I was thrown into a dungeon. I wasn't going to die. I was being kept alive for questioning. I thought of the others like me who were dying though. Those who spoke out against our Lord.
The Camp of Tongues is kind of a misleading title. It wasn't JUST critics and politicians that were sent here. There were many others. There are many camps like this one. My class even went on a tour through one of the other camps. I saw many people die that day.
I see people die a lot. Including close friends of mine. You just have to get used to it. I started thinking of how lucky I was. I mean, I made it OUTSIDE! No one has ever done that. You'd think someone who escaped would be put to death instantly. I guess I'm really lucky.
I thought of the dream I had. Or was it a dream? An angel coming to warn me of something? I used to think angels were just Christian things.
Christians. I don't even know what a Christian is. I just know they are apparently bad. I saw a lot of Christians die. There were a lot of "unfit" people that Lord Aarron talked about. Christians, Muslims, cripples, retards, and "queers". I don't know what most of those are. I just hear the names a lot.
It had been a few hours. Or days. I don't know. Suddenly my ears picked something up I hadn't noticed. A humming sound. Very faint. I put my ear to the floor. I was coming from the corner of the cell. I crawled over to it. I felt around. The bricks were loose. I pulled one away. This was an old cell, clearly.
I pulled more bricks away. A gaping hole stared back at me. Maybe...yes, I was just the size to fit through. The noise grew louder. I crawled through, glance back to see if anyone was near, and slid through. I fell. I didn't see that coming. I hit a hard metal floor. Out cold.
I awoke. I looked around to see total darkness. It smelled really dusty. I stood and waited for my eyes to adjust. I saw a lever. I pulled it and sparks rained down on me. Lights came on all around me. I was momentarilly blinded. I rubbed my eyes and saw the source of the humming sound. A large generator stood before me in the center of the room.
I slowly walked over to it. I was startled by a voice that called "Who is there?" I walked around the machine and saw what was on the other side. I couldn't tell what I was looking at at first. I saw a large, humanoid figure hanging on the generator.
This thing was not a man. It was...a machine. An automaton. One of Aarron's automated soldiers. I almost jumped for cover. The last place you want to be is in the presence of an automaton. The machine said "Wait! I'm not going to hurt you!" I stopped and looked at it. The machine's glowing red eyes looked right at me. I asked "Who, or, what are you?"
"I am Matthew 705."
"You...you're a soldier?"
"I was."
I gazed at the...man. This was no android soldier. I think it was human.
"Why are you down here?"
"This generator is an electro-magnet. I've been stuck to this piece of crap for about 5 years I think."
"Well, can you get down?"
"There's a switch on the back. I think if you turn it, the machine will release me. Please help me."
"Okay."
I went to the back and found the large knob. I turned it slowly. I could hear the machine powering down. I large metallic thump startled me. I ran back to where the automaton was. He stood up. I gazed up at the 8 foot monster. I shivered. But I heard a voice that spoke very softly. It said something that had I had never heard before.
This thing. Matthew. He said "Thank you."
