Alright, numbers…buttons…can't think straight…can't hold my phone…relax…
Nine…one…one—
There is a loud bang on the door, which startles Link to where his heart jumps and he shakily holds the phone to his ear. A soft, gentle ringing in the speaker mocks him and there is another bang, and then another. On the final pound, the door crashes open.
No…no. Please don't, please don't…please…
He backs away, unknowingly he is headed towards the bathtub. Something metal and hard smashes into his neck and he topples backwards into the tub.
Why can't I see. Why is there black? What…oh, here it comes…good…
His vision is fuzzy but he can see, and he wishes he hadn't have thought that. A face, malicious and inundated with the expression of sin and evil, bears a sardonic grin at the widening yet cloudy blue eyes of the dazed young man. Link reaches up, fingers slipping and tremulously attempting to turn the faucet on. He manages to twist the knob slightly and let the water trickle. Something slides against his rear.
Please, please, oh god why…why…
An excruciating pain erupts in the backside of the eighteen-year-old's body, and he lets out a half-scream. He remembers, so much…everything…he remembers what this is. And he wonders if it will be different this time.
"You like that, whore? You like that?"
The voice comes out a gritting snarl, mocking his very being as he plummets into a state of shock, unable to move or breathe, just stare at the ebbing water and the porcelain walls of the bathtub. He lets out a few small moans as his body is jostled against the cold floor…or was it hot? He can't comprehend much of anything.
You'll make it…you'll make it…hang in there…it's almost over…
He feels another burst of pressure and again he is hit over the head with something hard. A glass bottle.
Where did that come from…?
He begins to fade in and out of consciousness. His father's voice is distorted and ebbing now. All the energy he has left, he uses to cry. He cries and cries softly into the water, and as it flows into his mouth he tastes a coppery substance. His blood. After about the fourth or fifth time of being hit, Link goes unconsious.
Why…why…why…
What did I do to deserve this…? Papa…?
He is like a small child again, cowering from his father's hand as his mother lays dead against the wall.
Papa…why…
He fears he will never wake.