Deeks felt all of his hopes shatter as Russ banged into the room, pushing his sister to the side before she could unlock any more of the cuffs. Carly shoved the key into her robe pocket and backed away, covering her face with her hands.
"What do you think is gonna happen if you let him go, after all this time? You think he's just gonna go on his merry way and forget all this?" Russ shouted, grabbing Carly by her arm and shaking her.
"I-"
"Or maybe that he'll come back and date you even?"
"You don't know! Just because you are incapable of making connections with people doesn't mean I am as well," Carly cried, slapping at Russ' chest. He just laughed at her, tossing her down to the floor and turning his attention back to Deeks.
"Russ, just walk away," Deeks warned, glancing around for anything he could reach with his newly freed hand. There was a lamp on the nightstand, but he had no chance of grabbing it before Russ could stop him.
"I can't do that. I was already too generous letting this go on as long as it has, but I can't keep watching Carly to make sure she doesn't do something stupid," Russ sighed, glaring down at his sister who was huddled against the wall and crying. "I've got business to attend to and I can't keep playing babysitter. You understand that, don't you?"
"I'm supposed to agree that killing me is the best option? I don't think so," Deeks snapped, flexing his free hand to get the blood flowing properly again. He was pretty sure he was going to need it soon.
"Maybe not the best option, but it's my only one. Am I supposed to sacrifice my life for you? You think I wanted this?" Russ shouted, punching his fist into the wall above Deeks' head. "You think I wanted my sister to do something so stupid?"
"I'm not stupid!" Carly whined, wiping her nose with her sleeve.
"The way I see it, I'm the victim here. I've been put in a situation against my will and I only have one choice to get out of it. It wouldn't be fair to me to get in trouble for something that wasn't my fault," Russ said, putting his hands on his hips as he stared up at the ceiling.
"It doesn't matter how you try to justify this, Russ," Deeks spat, tensing up for what he knew was coming. He only had one hand to work with, but he wasn't going down without a fight. "You're gonna have to live with this for the rest of your life."
"I think I'll find a way to pull through," Russ sighed, leaping toward him without warning. Carly shrieked from her spot on the floor, but Deeks focused all of his attention on the attack. He had to keep his free arm from being pinned, or that would spell his doom. Deeks tried to think back to his earlier tussle with Russ so he could predict some of his moves, but his memory was too fuzzy. He had to rely on his training and maybe a bit of luck to get himself out of this situation alive.
Russ immediately made a play for his left arm, but Deeks saw that coming and wrenched it away, raking at Russ' eyes. Deeks could feel he made some contact, but not enough to do lasting damage. This wasn't going to be about playing fair. This was about survival. Deeks used the temporary distraction to aim for Russ' throat again, since that worked well before, but his angle was off and he just grazed his jaw instead.
Carly was letting out an unending wail now and it was spiking through Deeks' abused brain. Rage was making Russ sloppy, or just a general lack of skill, and he jumped on the bed, trying to use his weight to his advantage. He left his chest exposed though and Deeks took advantage, sending a fist into the side of his ribs. Deeks relished in the cracking noise he heard, using the momentum to keep him going in this mostly hopeless endeavor. Even if he didn't survive this, he was gonna leave his mark.
Deeks kept himself a moving target, bucking and squirming as much as he could in this position. After being stuck like this for what had to be at least a day by this point, he had absolutely no energy. The lack of food and near constant drugs didn't help either. The only thing he had right now was adrenaline, but he couldn't depend on that for long.
Russ was moving as wildly as he was now, trying to hit anything he could. Deeks could think of so many ways he could get the upper hand if the tables were turned, but Russ was really out of his element. He could almost feel bad for the other man, if he wasn't currently trying to murder him. Deeks could feel every connection Russ was lucky enough to land and they were starting to take their toll. But somehow, he still had his arm free, so there was still hope.
Deeks rocked Russ back with a punch to the nose and he felt the bone crunch beneath his fist. Immediately there was blood dripping everywhere and Carly gasped at the sight of it. Maybe this would be enough for Russ to give up and run away. Then Carly could finish unlocking him and he could escape this hellhole. Maybe he was finally-
"I should've done this from the beginning," Russ hissed, bringing their faces so close that his blood was dripping all over Deeks' face. Deeks barely noticed. The knife sticking out of his side was taking up most of his attention.
"No!" Carly screamed, jumping on Russ' back and scratching at his face. The movement jostled the knife and snapped Deeks out of his shock with a shout of pain. Russ tossed his sister to the floor just as Deeks was trying to use his free hand to grab at the knife. He couldn't see what he was doing and bumped it further, wrenching a strangled yelp out of his throat before he could stop himself.
Russ noticed what he was doing and grabbed the hilt of the knife before he could, twisting it out of the wound with a sick squelch. Deeks' vision whited out from the pain and his head flopped back onto the pillow. The pain was rapidly overwhelming him and Deeks knew this was going to be it. He'd put up a good fight, but in the end, the odds were all against him. Even surviving this long was a commendable feat. He could go to his grave knowing he didn't give up.
"I knew you were weak," Russ whispered in his ear, taking that last second to gloat like every two-bit villain in an action movie. And that just pissed Deeks off. Anger was good at powering people it seemed. It always allowed his dad to terrorize him and his mom, no matter the situation. Even when he'd come home from work too tired to do anything but drink, that anger still gave him the ability to smack them around. Deeks needed to use that anger now.
He snapped his head back up at the last second, swiping his hand up to divert the knife that was headed straight for his heart. It sliced into his palm and he wrapped his fingers around the blade, cutting into his skin even more. But at least it wasn't his chest. Russ tried to jerk the knife back, but Deeks held on. The blood quickly made everything too slippery and during one of the more aggressive pulls, the knife slid out of both of their hands and clattered to the floor. They were back to where they started, but Deeks was definitely more battered than he had been in the beginning. His gut was burning and he could feel the blood trickling from the wound.
"That's it!" Russ roared, abandoning the weapon and wrapping his hands around Deeks' throat. He didn't even have a chance to take a breath before all of his air was cut off. Deeks tried scratching at Russ' face and arms, anything he could reach to get him to let go, but his bloody hand didn't want to function. He tried gasping any little bit of oxygen into his lungs, but it was no use.
Russ was hovering over him, grinning like a maniac. Deeks could feel himself dying and he didn't want that to be the last thing he saw. His eyes slid to the side where Carly was staring in shock, clutching her chest as she cried. She noticed him looking and they made eye contact one last time. She was still looking at him like she had for the past day, as if they were meant to be together. Deeks sacrificed the last of his air to make one last play.
"Carly," Deeks choked out, his wheezing voice barely audible. "I love you." Deeks eyes fluttered closed as he felt himself slip away.
Deeks' lungs suddenly filled with air, without him making the conscious choice to breathe. He coughed as his throat ached from all the abuse and he looked up to try to figure out what was going on. Yet another time he expected to die, but came back to an unpleasant reality. This time was more shocking than all the others though.
Russ was still on top of him, but leaning back on his heels. The knife that had fallen away earlier had reappeared and somehow found its way into the side of Russ' neck. Carly was standing next to him with blood dripping from her hands, nearly hyperventilating in shock.
"What did I do?" Carly gasped, fluttering her hands around Russ as he wavered. "Russ." Deeks watched in detached horror as Russ pulled the knife from his neck and sent a spray of blood straight into Carly's face. She shrieked as she tried desperately to wipe it off, retching as a bit dripped into her mouth. Russ fell to his side and off the bed, lying sprawled at her feet and stilling after a few twitches.
"Carly," Deeks rasped, needing to gain her attention before she fully went off the deep end. "Unlock me so I can help your brother."
"I killed him! I killed him, I killed him," Carly stammered, scratching at her blood covered face.
"Let me check," Deeks insisted, pushing away his feelings of fatigue. If she left him right now, he would probably bleed to death.
"Why did you make me kill my brother?" Carly cried, shaking her head erratically.
"I didn't," Deeks whispered, feeling his stomach drop. If she was turning on him now, he was screwed. "Let me loose so we can talk about this. I can help you get cleaned up."
"I can't live without him. I can't live knowing I killed him!" Carly screamed, banging her palms against her temples.
"Carly, please," Deeks croaked, feeling panic setting in. He was too close to have freedom ripped away from him again.
"How are we supposed to be together now?"
"Carly-"
"Russ was going to be your best friend. He was going to walk me down the aisle."
"Please-"
"Be the uncle to our children."
"Don't-"
"But that's ruined now."
"Carly, whatever you're thinking of doing right now, please don't," Deeks begged, shivering as he watched her eyes glaze over and face go blank. There was no getting through to her anymore. She bent down to pick up the knife from where it dropped earlier, staring at the blood on the blade. "What are you doing?"
"I know a way we can all be together again," Carly murmured, sweeping over and climbing on the bed. She straddled Deeks' hips and pressed the blade to the side of his throat.
"No," Deeks gasped, trying to shift away from the sharp edge.
"This way, we can all be together forever," Carly whispered, bending down to kiss him on the lips. Deeks tasted blood and tears and felt the tip of the knife knick his skin. Panic and instinct made him bite down as hard as he could on her lip, shocking her into dropping the knife.
Deeks didn't know how he did it, after all the cuts and bruises and drugs and trauma, but his battered hand reached up and grabbed the knife, spinning it around and sliding it into warm flesh. His movements were about survival at this point and the drive to live overtook any other thoughts in his mind.
Carly gasped, letting out a little cough as her eyes went wide. Deeks knew the blade hit home where it needed to. He couldn't help staring into her eyes as the light faded from them. One tear broke free from her lashes and rolled down through the blood that was still drying on her cheeks, dripping down onto his own face. Deeks didn't think he'd ever forget the look on her face. She was honestly surprised.
Carly slowly crumpled down on top of him, pushing the handle of the blade painfully into his chest. But pain meant alive, so he'd take it. His ordeal was finally over. Now he just had to figure out how to get free.
