I own nothing

I woke up, and realized that Joe wasn't next to me anymore. I have to admit it. I panicked, big time. I looked all over the small basement and saw him huddled in a corner, his good arm cradling the broken one. He had a huge bruise on his face.

"Joe!" I sat next to my brother, holding him close to me. "What trouble did you get yourself in this time?" I asked, bringing the hint of a smile out on his face.

"I need to get out of here, Frank. I can't stand it anymore! When the monsters came down, I guess to make sure we didn't escape, I picked a fight with them. One punch from me, one from them. I think I broke a nose, but I got a nice shiner out of the deal, too." The speech was punctuated by coughs. This basement wasn't doing anything for his cold.

I couldn't believe I'd slept through this. "I would have helped you, Joe."

Joe gave me a lopsided grin. "I saw the broken window, Frank. You must have done something I didn't know about." He coughed again. I was worried, Joe shouldn't be in a basement with a pneumonia and a broken arm.

Actually, he shouldn't be in the basement at all. And neither should I.

I ruffled his hair (how could somebody's head be this hot!) and told him about the HELP message. "I only hope somebody finds it. And gives it to the police."

Both of us jumped when a door slammed. I stood up, pulling Joe with me. Footsteps were on the stairs. Seconds later, the troupe of monsters were just feet away from us, smiling evilly. I pushed Joe behind me. I wouldn't let him get hurt again.

"Hello, boys, I hope you slept well." the leader, probably, advanced on us. "I think it's time for another demonstration, only this time-" he motioned to Baldy, the one who'd broken Joe's arm. "We'll try the other brother."

My heart was beating in double time. I felt Joe grip the back of my shirt, but he was pulled away when Baldy grabbed my arms, pinning them at my sides. The only good thing about it being me this time was that Joe wouldn't get hurt for now.

Leader Man flicked out a switch blade. Joe made a movement as if to take the knife, but his illness made his reflexes weaker. He was grabbed by another henchman in two seconds. I looked at him, begging him with my eyes not to do anything stupid.

"Okay guys, biology 101, what does blood look like?"

I turned my head away and bit my lip as he dragged the knife slowly over my exposed arms. Two long lines. I could feel the blood dripping down into my hands and on the floor. A second later, one more stripe was cut into my back, a deep one.

I was seeing spots now, but fought to stay conscious. I couldn't give them the satisfaction of passing out. Thankfully, that was the last one, and when Baldy let go of my arms, I slumped to the floor, hearing their laughter disappear back up the steps.

Joe crouched next to me. "You (cough) okay (cough cough) Frank?"

I wasn't. My back and arms hurt like nothing you would believe, but I managed to focus on Joe. We needed to get out of here, soon. He was getting worse, fast. And the blood from my arms and back wouldn't stop. And his arm was dangling uselessly at his side, black and blue and swollen.

We were a mess.

You like?