Sipping disconsolately at her bowl of thin soup, Captain Zoe wondered for the nth time how long she had been a prisoner of the Sunnie Army. Without a window or any other outside light source, it was impossible to determine how much time had passed. The gloomy cell and the isolation were beginning to wear her down and she felt even more defeated every day. She had not seen a living soul since her interrogation by Shivani and her cohorts and her ribs were still tender from where she'd been kicked.
A greater pain was in her heart knowing that the woman she loved had gone over to the enemy and betrayed her. She wondered if Shivani had been an enemy agent all along and had played her for a fool. Finishing the last of the soup, she placed the tin bowl by a slot at the bottom of the cell door where it would be retrieved and, after an interval, be refilled and slid back in. She hadn't had anything else to eat and was already feeling weaker from the poor diet and no exercise. Why didn't they just kill her and get it over with?
The sound of footsteps in the hall roused her from her gloomy reverie and she cried out in surprise when the cell door crashed open; the harsh light from the fluorescent bulbs lining the ceiling making her momentarily blind. She was lifted roughly from where she sat, placed on a gurney and wheeled briskly through a maze of hallways by two armed guards wearing surgical masks.
They finally stopped at a door that swung open at their approach, wheeled in and left there, the door closing behind her. Disoriented, she sat up and looked around. She was in what appeared to be an examination room, with various diagnostic machines, trays of instruments and rows of cabinets lining one wall. The walls, floor and ceiling were painted a soft green and various posters diagramming parts of the human body hung on the walls.
Abruptly a door opened and a figure dressed in surgical greens, masked, gloved and wearing a head covering strode into the room and said gruffly "Remove your clothing. I must examine you for diseases." Zoe dismounted from the gurney, slowly removed her now ragged uniform and stood naked as the person looked on impassively, then turned, took several instruments from a cart and began the examination, probing her various orifices and looking into her eyes and ears with a bright light. Zoe bore the examination with as much dignity as she could muster while seething inside wanting to punch this person out.
Zoe was startled when the person removed their gloves, turned her around, pressed against her back and began fondling her breasts and pussy. "What the fuck ..." Zoe began, in no mood to be assaulted.
"It's good to see you again, Zoe," said a familiar voice.
Zoe looked around to see that the masked and gowned figure was, in fact, Doc Anita who kissed her on the lips, then said, "You're looking hot, babe."
"Hera's tits!" Zoe exclaimed and they kissed and hugged happily. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm a prisoner like you. When the Sunnies found out I was a doctor, they put me to work in the hospital. When I found out you were here too, I asked to examine you saying you might have an infectious disease."
"Where were you captured? Did anyone else make it?"
"Yep, There's eight of us here that I know of. Shivvie's trying to find any others, but so far no luck."
"Shivvy? You mean Shivani that traitorous cunt? If I get near her I'm gonna kill her."
"You got it wrong, Zoe, she saved all our lives. She's a hero and she's risking her life mixing with the Sunnies while we figure out how to escape."
"I'm so fuckin' confused," Zoe said, "I thought she'd sold us out when she came into my cell all decked out in a Sunnie uniform spouting their garbage. She even let those goons beat on me."
"It couldn't be helped, babe. She had to see if you were okay and yet keep up a front so the Sunnies would believe her story."
"So what happened that you guys were captured and how did Shivani save you?"
"I'll explain in a minute. Here, put this exam robe on and sit down over there at that table. You want anything to eat?"
"What'cha got? All I've had is some soup."
"Hold on a minute." She went to the door, opened it, shouted something in a language Zoe didn't recognize, shut it and rejoined her at the small table.
"It's quite a tale," she began. "Shivvy and I were the only ones left alive when the HAPC we were in took a direct hit. We finally got out of the wreck and were wondering what to do next when Sue Lynn, Harriet and Wanda showed up. They'd been wandering around, found each other, then heard us talking and came over. We found Gloria, Margie and Janice, but no one else. The rest of the Company must have fought their way out and retreated or were KIA and in the wreckage."
"So how did Shivani save you guys?"
"It was the damndest thing. While we were out looking for survivors, she found a dead Sunnie officer without a mark on her. We figured it was a concussion. Shivvy stripped the body and took the gear back to our hideout we'd set up in a damaged HAPC. We knew the Sunnies would be sniffing around looking for survivors, weapons and ammo and we had nothing to fight with except the dead woman's pistol."
"A woman was a Sunnie officer? I thought they thought women weren't fit for anything except cooking, cleaning and breeding."
"We, Shivvy that is, found out later that the Sunnie Army's hurtin' for officers, so they've started offerin' women commissions. They get all the grunts they need, but any guy with brains is hiding out from the conscription sweeps and joining the movement to end the war."
"HQ'd love to hear that. Too bad we can't make contact with those people and get a fifth column thing going in Sunnie territory."
"We're in touch with some of them here that allowed themselves to be conscripted so they could work from inside, but we're both still suspicious of the other, so we're movin' slow."
"So what did Shivani do with the uniform?"
"We kicked some ideas around like finding a serviceable vehicle and making a run for it, but then sure enough the Sunnies came sniffing around, so that idea was out. Shivvy got the idea to put on the uniform and we'd act like her prisoners and let the Sunnies capture us. She convinced them that we were all medics and we'd be more useful dead than alive. They bought it since they're way short on medical staff and here we are."
A knock on the door interrupted Anita's story and she went to see who it was. She returned in a moment carrying a tray with plates of sliced broiled Lamb, couscous, cheese and bread, a jug of water, a glass and silverware. Zoe ate ravenously while Anita continued her story.
"I've taught the others how to administer rudimentary medical treatments so they can get by while we figure out how to get out of here. We don't see much of Shivvy since she's up in officers' country, but she keeps in touch and lets us know what's going on. Words come down that there's a big offensive being planned and we figure that may be the time to make a break for it."
Zoe gobbled the last of the food, leaned back in her chair, belched and said "Damn that was good. Where do we go from here?"
"I'm having you placed in an isolation ward so your infection won't spread. You'll be fed and pretty much left alone. We'll keep you in the loop as to what our plans are."
