I don\x92t know how long I had been unconscious, but when I woke up I was strapped to a chair. It was a simple folding chair. I was in the interrogation room. Griff was sitting down in front of me, waiting for me to wake up. He looked at me and I could swear I saw a smile crawl across his lips.

"So, I see you\x92ve survived." Griff said.

I spat in his face. He wiped the spit off of his muzzle and punched me in the face.

"Don\x92t you EVER do that again." He yelled, in rage. "Otherwise, you\x92ll end up like your friend!"

I instantly thought about Ryan. I hadn\x92t thought of him since I woke up in this hellhole. "What happened to him?!" I screamed.

Griff smiled at me. He had the look of pure evil on his face. "He was strong. I had fun toying around with him."

"You son of a\x85" I was punched in the face again before I could finish.

"You will speak only when I tell you to."

I closed my mouth.

"Much better. Now tell me, why did you attack our camp?"

"To rescue prisoners."

"Who planned the attack?"

"My leaders."

"Who are your leaders?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Who are your leaders?" He said, more firmly.

"Why do you want to know?

"I will ask only one more time. Who are your leaders?"

"And I will ask only one more time. Why do you want to know?"

He was pissed off now. He got up and went to a table or something behind me. I could hear him pick something up, something heavy. "This will hurt a little." Griff said.

I felt something being jabbed into my back. I closed my eyes and prepared for whatever he was about to do. I felt a sudden surge of pain ripple throughout my back. It felt like I had been cut open and had salt poured into the cut. I clenched my teeth and tried to think about Gen. Griff stopped after a minute.

"Did that hurt?" Griff asked, sarcastically.

"This is against War Policies." I replied.

"So was bombing the hell out of civilian areas."

"Those areas were occupied by enemy soldiers."

"So you admit that you did indeed attack civilian areas."

"They were occupied by enemy soldiers."

Griff got up and walked over to my side. He looked at my face for a few long seconds before he lifted the chair and me up and threw me to the floor. "It\x92s because of dogs like you that my wife died!" He yelled, fiercely.

He picked me up again and set me on the ground, gently.

"It\x92s no better what you did to me." I replied, with equal fierceness.

"And what did we do to you?"

"I lost my love in a bombing that your forces did."

I knew I had made a mistake when I said that. He now had something to work with. I gave him a weakness I had and now he would chip away at it. I would only hope this would be quick and painless.

"So you lost someone close to you too?" He said. He had no emotion in his voice.

I kept quiet.

"Answer my question."

I kept quiet and stared strait ahead.

"How close was she to you?"

I kept staring strait ahead.

"Was she your wife? Was she your lover? Or maybe your best friend."

I felt hate building up.

"So I see. You lost someone you loved."

I clenched my jaw and tried to hide my hatred toward him.

"Now you know how I feel daily. And to have a military that doesn\x92t give a damn about you. How does it feel."

"They do care about me."

"What makes you say that?"

"They do."

"Then why haven\x92t they tried to rescue you?"

"They haven\x92t found my location."

"You are a fool, you know that?"

I kept quiet.

"Perhaps you can answer some more questions now." He hooked up a machine to me. I knew what was going to happen. I prayed to the Guardian that I find deliverance.

I was tortured for some time. I felt every fiber in my body straining to find strength so that I would not say anything I didn\x92t want to be used against my friends or me. When it ended two guards led me to a cell. It was a dark cell, only five paces by five paces. It had a single cot to sleep on, a toilet, and a sink to wash with. The walls were fairly thick. They were made of solid concrete and I had a very small window at the very top of the wall to look out of. The walls were about seven feet high. There was a musty smell in the air. It was a little damp and cool, the perfect atmosphere for getting sick. There were four guards pacing back and fourth between the two rows of cells. There was a single concrete wall with only a steel door where the bars of force field would be for the cell. It kept the prisoners isolated from each other. It reminded me somewhat of Block B, except this was a little roomier. Block B had no windows; it was pitch black there. Here, I could see some ray of hope. The window was the about two by one feet. It was thick and had wires inlaid in it so it didn\x92t shatter easily.

I was given a loincloth, a vest, and briefs. I put them on quickly and they took away my clothes. It was a simple black loincloth with a red stripe going down the center. The vest was the same, black with a red stripe going down the center.

I sat down on my cot and thought about Ryan. What had they done to him? Was he still alive? I thought about him and then pushed anything relating to him out of my mind. My mind wandered to Gen. I missed her. I had grown attached to her. I had to get used to being a lone wolf again. I began to meditate. My mind reached deep within me. I saw a green aura form around me. I was lifted from my body and could see outside of it. I went into the hallway and turned left. I went five cells down and entered it. It was Ryan. He was beaten and covered in blood. Two Chattans grabbed his arms and dragged his body out of the cell. He was dead. My mind came back and I found myself screaming in fury. Two guards came to my cell and opened the door. They had their Spathas unsheathed.

"Prisoner, be quiet!" The one to my left yelled.

"What did you do to him!?" I screamed.

"Be quiet, now!"

"What did you do to him!?"

"Do to who?" The guard to my right asked.

"The prisoner that you\x92re dragging out now!"

"What? How did you\x85"

"What did you do to him!?"

"He\x92s dead. Now shut up or you will meet the same fate as he did!"

I calmed myself down as much as I could. I will avenge Ryan\x92s death. I did two sets of 100 pushups, one handed and 200 crunches. I tried to work out some of the hate and anger I felt. I ran around my cell for some time. When I finished it was night outside, at least from what I could see through the window. I went to sleep uneasily.

I had flashbacks in my dreams. I went back to when we were taking the city. I could see around me the chaos that had consumed everything. I could see the soldiers ready to kill and wipe out another group of people. They were all different ages, some younger than 20 years and some over 50. They all had some fear. The younger ones were either suicidal or scared stiff. The older ones usually had more combat experience and were leading the attack. There were people dying everywhere. Some were shot, some were slain by sword in hand-to-hand combat, and some were splattered everywhere by explosions. It was extremely bloody. The walls surrounding the city were being battered; the land around the walls that were once green with grass had turned to red mud from the dirt mixing with the blood of the fallen.

I saw the targets I was sniping. I didn\x92t care who or what they were; I only saw them as enemies. I shot and killed each one of them. I could see the muzzle flash a bright white dart of fire. I could hear the roar of my sniper rifle as it shot forth a bolt of depleted uranium at extreme velocities. As it impacted with the target, I could see the initial expression on their face. They had no idea what happened. They felt almost no pain. The bullet tore through their body as though it was a piece of paper. It ripped a hole in them large enough for me to put my hand through and not have any blood touch my fur. There was blood splattered behind them. When the bullet finished passing through them, the bodies fell like puppets without strings. The momentum of the bullet carried them a little, but they fell like they had the bones removed form their bodies.

I shot a laser cannon and hit the spot. The cannon backfired and exploded. It sent metal shards everywhere and flames shot from the turret. The flames died down and around it laid dead bodies from those caught in the blast. They were burned, and the smoke was still coming off of their charred fur and flesh. Some still grasped their weapons in hand, ready to fight. I shot off a round and killed another target. I looked around through my scope and spotted another sniper aiming at me. I saw the muzzle flash from their rifle. I saw the bullet soar through the battlefield headed toward my skull. I saw the bullet as it neared less than an inch from my right eye. Then I woke up.

I woke up in a cold sweat. I gasped for breath and felt my right eye. I thought I could feel blood, but it was only sweat. I too off my vest and put it on my cot so it could dry. I washed my face with the semi-clean water from the sink. I cleaned my arms, chest, and back before I washed my vest. I dried off with a towel that I had been given yesterday and hung that to dry with my vest. A guard tapped on my door and opened it.

"New clothes. Change quickly and you will be escorted for interrogation." He said in a neutral tone.

He handed me a new vest and loincloth and then left. I changed quickly and stood by the door. He came back three minutes later and took me to the interrogation room. Griff was there, waiting and smiling. This would be a long day\x85

It had been well over twelve hours of torture. Griff was finished with me and he sent me to my cell. I gave him no useful information and made him very upset. You never want to see Griff very upset. While I was returning to my cell I looked around. There was no hope of going anywhere. There were at least four guards in each hall at any given time. There was only one floor in this complex with about five halls of prisoners and ten more of who knows what. Each guard had a spatha and pulse rifle. There were heavy blast doors at each exit and could be locked down securely enough so that a rocket could hit it and not do much damage. I was hoping that the look of the security here was deceiving.

I went into my cell and thought long and hard. I had a meal sent to me about an hour after I got in. It was like prison food, but tasted worse. I ate it quickly and gulped down the water I was given, trying to get the taste out of my mouth. I gave the tray back and began to meditate. I had reached a new level with my Sense. I had been able to move my consciousness out of my body and see what happened. I hope I can do it again\x85

Things went like this for a good two weeks. I had slipped only once, and that was when Griff dug deep enough into my past. I spat in his face again and received a thorough beating. He sent me back to my cell afterwards with literally, only bread and water for that night. I had been able to attain another out of body experience. I saw hat there were no prisoners that I knew. I was alone here. My conscious self wandered the halls and found one exit that was less guarded that the others. It seemed to be an emergency exit and was fairly secluded. I knew that if I planned any escape, it would be through there. The area surrounding the cells was underground. The area had concrete surrounding it, except for the windows. If I tried to dig my way out I would never get more than four inches.

I went through the tortures as though it was nothing. I had been able to make it so that I could ignore most of the pain. I could feel some but it wasn\x92t nearly as bad as it would have been. Griff let Hriss do most of the interrogating now. It was much worse than what Griff was able to do. It was almost like Hriss enjoyed this.

Another week passed. I had the same guard take me to the interrogation and feed me. I had gotten him to talk a little and was trying to build some friendship with him. It took some time but I finally got him to talk. His name was Akume. He hated his work with the Chattans. He felt more Loupian than anything else. I toyed with his mind a little and made it so that it was better for me. After another two weeks of this he finally trusted me.

I was just back from interrogation when he came to give me dinner. He came into my cell and I approached him. I was able to strike a deal with him. If he could set it up so that I could escape, I would come back for him. He almost screamed my plans aloud but I quieted him by putting my hands over his mouth. I did something I thought I would never have to do. He was bisexual. I knew only one way of getting him to be quiet. I reached down his loincloth and fondled him a little. He quieted and I stopped. I would always curse myself for that. He agreed and I was given a note in my food the following day.

I had a clear path after interrogation in exactly one week. Griff would interrogate me. He would have a mild sedative placed in his meal before he interrogated me. This would weaken his ability to do much to me. After I got out of the interrogation chamber, I would be sent back. I would have to beat the guard and sprint my way to the exit. It was five halls down and the last door to my left. A diversion was set up so that I could have a clear run to the door. It would be unlocked and Akume would be waiting for me there. I would have nothing to lose by trying this. I knew for a fact that Hriss wanted me dead. It was only a matter of time.

A week had passed. Everything had been like Akume had said. Griff was extremely light with his torturing. He was almost stoned, but had some sense enough to hurt me a little. When he finished I was taken to my cell by a new guard. I was at the spot Akume told me to attack the guard. Then I heard a loud explosion. I knew that was my cue. I turned around sharply and got loose from the guard\x92s grip. He was about my size and I could easily kill him, even with the cuffs around my hands. I spun around again and kicked him in the neck. I heard it crack and he fell, dead. I sat down and maneuvered my arms around my legs. I took the keys and unlocked the cuffs. I grabbed his spatha and rifle. Then I sprinted down. Five halls, and the last door to my left. It was open, just as Akume promised. I opened it and rushed outside. I was in an open field. I felt something sweep out my legs and I fell.

"Are you stupid? Get down!" A voice said. I looked at who it was. It was Akume.

"Don\x92t scare me like that again!" I replied.

"Follow me."

We crawled some distance to another bunker. I could see Chattan soldiers running back to the compound that was behind us. It was a small compound, and well camouflaged. We entered the bunker, it was completely deserted. Akume told me to get into a jeep and to cut him, but not kill him. I nodded with understanding. I took out the spatha and cut his side. I didn\x92t go deep enough to hurt him badly, but enough to make it look as though he put up a struggle. I then took his sword, and cut my arm. I let some of the blood drip onto to floor.

"Thank you, Akume." I said.

"Come back for me, please." He said in between gasps.

"I will, don\x92t worry my friend. I will."

I hugged him and started up the motor. I had nothing against homosexuals or bisexuals; I just felt it a little strange when they made a move on me. It was worse when I hugged him. This time though, it was a different feeling. I felt like he was a friend. I left and didn\x92t look back. There were woods less than fifty yards from the bunker. I floored it to there. I went as far as the gas supply lasted and then got out. I hiked some distance. It was getting dark and I had to find shelter. I found a cave and took shelter there. I could feel sleep grip me. I made a last check for enemy patrols and then went to sleep, very uneasily.

I could see a white light all around me. It was a pure white light. It hurt. It didn\x92t burn, but it hurt. It was as though something was hammering my head repeatedly. I could hear a steady whine in the background. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the light and pain. I opened them again to see the light, brighter. The whine had become a steady drone. I had a pulse to it that beat in a constant rhythm. With each beat the pain got worse. I was lying down on a table. I could hear voices around me, but in no real direction whisper \x91Is this the right one?\x92 It got worse and worse and the whispers became screams. Then, a voice bellowed out and quieted them. The light dimmer and I could see a blue aura of energy. It was rising like flames around a rock that was my height. I went over to it and it spoke out to me.

"ALPHAwolfOMEGA, concentrate." It said.

"How do you know that name?" I asked it.

"Concentrate! Focus your mind and strength. Relax your body, and focus."

"But\x85"

"Silence!"

I quieted, and began to concentrate. I moved my body into a position that my knees were bent, my arms were in front of me, I was almost crouching but still standing. I recognized the position from training. It was an old martial arts position.

"Focus the mind." The voice said.

"Mind and body as one." "I said after it.

"Know power through strength."

"Power through knowledge."

"Power through emotion."

"Power through oneness."

"From strenght, flows gentleness." Our voices said, in near unison.

"Through gentleness flows strength." We were now in one voice, one state of mind.

"ALPHAwolfOMEGA, what do you see beyond you?" The voice said. "ALPHAwolfOMEGA, AWAKEN!"

And I woke up. I was in the position I had thought I was in. My body tense but relaxed. My rights hand in a tight fist in front of me. My left hand open and ready to block and attack directly underneath my right. My knees were bent so that I was lower to the ground.

Was it all a dream? Where was I? I wasn\x92t in the cave, or anywhere near it. It looked like a village of some sort. There was a group of huts to my left, cooking fires to my right. A river was nearby. I could hear the water rush by. It was early morning, the sun was rising. I looked around, there was a person watching me. I looked in front of me, the rock in my dream. It was directly in front of me. I reached out and touched it with my hands. I could sense and energy through it.

I looked around again. I looked to the place where I saw the person. He came over to me. He was Lupine. He put his hand on my shoulder and spoke.

"Welcome to our village." He said.

"I am grateful. Where am I?" I said.

"You are in our village. We are nomads of the area. We found you in a cave and brought you here."

"Who are you?"

"I am Evengan."

"You\x92re Loupian!"

"Yes. You are a soldier."

"Aye. I need to get back to my platoon. I need to get back and help fight."

"We will help you. But first, you must help us."