Chapter Twenty Seven
Yoongi POV
My hands were numb from the cold and all my joints ached from the constant bouncing of the metal van. It had been many hours since the doors had slammed shut and cut out all the light. My adrenaline had since run out and now I was left with terrible anxiety and dread. These men weren't playing around, and weren't afraid of violence. My ribs ached from the man's steel toe boot, and I may have even cracked a one or two. I could hear the faint bumping of heavy bass music coming from the cab of the van, but it was too dull for me to pick up on any rhythm. I sat there, my back against the cold steel wall and my hands still locked behind myself. I wondered what the others were doing, and where they were. I hoped they were safe, both in mind and body.
Sometime later, I felt the van come to a stop. My heart rate instantly picked up as new fear crept into my veins. I moved my knees up to my chest and backed into the corner of the van, waiting for the doors to squeak open. I heard voices of the men walking around outside, even laughter. Finally, unbearably slow, the doors unlocked and the left one swung open. Instead of blinding light like I was expecting, soft moonlight gleamed in. It was probably the middle of the night. I scrambled to my feet, my legs shaking as the right door was opened as well. More men now stood outside the van, more than the two who had abducted me before. A good half dozen now stood around with their hands in their hoodie pockets. The same man who had held me a gunpoint stepped into the van now, reaching for me. Panic kept me frozen as he pulled me out of the van and dug the same pistol into my side.
"Meet the gang." He sneered. Although he didn't introduce any of them, I carefully studied and memorized their faces. He was obviously the leader of this little squad and I needed to remember him. Two of the men in particular seemed to be far shyer than their fierce leader. Both stood together, loose and calm, and even looks of empathy on their faces. Another two seemed indifferent, almost bored with the situation, like they'd seen it a million times. It made me wonder if I wasn't the only soul they had terrorized. The last had a smile on his face, a crude grin that seemed excited. He looked back at the others and motioned them to head out, back towards the looming building behind them.
"Nix, get the room ready." The man holding the gun barked, and his buddy nodded, jogging away. The others quietly talked to each other as they followed him. I was pushed forward and I hesitantly started moving. Instead of going into the building ahead, we took a sharp left. Straight ahead was an old, rusty shipping container, the ones they use on trains. The front door was a welded on steel flap that wasn't even centered correctly. One of the men kicked it open and it heavily creaked on its hinges. I was pushed forward again. A light was turned on and it barely lit up half the space inside. Ahead of me was a cage, welded together onto the sides of the metal walls. All it was was a thick chain link wall separating a third of the container. The man had me step into the cage and had me pause before removing the handcuffs at last. He shut the door and locked it, turning to his goons.
"Hurry up and get shit ready, I'm tired. I want to shower." He ordered and the two shyer men nodded. They stepped out of the container, leaving the two indifferent men to talk quietly with the leader. They again acted bored, continuing to look over at me, gesturing as if they were annoyed. I couldn't understand most of anything, but picked up on specific words like "Love", "Name", and "Tomorrow". The leader eventually left, just leaving those two uncaring men standing there. They talked to each other again for a few moments and then one grabbed a chair. He approached the cage and I backed up away from the door as they unlocked it.
"Sit." He set the chair on the ground hard, its legs scraping the metal flooring. He pointed aggressively at the chair and I hesitated. As if something in him snapped, one of the men lunged for me. I reacted instantly, jumping back and had my hands up in fists, panicking. He missed, but his friend was there to jump me too. He wrapped his hands around me, one arm hooking around my neck tightly. I tried to fight my way free but his arm cut off my windpipe, choking me. His buddy kicked me hard in the stomach, instantly making me double over in pain. My knees buckled, my dead weight bringing down the man choking me as well. He didn't let go, however, and I felt myself becoming light headed. My lungs burned for air as I still fought to loosen his grip. Just as I thought I was going to pass out, the pressure disappeared, and air rushed into my lungs with painful force. I was left on my hands and knees gasping and coughing, before another unforgiving boot connected with my side. I was forced over on my side, unable to move, searing pain making my eyes shut tightly. I barely registered the hands grabbing me and forcing me onto the chair. My legs and arms were tied down with tight rope.
"Listen next time." One of the men hissed, but this time in Korean. I looked up at him, surprised. He didn't say anything else, and he and his buddy turned, letting themselves out of the cage. Flicking out the light, they opened the large metal door and locked it behind them. Again I was left in the silence and darkness. I waited for a while, making sure that they weren't returning. I then did a self assessment, taking log of everything that hurt, which was pretty much everything. My ribs were on fire with every breath, my throat burned, and my head was throbbing. The ropes they had tied me with were tight and strong, there was no way I'd break free of them. I sighed, and looked up at the roof of the container. Nearly no light could penetrate the thick steel, all except for several quarter sized holes rusted through the ceiling. I could make out a few stars and even part of the moon through those holes.
…
Sleep was nearly impossible. As exhausted as I was, there was no way I could just pass out. Every noise had me on guard, every slight movement my imagination tricked me with made me jump, and the silence was deafening. But, after several agonizing hours, the door's lock clicked open. I tensed as I saw the leader walk in with the two goons from before. One held a large bucket, another a large bottle of water. He opened the door to my cage without missing a beat and set the bucket on the floor. He reached down silently and undid one of the rope ties on my arms, but handcuffed it. He moved my arms behind my back and forced me to stand as one of the others untied my legs.
"So, which one of you choked him?" He asked, turning to the men. "His neck is bruised."
"He wouldn't corporate." The man snickered, looking at his buddy as he filled the bucket with water. Suddenly, my knees were kicked out from behind, making me fall hard onto them, but I was held up by my arms behind me. He held the chain connecting the two cuffs so my weight hung on my wrists, sending pain all through my arms and shoulders.
"I'll ask this once, Min Yoongi." He whispered into my ear, this time speaking so I could understand him. Chills went down my spine. "Where are the others?" I froze, my heart thumping in my chest. He wanted the others? How was I supposed to answer this? I was suddenly forced forward, my head dunking into the bucket. The ice cold water hit my face and I fought the instinct to gasp. I tried to fight him, to lift myself up, but he overpowered me easily in this position. After what felt like 10 to 15 seconds, he finally brought me back out. I gasped and coughed, the water still making it down my windpipe. He paused for a few moments as I tried to collect myself again.
"Again, where are the others?" He asked calmly.
"I don't know where they are." I answered truthfully but it only earned me another dunk into the ice water bucket.
…
I was soaked through and then some. My wrists were raw from the metal handcuffs and my voice hoarse from the constant coughing. I couldn't answer any of the mens questions, because I honestly didn't know any of the answers. The leader finally kicked the nearly empty bowl of water away in frustration, throwing me down off to the side. He angrily whacked me in the head, sending stars into my vision and making me freeze on the ground. My ears were ringing and everything felt super far away and underwater. A few moments later, I could see that most of the men had gone, leaving only one behind. He was the one who had shown some empathy yesterday. He quietly walked into the cage and reached down towards me. I tensed and closed my eyes, waiting for something to happen. But the handcuffs unlocked and I brought my hands to my chest, rubbing the raw skin. He took the bucket and chair, and carefully set them outside the cage.
"Just tell them what they want to know." He said quietly but I didn't answer. I watched him for a moment, slowly moving into a sitting position. I couldn't control the violent shivers through my body and I clenched my teeth. I looked away from him and swallowed hard, water still dripping from my hair and off my arms. "Everything would go away then."
"I don't know where they are." I repeated again, keeping my voice low. "We were all separated." I looked back at him, his face concerned. I wasn't sure if it was genuine or now, however. He stood slowly and turned to leave. I moved myself into the farthest corner, leaning against the metal. I brought my knees up to my chest and tried to ring out most of the water in my clothes. My head was throbbing, my chest and throat burned, and I was freezing cold with the icy water. I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the wall.
…
It was going on the fourth day of this same repetitive procedure. The men would come in near the early morning and ask me questions, mostly relating to where the others were. Each time was increasingly longer, sometimes going for hours before they grew too frustrated to continue. By this point, my mind had grown numb to the constant pain. My wrists were raw from the handcuffs, my arms bruised from the aggressive hands and fists, and even being cold seemed normal. I had learned most of their names by this point as well. The leader was Tom, and he seemed to be the most desperate for my answers. The two indifferent men were Nix and Adam, and they were Tom's right hand men. His other helpers were Dole and Pike, and they were always amped about anything they were doing in here. And finally, the one who seemed to care even a little at all was Cride, and I figured out of all of them he was the most concerned.
"Damn it man, he really might not know. What are we going to do?" Pike was frustrated, walking around with his hands on his head. Tom removed my handcuffs and shoved me to the ground, taking out his knife instead. I backed away from his, my hands up defensively.
"Talk! This is your last chance!" He yelled angrily, taking another step towards me. When I couldn't say anything, he lunged at me.
"Tom, calm down! He doesn't know!" I heard Cride yell, but not before I felt the searing pain on my forearm from the blade. He had managed to take a swipe at me before Cride stopped him. I held my bleeding arm to my chest, panting and shaking. Without another word, Tom spun around and stomped out of the cage, dragging both Pike and Dole behind him, closely followed by everyone else. Cride stayed behind again until they had all left.
"Damn, that looks like it hurts." He said, kneeling down to my level.
"Fuck off." I hissed, backing away from him into the corner and didn't look at him. My arm was in white hot pain and was bleeding pretty badly, dripping onto the metal flooring. I moved my fingers out of the way to see a pretty nasty gash in my arm, worthy of stitches. I hissed in a breath and closed my eyes.
"I'll be back, hold on." He said and quickly walked out of the cage, shutting the door. I took a moment to try and catch my breath.
Cride POV
I returned to the storage container nearly an hour later. I had gotten held up with the others as they argued with each other. I carried several things, such as bandages, gauze, and antiseptic. When I opened the door, I saw Yoongi sitting in the far corner still, only he was nearly dry now, but still shaking. I stepped into the cage and kneel to his level, though he gave no reaction to my presence.
"Let me see your arm." I said and his eyes flashed a glare at me, his jaw tight.
"Fuck off." He said again, although his voice was weak and tired. It didn't take much for me to actually reach out and take his arm, moving it closer to me. I took the antiseptic and rinsed off his cut. It had stopped bleeding but was now covered in dried blood and grime. I wrapped his arm with the gauze and bandages. He quickly took his arm back, hugging it against his chest.
"I'll check back in tomorrow." I said but Yoongi didn't answer or look at me. He closed his eyes, a stressed sigh escaping him as I shut the door. I knew the others were done with this method of information gathering, but it certainly wouldn't be the last...