Melissa thought about the question, her face screwing up as she tried to put some words together. She'd seen whippings before, tons of whippings, and she'd never helped those people. She didn't have any answer for Dimitri other than, "Truthfully, I have no idea. I guess I surprise myself sometimes?" Now she was actually trying to figure out why she had come to the rescue. She analyzed everything she remembered, every detail, but the answer didn't come. "I was just kind of being an idiot, I suppose." 

The sound of a booming voice on a loudspeaker startled her, and as she listened, her heart sank and her stomach made a loud grumble. Melissa had her doubts that she would survive such a period of forced famine, with the amounts she [i]hadn't[/i] been eating lately. Tears came to her eyes but she forced them back before they could fall. [i]Don't show weakness. Not to anyone. Even if they've shown kindness.[/i] 

She stood up. "I think that does it for me, guys," she announced.