this chapter was inspired whilst eating mac and cheese and discussing the entire story's plot with thetra. she is such a lovely friend. anyhow, thankies to valentined for betaing this as well. i love her. and i hope you all enjoy this installment. things are slowly going to be falling into place. i dare you to figure the entire plot out. it's very .. complex. you may get some parts, but i promise you'll be surprised. anyhow, leave a review.
Bereave
The next time Sora Kayaki woke up, it was with a horrendous pounding in his head. It was too painful to be a head-ache, and too centralized to be a migraine. So Sora just dubbed it as a pounding sensation. The brunette still wasn't quite sure of the time. The darkness was constant. Time seemed like a mere illusion in the dark and musty smelling room. Yes, it smelled musky and like death; if death had a smell, that is. The smell at first appalled the lithe brunette, but over the hours he had grown accustomed to its existence. However, it still lingered once in awhile in his nostrils. In the end, you really couldn't shake any of the effects of death; not even the troubling stench.
Sora sat in a corner of the room with his knees pulled to his chest. His chin rested up on his knees, trying to find a comfortable position away from the peeling floorboards. His hands stung with blisters and cuts and scrapes whilst his neck burned with the feeling of only hours before. He was terrified and uncertain of anything by this point. So he sat there and tried to figure out everything. Piece by piece, fragment by fragment until he created a picture and solved it.
He remembered the dirt road Riku had been driving on ending in the distance. Near a lake. So he was near a lake; that narrowed it down a bit. And it couldn't be that far from Rainford, right? Sora concluded that merely seconds afterwards. He knew he was in some sort of redneck-type cottage. Run-down, small, and built of wood. That classified it perfectly. Next, Sora knew that whoever the cloaked man was… he knew him. But, how? And why did Riku suddenly seem so resentful towards him? It must have been a ploy then. No taxi driver would stray this far north. So Riku wasn't really one at all, if that was even his name. At least the other hadn't raped him … god knows how distraught Sora would be if the stranger had. But he could still feel those fiery lips biting and trailing sloppily down his neck like a lover would. Sora cringed at the thought and whined to himself in the silence.
Sora's stomach continued to tie into knots. The silver-haired stranger's image burned in his mind. The man who he had once called in his mind attractive was now the last person he wanted to see, hear, or let alone, feel. Sora shivered at the thought. Under different circumstances he wouldn't have been that offended or startled if Riku did that… but considering he was trapped in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with what seemed like a serial killer … he had his reasons to dislike the man.
Sora regretted not carrying a pocketknife. Why couldn't he be normal and carry one with him at all times? Men usually did that sort of thing. But, of course, Sora never really planned ahead. And now he was paying for it in spades, and man did it scare him senseless.
Sora was drifting in and out of thought when that creaky door opened. A pale, and yellow, light entered the room. Sora shifted weakly, stomach growling due to his earlier forgotten hunger. Sora muttered something incoherent under his breath as he stared at the nearing figure. He flinched when he realized, yet again, who it was.
Fear was driven into Sora's heart the moment he was dragged out of the confined room into what he could have sworn was an underground lair. It consisted of a large room with a few objects Sora couldn't recognize, a desk, and doors that appeared to lead to nowhere. A frown appeared onto Sora's face when he was shoved onto the ground by the ever-confusing Riku. He could have sworn he had heard a 'sorry' muttered under the silver-haired male's breath. Sora didn't want to ask. Blue eyes snapped upwards, meeting orange ones in the dim light of the new room. Was he going to die now?
"Sora Kayaki. What a pleasure it is to finally meet you."
Sora shivered and watched as the hooded man paced back and forth through the room. And just why was he wearing a hood? It was quite unnerving. Sora's stomach churned as he looked over his shoulder in distress at Riku (even if that was the man's name…). Riku pretended to not notice him and stared at his father. Sora's stomach fell farther as his heart ached for some reassurance he wasn't going to be hurt.
"You, Sora, have caused me many problems in the past," the man stated, arms crossing.
"I… I've never met you before in my life," Sora squeaked out, body barely able to move.
The man didn't reply to Sora's statement. He carried on as if he hadn't heard Sora's side of the story. The stranger walked across the room and took a seat at the desk. He beckoned for Riku, who was standing silently at the door, to bring Sora closer. The brunette looked nervously at the teenager. Riku didn't say anything, just walked over. His strong arms latched onto Sora's bleeding forearm. Without a single word of comfort or anger or anything, Riku pulled the boy on his knees over to the desk.
Sora was placed at the side of the desk, staring petrified up at the hooded-figure. It was like one of those old, crappy horror movies. Sora shivered when their eyes met in the darkness.
"If you don't know why you're here, you don't deserve to know," the man stated simply. He laced his hands together and relished in the way Sora whimpered with confusion and pain that was searing all throughout his small body. "I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with you, though…" he trailed off, as his eyes went off and met Riku's in the distance. "Have any ideas?"
Riku said nothing but wasn't really given a chance to speak.
"I know you find him attractive," the man chuckled darkly, refusing to pay attention to Sora for any amount of time. "So why don't you take advantage of your power, boy?"
Sora's eyes flashed wide and he felt the sickening feeling return. He stared down at the floorboards, wishing to be anywhere else than here. All he knew was that he was here for a reason unknown to him. But what could they want with a simple person like him?
Sora felt Riku's cold hand on his shoulder. His heart numbed and his blood turned to an uncomfortable ice. Sora shut his eyes off to the world, knowing that he wasn't going to get out of this predicament. These people were psychopaths and lunatics. Sora's state of alarm sky-rocketed when he felt Riku tugging him by the arm towards the entrance of the room.
Sora whimpered and allowed the stranger to bring him back to his dark domain. Once there Riku slammed the door shut and sat down beside Sora. There was silence between the pair, and the only sound to be heard was Sora's uneven and desperate gasps for air. The brunette's clothing was torn and frayed and tears were falling from his eyes by this point. "W-what are you going to do to me?" Sora stuttered and looked weakly in the dim light. Apparently Riku had grabbed a lantern from another part of the house. And just why did they use lanterns?
Riku didn't answer, just sat there in solitude and stillness. Sora hugged his arms tightly to his chest, whimpers flying from his lips every few minutes. Every part of his body ached. All over. Tiny scrapes and bruises and-
Riku's hand was once again upon him, this time on his cheek. Sora flinched away, refusing to look directly at his assaulter. When he did, he noticed and endless sea of emotionless color. Sora fidgeted to try and get away, but found himself froze to the core and unable to move an inch.
"Say something…" Sora requested, uncertain if Riku was really going to do anything to him.
"He's going to try and rape you," was all Riku stated, fingers curling along the contours of the brunette's face. Alarm flared in Sora's eyes as he tried to form words. He wanted Riku to tell him anything, but he refrained. Riku was an enemy; he had been the one to bring him here! And to hit him… and... Sora felt the tears once again fall from his eyes. He was no longer concerned with appearing weak. It was obvious that he was.
"Who are you…?" Sora asked wearily, the hand on his face burning his scratched and scarred face. Perhaps the scrapes would disappear in time, but it didn't feel like they would. A pout appeared on Sora's face before he fastened his eyes shut once more.
"Riku," he replied, voice barely rising above a whisper. His lips once again pressed to Sora's cheek, making a gasp elicit from Sora's mouth.
"If you're…gonna…" Sora stammered but was caught off guard when he felt his tears being swiped away by the stranger. What the hell did the other want with him?! He was like a basket-case and... Everything Riku did and said contradicted his earlier appearance. It was bizarre and odd and everything in between. He'd rather be at work with Leon and Cloud. Anywhere; with anyone but Riku.
"I'm not going to rape you," Riku retorted, nose brushing against Sora's reddened neck. Sora shivered, body tensing. "…I haven't been around … people for awhile," Riku whispered, his nose slightly caressing the bends and grooves and pale columns of Sora's neck. "I almost forgot how it feels to touch someone else…"
"What… happened to you?" Sora felt himself asking, his pain subsiding just for that moment.
"Doesn't matter…" Riku was secretive and kept things to himself, from what Sora had seen. All he knew was that there was a reason he was here and there was a reason why Riku was here as well. The silver-haired teenager didn't seem like a lunatic, but he seemed destroyed and out of place. Sora just didn't know why.
"Can't you leave?" Sora asked in a quiet voice, trying to suppress a tremble when Riku's cold lips placed themselves against his neck.
"…" Riku didn't answer, just kept letting his lips press over and over in that one spot. "You have no idea what you're in for…"
And Sora wasn't expecting the teenager to wrap his arms quickly around Sora's body, drawing him in for a hug. Sora blinked cautiously a few times; uncertain just why the hell Riku was doing any of this. He was missing something. Something very crucial. And he figured that when he learned that something, all of this would make sense. Until then, he was trapped in hell.
x x x
Sora wasn't sure how, but he had fallen asleep next to his kidnapper. Blue eyes snapped open and took in the startling sight of a resting Riku who was leaning against him. The silver-haired teen's head was nestled against Sora's shoulder, as if seeking out a comfortable position. Sora paled and inched his body away from the teen. Sure... Riku didn't seem like a cold-blooded murder, but the brunette couldn't shake the kidnapping and the harsh tone from when he first came here. After all, Riku was the reason he was here.
Sora managed to get away from Riku, a few feet to be exact. He watched in the stale darkness as Riku's form slouched against the back wall. A pout formed on Sora's face as he glanced around nervously. He's going to rape you … and probably kill you... Oh god… oh god I have to get out of here! Sora screamed frantically in his mind. He wanted to holler for help, but he knew if he woke the other up he'd probably be put into an uncomfortable position with the affectionate (and yet so dangerous) stranger.
Sora continued sliding against the wall towards his corner where he had spent the night before sleeping. All he had gotten to eat was a petty sandwich and a glass of water. That was it. His stomach gurgled as he glimpsed around the familiar darkness. His hands reached above his head, scraping at the walls, trying to keep his mind off his mental pain by generating physical pain. It didn't work and Sora winced as he withdrew his already blistered hands.
His right hand, on the way down, however, hit something that gave way. The startled brunette let out a barely audible yelp as he bolted forward a few inches. He peered over his shoulder nervously until he realized it was an indentation in the wall. Oh... That's all. Sweat poured from his face as he cautiously fanned out his fingers and placed them on the dent. Part of him was expecting it to stay put, and the other half of him (the kind that read and was terrified of horror stories) knew it was going to open up.
And open up it did, in a sense. The wall was in fact a cleverly disguised door (not like you could really tell in this damn darkness). Sora scrunched his nose up and entered the dark room on all fours. He didn't want to stand up; he was far too weak to even think about doing that at this moment of time.
Sora squinted his eyes in the dusky room. He wanted to call out for help, but scolded himself before he could open his lips. God knows who could be in here. For all he knew that cloaked man could be the one in here. Sora shivered and continued in, making sure to be as quiet and timid as a mouse.
Sora tensed when he heard a groan. His ears twitched and fired warnings signals at him. Get out, someone's in here. You're going to get hurt. You're going to get yourself killed and raped! Sora shut his eyes as he held his breath. The groaning continued until a barely coherent, "Is someone there?" reached his ears.
Sora cracked open his eyes (not like it did much of anything). The voice sounded pain and sincere - but most of all, feminine. Sora shifted closer to the speaker before whispering out a strangled, "Can you help me…?" Tears formed in his eyes as he dug his nails into the ply boards, hating his own weakness.
"Who… is that?" the woman asked.
Sora's eyes adjusted to the slightly brighter room. He noticed a bed in the corner of the incredibly small room. Resting under a few blankets was an unmistakable form of a woman. Sora shot a nervous glance over his shoulder, making sure his 'capturers' weren't coming before he scrambled towards the woman.
"I'm Sora Kayaki and I've been kidnapped and I attend Boston University and-" Sora rambled out in a desperate whisper, feeling the need to throw out anything that may get him saved. Anything to make the woman save him.
"Kayaki…?" the woman echoed, barely making out the small form of the brunette in the dim light. "Is that what you said your surname was?"
"Y-yes," Sora answered hopefully, an earlier forgotten glimmer appearing in his eyes.
"Oh…" the woman answered, her mind numbing to any words for a brief moment. Silence rang through the pair before Sora could muster any more words out.
"Can you help me?" Sora stated again, his voice cracking.
"…are they keeping you here?" she asked. Uncertainty and confusion was drenched in her oddly caring voice. It was a nice difference.
"They?" Sora asked, desperately and then it clicked. "Oh… Riku and that guy… y-yeah…"
"… Riku?" she asked, her voice suddenly just a bit chipper. "Riku's...still here?"
"Yeah?" Sora asked nervously. What was with this woman? Obviously she wasn't going to help. Sora hung his head low as he mumbled out, "You're trapped in here, aren't you?"
"… But it's my own fault. You wouldn't understand," she explained simply and sighed, "I don't understand why a young boy such as yourself is here… why would he kidnap you…?" the woman trailed off before whispering out a disturbed, "Oh..."
"Um…What are you talking about?" Sora squeaked, fingers flexing as the tears formed once again. He was never going to get out of here!
"Sora?"
Sora flinched when he heard his name uttered in the far distance. Rather groggily too. Sora shifted away from the bed and towards the small door that lead into the room. The woman called out a frantic, yet quiet "wait" but Sora continued scrambling towards the exit. He heard a final "come back later, please" as he exited and closed the door in a frenzy. Sweat poured from Sora's face as his gaze drifted in the darkness towards where Riku was. Some light filtered into the room from above, between the pieces of wood. So it must be around noon, Sora guessed.
"Hm?" Sora whispered into the darkness, regretting even have spoken.
"… I want you to hide," Riku whispered harshly from where he was. His voice sounded drained of emotions, even from this far away. Sora flinched and managed out a desperate "why?" but was silenced when Riku shot out in a loud whisper, "Just do it."
Sora didn't bother asking as he scrunched up in the corner.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there in silence, or how long Riku was gone for. He just sat there, listening to the sobs of the woman from the room beside him, and the faint yells in the distance. Sora wasn't sure what they were saying, but they came from within the house. Whether they were yells of pain, anger, or help: Sora would never know. All that he knew was that he wasn't getting any answers, and his time was dwindling.
His body shuddered as he hugged his knees tight to his body. "I don't wanna die… I don't wanna die…" he repeated, tears falling freely from his face.
And if only he knew everything. Perhaps he could have done something before things went from bad to worse.
