Author's Note: Day 10 is...Trip!
The rope dug into Trip's wrists in a way that wasn't just uncomfortable, it was painful. It wasn't just that they were tight, they were cursing his wrists together. He couldn't move his hands independently of each other at all. No matter how hard he tried, Trip couldn't find any gaps or space to try wiggling out. The ropes were also really rough and the skin of his wrists were already chaffed from them.
'Looks like I'll just have to wait until the rest of the team finds me,' Trip thought. Which might take a while since they'd been split up when he was taken. 'Plus my chrono morpher is gone. Probably for the better honestly, because this would be even more painful with my morpher on.' Plus no one would be able use his morpher besides him. 'Jenn and the others will find it and Circuit will help them find me.'
Once again, Trip tried to pull on the crate he was tied to. Luckily, he was tied low enough that his feet were flat on the floor. His hands were tied to the slats in the crate a few inches above his head, giving him a fairly good position to pull from. However, he couldn't tip the crate. 'Must weigh more than me,' he thought, grunting a little as he tugged. 'A lot more.' It didn't even budge. He sighed as he gave up again. 'Well, that sucks.'
"Hello Green Ranger," a voice said from behind.
'Ok…not Ransic specifically…' he thought, mind searching for the answer. "Frax. What am I doing here?"
"Hm… I thought you might have some information Ransic has been looking for."
Trip smirked at the crate, since the was he was tied prevented him from turning around. "I've probably got a lot of information Ransic wants. That's generally how intelligence works."
"Not like that you insolent-" The robot's rant cut off suddenly as if he was calming himself. "I want to know how your Time Flyers arrive from the year 3000. Are you summoning them? Is someone from Time Force sending them? Tell me everything."
"I thought Ransic was the one who wanted to know."
"When I say me, I mean Ransic!"
"Either way, I'm not telling you. You might as well just let me go."
Frax laughed in his usual, unhinged way. "If you think I'm letting you go at all than you're not nearly as smart as you think, Green Ranger."
Trip swallowed as fear crept up his spine. "But if you're just going to kill me, then why should I tell you anything?"
"Because by the time I'm done with you, you'll not only give me what my boss wants, you'll beg me to end your suffering."
'Oh no…' Trip thought with dread. He definitely wasn't unfamiliar with the concept of torture. During his time as a Time Force recruit (before he got his badge) he'd undergone "advanced interrogation training"; which had mostly consisted of being put in different situations and asked sensitive questions about a fake investigation or Time Force itself over and over again. The situations had ranged from being kept alone in a room for hours blindfolded with earplugs, or tied to a chair while being beaten. None of it had been fun, but Trip had learned the lesson he needed to learn. 1) how to stay clam and in control during torture and 2) a Time Force agent was expected to endure torture in silence. Not even giving up false information just to make it stop was allowed. 'I can do this,' Trip thought. 'It's ok. The others will be here soon. They'll find me soon.'
"I even brought a mutant friend to help me."
Trip closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He started taking deep breaths, trying to calm his fear. 'I need to stay calm so I don't say anything.' The anticipation of knowing what was coming didn't help. Just like his training though, Trip tried to focus on staying calm.
Crack!
Pain flared across his back. The muscles were already tense and when the whip it him, they tested even more. Trip clenched his teeth against the pain. He was pretty sure it had just left a welt on his back thanks to his shirt. Judging by the slight freeze he could feel though, the whip had cut his shit. Trip's stomach sunk. 'This is going to hurt,' was the only thing he could think before the whip hit him again.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Each of the first two left welts cut his shirt even more. The third strike crossed over with the first one causing his back to arch in pain. Trip whimpered through his clenched teeth. Each strike burned like fire across his back and shoulders. They were coming so much speed that it wasn't long before the strikes were crossing over each other. Trip clenched his teeth so hard he was surprised he hadn't cracked a tooth. When it finally stopped, he was struggling to breath evenly. There wasn't an inch of his back that wasn't in pain. Here and there he felt a little bit of blood running down his back.
"Had a chance to reevaluate yet, Green Ranger?" Frax asked.
"N- No…" Trip said through gritted teeth. 'Just keep breathing. Just keep breathing. The team is coming. They're coming.'
"Hmmm. That's too bad."
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Trip clenched his teeth so hard he was half-convinced they'd disintegrate from the pressure. His hands gripped each other so tight he was certain he'd break his fingers. Every time the whip cracked against his back, pain ripped through his whole body. It wasn't long before blood was dripping down at a faster rate. Trip's grunts turned into whimpers. 'The team is coming. The team is coming. The team is coming.' He kept repeating it in his head, hoping it would help him stay focused. But every few strikes his thoughts would scatter and he'd have to try collecting them again. Trip closed his eyes and pressed his head into his arms.
"Changed your mind yet?" Frax inquired casually.
"No!" Trip snapped.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Each strike felt like it was hitting his muscles directly. They spasmed in response, which caused his back to arch at random intervals. Trip almost squealed as the whip hit him mid-spasm. Tears pricked at the edges of his eyes. His legs shook with the strain and tension from his body. Breathing had gotten more difficult because his every breath forced the muscles in his shoulders to move. Instinctively, Trip tried to breathe shallowly, but quickly forced himself to stop. 'I need- I need to breath deep- To stay…calm.' Parts of his shirt were stuck to his back from the blood, while other pieces had torn off and fallen to the ground. Every time the whip hit the parts stuck to him, Trip yelped.
"Ready to start talking?"
Trip furiously shook his head.
"Hmm. You're a stubborn one. Let's switch up the tactics. Use your other arm."
'Huh?' For a second, Trip was confused, then the whip cracked against his back again. This time, he screeched. It felt different this time and so, so much worse. Now, Trip sword he felt something metal and sharp that had dug into his skin and ripped away when the whip pulled back. Just that one strike nearly caused his knees to give out. Trip turned his head to the side so he could bite his arm.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Pain. Nothing, but pain and more pain. Whatever was different about this one, it was hell. The tiny, sharp metal only needed a few milliseconds to dig into his skin; aided by all the wounds already there. Trip bit down hard on his arm, eyes winched shut as tears escaped from under his eyelids. His legs shook, but he was determined to stay standing. The last thing he needed added to this hell was for his arms to be bearing the weight of his body. By now blood had started reaching his pants, but he didn't care. Getting blood on his clothes was the last of his concerns.
"Changed your mind yet?"
This time, Trip didn't even shake his head. He kept his face down, biting on his arm as pain spread through his body. His shoulders ached from being forced up in the awkward position for so long and the added lashes the criss-crossed them didn't make it any better. Trip's face burned a little from how pathetic he must've seemed. Exhausted, injured, and crying. His whole body was practically quivering. He didn't know if he wanted to go home, or just disappear into the floor. 'Just gotta keep holding on… Juts gotta keep holding on…'
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Trip focused on biting his arm. The pain was now so intense there was no way he could avoid it. He breathed heavily through his nose, screaming through his arm. He had to focus on it for another reason though. Shamefully, he wanted to talk. He wanted to tell Frax anything. Any single piece of information, real or not, to make the pain stop. His knees buckled with every strike, requiring more energy from him to stay standing. Muscles in his arms were sore from being suspended and had also started to spasm from being overworked. All the while, Trip cried and breathed.
It hurt. It all hurt so much. Trip just wanted the pain to stop. When he felt some blood on his tongue, he was forced to bite a different part of his arm. From the corner of his eye, he saw the teeth-shaped indents he'd left on his skin. A few them had specks of red in them. Where he'd bitten down so hard he broke the skin. Trip closed his eyes again. feeling just as ashamed by those teeth marks as he did by the lash marks that now decorated his back.
"Anything to say yet?"
Trip couldn't respond. His brain was such a haze of pain and exhaustion that he couldn't even figure out how to form words. The only thing was certain he could do was bite his arm and force his legs to keep himself standing. He wanted his team. Prayed that they'd bust down the door and take out Frax and his partner. That they'd take him home and let him rest. Trip had done his best. He'd endured like a good Time Force recruit. It was time for the team to rescue him. Trip screamed again, twisting his wrists as his arms kept spasming. The ropes had rubbed and chaffed red onto his wrists; adding to his pain. Tears streamed down his face while blood soaked his back. He kept his eyes closed, hating that he couldn't do anything other than scream as he took lash after lash.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Trip's knees finally gave out, forcing all his weight onto his arms. He was forced to release his grip on his arm and let his head fall. All he could do was scream. His shoulders burned with the added strain. Trip tried to get his feet under himself again, but he could only get halfway up one of his legs before the whip hit him again. His leg gave out with the hit; and jostled his arm when he fell. He gave up trying to and just let himself hang. It just made the pain worse, but he didn't have the strength to pick himself up again. All he could do was let his head hang and scream. At this point, it seemed like Frax didn't even care about the information he was after. Maybe he never had. Maybe he'd just wanted to watch Trip just suffer all along. At this point, it didn't matter to the green ranger, who was consumed by his pain and the whip that just kept coming.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!