Prompt(s) Filled: 5. Blood Loss, 15. Breathing through the Pain, 23. Forced to Kneel, 23. "Hold them down.", 25. Duct Tape, 27. Muffled Screams, 29. "Better me than you.", 30. Hair Grabbing, Alt 8. Made to Watch
Another day came. Gordon had slept later than usual, and was still asleep when they came to get them that morning. He was finding his sleep to be deeper these days, if he slept at all. He was tired more often than not. Pain was both exhausting and something that made sleep impossible.
He was pulled from his less than restful sleep as he was hauled up from the mattress, still only half awake. He winced as pressure was put on his ankle that he'd hurt a couple of days prior thanks to some guy with a baton.
It took him a long moment as he woke up to realise that they had grabbed Fuse as well, and were taking them both in the same direction. Fuse sent him a worried look as they were ushered down the hallway together. They both remembered what had happened the last time they were taken together.
However, this time they were shoved into the same room as each other. Gordon looked around nervously, when he spotted the cruel man that Gordon had dubbed the leader. He had long ago learnt to try and find out what torment met him by seeing what tools and equipment were in the room he was taken to. If he could get an idea as to what they were going to do to him that day, then he had a better chance of not giving into them just to beg them to stop.
There was nothing in the room except the other men. But it was the presence of the leader that had Gordon anxious. These sessions were always worse when he was present.
Gotdon and Fuse stood across from the man. The guards who escorted them there were behind them, standing between them and the door.
Things were still for a moment, but then Gordon abruptly felt a fist in his hair and he was forced to his knees. He heard Fuse protest as Gordon's knees banged against the hard floor.
"I don't like how you denied my offer the other day, Fuse," the leader said to the man next to Gordon, who had his arms pulled behind his back by the other guard behind him. He tried to pull out of the grip as the lithe man stepped closer. "But I have another offer for you today. Him or you?"
He pulled out a knife from his belt to indicate what he could be referring to.
"Me!" Fuse answered before Gordon could object.
Gordon opened his mouth to protest Fuse's decision, but the hand in his hair pulled tighter and he winced as his head was tipped back slightly.
"Excellent," the man said with a malicious grin, and Gordon feared what Fuse had just signed up for.
He was watching Fuse as he waited for what would happen to him now, so he wasn't prepared for the sudden kick that met him in the chest.
Gordon coughed as the air was knocked out of him, the hand in his hair preventing him from doubling over.
"Hey!" Fuse cried out. "I said I chose me!"
"Oh, I know." The man was still grinning, clearly enjoying this little piece of information he hadn't given over. "You were picking who got to hold the other down."
Fuse growled under his breath as he was forced to watch the other men manhandle Gordon, who was helplessly on his knees with a fist in his hair.
He knew that once upon a time he could have taken them, and he was forever frustrated at what these people had done to him. They'd beaten him down and made him a weaker version of himself.
He tried to twist out of the grip tightly holding his arms back, but stilled as he felt the movement pull at his shoulder that still hadn't healed.
His shoulder still throbbed with every movement, and he knew that it would never be what it once was if he couldn't give it time to heal, but these men didn't care. Fuse was just lucky that Gordon had reset it for him.
"I didn't know what I was choosing for!" Fuse tried to grab the attention of the man who had been the frontrunner of his past year of torment. "Don't hurt him."
He was ignored as someone pulled out a roll of duct tape from somewhere, and the man slapped a piece over Gordon's mouth. Fuse could see that Gordon attempted to pull away from it, but it was futile with the fist in his hair keeping him in place.
Then, Gordon's arms were pulled to the front of his body as tape was wrapped tightly around his wrists. Abruptly, he was shoved onto his back, a hand planted on his chest to keep him down. Then, his ankles were taped together too.
"Come on then," the crew's leader turned to Fuse at the same time he was shoved forward from behind.
In all this time, Fuse still didn't know this man's name. It made Fuse feel worse whenever the other man addressed him, as it was just another way he flaunted the power balance between them. Fuse felt like the man knew so much about him, but he knew practically nothing about this man and all the other men working for him.
He nodded down at Gordon, who was looking at the man leant above him with wide eyes. However, when he met Fuse's gaze, something shifted. The gaze hardened, and Fuse knew it was once a look he'd sent the other man just weeks before, whilst he watched him try to fight off what was his inevitable fate.
Just do as they said.
Fuse swallowed. That was easier said than done.
He was shoved again, and he stumbled as he took the few steps towards Gordon's head, where he dropped to his knees.
"Hold him down," the man said as he flashed his knife, the blade catching the light and making the sharp edge even more sinister.
Fuse reluctantly placed one hand on Gordon's taped wrists that were lying on the ground above his head, and another on the man's shoulder. Despite the hardened look on Gordon's face, he couldn't hide the way he shook nervously beneath Fuse's hands.
Fuse tried to send a reassuring smile to the man, and despite the tape covering a large portion of his face, he could tell Gordon tried to send him one back.
Fuse thought there was going to be some sort of warning, but suddenly Gordon flinched as the knife was dug into his thigh. A small grunt emitted past the tape, but that was the only sound Gordon made as he squeezed his eyes shut.
The leader was silent as he carved the knife into Gordon, but when Fuse looked over at him, he saw the glint in his eye and the slight curl of his mouth.
He was enjoying this.
Fuse felt nauseous, and it wasn't even him on the end of this.
The nervous shivers under his hands had stilled as Gordon tensed up, but it was the only indication to Fuse that he was in pain. He almost wanted the man to scream out and not feel like he had to swallow it down for Fuse's sake. He was already going through enough for Fuse.
Blood welled around the knife as the leader dragged it into Gordon's skin, but then he abruptly stopped as he sat back.
Gordon let out the breath he'd clearly been holding as a huff of air came through his nose and his chest heaved. He relaxed under Fuse's hold as the worst of the pain stopped, and Fuse rubbed his arm to remind him he was there.
"You can still stop this."
Fuse lifted his gaze from Gordon to find the other man waving the knife in his hand, blood coating the metal and dripping off the edge. The man was grinning at the ultimatum, knowing what he was putting Fuse through.
A muffled sound came from the ground and Fuse looked down to see Gordon shaking his head. His eyes were still closed as he breathed shakily, but Fuse knew it was directed at him.
His heart clenched as he thought about it. Giving into these men would make the past year of pain all for nothing. He had new scars, new nightmares that he would never be able to get rid off. All of that just to end up working for these people anyway, which would be a whole new hell he would never get out of.
But on the other hand, Gordon didn't deserve this either. Fuse had a way to stop his pain, at least for now. Who knew what would happen to him if Fuse gave in.
He didn't know what to do.
So he did nothing.
"Suit yourself," the man shrugged after a long moment with no response, and Fuse felt like the biggest coward to ever exist.
A muffled scream was what indicated to Fuse that the man had started again. Gordon jerked harshly, so much so that Fuse was almost knocked back by the shock and pain as his injured shoulder was pulled.
Surprised by the reaction, as Gordon had held it together before, he looked over to see what the man was doing now.
He still had the knife in his hand, but now he was cutting through the very same gash, deeper now as blood started to spill down Gordon's leg.
Fuse felt muscles convulse beneath his hands, and he found himself holding Gordon down not because he had been told to, but to make the experience more bearable for the man. If Gordon knew he was there, it would help ground him from the pain.
Gordon's back arched as he tried to resist his grip. Fuse could see tears start to spill out the edges of Gordon's closed eyes, and noises continued to escape past the tape. Fuse was sure they weren't just cries of pain, but also begs to stop.
He wanted to look away. He couldn't do this.
But he also couldn't let Gordon go through this alone. If those eyes opened, Fuse wanted to be there to offer him a reassuring smile. If Gordon was forced to endure this, then so was Fuse.
But his eyes did not open. He still twisted and jerked in an attempt to get away from it all, but there was no escape. Even if Fuse let go of his hold, the other man in charge of this torment had a harsh grip on Gordon's leg to pin him down and stop him from disrupting his work.
"It'll be over soon," Fuse found himself muttering as he leant over his friend. It was something he'd learnt from Gordon, to have hope that the pain would end eventually.
Gordon's eyes fluttered open for just a moment, and in that moment Fuse did as he promised he would. He smiled.
Gordon's eyes had quickly fallen shut again, but it was clear the action had grounded him. Harsh breaths came through his nostrils as the muffled screams dulled, but small whimpers still emitted from his throat.
Gordon shuddered when the knife was pulled away again. Fuse looked over to see the wound, which was a deep looking gash that was several inches long. It still continued to sluggishly bleed.
Gordon took deep breaths as the leader stood up and pulled out a cloth from his back pocket. He started to wipe the startling red blood off the blade.
"Take him back to his room," he said to either Fuse or the guards in the room, Fuse wasn't sure.
Before the man left, he bent down to slice the knife through the tape around Gordon's wrists and ankles, not caring that he cut Gordon's skin as he did so.
With a shaky arm, Gordon went to pull off the tape that covered his mouth and took a deep breath. Fuse kept one hand on his shoulder, a reassurance to let him know he was still there.
The door slammed shut as the leader left the room, and then the henchmen who had been lingering in the corners of the room came over.
Slowly, Fuse helped Gordon sit up. There was a slightly dazed look on his face, probably the result of the agonising pain and blood loss, and it took them a long moment to get Gordon on his feet again.
Gordon winced and clenched his teeth when he was forced to stand on his bleeding leg. He leaned heavily on Fuse, and Fuse was sure it was his arm around his waist that was the only thing still keeping him up.
They stumbled through the hallways. Every now and then Fuse felt a prod in his back to pick up the pace, but he was moving as fast as he could. Gordon could barely stand, let alone walk, and Fuse was not going to push him harder than he could go.
Eventually, they made it back to their room, Gordon limping with every step and Fuse feeling like he was going to drop the man at any second.
When they were let into the room, he placed Gordon on his bed and then quickly went searching for bandages. Gordon's head fell back against the wall, barely conscious.
It looked bad. Fuse didn't know much first aid aside from what he'd taught himself, but he was sure a wound like this needed stitches. It was still bleeding profusely, even after Fuse had tied the fabric tightly around Gordon's thigh.
"Such an idiot," Fuse mumbled to himself as he tore off another strip from the old shirt. "Shoulda known he was going to play some trick like this."
Gordon had gone quiet and his eyes were closed, so Fuse thought he may have finally given into the sleep pulling at him. So, he was surprised by the murmur that came from the man.
"Better me… than you."
"Don't say that!" Fuse was quick to argue. He was shocked Gordon would even say such a thing. To think that Fuse's life was worth saving.
"You've been through… so much." Gordon's eyes fluttered open and he looked at Fuse.
"So have you!" Fuse countered.
"Not as much as you."
Fuse stilled as he was tying another bandage around Gordon's leg. They had both been through a lot in their time there, and just because Fuse had been there longer, that didn't mean Gordon had to go through pain in his place.
But Fuse was taken aback by the comment. No one had ever done anything for him except his sister, and so he didn't understand why Gordon felt the need to do such a thing for him. Fuse came from a place where you had to fight for yourself and yourself alone, no one would ever put themself at the sharp end of a knife to save someone else taking their place.
There was something different about Gordon. With the way he had been determined to find a way out of there the moment he arrived in this hell, and how he never gave up even after all the pain he had gone through. Even now, after Fuse had let him get hurt twice, he still had no regrets. Fuse was sure he had never met anyone like him.
He noticed Gordon's eyes falling closed again, so Fuse tied off the bandage and helped him lay down.
"Just sleep. I'll be right here," he reassured.
Gordon didn't make any reaction to indicate that he had heard him, but Fuse said it anyway just in case he had.
He crossed his legs, pulled his aching arm to his chest, and waited for any indication that Gordon could possibly bleed out in front of him. He was determined he would not let that happen, as he knew Gordon would do the same for him.