He remembered very little. A pressure on his chest. His knees scraping off gravel. The sound of a door being opened and a thud from hitting a surface. He slowly opened his heavy eyes to see five faces looking down at him. He could hear an engine. He was in the back of a van, lying on the cold surface.

"...M-erc-des...?"

Marcus looked down at him. "Sorry, kid, but she had to stay behind."

Kurt's body was so full of pain that he wasn't sure if he had the capacity to be confused anymore.

"...Wh-re ... m-my f-frien-s?"

The innocence and confusion in the boy's voice actually made Marcus feel a tiny amount of guilt for the first time since he started torturing him. He took his time to form a reply, but he needed to stay rough and brutal if this was going to work.

"...They're far away now, boy. You're on your own."

Kurt let all the air out of his lungs and stopped tensing himself against the arms that held him down, as if he could even try to get up.

"... W-why?"

Marcus moved his head closer to Kurt's own.

"I told you I'd remember you. Before we even brought you into that garage I knew we were takin' one of you with us. The reason it's you? Well there's a few. Look at you. You're tiny. No strength means no resistance. Hell, I'd say you're a lot easier to throw around then those girls in your class are. Well, I guess we can just ask Warren about that." He turned to the man who had taken Kurt into the room alone earlier. He winked.

"I could tell you and crooked fingers were close. We hurt the ones that others are emotionally involved with, they'll break easier." He smiled to reveal a missing tooth.

"And lastly, looks like you're already used to this. The hurtin' I mean. I'd say you're the kid everybody picks on in school. So, we figured, why do the awful task of introducin' a fresh body to the cruelty of physical torture... when we can just push the knife deeper into an already wounded animal."

He laughed. His 'friends' did the same, except for the woman nearest the door, who looked extremely sad.

Kurt coughed causing a trickle of blood to form at his mouth.

"...T-tha-s whe...re y-your w...rong..."

Marcus lowered down further, intrigued.

"What's that, boy?"

Kurt strengthened his barely there voice.

"I-I a-am... use-d to it... b-ut I-I'm fa...r fr-rom w-woun...ded..."

Marcus felt rage filling up behind his eyes. How can he be so certain of himself? He sat up, sitting on his knees.

"Well you know what, boy? What we've done to you so far tonight, is gonna seem like a walk in the park to what's gonna happen to you when we arrive. I guarantee it."

With one swift motion Kurt's world went black.


TBC