in the alliance countered. Babbles and McEscher found each other to work together. Zeri's eleven faced Izri's thirteen. Zeri avoided Izri at first and took out two in the alliance before Izri stood before him. The fight shifted back and forth between the two and Blyden continued to earn his place. Babbles and McEscher fought well and took out one of Zeri's men.

While helping another in the alliance, one adversary joined with another and faced McEscher and Babbles. When tag-teamed the two struggled to stay in the fight. Eventually the two men from Zeri's group maneuvered the two away from each other and both fell to the ground shortly. Blyden claimed three of Zeri's men and turned his attention to another unlucky man. Finally the fight ended and twenty guards stood surrounding the majority of the uninvolved prisoners while ten others separated those still fighting.

Zeri and Izri were pulled apart and stood facing each other. Half of those involved lay unconscious or rolling in pain on the floor. Two guards pulled Zeri and his second away toward the lifts. Two more pulled Izri and Blyden toward the other lift. Izri pointed at one of the remaining conscious fighters before being pushed into the lift. The fighter nodded and began organizing the unconscious. Babbles and McEscher were laid next to the tables along with three others. Zeri's survivors simply turned and left.

McEscher awoke with a loud moan. Two in the alliance helped him up. "Well, that's slightly reminiscent of an earlier encounter." He looked around. "Where's Izri?"

The man sitting on the table pointed at the lifts. "Guards took him, Blyden, Zeri and Zeri's second off to solit."

McEscher looked interested. "Zeri? That's interesting…" he muttered.

"Why?" the man asked.

"Oh, nothing," McEscher said as he walked toward the other table thinking.

"Strange man," the man mumbled.

Zimran awoke again and picked himself up. His muscles were hurting more than they had in the past three wakings. With no schedule he had no idea how long he had been there or how long he had been out for. He sat in a corner and closed his eyes. The hallucinations didn't disappear and Zimran hit the wall. When he had started countering the SDCT dreams, he had been doubtful if Tovan's methods would work. Now he wished he knew how to stop the one dream that wasn't working.

He heard the door open but ignored it. He was too busy being frustrated to entertain the medic.

"Are you awake?" the medic asked.

Zimran waved him away.

"Ah, good." The medic squat down. Zimran opened his eyes and they reflected the frustration and anger he was feeling. The medic grimaced. "Blood sample time." Zimran glared harder and sat with his arms crossed. The medic frowned. He reached for Zimran's elbow and Zimran slapped him away. The guard pulled out a dart gun. "No!" the medic ordered.

The medic stepped back. "If you use that by the time it takes affect, his blood chemistry will be altered and useless. No tranquilizer." The guard sneered and set the gun down outside the room.

The medic turned back to Zimran. Zimran was distracted by an elaborate hallucination. The medic approached and Zimran made no move. Assuming acceptance the medic grasped Zimran's arm to turn it. Zimran instinctively grabbed the shocked medic and half stood, half jumped, pulling the medic with him. The guard pulled his gun out of the holster and fired off a shot. Zimran tumbled to the floor. The medic yelled, covering his ears.

Two more medics arrived and joined the first at Zimran's side. Zimran's eyes were wide with pain as he clutched his right shoulder. One medic ran out again and returned with an emergency kit. Two began treating him while the third ran out again for two assistants and a stretcher. As soon as he was placed on the stretcher and carried out, the first medic was glaring at the guard.

"I told you no guns!" the medic snapped.

"My orders are to keep you medics alive. These prisoners aren't happy people being helped by you. They're prisoners bent on escape or murder. Any moron could see that from the look in his eyes."

The medic swung and hit the guard square in the jaw. The guards eyes were full of shock. "It's you and yours that drives them to that point. Summon your superior to my office, now!" the medic ordered.

The medic followed after Zimran and the guard looked at him in shock. "Yes, sir."

Leech was standing in the medic's office when the medic arrived after tending to Zimran's bullet wound. His anger returned with the memory and he demanded a new guard. Leech tried to reason with the medic but the medic just snapped back.

Finally Leech hit the desk with his fist and glared at the medic. "Listen! I spoke with my guard and he was within his orders. I apologize for the incident, but any other guard would have reacted similarly. They all know that they don't get involved with prisoners unless they're backed by another guard. You forbid him from using the dart. He was only left with his sidearm."

"I won't go in that room with that guard again. I'd rather go in alone!" the medic threatened.

Leech sighed. "And then you'd die. Zimran happens to be one of the least violent and you saw what he can do."

The medic frowned. "That was my fault. I saw how his eyes were moving, but I forgot he was on constant hallucinations now. I surprised him. After the hell of DXCI I wouldn't be surprised at reflexes like that. I won't go in with that guard again."

"All the guards would react the same," Leech insisted.

The medic thought for a second. "Not quite. I heard two guards discussing one guard who is different. Uh, something about being loose around prisoners."

"A guard like that is soon a dead guard. I wouldn't suggest it," Leech advised.

The medic still looked thoughtful. "I think they called him Chugger?"

Leech's eyes narrowed. "Chigger."

"Yes. I want Chigger to be assigned to Zimran through to the asylum."

Leech protested. "Chigger is already assigned somewhere else."

"Leech, reassign him or I will take out your guard every time I go into that room. A dead medic is a bad reputation to have." The medic's look dared Leech to protest again.

"Damn you." Leech grabbed his radio and called the monitoring room. "Where's Chigger?"

"Sir, Chigger is topside on his day off," the radio reported.

One look at the medic informed Leech refusal wasn't an option. "Page him to the office and patch him through to me. Out." Leech looked to the medic who nodded.

"Excuse me, I have a patient to tend to. Thanks to you we now have to strap him down for the nine hours that he's thrashing to keep from ripping the stitches. Have this Chigger report to me as soon as he's down." The medic left and Leech picked up his radio.

"Sir, Chigger here."

"I'm sorry to do this but the good medic has chosen you as the bodyguard. You're going to have to join us down here and baby-sit the fool."

"Like I'm doing anything anyway. I'll be down in twenty-four minutes."

"Take twenty-five. You may be down for a while. Leech out."

"Thanks, sir," Chigger sighed.

When Zimran awoke this time, he found himself strapped down and less sore. Instead he had bruises from resisting the strong straps across him. He tried to stretch them but they didn't give way. He was frustrated again, now because of the straps and again because he hadn't remembered dreaming the SD dreams, just the thrashing from being in the tank.

"Stinks, doesn't it?" Chigger asked from a seat in the room.

Zimran rolled his head around to look at him.

"Well, they didn't want you to tear stitches or something like that." Chigger stood and stuck his head out of the door. Soon a medic arrived. He again asked Zimran questions to prove his consciousness. He wrote down a time and Zimran held up eight fingers.

"I don't know sign language. Use your mouth," the medic asked.

Chigger laughed. "Uh, I don't think that'll work. He usually speaks with his hands and only uses his mouth in other languages." Chigger laughed at a past memory.

"Well, I still don't know sign language," the medic protested.

Zimran rolled his eyes to Chigger and held up eight fingers followed by almost tapping his hip. Zimran grit his teeth in frustration and pulled at the straps. He fell limp at the end of the struggle.

The medic jumped. "Oh, you can go back to the room for a few hours if you want."

Zimran nodded. Chigger picked up his gun and checked down the hall. He nodded to the medic who began unbinding the straps. Zimran stayed calm and lay still as all the straps came undone. Finally he sat up stiffly and favored his right arm. The medic nodded and picked up a sling. Zimran stole a glance at the clip board. Nine hours thrashing, approximately eighteen unconscious. Willingly Zimran allowed the medic to tie his arm. The medic then led the way out of the room. Zimran followed and Chigger brought up the end.

Zimran entered the room and saw the slight red tint from his own blood on the floor. He stretched out and began moving in the Tight Sheet pattern, minus his right arm. Chigger watched for a moment before closing the door and locking it.

After an hour of Tight Sheet, Zimran slowly stopped and sat down. He stretched a little before lying down and falling asleep. By sleeping before he fell unconscious he began the SDCT dream sequence. He tried once again to halt it but only failed. As he awoke with a start at the end of the cycle, Chigger stood in the room.

"Dreaming?" Chigger shrugged. "Medic wants you back secured before you go out. Less work for us, and all. Come on." Zimran stood and walked out of the room. He shook his head in disbelief as he willingly allowed himself to be strapped down. Chigger stood nearby, watching as the medic worked.

Soon Zimran wouldn't respond to anything and the medic picked up the clip board. Chigger followed him out of the room and asked, "How soon before he goes topside?"

"Well, he could go now but we usually wait for over half of unconsciousness to be the thrashing. Then we usually transport at the beginning of waking, so there's less carrying. He's at half now. He should go tomorrow or the next day. You know he's going with that other one, Katom. Total fake. Well, I'll let you go topside now to close down your house. You'll be at the asylum for two to four weeks. You were Zimran's guard, weren't you?"

Chigger laughed. "You've been reading my file. Yeah, we came in together."

"Then you'll be his guard going out, too. Plan for four weeks." The medic left towards his office and Chigger walked toward the gate. He radioed to the monitoring room and found Leech. He got authorization before requesting his official orders for the next four weeks. To his sarcastic delight, he found the medic to be right. He took the lift topside and returned to his house.

Zimran opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He knew he was still strapped down but was too sore to struggle. He rolled his head around to see if any were in the room. He found Chigger sitting in the corner.

Chigger nodded and stuck his head out of the door again. Chigger sat back down and stared at the details on his larger gun. Quickly he lost interest and looked back at Zimran. "Well, your alliance had a fight a few days ago. Fun thing. Took a good thirty guards to break it up. The leaders got solit and are out just about now." Zimran just stared at the ceiling. "Actually, it's dinner for C block now." The medic came in.

"Sorry, I was in the middle of something." Chigger held his gun and the medic loosed the straps. Again Zimran waited before slowly sitting up. The medic brought over the sling and tied it. He checked his watch and wrote down another time on the clip board. "Okay, Chigger. For food this time, he can go down to the cafeteria. You can bring him back to the other room at the end of the meal." The medic left the room and Chigger picked up his radio.

"Monitor Room," a voice announced.

"This is Chigger. I need an escort guard."

"All guards are distributed," the radio reported.

"Then I'll take a trainee."

"We only have one free. If you wait about twenty minutes we'll have another."

"Just send the one, then," Chigger ordered.

"Sir, trainees are only let out in twos," the radio argued.

"Well, it's test time."

"Sir, it's number two."

Chigger sighed. "Send him to the medical wing now," Chigger ordered impatiently. "It's a simple escort in an elevator and I'd do it alone if it weren't for the twosome rule."

"Very well. He'll be up in five. Monitor Room out."

Chigger grinned victoriously. "Sit tight, then," Chigger told Zimran. Zimran instead did the Tight Sheet movements until the guard arrived. He was hungry and needed a way not to think about it. The medic opened the door and ushered in the trainee guard. Chigger nodded as Zimran slowly stopped moving.

Chigger led the three out of the room followed by Zimran and the trainee. The three entered the lift and began dropping the four floors. Zimran stood staring through the doors, Chigger stood calmly watching Zimran and the trainee, and the trainee stood gripping his gun, trying not to shake.

Chigger looked back to Zimran. "You have to go straight back to the medical wing so we'll show up shortly before the buzzer sounds. Don't make me come looking for you."

Zimran looked at Chigger and turned back to the door.

Suddenly the lift came to an abrupt halt. The trainee stopped shaking and watched Zimran even harder. Chigger pulled out his radio and called the monitor room. "This is Chigger. What's up?"

The man hurried explained they had a prisoner in the lift shaft and had to send guards after him. They had to freeze the lift.

"Oh, well which way did he go?" Chigger asked.

"Up."

Chigger looked up at the hatch in the lift. He fished out his key card and swiped the pad on the wall. The gate slid open and he jumped up, grabbing the sides. He pulled himself up and sat on the edge. He stuck his head back down and found Zimran sitting down in the corner. The trainee looked horrified. "Just watch him," Chigger ordered. He pulled his legs up and crawled to the edge of the lift. He looked down the long shaft. Almost to his level Chigger saw a prisoner rapidly crawling up the middle. The guards were about two levels behind.

Calmly he drew out his larger gun and pointed it at the prisoner with his right hand. Behind his back he held his smaller personal gun in his left. "Freeze!"

The prisoner looked up shocked.

The guards below yelled at Chigger, "Don't shoot or you'll hit us! He's got a primary!"

The prisoner grinned and pointed the larger gun at Chigger. "Drop your gun." Chigger snapped on the safety and dropped it, yelling, "Look out below."

The prisoner continued his climb. When the prisoner got closer Chigger pulled out his other gun, first shooting the gun then the prisoner in the arm. The prisoner lost his grip in shock and pain and began to tip back. His legs slipped through the rungs of the ladder and his upper body swung down. He banged against the ladder painfully. Chigger began to climb down, still pointing his personal gun. He pulled out a set of hand cuffs, a recent addition to each guard, and cuffed the prisoner's ankle to the ladder.

"Think again, next time," Chigger suggested as he climbed back up to the lift. "Hey, bring my gun back to medical wing when you finally clean up," Chigger yelled to the guards still climbing. Chigger returned to the lift and dropped down into it. He pulled out his radio and called the monitor room. Soon the lift dropped the few feet to the cafeteria floor. "Sorry about the delay," Chigger said as Zimran stood and stepped into the cafeteria. The doors closed and the trainee dropped his larger gun.

"Why'd you have to do that?" he demanded as Zimran locked the top hatch and returned his key card. "No guards are supposed to be left alone with prisoners, especially me!"

Chigger frowned. "You're alive and you needed the experience. Besides, you finally got rid of the shakes."

The trainee held up his shaking hands. "Then what do you call this?"

"Look, you can shake when there aren’t any prisoners around. It's a cycle you have to break. If you're nervous, you shake. If you shake, they don't respect or fear you. If they aren't afraid, you ought to be shaking. You have to start now with no shaking or you'll go nowhere fast." The lift stopped and opened to the medical wing. The trainee followed Chigger onto the floor as Chigger checked in with the medic.

"You don't shake after," the trainee pointed out.

"I've been here for six years. It took two and a half years to lose the shakes. Now, I'm tense with some and not quite so tense with others. I'm back," he interjected to the medic who nodded. "I make a point to check out the record on all the prisoners in C block so I know what to expect from each. It might be a good rule for you to follow, too."

The medic waited for the end of the conversation before explaining, "I only have one other patient now and he's going out tomorrow. I don't have to check on him so you can sit watch until you pick up Zimran." The medic waited for Chigger's nod before returning to his work. Chigger and the trainee left and sat across from the lift. Chigger radioed to the monitor room for a call seven minutes before C block return buzzer. They acknowledged the request and announced they were sending another trainee.

The trainee arrived and the three sat around until they had to retrieve Zimran.

Zimran stood in the entry way of the cafeteria. Many had looked up when the doors had opened, partially from the lateness in the meal and partially because those closer had heard gun fire in the shaft. Zimran made a beeline for the food and took half again as much as a normal ration. Those from the alliance watched him make his round. Finally he turned to the group and walked toward the end of the table.

Izri stood and protested. "Zimran, sit at your usual seat, not down there."

Zimran refused and sat at the end. Babbles moved his tray and sat beside Zimran. "Raamah said you hadn't returned yet."

Zimran shook his head.

"Are you improved?" Babbles asked hopefully.

Zimran gravely shook his head.

Babbles darkened. "Last supper then?"

Zimran shrugged and continued his meal.

"Izri accepted. Zeri tried to pick a fight again. We could have used you."

McEscher sat down next to Zimran and gained Izri's angry glare. "Escher!" he said, pointing away.

McEscher haltingly stood back up as Zimran turned to Babbles. "You'll have to speak to Izri on that one. I tried to convince him otherwise."

Zimran stood and walked toward Izri, followed by Babbles. Izri ordered one of the men to move away to make room for Zimran. Babbles stood across the table. "He wants to talk about McEscher."

"Talk? Fine. I'm sure you've filled him in, Babbles. My view is this: men get in if they are useful to everyone. A rule just like yours. I didn't have a problem with you helping McEscher. But when you brought him into the alliance, that I didn't understand. I was thinking when I was in solit and I still don't see a use. In the alliance or not, he's still safe from Zeri. But he's of no use except to get caught in brawls."

Izri turned to Babbles. "Now he has use, barely. But McEscher goes. I can't risk the others for him."

Zimran nodded and turned to Babbles. After a second he turned back. "Were we ever friends or was it only an alliance?" he mouthed in Shadian.

Izri read it and looked down in thought briefly before looking back up. "Yes, we were."

"Then keep him for my sake. He has use." Zimran waited for Izri to understand.

Izri looked down again. "What use?"

"For my sake only," Zimran pressed silently.

"Very well, for that only and in trust." Izri offered his hand to Zimran who accepted it.

Zimran stood and returned to his tray. Instead of sitting, he brought it to the table where McEscher sat. Here he, too, sat and returned to his meal. Babbles soon joined them, again sitting across from Zimran.

"How's his theory?" Zimran asked to Babbles.

Babbles asked McEscher who smiled. "Well, it had an interesting twist recently. I've spoken to a few prisoners and I'm narrowing down the list of possibilities. That includes one probability." McEscher smiled proudly.

"McEscher, would you tell Izri your theory?" Zimran asked through Babbles.

"Izri? Why?" McEscher asked disgustedly.

"He doesn't see your worth. Your talent was your worth for me and he needs to see that."

"Now? It isn't done and I haven't," McEscher leaned close and whispered, "found the one I suspected close to you. He might be it."

Zimran nodded. "When it's more for certain, then?"

McEscher thought and then nodded. "I will."

Zimran offered his hand. "Thank you, for a lot," he mouthed again in Shadian. McEscher accepted it and both returned to their meals. Zimran was almost finished when the lift doors opened and three guards stood facing the room. Zimran stood and grabbed one more bite of food. He shook Babbles hand and mouthed, "Thank you, Babbles. God bless," just as Jakata had taught him for the Admiral in Russia.

Zimran carried his tray and left it in the pile by the trash. He then turned to the lifts where Chigger stood waiting with gun raised and two trainees stood watching, one shaking slightly. Zimran approached and entered the lift, followed by Chigger. The doors closed and the four rode up four floors to the medical wing.

Chigger brought Zimran to the padded room and returned to find the trainee who hadn't been shaking informing the other that "If you're nervous, you shake. If you shake, they don't respect or fear you. If they aren't afraid, you ought to be shaking. You have to start now with no shaking or you'll go nowhere fast."

Chigger smiled. "Wise advise." The trainee stood silent. "You two can go back to the lounge, unless monitor room has a chore for you." Both nodded and entered the lift. Chigger left to find the medic again.

Zimran awoke one last time, still strapped to the table. Again he didn't remember any SDCT dreams. All he did remember was the terror of being in a real SDC tank. Blankly he stared at the ceiling blinking. The door opened and Chigger walked in. Zimran shifted his focus to Chigger who stepped back out and said, "Actually, right now." Chigger returned, followed by the medic. The medic nodded and recorded the time on the clip board.

"Moving day," the medic announced as he worked on the straps. Finally the straps were loosened and Zimran sat up. Again Zimran checked the chart. Thirteen hours of thrashing had passed. Zimran noticed the increase wasn't linear any more. He was losing it faster. Instead of the medic bringing a sling, Chigger brought a pair of handcuffs. Zimran sat and watched his hands be cuffed together. He followed as Chigger waved him out of the room. Out in the hall six guards stood waiting, including Leech, who received Chigger's large gun.

Out of another room Vulture led a handcuffed Katom who was nervously watching everyone. With Katom, Vulture, Leech and two other guards in the lead, the group of ten plus the medic moved toward the locked gate. All arrived and one by one announced their names and prisoner's name. Slowly the procession moved through the gate and towards another large steel gate.

A guard stepped out of a door and handcuffed Vulture to Katom and Chigger to Zimran. After another security check, the eleven moved through the gate to a pair of lifts further down the hall. Zimran and his four guards entered one while Katom and his four guards entered the other. The medic took one look at Katom's group before stepping into Zimran's lift. The doors closed and each group stood for twelve long minutes.

At the top both groups emerged and moved toward more security check points. These passed, the eleven approached the doors. All the guards pulled out a pair of sun glasses and to both prisoners' surprise, it was shortly past sunrise, when they both expected sunset. The two prisoners and escorts were loaded into the back of a large ambulance-type transport. The medic stepped in as the two prisoners were laid onto stretchers. The medic provided a shot each of a sedative. The medic stepped down and was replaced by four more guards.

Leech and another guard closed and locked the door before entering the front. Slowly the transport pulled away and stopped at the several outer gates and fences. Finally the transport sped up and remained at a constant speed. Katom lay trying to fight the sedative while Zimran let it put him to sleep. As soon as it did, he began the SDCT dream cycle.

As the swimming away seemed not to work once again, Zimran became frustrated and yelled out angrily in his sleep, "Tovan, why isn't this working!?" To Zimran's surprise a light appeared above him and the image of Tovan swam down to him. As the two broke the surface, Zimran woke up. Without even opening his eyes, he relaxed and fell back asleep. As he began to knock out dreams he had done before, he quickly became more confident and used less tries. At one waking he felt himself moving and didn't fall back asleep.

From off to his left and back he heard a loud gun shot. He eyes bugged open as large as the sedative would allow. Vulture laughed. "There goes one less fake. We regret to inform you your son was killed trying to escape prison. Good bye." Chigger and Zimran's three other guards continued into the sanitarium, one guard carrying Zimran's large gun.

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