Author's Note: My first attempt at a post-apocalyptic or alternate timeline earth. This first chapter is mostly setup, but it will build soon enough. Comments wanted, as are suggestions, and if you give me ideas, I'll make sure to credit them if used. I'm always looking for inspiration!

Chapter 1

No one knew where they came from, just that they began attacking one day. Who or what they were was a mystery too - but we had always guessed that they were either human, or humanoid - maybe bigger than us though we couldn't be certain. Maybe they were robots, or people in over-sized battle suits. Whatever or whoever they were, their technology was further ahead than ours, but not so far as to be able to quickly wipe us out. We'd gained and lost territory over the last four years, but at the cost of many soldiers. After all the fighting, you'd think we'd have been able to capture one of them, but that never happened. Even when they retreated, they took their dead with them.

Maybe things would have gone better if they hadn't shown up just after the war with the Northern Alliance depleted most of our resources. We'd even tried to contact our former foes for help, but there was no response, and within a short time, this new enemy had moved into the border areas, cutting us off from the North. Were they pushing out in both directions?

I shifted the pulse-rifle a little to get a better look over edge of the foxhole. There were three of us, each looking out in a different direction. We were in a heavily disputed area, more or less on the lookout for any advancing enemy forces but there had been little activity over the last several days. The tacticians were concerned that it meant the enemy was gearing up for a major assault - and that meant we were going to loose ground again. Still nothing in sight.

I checked my watch. Mike, Sally and I would be relieved in a couple of hours. That was good. I was due some time off, and the chance of getting back home for even a few days spent with my wife and daughter was in the forefront of my thoughts.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Sally. Turning, I saw her put fingers to her lips, then point out in the direction she was watching. I turned and looked. It was a single enemy unit, moving quickly from one boulder to the next, keeping in cover. But the sunlight was reflecting off of the metal skin, and Sally had managed to catch sight of it over the distance.

We both watched it move for a time. It didn't seem to be coming any closer, just changing position every few minutes. When the shock-grenade landed in the foxhole, we all knew at that instant, we'd been duped. They knew we were here, and we'd been expertly distracted. None of us could get to it before it went off. My body armor took most of the impact, but that didn't stop it from hurting. I could hardly breathe,and I'd been slammed into the side of the foxhole so hard that I was partly embedded in the soft dirt.

My head was spinning, and my whole body ached. I could move my fingers and toes, but everything else was sluggish. I could see Sally, but not Mike. She was shoved into dirt as well, but Mike had probably been knocked clear out of the foxhole. There was nothing either of us could do when the next cannister fell neatly in front of us. Moments later, we were surrounded in a gray cloud - GAS!

I tried not to breath it in... closed my eyes... but whatever it was, it didn't need to be inhaled. I could feel it tingle on my skin and I knew it was being absorbed - whatever it was. I tried to pull away from the wall, but a wave of weakness overcame me and I felt myself starting to black-out. The last thing I saw was a metal-clad form looking down on us from the edge of the hole... It was holding Mike up by one leg, and I could just make out the odd angle of his head, and I knew his neck was broken...

When I woke up, my head was pounding. I remembered vividly what had happened, and I looked around to see where I was. I wasn't in the foxhole anymore, but a small room made entirely of well worn metal plating (floor, ceiling, and walls), and I was alone. My body armor was gone. So were my helmet, gloves and boots. I still had my combat fatigues on, but the pockets had been completely emptied, and I was barefoot. I listened for sounds, but didn't hear anything - though my ears were still ringing from the effects of the shock-grenade.

I looked around trying to find a door, but couldn't. If there was one there, it was well disguised within all the metal plates. Light came from bulb recessed into the ceiling, behind wire mesh. I called out Sally's name, but all I could hear was an odd echo within my own cell. So I stood up and started pushing at the walls in different places, trying to find out where the door might be. I went all the way around twice, with no success. After a time, I started banging on the wall in different places and shouting. It didn't accomplish anything, as I'd assumed when I started, but at least it was something to do.

Eventually I got tired of that, and sat down, my back in a corner, and waited. I suppose that's all I could do - wait. If I'd had any tools, I might have started digging between the metal plates and seeing if I could get anything loose, but whoever or whatever they were, left me with absolutely none of my gear. Even my belt and suspenders were missing. It was at that point that I realized that I had no metal on me at all. The snaps that held the pockets closed on my fatigues had been cut out. If it wasn't for the fact that the button holding my pants closed was made of plastic, they'd be falling down. I put my hand to my neck, and found my dog-tags were missing as well. Great... just great.

I sighed. Nothing to do but sit. I don't know how long I waited. I think I fell asleep a few times, and I was starting to get very thirsty. Still, there was no sound, nothing. I yelled a few times - things like "what do you want?".... "Where are you?".... but everything went unanswered.

And then there was a hissing sound... it came from all directions. And a sweet smell. More gas. Whoever these people were, they seemed to like the stuff. Whatever it was, it was different from the gray stuff they'd used on us in the foxhole. I shook my head. Holding my breath would be pointless - I knew that. If they wanted me dead they'd have done that already, so I just breathed it in. It didn't put me to sleep like the other stuff had, but after a minute I found that I couldn't move. It was a paralytic - a very specific one. I blinked. That I could do. I could adjust my breathing too, as well as move my jaw but not speak. The hissing stopped then, and I heard the sound of a fan clearing the sweet smelling gas from the room. Then the wall across from me opened.

Framed in the doorway was a woman. She was exceptionally tall and muscular. Bigger than any woman I'd ever met, even in military circles. She was almost bald, except for a short, blond mohawk. Despite her size, she looked in every way human. She stepped inside, and there were two more behind her, just as tall and just as built. All three of them wore uniforms of some kind, tightly fitting - a mixture of blue colored cloth, trimmed in leather.

I was even more surprised when she motioned to the other two, and spoke. I could understand her perfectly.

"He's sufficiently pacified. Take him to room fourteen for interrogation - the general will decide what to do with him after. When you're done, go check on his companion."

Sally was alive! And here too. That was a good thing. It was a prisoner's duty to try and escape, and two of us would improve the odds - even if we were kept apart. More trouble for them.

The two women stepped forward and lifted me up by the armpits. They dragged me, limp, through the door and down a cinder-block hallway. It wasn't long before we came to a heavy metal door marked simply "14". One of them opened the door with a free hand.

I could see inside.. sort of... In the center of the room was a large "chair". It was made of shiny metal, with lots of small holes. Held up by a single post in the center, it had a reclined back, and where the seat ended, it continued angled down to support the legs. At the bottom, it bent up slightly into a foot rest. Leather straps hung from various positions. A single bright white light illuminated it from directly above. The rest of the room was dark, and the light was so bright that I couldn't see anything but the chair.

If I weren't almost completely paralyzed, I certainly would have tried to get free, but that wasn't going to happen. My mind went in all directions as they dragged me inside and put me on the thing. It wasn't long before the rest of my clothes were gone, and I was aware of the cold metal on my bare skin. Tight straps went over my chest and waist, pinning my arms at my sides. my legs too, were held tightly in place, and a strap went over the top of my forehead, holding my head to the back of the "chair". Another at my neck finished the job. Whenever the gas wore off, I wasn't going to be able to go anywhere - that was abundantly clear. When they'd finished, the two women closed the door behind them, and the light went out. Everything was dark. I felt goose-pimples on my exposed flesh - there was a fan somewhere in the room, and the temperature was cool. Once again - I had to wait... I'm certain that was intentional...