Chapter 10 – Pain
Before I start writing I would just like to thank all of the people that have followed, reviewed, favourited and read my story. It makes me feel like it's all worth it so thanks! I can't believe I'm at 10 chapters, wow, haha! Please remember to READ AND REVIEW!
And now I promise no more interruptions… Enjoy this chapter…
Half conscious, half aware of her surroundings, it took Sam longer than usual to realise what was happening.
They'd come back to chain her up again, great. Once she was hanging from the ceiling again one of the larger men sprayed something on her back. She didn't know what it was but my god it hurt. She hissed in response and tried to move away from him. He grabbed her wait and said, "If you want these to heal faster, then you'll let me do this." His voice was low and gruff. It almost sounded as though he felt guilty. Not understanding this Sam continued to move. The man sighed and left, she was let down from her chains again.
Knowing that there would be a group of them outside for a while, she waited until she heard them move further from her door and their footsteps become distant.
As soon as they were out of earshot she started feeling around of the floor. Looking. Desperately searching for what she'd seen the other day…
Where was it...!
Unbearable..? No, that didn't come close. Excruciating was more accurate. Yes. Agonizing to the core it had been to watch Sam hurt like that. The torture and pain she had suffered was enough to last more than one lifetime. On more than one occasion every member of the team had both sworn and cried. Possibly like a ghost; each in their own way. None of them were able to bear what was going on. It had been almost a week they'd been captive. No word had come from the FBI. No one had come close to finding them. They'd been kept alive with the barest of food and water, forced to watch as Sam was broken and crushed. Everyone blamed themselves; they doubted more and more whether they would get out of this situation alive.
Reid's eyes had sparked hot with fury when the man had grabbed Sam's waist and whispered in her ear. He'd had fought violently since the beginning. He had been uncharacteristically fierce and eventually the men had put a sedative in his food. The team didn't realise until Reid was unconscious; knowing he would be unable to sleep at a time like this. Now he sat, in silent defiance of their situation, talking energetically with the others about an escape plan. They knew it was a long shot but this was their last choice.
Quickly Reid flicked his eyes to the screen to watch over Sam when he noticed something. "Hey guys," he said, drawing the attention of the other six. "I don't think are plan will be necessary. Do you see..? See what she's doing… what she's got?"
Rossi squinted, "Is that a knife? Where did she get that from?!"
"She must have found it in one of the storage cabinets in that room. They assumed she wouldn't be able to reach but she was let down from her chains again. She took her chance. Now all she has to do is make a choice…" Hotch didn't know what it would be.
Confusion drifted over Garcia. "What do you mean choice? What choice is there to make..?"
Hotch thought on how best to phrase it. "If you had been through the torture she had in the past few days, and if you saw no chance of escape or help… What would you do if you found a knife..?"
Penelope's sharp intake of breath was a harsh sound among the silence. "But she can't-"
Morgan deliberated, "I'd understand if she did it but her movements just don't seem right. It almost seems like she's going to try and escape."
Blake shook her head, "She's too weak, it wouldn't work. She wouldn't make it far at all, she's got cuts all over her back!" Her voice was rising with sympathy.
"We need to keep this contained," continued Hotch, "She has this chance and if we alert them to it we could all be killed."
"She's not going to do it." All eyes turned to Reid.
JJ looked uncomfortable. "Look, Reid it wouldn't be your fault, or hers, you have to understand, there is nothing any of us can do…-"
"No." He said with a firm resolution. "Don't patronise me, I would understand if she did but she isn't going to. Look at her, look at where she is. If she wanted to be dead then she could have done something about it by now. It would have been easy to try and fight one of the guards and lose of to refuse her food, but she didn't. Why? Because she plans on fighting them and trying to escape. She's known where the knife was for a while, but has only acted on it now…"
Rossi inserted himself into the conversation again, "Being whipped that many times may have been it for her. You know how bad torture can be Reid." The team were gentle, cautious, only Hotch remained fixed on the screen. Reid continued speaking, frustrated. "Listen to me! She's got the knife because they've left. Didn't you see how she lay still for a while after he left, not moving. Almost as if she was listening for them, waiting for them to leave so they wouldn't hear her moving!"
The expressions this was met with were a range, from pain and sympathy to outright guilt. 'They don't believe me' he thought… But then… "Reid's right." Hotch said.
The team turned to him, their faces astonished. "He is," Hotch continued, "She knows she has an opportunity here. She could have killed herself by now but she hasn't. She'll be able to get the upper hand on them when they come close to her. They can't resist the temptation and she knows that. All she has to do is get her hands free from the shackles, and by the looks of things it won't be impossible. They haven't realised that with the weight she's lost she'll be able to get them free without much contortion. Look, she's doing it now." He motioned to the screen and they all turned to watch her pull and pull and wrestle her wrists free from the restraints. It was a tense ten minutes but eventually she managed it.
After setting herself free she didn't rush off, out of the door, to go after the men. No. She put the knife safely in her belt, set up the chains so they were awa from the door and looked directly at the camera.
She took a deep breath and said, "I'm coming." Then stood behind the door in anticipation, wary of any noise from down the hall.
"Why isn't she going anywhere?!" Asked Garcia.
Rossi assessed her choices and answered, "Because she knows she has a better chance of survival if she catches them off guard one by one rather than running straight into a group of them. By now she's got an estimate of how many there must be, so she's waiting for her chance."
Hotch looked as though he disapproved of her choice, but didn't say anything. Noticing his expression, Rossi leaned over and said quietly, "It's what you'd do if it was you in that situation."
"She's taking a big risk," he said, "She could get herself killed."
Rossi shook his head lightly. "Aaron you know it's the right thing to do."
"That doesn't mean I can't be worried about her." He countered.
Reid and Blake were sat close to one another. Blake had noticed Reid's change in mood. "What's wrong?" She asked, guessing his answer. He gave a small, humourless laugh and turned his head toward her. "Out of all the people I know, after going what she's gone through, I doubt if any of them would still try and save us. She has no consideration for her own well-being and I'm worried she's going to get really hurt. Because if she does…" He paused and looked down at his hands.
"Reid..?" Blake urged, trying to get him to continue.
He did. "If she gets killed then… Then that's someone else I love that I couldn't save. And it'll be all my fault; again. She'd die without knowing how I feel and I'd never be able to forgive myself."
Moving as much as she could against her restraints, Blake comforted him. "Reid," she said, "You shouldn't blame yourself for this because it's not your fault. She's stronger than any of us are and that's something to be admired. If she can get up after what she's been through and still be ready to fight for us then you must realise that she loves us all too."
He rasped out a laugh. "I didn't mean love in that sense."
"I know what you meant Reid," she countered, "And I think that's what's been keeping her going. She's fighting to keep us alive; to protect us and save us. Once this is over, you'll see."
"That all depends on how it ends." He said bitterly, closing his eyes to the both the scene around him and the video on the screen, no longer able to bear witness. Blake sighed and put her arm around him in an attempt to console him.