AN: Thank you, reviewers, for all the kind comments! I'm Happy, Happy, Happy!
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I dragged myself into the cell, my body feeling worn and useless.
I pulled my body onto the small, steel cot that was bolted to the wall. Uncomfortable as it was, it was enough for me. My body was so tattered and torn that I didn't care where I slept.
After an hour in the electric pool, they finally cut me down and dragged me to another room, where they chained my hands to a post and beat me unmercifully. Then they dragged me back here into this cell, where I could recuperate before the next interrogation.
They'll come. They'll come, the guys' will come. Just try to survive in the meantime.
I sucked in another breath painfully. My ribs were probably bruised or cracked. I ran my fingers over them. Yup, they were cracked. The skin on my wrists had been rubbed off from the ropes and chains.
I closed my eyes, hoping to get some sleep before the next interrogation.
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An annoying creak awoke me from my sleep. I opened my eyes to see five armed guards standing at my door.
Three of them ran over to me and pinned me down while the other two handcuffed my wrists. At this, I was fully awake and struggled fruitlessly to get away, but one socked me in the stomach hard enough to daze me and to make me gasp for breath.
They dragged me out into the hall and into another room, where they shoved me to my knees and tied my hands to posts on either side of my body. In this position, there wasn't enough slack to pull my shoulders over to my face to protect it, or any room to stand up.
Once I was in this position, they took turns kicking my back and stomach, then left the room altogether.
I knelt there for awhile, waiting for someone to enter and mentally steeling myself for the upcoming inevitable events.
The door behind me opened, and I swallowed hard as Heartbreaker walked over to me, three guards flanking him.
"Lee Christmas," he said, smiling in a devilish way. "I trust you are comfortable."
I just stared at the floor, taking away any satisfaction of his by not giving him reaction.
A kick to my jaw sent my head flying back.
I heard Heartbreaker chuckle as I repositioned myself, trying to steady my body from the blow.
"You are now on my turf," said Heartbreaker. "I ask questions, you answer them. And you answer them the way I like." He slowly walked around me. "Understood?"
"Can you repeat the question?" I asked. I was rewarded with a kick to the back.
"You severely lack manners," he said as he continued to encircle me.
I chuckled. "And this is coming from a guy who is torturing me for information."
He kicked my stomach, forcing me to shut up for the moment.
"So," he said as he started to talk again, "Who are the members on your team?"
"Only your mother," I said.
My head was kicked, and for a moment, I didn't even remember where I was (which, by the way, was bliss).
"Where is your team? Tell me!" He yelled, and he grabbed the front of my shirt, just about pulling my shoulders out of their sockets. I winced in pain.
He threw me on my back onto my knees, then knelt next to me. "They aren't coming for you. I have you trapped in an underground compound of over ten miles. You won't ever be able to escape. Your Team isn't ever going to be able to rescue you."
I closed my eyes. Yeah, right. They'll come. They'll penetrate your system so hard and fast you won't know what happened. They'll come when you least expect it. We are the shadows and the smoke, we rise. We are the ghosts that hide in the night.
He strolled over to one of the guards and took a whip.
Oh, boy, this oughta be fun, I thought.
"Where is your Team?" He asked, readying the whip as he stood behind me.
"Disneyland, California," I said.
The whip seemed to sink into my back and rip my skin back out. I hissed in pain.
He readied the whip again. "Who are the members of your Team?"
I sighed. This was going to be a loooong day.