2040

  "It was near dawn with all hunters were now returned, and we…"

  Gaberial blinked as her phone suddenly started to beep. This broke the flow of the story coming from the Keeper. She went around and looked at the information displayed on the screen. The battery pack was running low, and this was a warning that it would soon power down the device. They had been speaking for hours, and her legs were stiff from standing most of that time. Her stomach was also now complaining, and her throat was also expressing its unhappiness.

  She was meant to have asked more questions than she did, but the story told to her mesmerised and sickened her simultaneously. It has only covered fifteen years, but the figure before her had confessed to being a part of or actively engaged in the deaths of over 150 people. But that wasn't all. It was the implications of what he had said about forces beyond this world and that he was originally from another Earth with another history.

  The journalist in her had many questions, but the woman feared the answers. As the story of Pandora came to the forefront of her mind, she remembered it. Was she Pandora here?

  She manipulated the applications and information on her phone's screen as she stopped filming. She then went into her history and checked to see how much of the transmission had been uploaded to the satellite and then to the servers for publication.

  She looked at the history and suddenly swore in Spanish.

  "I take it there's a problem," the Keeper asked. She had spent several hours listening to his voice, and it was the type that she could continue listening to, which disturbed her even more.

  "Yes. The upload was blocked." She answered, but her attention was focused on the information on the screen. She looked at the transmission logs and saw when they were disrupted.

  "Well, that was expected. How long into our conversation was it." He asked.

  "I think we got a good thirty minutes out before it was blocked." Her phone recorded several hours of the session on the backup info drive, which was also attached. She made sure it was all saved and stored correctly.

  "Thirty minutes." He seemed thoughtful. "Well, that was far better than I expected, actually."

  Gaberial looked at him. "What do you mean?"

  "I mean Ms Santez. I had expected the authorities to block the signal much sooner."

  Gaberial thought about it and realised he was right. The authorities' ringing outside this place showed a massive oversight in not blocking her sooner. Looking at a phone, she realised that all signals were blocked at the moment, and she did not know what the reactions were to the thirty minutes that had been released. Her editor was already having their legal team find out what had happened. They had arranged this in advance.

  "Dawn is almost here. It seems our time is at an end." She looked up and found the Keeper looking east to the horizon. She turned on notice that the sky was now changing colour. The floodlights still illuminated them, causing a lot of light pollution that made seeing the change harder, but it was definitely happening. She had been up for over twenty-four hours and felt the effects as her body protested.

  "Yes, it is." She agreed. "Hopefully, I can return, and we can finish what we have started."

  The Keeper chuckled at her words. "Come now, Ms Santez. Let us be honest: the odds of you not being disappeared by your government on national security grounds are not very high."

  What upset her most was not his words but the truth in them. Over the last few decades, many have decried the US government's bent towards a more authoritarian outlook. She knew that that was possible when she tried to reach this place, but now she was looking at a certainty that the minute she left, she would be snatched and disappeared or arrested, as the authorities would claim. He was right. They would argue it was all in the name of "national security".

  "I knew it was a possibility." As she spoke, she looked across the open area from the gates to the line of soldiers and floodlights. Knowing and facing it was something very different, and she was afraid.

  "Yes, you did, didn't you." His tone was almost respectful. "Alas, I cannot offer you sanctuary here. I am capable of much, but not that."

  "Can you answer one question for me?" she asked, looking at this…. Could she call it a man? He claimed he once was, but now was something else.

  "I remind you about I told you about questions when we first met." The slight smile is back on his lips. She thought about it and then decided that she was damned either way, so she dived straight in.

  "How much more is there to this story?"

  "Much, much more. I've been here for 170 years and you have only scratched the surface with the first fifteen years of my story. There is much more to my tale, both heroic and monstrous."

  She believed him; she wished she did not, but she did. But she had many more questions burning within her, not just about New Midian but about the world he was from. She wanted to ask them, but something inside her told her their time was up. She noticed that he was again looking towards the line of soldiers. The questions would have to wait.

  "They're going to come for you, aren't they?" She asked in a rare moment of insight into this whole situation. She felt a thrill of fear at this revelation and what might happen.

  "Yes, they are." He confirmed this to her, but she noticed the sadness in his answer. Which she thought was strange coming from someone who had confessed to hundreds of deaths already.

  "What will happen?"

  "That Ms Santez is a story for tomorrow. But know this: I am ready for the day they do. It is a day I long expected and prepared for."

  She sensed their time was at an end and began to disassemble her equipment to pack it up. No more procrastinating on her part. It was time to face the consequences of her actions. The Keeper remained with her the whole time, not speaking but occasionally returning his attention to the dungeon but mainly looking out at the soldiers. She reached out, pulled in the satellite relay, and folded it up. It did not take long, and she was now ready to leave.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  "Do you think we will meet again?" She asked. For all the terrible things she had told her, she wanted to see where this story ended.

  "Doubtful. But never say never, Ms Santez."

  "Goodbye." She said as she started walking through the gates.

  "Goodbye and good luck, Ms Santez," he said in return, and she looked over her shoulder to find that he was gone.

  She did not know why, but she found this on brand and smiled. She turned her attention back to the soldiers watching her. She walked forward with her hands up so they could see she was not armed. She was not thrilled with approaching a line of heavily armed, trigger-happy soldiers and was not looking to be shot.

  A voice came over the speakers instructing her to approach the soldiers and to keep her arms up. As soon as she was a few steps away, she was instructed to kneel down and put her hands behind her head, locking her fingers. She did as she was instructed, and several soldiers quickly pounced on her, forcing her face into the ground, twisting her arms behind her back, and securing her wrists. She was then pulled up, and a black bag was put over her head.

  Gaberial was no longer sure what day it was. She had no idea where she was as she had spent the last…... However, long in this small grey cell with no window, she was moved blindfolded to an interrogation room again without a window. They had taken everything from her, and she was dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit they gave to Federal prisoners. It was irritating her skin to no end.

  For days, at least a few weeks more likely, different people had repeatedly interrogated her. They did not identify what organisations they were with; they only stated that they were part of the US government. Every facet of her life was questioned, and they demanded answers. They wanted you to know how long she had been in contact with the entity in the containment zone and watch her relationship or affiliation with it. Another was how long she had been betraying the United States of America or planned to.

  Her whole life was put on display and questioned. Every success and failure are identified and then torn apart. It was all to demoralise her.

  She answered the questions honestly and consistently, but the answers were never what they wanted, so they continuously asked over and over for hours on end. This was a form of psychological wear down to break the subject they were interrogating. She was aware of this but went through it with a different experience to understand it academically. As a mental defence, she had gotten snarkier as it went on. It did not help her situation but made her feel a bit better.

  She wondered on occasion when they would start waterboarding her.

  They had also claimed she was on suicide watch, and so every hour on the hour when she was trying to sleep, they woke her up to check on her for her safety. Sleep deprivation was adding to her disorientation and confusion. So far, she had remained strong and stuck to her principles, but she was close to breaking. She could sense it inside of herself. She understood when others told her that everyone had a breaking point.

  The cell door suddenly flew open, and two men barged into the room. Gaberial didn't bother resisting as they cuffed her and bagged her again. She was dragged a short distance to the interrogation room and sat on the chair. Her cuffs were removed, and she wasn't cuffed to the metal table this time. The bag was removed from her head, and the two men left. She looked around, and across from her was someone new.

  She thought he was a Hispanic man in his early 60s, and he wore glasses. Well-groomed and composed, they looked like the grandfather most kids would be happy to have. But there was something in his eye that told her otherwise. She had long ago learned to trust her instincts and was on guard.

  "Good morning, Ms Santez. I must say you have caused quite the stir and presented me with a thorny problem." His voice was cultured, and his accent spoke of being from the East Coast.

  "Nice to know that I've been doing my job then." She quipped.

  "Yes. The freedom of the press is a true cornerstone of our democracy." He told her, not changing his tone, making her unsure if he was laughing with her or condemning her profession.

  "You know I'm still waiting to see my lawyer." One of the ways she had remained sane through these lengthy interrogations was to rely on her rights as an American citizen.

  "Ah, yes, your legal representation. Well, I'm afraid to say that you'll be waiting a bit longer."

  Gaberial had gathered enough of her wits to take a better look around the room and at the man before her. It was the same room they had dragged her into. God knows how many times. In the corner over the right-hand side of the interrogator, there was a camera pointed at her and another one behind her. The room contained the table, two chairs, the door, and nothing else. The fluorescent strip light above her head flicked occasionally—the room stank of stale coffee and harsh bleach.

  She was quite familiar with it now.

  "You know I've watched the whole recording on your info drive with the entity identifying as 'the Keeper. '" He spoke to her but was looking at a folder on the open table. As he finished speaking, he looked up at her. His expression gave nothing away. His eyes somehow were scaring her more than being locked away for God knows how long. She could only describe them as soulless.

  "Yes, he was an interesting subject to interview. Shame I won't be able to finish getting his whole story."

  "I have to agree with you the implications of what he said are earth-shaking, at least." He leaned back in the uncomfortable chairs they were sitting in as he spoke. "I should tell you that there is a great deal of public outcry demanding to know where you are and what conditions you're being held in. We tried to secure the feed, but it got out, and it is presently the highest-viewed footage on any platform it appears on before we remove it."

  "Yes, being an American citizen does come with those pesky rights, doesn't it? Nice to know my work is being appreciated with what had gotten out." She was being combative, trying to get a rise out of him. She had begun to do it to all of her interrogators. He, however, did not seem fazed by it at all.

  "Well, there are those within the government who want you to be charged with treason at the very least. That, however, requires a trial, and I think we both know that would not be the best for anyone involved. As you say, being an American citizen does give you certain rights."

  Gaberial's training as a journalist had taught her that there were times when you said nothing and let the person talking to you tell you what they were saying.

  "As you suspect, we've been trying to contact the entity within the containment zone. It has proven most unwilling to communicate. Some others within the government managed to force the issue and took more aggressive action."

  "You attacked New Midian." She asked deadpan. Inside, she was screaming. Fools!

  "In a manner of speaking, yes, but the results were not what we desired. This has brought us back to the original conversation that we were having."

  "And what was that?" She asked, now wondering what he was talking about.

  "Ms Santez, we want you to go back and re-establish contact with the entity and finish finding out its story. We have concluded that we need more information before we take any more action, either diplomatic or military."

  Gaberial was shocked for a few seconds, but the professional with her in her realised the truth about what he was asking.

  "Why should I? You will never allow me to publish the story."

  "You are correct in that. But we offer you a full pardon in return for your doing this."

  "What will happen to the footage then?"

  "It will be studied and then buried under at least a century-long national security protection order. As you will be on everything that you learn." He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke. She knew he was telling her the truth as there was no way she could refute his words in this room.

  "That's not good enough. The stories out there need to be told." Gaberial knew she had to fight for the truth to come out.

  "Again, you are correct, Ms Santez. But we're going to control what is going to come out. So once again, I offer you a full pardon and part of what we deem to be released, or we let you rot here in an unmarked cell for the rest of your life, awaiting a trial that never comes for treason against the United States of America."

  Gaberial knew her back was against the wall, and her options were limited. She remembered the time when she first met the Keeper when she asked if he was a devil. Now she knew, but the devil was sitting across from her.

  "I take it this will all be in a legal document I must sign."

  "Very astute, Ms Sanchez. We will be sending you back soon."