Resurrection (The Inherited War) by Eric McMeins Page B

him.
                  “Ahh, yes you refer to the interesting machines that inhabit your body as well as the protective clothing you now wear, correct?  They are quite amazing.  We assume the machines armor can only be willingly taken off and that the machines in your system can blunt your pain receptors?”  They didn’t wait for Cole to respond before continuing.  “There are ways around everything.  Now time for your first lesson.  Remove your clothing.”   Cole instantly felt the weight of the Esii’s mind pushing on his will power.  Cole found it easy enough to push back and he remained standing defiantly with his arms crossed.  He shoved the Esii out of his head and spit at its feet.
                  “Good, you are strong willed.  This will be a challenge.  Lesson one:  obey all orders immediately or be punished.”
                  Without warning, the floor around Cole rose up trapping him inside a rectangular box.  He looked up just in time to see the weirdly flowing metal seal the top of the box.  Cole had just enough space to be able to squat or turn completely around while standing up.  He pushed on all four of the walls and found them solid as steel.  Suddenly enough that it startled him, his suit helmet activated.  The wringing light indicating a detected loss of air pressure had triggered his helmet to protect him from the loss of breathable air.  Activating his external speaker Cole laughed again.  “I can out last you guys in here, have fun waiting.”
                  Cole looked up as he felt something drop onto his head.  He was rewarded with a deluge of fine sand falling from the top.  It was quickly filling in the box.  Cole started to panic, he slammed his fist repeatedly into the walls but they didn’t budge.  It didn’t take long before Cole was completely covered in the fine silvery sand.   He was good and truly trapped.  He couldn’t move his legs and his arms were stuck out in front of him in mid swing.  He couldn’t even shift his head.  To make matters worse, the weight of the sand was compressing his chest and making it hard for him to draw a breath.  They had buried him alive and he had no hope of escaping.  He couldn’t move, he could barely breathe, and his suit could keep him alive for days in this condition. 
                  “We assume your suit will maintain your body functions for quite some time and it will prevent you from trying to kill yourself by removing the helmet.  We shall return when your suit has lost power and falls from your body.  We suggest you take this time to reflect on your situation and your actions in our presence.”  The presence in Cole’s mind suddenly vanished leaving him utterly alone.  Cole screamed and struggled as best as he could.  He panicked and railed against the Esii.  He yelled and thought every foul word he could at them but it was to no avail.  In the end, his suit managed to stay functional for three days. 
                  Cole was barely lucid when it finally ran out of power.  He had screamed himself hoarse and exhausted himself in his struggles.  He never even noticed when the lights in his helmet winked out one by one as the suits systems shut down.  Finally the rebreather and the primary function ran out of power.  The suit lost its cohesiveness and slid off of Cole’s body leaving him at the mercy of the crushing sand.  Reflexively he held his breath as the helmet came off, but it wouldn’t be enough.  Just as he breathed out and was about to drown in the fine, silvery sand, the walls of his upright coffin fell away releasing Cole and his sand to fall to the floor.  The sand slowly sank into the floor leaving Cole lying naked and alone in the room.  He was lying on top of his now defunct Second Skin.
                  The door to the room melted and parted allowing the five Pyndingum to enter the room.