Broiled Long Pig
"The pressure of adversity does not affect the mind of the brave man... It is more powerful than external circumstances."
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca
"Trapped!" Sweden exclaimed in anguish.
For a man used to the freedom of the wide-open steppes, the combination of extreme heat and cramped conditions within the dome was giving him a severe case of claustrophobia. The anesthetic that Antigua had administered had long since worn off. His fractured rib ached and pinched with every ragged breath.
He had secured the unconscious woman to a bulkhead with some tubing he had ripped from the wall. The point he had ripped it from had begun to hiss alarmingly when he did this, sending him diving for cover. The tubing belonged to a part of the dome's climate control system. Without realizing it, he had turned the dome into a slow pressure cooker. The automated control system had detected the breach and adjusted the flow of coolant to compensate, but Sweden and Antigua had roughly two hours before they would be broiled alive.
Once she had been firmly bound, he took a moment to enjoy her exotic beauty. Red hair like hers was a rarity for the women of the Southland, but that was the least of her assets. She possessed a figure that was tall and lithe with the tone and strength of a rider. Having never seen an augmented breast before, he could be forgiven for thinking she was far younger than was actually the case. Her skin too was far paler and clearer than any adult woman's he had ever seen before. He could not find a single blemish or mole. He felt his passion flair and was sorely tempted to take advantage of her exposed position, but wisely elected to save the pleasures of her flesh for when he had a better handle on his current circumstances.
He scoured the dome looking for an exit. Unfortunately, since he was not familiar with the concept of a sliding door, the dome's primary access point was invisible to him. He didn't have the right biometrics for the access panel anyway, so he was quite literally trapped.
He found his sword on a table and began poking it into every nook and cranny he could find, using it as a lever in an attempt to pry an opening in the walls. Sadly, the archaic ironwork in his blade was no match for the high-tech industrial strength of the tempered steel and carbon fibre weaving that made up the inner lining of the dome. The comparatively brittle sword snapped under the strain sending Sweden sprawling onto the floor.
He picked himself up, seething with rage, and marched over to the bulkhead that Antigua was strapped to.
"WAKE UP!" he screamed, grabbing her by the hair and slapping her repeatedly across the face.
"Wake up!"
Antigua's eyelids fluttered open, her eyes rolling drunkenly in their sockets.
"WAKE UP!" he shouted, shaking her head.
Everything snapped into focus and she was back in the room.
Sweden pulled her head up by the hair and held her face close enough that their noses touched.
"How did we get in here?" he asked through clenched teeth.
The question went unanswered as Antigua fought to slow the spinning sensation that made it feel like the whole world was revolving around her.
Sweden slapped her again, the shock of the blow causing her to cry out.
"I want to get out of this infernal oven," he hissed, "tell me how or I will tear the skin off your face and feed it to you!"
Antigua looked at him with the bemused befuddlement of the concussed. She had heard the words but could not yet comprehend the meaning. She was struggling to remember who she was.
"How many species in the family?" she mumbled randomly.
Sweden mistook her response for impudence. He struck her again. This time he clenched his fist.
A bright flash of pain sparked across her consciousness as her lip split under the blow, pulling her back into the moment.
"There's a control panel behind you." she spluttered, blood streaming down her chin.
He was about to turn and look but was interrupted by a sudden drop in pressure and the loud boom that heralded the arrival of the delivery pod. The sound and rush of air sent him diving for cover.
Art by Daniel Sheldon https://www.facebook.com/speednperspective & https://twitter.com/Beatroute
