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Chapter II: Kalinka's plight
"Work faster, Cossack!"
The switch came down Kalinka's back once more. She turned around, her young, pure eyes fogged with tears met that of
the unfeeling Sniper Joe overseer.
"I said move it! Do I need to write it out for you?" the overseer yelled.
The switch came down again. Kalinka winced and continued her work.
She hated the Splice Farm. Hated it with a passion, even though she was only there for a week. She had to mine this
strange ore that Dr. Wily somehow thought was important. She didn't know what it was, and she couldn't ask anyone, either.
She couldn't keep up with the other workers, being the delicate girl that she was. The overseers clearly stated that
hard workers got rations at the end of the day. Kalinka looked down at her stomach. It was full of air, and her ribs jatted
outward like crule knives.
She sighed. It was just as well. It matched everything else in her condition. Her face was black with soot. Her back
had several scars from the overseer's whip, each one deeper than the last.
She continued working with her load, when all of the sudden, a glimmer of hope appeared on the other side of the laser
grid that surrounded her prison. Her father, Dr. Makail Cossack, was standing with Brightmand and the renegade Searchman.
She immediatally droped her load and rushed to him, stopping herself at the grid.
"Father!" she cried, "at last, you have come!"
Dr. Cossack was taken aback. His own daughter, working for the enemy against her will. Before he could say anything,
Searchman butted in.
"Shhhhh." said Searchman, "please, be quite, or someone will hear you. We'll continue this reunion at
the car..."
Dr. Cossack shook his head. "I'm sorry, Searchman, but this is not a rescue mission. We're only here to research
the Splice Farm, and prepare for a counter attack. Brightman, if you please."
"Yes, sir."
With that, Brightman downloaded the information he needed through the access terminal. As he worked, Kalinka's lack of
work did not go unnoticed. A Sniper Joe seized the young girl from behind. Luckly for our heroes, he did not bother to look
beyond the other side of the grid.
"Who are you talking to?" he bellowed.
Kalinka, who was caught completely off-gaurd, said nothng.
"I think I should teach you a lesson." gloated the overseer, and with that, he dragged her to the back of the
farm.
"Download complete," said Brightman. "We should be off."
"Hold on," said Cossack, and hid behind a rock near his transport.
The overseer threw Kalinak against the brick wall, and ripped of her shirt. Her scars were clear to see now.
"Count the blows." ordered the Sniper Joe as he changed his arm to a buster, "If you miss count, we'll
start over again."
The Sniper Joe fired the first shot.
"One!" The plasma blast reopened one of Kalinka's wounds. Another blast hit her reopened scar, and it hurt
even worse.
"Two!' she winced.
Another blast.
"Three!"
The smell of plasma was overwhelming, but Kalinka tried her best not to lose count. Another blast hit her.
"Four!"
The Sniper Joe than had a wicked idea. He took aim and fired again.
"F-five..."
The blast hit Kalinka in the small of her back. She coughed before she stated the count. She then looked in horror at
the bright red stain on the wall in front of her. There was no form of vomit to distort the pool of crimson blood that started
Kalinka in the face. Another blast fired.
"Six!"
Dr. Cossack was appaled.
"Seven!"
Brightman's rage was building up to critical levels.
"Eight!"
He tried to rush in, but Cossack held him back.
"Nine!"
The realentless guard charged his cannon to maximum.
"Ten!"
Again, the blast forced Kalinka to cough blood.
"Let's go." said Dr. Cossack, "I can not stand it..."
The overseer laughed and tossed Kalinka her shirt. She put it back on, still facing the wall.
"Chef!" yelled the Sniper Joe.
A metool waddled from the tent next to the wall. "Yes, sir?" he asked.
"Make sure the Cossack girl gets no food this week. It'll teach her not to make up imaginary friends to distract
her from work."
"But sir," complained the metool, "she hasn't eaten anything for her whole time here-"
"I'll bring this up with Wily if you want." threatened the Sniper Joe.
"Yes, sir..." said the metool, finally giving it. Saddly, the chef waddled away.
'Was that even nessacary?' thought Kalinka. She couldn't work nearly as hard as the other men and robots. She wasn't
getting any food to begin with. She sighed and went back to work.
"Kalinka," vowed Dr. Cossack as he and his troupe set off, " I promise that one day, we will resuce you
from that Splice Farm. I swear it..."
Next Chapter
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