Immortal Read Online Free PDF Page B

sadness. To have lived such a short time in the grand
scheme of things, it seemed so unfair to die now. No. Not to die
now. But to have already died. To already be dead, and to now think
back to what life had been like. To think of…
    “Gabrielle.” Jericho whispered through his
dry cracked lips. His eyelids fluttered. Maybe he wasn’t dead after
all he thought, and at once realized, if he could still think, then
he most likely was not dead. But as he began to awaken, he wished
that he could still not feel anything, because as his mind began to
sharpen, the pain began to come. Wave after wave began to run
through him, over him, as it coursed through his very veins, like a
rage of fire that would not stop. He gritted his teeth as it rose
into a crescendo that threatened to take his consciousness away
from him again. No, he thought. Not yet. Not again. Awake. Stay
awake, he thought, as he fought the squall in his body.
    Where was he? He thought, as he fought back
the ebbing tide of pain, still unable to determine where it came
from. It seemed to emanate from within, from everywhere, but now
gradually he could feel it cross its peak, and slowly it began to
subside. As it eased slowly, it became manageable, down to the
level of excruciation as opposed to that of certain death. He
slowly opened his eyes. Dark, he thought. Total darkness. Or was he
now blind? Could that be it? Not dead, but blinded?
    Once again the control stick touched Jericho
on his side, and sent an instant wave of agony throughout his body
and a wave of nausea through his stomach. He screamed as he had
over and over again in the last two hours as he had been
interrogated. He remembered it all too well now, as his body
tightened every muscle in response to the electric pulse. His back
arched to the point that he thought his spine would break, before
the current finally stopped. He remembered now, how earlier he had
wished that the control stick was set to a higher power, at least
that way he would pass out and not have to endure the pain.
Evidently his tormentor had done so, hence, why he had been
unconscious.
    “Admit your disobedience.” The voice of a
Guardian said from somewhere in the dark. It was unemotional,
unfeeling, unprovoked, and unrushed. It was patient. It waited. It
came again. “Admit your disobedience.”
    “I’ve already told you.” Jericho said weakly,
as he breathed quite hard now. He could feel and hear his heart
beat now, as it thrummed loudly throughout his head that ached as
much as his muscles.
    “You have not admitted your disobedience. To
not obey is against the rule. The rule is law. Disobedience must be
punished.” Silence. Darkness. No sense of movement.
    As the pain began to subside from the latest
touch from the control stick, his breathing began to return to
normal, and the ache in his head seemed to relax a bit. He opened
his eyes wider now, and realized there was the tiniest bit of
ambient light in the room. Not much, but just a little, which as
his eyes focused, allowed him to see the dark form of the Guardian
as it stood directly in front of him. Its control stick was
extended and was now just inches from his chest. He could not feel
his arms but he knew they were there, shackled behind him in the
chair where he now sat. He could not feel them, because the
circulation was cut off from the way that he was positioned. Only
occasional waves of a tingling sensation came from that area, as he
carefully shifted his position to ease the pain in his back. How
long had he been here, he thought?
    “Look, I didn’t want to cause any-”
    “Silence.” The Guardian said in its monotone
mechanical voice. Jericho shut up. Seconds passed, and Jericho felt
the Guardian move and braced himself for yet another touch from the
control stick. He shut his eyes, clamped his jaws, and tightened
his back. But nothing came. Nothing. Darkness. Silence. He relaxed
a bit and opened his eyes again. The dark shadowy form of the
Guardian