Another lash of the whip.
Killian felt the pain hit him like hot red wave of fire.
This was not the first time it happened, being whipped like that. There had been many floggings in his earlier pirate days. He had many scars on his back that proved it, proved how little mercy his enemies had shown. Emma had seen them, just like Milah had in the past. Reminders of rivals and horrible situations he thought long gone. That maybe changing sides, becoming a more respectable man meant that he would have a better life, less foes that wanted to torment him, or torture, or see him suffer. It appeared he was wrong.
Another lash of the whip.
His back was practically on pieces. This person, who wore a mask and asked no questions, was being rough and thorough. All of Killian's back had been broken. Over twenty bloody gashes covered it and it had become completely red and blackish, the blood darkening with time. He'd been there too long, even though he didn't know exactly how much time had passed since he awoke there. But still, he resisted, though. Resilient. He could withstand pain, he could take it all. He was strong - he was a survivor.
Another lash of the whip.
Killian cried out in pain.
Why? Why put him through such torture? What was it that this man wanted? He had asked, many times already. But still, the man persevered, in silence. Not asking for anything. Just torturing him in different ways.
And Killian was shivering, despite his back being on fire. It was so cold and he was wearing nothing but his pants. And the man had tried to drown him before, so his hair was still soaked and cold. He wanted to go home. He wanted his bed and Emma next to him and he wanted the couch and he wanted hot cocoa in the kitchen. It had been enough. He wanted this to end. But it didn't. It never ended.
Another lash.
His eyes were watery and the tears started falling. What use was holding them back anyway?
He screamed when he was hit.
He cried. The pain was unspeakable, undescribable. Excessive. Overwhelming. It ran through him as if it was electricity, reaching all his body. He was pain. Only that. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to exist. His bare feet hurt on the floor. His tied wrists above his head hurt. Cryin was the one thing that didn't hurt.
It was his only relief.
And so he closed his eyes, and kept them tightly closed, letting the tears go down. Forget the pain, think of the good things. Try to get out of this horror, this world of pain. This new life that was just he couldn't, couldn't think of anything else. The pain was too much, too overwhelming. It spread through all the corners of his mind - it covered everything. The tears and the screaming out offered no relief at this point. And every lash added more pain to his torment. Why wasn't it ending? Killian needed it end.
He needed it.
It was too much, already too much.
For a moment, Killian just wished for death.
Another lash of the whip.
The blood kept falling.
It was all covered in blood.
He couldn't take it anymore.
Killian looked up with his watery blue eyes, tears still falling, to the heavens and wondered what on earth could he had done to deserve this torture.
Another lash of the whip.
He was dizzy from blood loss, but could still feel it, the pain. It was excruciating.
"We have to do something!" Emma screamed. "Whatever it is you want, whatever you need us to do, just tell us! I'll do anything! Just stop this!" Emma screamed.
Part of her didn't want to look at that computer screen but another needed to do so. So she'd be sure that he was still breathing. To see the calming rise and fall of his chest, sometimes irregular, sometimes almost nonexistent. But there. It meant that Killian was still resisting, despite everything. And it was the only thing keeping Emma from completely freaking out. But she needed to do something, needed to stop that.
"Do you want me to do some magic? Do you want me get you a rare item? Make a curse? I'll do it, I swear, I don't care anymore. I'm the Saviour, whatever I do I can undo. But JUST. TELL. ME. WHAT. TO. DO." She yelled at the computer, at the skies. To whoever that was listening.
Snow had her face buried in her husband's chest, face wet with tears. She knew she wasn't being much help like that, that she should be able to pull herself together to think of a solution with Emma and David but... The raw pain on Hook's eyes... His screams... It was too much. She couldn't cope, couldn't look up and see that. He was being tortured. In front of them. While they watch, impotent, how that masked man broke their friend. She couldn't bear it, not anymore. The agony - the horrible agony in Killian's eyes. Her heart was breaking for him.
David was thinking about all the details of what had happened, trying to get a clue of who was behind this. They had been having lunch at Granny's calmly when they received a message. A message with an internet link of all things (so unusual in that town) that said it should be watched by the three of them only. So they went to their loft, curious, and went to site that appeared on the message. And saw it. That was Killian being tortured in High Definition. With all the little details, all his scars. It was him. It was his voice. And it was being broadcasted right to them.
Nothing else.
No more messages, no chat boxes, nothing. No one was asking for money, or information or anything. The only logical explanation for this was that someone wanted something, an object, a person, information, something. There needed to be a reason, a motivation.
And still, nothing.
Maybe the purpose of this was simply to make Hook suffer and make them watch.
They were just there, watching that horror without any clue as to how it could be stopped. They looked thoroughly at the image but could not recognise the place - a white room with no windows.
And Killian was crying out and it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to withstand that for much longer.
So Emma knew she had to do something. She had magic, she'd done magicky things before. And this needed to be done.
The problem was that she didn't know where in the whole world was she trying to go. Was it near? Far? In another country? In another magical realm? To Killian, wherever he was, that much was clear. She thought of him. Of his smile, of his blue eyes. To his pain out of her mind and simply focused on him. Killian Jones, Captain Hook. She thought of his smell, of his low voice. The shape of eyelashes, the scars and tattoos. "Let me go to him" she thought "let me ease his pain."
But it wasn't working. She was still there, still far from him, her mother still crying softly. Killian still screaming in pain on the other side. She was on the verge on hyperventilating. She had to be able to help him, had to help, had to save him. Needed to even.
"Don't we have a hacker of computers, maybe if we trace the transmission..." David suggested.
"We're living in a small town full of fairy tale characters, I doubt we have any.
She tried again. Willed herself in there, in the place the screen was showing. She decided she wasn't going to open her eyes again until something changed. Thought long and hard about him, all his little details, all his mannerisms. Hoping that it would work. And after a while, it did.
"...Emma?"
A soft voice said closed to her.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that she where she'd wanted to be. In that white room. She threw Killian's attacker against a wall with a movement of her hand. How she got there, who that person might be didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was Killian and getting him out of there. He was all covered in blood, hardly able to keep himself awake. Hardly even breathing - but she could see the relief in his eyes under all that pain. She felt a million emotions at once, like him. It was finally over.
Emma wanted to cry, or scream, but this was no time to freak out, or be sad. She would freak out once she'd taken him out of there and he was in the hospital, getting better.
She tried to be as gentle as possible as she undid his bindings. To try and not hurt him. And then she thought about the hospital and this time it worked faster. She screamed for help and soon he was taken away.
He was heavily sedated while they worked on him, cleaned and stitched the gashes. It wasn't easy. The Doctor spent over three hours just working on his back.
Emma, meanwhile, fell to the floor of the hospital and cried.
Cried for all the pain inflicted on him, cried for having to watch it.
Cried for each and every one of the lashes of the whip.
A/N: Another request! Hope I did it justice. Do leave your feedback, lovely people! And many thanks for all the reviews, favs and alerts ;)
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