Freegans part 56

Ben
Madiza-or Ivy, I guess, but to me, she was still Madiza- collapsed to her knees, shrieking, "MAKE IT STOP!!!" Her hands flew to her ears, and she began rocking back and forth uncontrollably and screaming. Instantly I went to her side; catching her by the shoulders, I got her to look me in the eyes. She stopped screaming, and began sobbing instead. I gently took her hands from her ears, and wrapped my arms around her, holding her head against my shoulder. I could guess what had happened: seeing her old 'friend' again had brought back all the memories she had tried to suppress for so long. That was why she allowed her brain to be so bombarded with trivia and facts; it kept the pain away. It tore me apart to see her so upset, because-well, because I loved her.

I'm sorry if you are feeling disgusted by the sappiness of that statement, but it's the truth. I needed her to be her usual, happy self. I wished fervently that I could talk, say something, anything that could help her.
"We need to go!" I heard Ox say. I wondered when he had gotten here. I looked up, and saw that the whole team had arrived. They had freed all the prisoners, who were now standing in a huddle, looking as if they expected this to be another trap. I couldn't really blame them. Slowly, I stood up, lifting Madiza with me. She clung to me like a limpet, trembling, with her eyes squeezed shut. With one hand, I began checking my pockets. I knew what she needed. Luckily, I was able to procure a pencil, and some paper. Gently, I pushed them into her hands. After a second, her eyes slowly opened. Her spidery fingers closed around the pencil, and she began writing.

Cara and Matt walked with us, carrying their helmets under their arms. Everyone had them off by now; there seemed to be no more point in trying to pretend. Suddenly, I noticed that Paris was following us, staring anxiously at Madiza. I gave her a cold stare, and motioned her away. She had done enough.
"Please," she said in a small, pathetic voice, "I didn't mean for this to happen to her. They promised they wouldn't do anything to harm her-really, they did. I never thought-"
"Well, you should have!" snapped Cara. "Don't you see? You can't trust the government to keep promises, or tell you the truth! They would have told you anything to get what they want!"
"Cara," Matt said softly, "I think she understands now." He gave her a look, and she turned away from Paris, teeth clenched.

As the crowd of people went down a corridor, they came across a Drone, slumped against a wall. They started back in fright, but Deep Thought came forward fearlessly. He casually opened a panel, rearranged some wires, and then closed it again.
"What did you do?" asked Lucy, who was standing next to him.
"The same thing I did to the last one who got too close to my cell: reprogramming it. Just in case." Deep Thought smirked.