Chapter 4

Jay woke to a painful strain in his body. This time he recognized his locations much more easily; it was the Ruins of Frozen Light. He was in a control room, trapped in the center of a cage with electric bolts for the bars. Jay recognized it as the same cage he had trapped the others in when he was forced to betray them. Additionally, Jay was suspended about two inches above the floor by the arms, which were chained to the ceiling. Worst still, his ankles were bound in fetters, connected to a heavy steel ball. Overall, it was a painful position that held his entire body stretched out.

"So you're awake again," Solon's voice said.

Jay perked up, gasping behind his gag.

"You thought you were clever to try to escape from the Man-Eating Ruins, didn't you? But in the end, it was all for naught."

Jay tried to lift his legs to relieve himself from the muscle strain, but his body was still held tightly erect.

Solon caressed Jay's back with one hand while stroking his chest with a cold dagger. "And now I'm afraid you'll have to be punished for that brave but foolish attempt."

"What do you have in mind this time, Solon?" Cashel asked.

"I have the perfect thing." Solon pulled the gag from Jay's mouth. "I want to hear you scream for this one, Jay."

"Solon..." Jay muttered in a strained voice. "You...bastard!"

"Call me whatever you like, but you won't talk your way out of this. Now shut up and scream!"

Shut up and scream? Jay thought. How am I supposed to do that?

Cashel approached Jay and began to caress his upper body. "Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit...but it might hurt a lot."

Solon stood at the edge of the cage several feet behind Jay with a whip in his hand. "Prepare yourself, Jay! One!"

He lashed out with the whip, brutally striking Jay's back. Jay gasped, startled by the sudden pain, but did not scream out loud.

"Two!" Solon whipped Jay's back again. Knowing that it was coming, Jay held back his scream.

"Three!" Solon lashed out yet again. Now Jay could feel the blood dripping down his back.

"Such pain! Such pleasure!" Solon changed as he continued the whip torture.

Meanwhile, Cashel was still caressing Jay's body with his hands. "How does it feel to be inflicted with pain and pleasure at the same time?"

"You...call this...pleasure?" Jay spat.

"Oh yes. There is no pleasure greater than this."

"Come, Jay!" Solon yelled. "Cry! Scream!"

Jay winced with every crack of the whip as the nerves in his back were screaming.

"Urgh...no!" he retorted. "I will not! I...will...not!"

Solon lashed out even harder with the whip. "Cry out, damn you! Make it easier on yourself and just scream!"

"No..." Jay said in between gasps. "No..."

Solon cracked the whip one more time before stopping. He then dropped the whip and propped his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "Damn you, Jay...how dare you exhaust me!"

Cashel stopped his caresses as well. "Solon!"

Solon straightened himself after catching his breath, then walked around in front of Jay. The boy hung his head down, his body trembling slightly. Solon took Jay's chin and lifted his head. Tears streamed down Jay's face, and his eyes showed a pathetic helplessness.

"Hmm, that look will do," he said. "Well Cashel, I think he's had enough."

"Yes, the poor thing looks so sad," Cashel agreed.

"Oh, but I'm having so much fun playing with him."

"Yes, me too."

"I think we should keep him for a while longer. How about you, Cashel?"

"Yes, I agree."

Solon lifted Jay's head again, looking him in the eyes. "Do you hear that, Jay? We've decided to keep you for a while longer! Isn't it invigorating?"

Jay glared at his former master, then snapped at him, biting his hand hard.

"Argh!" Solon cried out, pulling his hand back. Looking at his hand, he saw that Jay had actually drawn blood. "How dare you!"

Solon moved behind Jay, pulling out a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and poured it all over Jay's wounded back.

"AAAAHHHH!!!" Jay screamed as the stinging sensation suddenly consumed him.

Solon grinned. "Ah, that's the scream I've been waiting to hear."

Jay hung his head down, coughing again.

"You're nothing more than a pup," Solon taunted. "A pathetic pup at that."

"But he still has some bite in him," Cashel pointed out.

"There's only one thing a pup is good for." Solon unlocked the chains on Jay's wrists, and the apprentice fell straight to the floor at Solon's feet. "A pup will always grovel at his master's feet."

Jay wanted to get up and run, but he found that he could not. Not only was he still hurting from the whip torture, but his ankles were still chained to the heavy ball as well. Only one thing was on his mind now...or rather, one person.

"M...Moses..." he whispered. "Moses..."

"Hmm?" Solon looked towards the doorway. "I'm sensing that stupid bandit within the ruins."

Cashel shook his head. "He's persistent, I'll give him that much."

"We must move quickly before he arrives."

"Yes, sir."

The ninjas vanished in a puff of smoke, taking Jay with them.

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Moses ran into the room several minutes later with his spear in hand.

"Aw man, we missed 'em again!" he cried.

Giet let out a whine of his own.

Moses surveyed the room carefully. The electric bolts of the cage were still active and the whip was still in the center of the floor.

"But they were definitely here," Moses added. "Come on, Giet! The faster we start lookin', the faster we can find him!"

Giet perked up. "Woof!"

They turned and left the room, quickly making their way out of the ruins.