Gail Thompson sat on a wooden chair, thick ropes binding her arms to her sides. The stone walls felt like they were closing in on her. She lifted her head and tried to ignore the blood that trickled from her lower lip. She had answered their questions a thousand times, but each answer had been torn apart and thrown back in her face. She had forgotten what was truth and what was lies. Her mind swam in circles until her thoughts were no longer her own.
'Who are you?' a voice said. The voice was thick, guttural, and lacking in any kind of empathy.
'Admiral Gail - ugh.' Gail's ribs exploded in pain. She doubled up, coughing to catch her breath. Bruises piled upon bruises. That was how the investigators worked. At first she had tried to fool them, but she had soon learnt that they weren't much interested in lies.
The cleric stepped back and grinned at her from an ugly, twisted face. He stood on thin bony legs with a body that could have easily belonged to a child had it not been for the gnarled wiry muscles that wrapped themselves around his thin bones. He threw his head back and snorted at the air as though sniffing for answers.
'Havers Compound,' another voice said. It was as thick as the first.
Gail chose not to turn her head. She could see the second cleric's shadow across the floor to her right. He was shorter than the first, barely as tall as she was sitting down, but the sound of his voice filled her with despair. When she had last looked into his eyes she had seen nothing but cold, hard disgust. The clerics hated her. They hated being close to her. Brief excitement shone in their eyes whenever they punched her with lightning fast fists, but their excitement soon faded once the violence had passed. They enjoyed inflicting pain. Their faces leaked abhorrence whenever they were around her.
Havers Compound, he had said. It wasn't even a question. Should she try to answer or remain silent? His fist struck her between her breasts before she could decide. The blow was harder than he could possibly deliver with such thin arms, but what he lacked in size, he made up for with raw aggressive power. Gail gasped, trying to catch her breath. She hadn't even seen him step forwards. Her chest ached with the effort of sucking air into her burning lungs.
'What do you want?' she said. 'I told you everything I know. I want to talk to Hades.'
The first cleric stood on the balls of his feet, rocking back and forth to a rhythm that only he could hear. His eyes shone like black coins glued to an empty head. He gave no indication of having heard what she had said, and even less sign of being interested in what she wanted. Gail despaired. How had she fallen so far?
A third cleric appeared from a low doorway at the end of the room. He looked older than the other two but his features were no less disturbing.
'Bring her,' he said. 'He will come to her now.'
The other clerics barked with excitement.
Gail struggled against her restraining ropes. She had a bad feeling about how excited they were. 'No,' she said. 'I'll answer your questions. Stop this and we can talk.'
The clerics' guttural barks grew louder. Gail didn't like it at all.