Strange, Justin thought, to hear Chris’s inflection and tone but not his voice. His word choice but not him that spoke the words, though Dave’s high, piping voice wasn’t far off.

“It was easy at first,” Dave said. Justin could tell Chris would rather be pacing, but he couldn’t break contact with Dave.

“Easy because they came and they hurt me but they didn’t have anything. They knew they still hadn’t won and I knew there was still hope.”

“They hurt you?” Justin asked. “Hurt you how?”

Chris closed his eyes and a flicker of pain crossed Dave’s face. “Don’t,” he said, and his voice sounded so small. “Don’t make me tell you.”

It was so much to ask, almost too much, but Justin felt he owed Chris at least that, probably more, so he nodded.

Chris continued. “At first, it was like a game. They’d come in, I’d scream ‘fuck you,’ they’d beat me a little and leave. But then they started winning. I knew they did because they’d tell me, bring me newspapers and headlines and tapes of you guys on the news. And you’d given up, all of you.”

“Chris…”

“No, no, JC, it doesn’t matter. I was so angry at first. Really really mad but I knew if I’d been there and one of you had been here I’d have done the same thing. I know they threatened you.”

Chris pulled Dave backwards, until his knees hit a chair and he sat, Dave standing beside him, hand still to Chris’s temple. “But it got worse then,” Dave said. “They came more and more frequently, hooked me up to different and worse machines and I kept screaming at them and one day I just felt something break. I kept trying to yell but I couldn’t hear myself anymore. They laughed at me and I knew they couldn’t hear me either. It was gone. My voice was gone.”

Justin heard a small noise beside him. JC was crying, small tears running down his face and Justin put his arm around JC, pulling him close. He felt Joey’s hand on his back and Lance had his arm hooked around Joey and they all stood connected, facing Chris and Dave and listening to the story.

“There was one guy who was worse than the others. He enjoyed it, got off on it, whatever. I knew he liked it. He left the machine on a little longer, took his time, that sort of thing. He’d have done more if he could. The day after I lost my voice, he was so sure he’d broken me, that I would do anything they wanted now, and he came in and he was fucking whistling like it was some goddamn game, and he looked at me and fucking grinned. So I mouthed ‘fuck you’ and… God. He fucking lost it. That’s where I got this.” Dave’s words, but Chris pointed to his face, to the long scar obscuring his eye.

“His knife.”

Chris stopped, ran a shaky hand over his face and swallowed before Dave continued. “I don’t know how much longer it was before Pink found me. I was being transferred or she’d never have managed it, but I’m here now.”

“I could heal you,” JC said, pulling away from Justin and stepping forward. “I could fix…”

“No.” Both Dave and Chris held up their hands, bracing themselves. “No, I won’t… I can’t use you that way.”

Justin heard an intake of breath beside him and felt Joey step away too. Lance was on the other side of Joey and tried to hold on, to whisper something to him, but Joey stopped him, stepped away from him. Justin watched Lance’s shoulders drop. They all stood alone.

“It’s not…”

“No, C. No.”

Justin stepped forward and put his arm around JC again, partly holding him back but mostly comforting him, holding him against Chris’s rejection and Joey’s anger. “I don’t understand,” he said.

“What?”

“How’d they get you?”

Chris reached up and pulled Dave’s hand from his temple, just as Dave opened his mouth to answer the question. Dave stumbled back against the wall, white faced and tired, and Pink came forward to pick him up.

“He’s just tired, he’ll be fine.”

Chris signed something to her.

“What’d he say?” Justin asked.

Pink turned slowly, Dave in her arms. "Later," she said and turned to leave. Then stopped. “You can leave, if you want. Go topside. Just never go anywhere without one of us. Not just Chris or me, but any of the guards. It isn't safe, and they're looking for you.”