Nothing But Each Other
PenPatronus
Chapter 2
Desperate Measures
Barry sat up against the wall with his left hand tight around an iron bar. "Lean forward. Let me see," said Oliver, quietly. Barry obeyed, and Oliver lifted the back of his t-shirt. He exhaled hard and hot at the sight of so many cuts, bruises, and burns. He added the number to the running count of injuries done to Barry's body, intending to repay their captors with just as many wounds if not twice. He especially intended to shatter each and every one of their ankles right before he killed them.
"What do they want?" Oliver moved down to Barry's ankles and examined the cuffs. There was a digital countdown clock beside each blinking light.
"Don't know."
Oliver found a seam and tried to slide a fingernail into it. "What did they ask you?"
Barry winced when Oliver rotated the device, digging it into Barry's swollen skin. "They didn't ask me anything."
Oliver's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean they didn't ask you anything?"
"I mean they didn't even say anything. Not a single word. They hooked me up to some sort of machinery and…" Barry sighed, shrugged. "Then they tortured me."
Oliver looked up into his friend's eyes. "I'm going to try to squeeze my fingers into the space between this thing and your ankle and see if I can pull it apart, ok?"
Eyes wide, Barry said, "Oh, that's going to hurt."
"It's going to hurt bad," Oliver confirmed. "Try not to kick me."
"No promises." Barry held onto the iron bars and closed his eyes. "Do it!"
Oliver dug both of his middle fingers and both of his forefingers into the space and pulled with everything he had. Barry screamed and spasmed and kept whimpering long after Oliver stopped. The cuff was magnetically sealed. There was no removing it.
"Hey, shh, ok, I'm done," Oliver soothed as he crawled back up and put his hand on his friend's chest. "Not going to try that again."
"I have an idea," Barry said between his clenched teeth. "I'm going to try to short-circuit it. Back up. No, don't touch me. Further away." Barry folded his left leg until the heel settled against the inside of his right thigh. Then, he clapped twice, and started to rub his hands together so fast that Oliver could barely see the blur. Electricity built up—hot, sparking, brilliant—and when the lightning erupted, Oliver had to cover his eyes with his arm. Barry's scream vibrated Oliver's eardrums so hard that he heard the drumbeats.
When the heat and light retreated, Oliver looked up to see Barry lying on his side, back to his friend. The bottom of his left pantleg was on fire. "Barry!" Oliver tore off his shirt, sprinted over to him and patted the fire out with the fabric. The device around the speedster's broken ankle was warm, but unblemished. The light still blinked. The countdown was still counting down. It didn't work.
Oliver rolled Barry onto his back. He was unconscious, but woke up after Oliver yelled. "Oh, man," Barry sighed. "I'm out. No more ideas. They hurt too much."
Oliver granted him a rare smile. Pushing and pulling, he helped Barry sit up again with his back to the wall. Barry teetered, then slid to the right, so Oliver sat beside him and let the younger man lean against his shoulder. "Tell me about the machine they hooked you up to."
"How much time do I have?"
"Bare, maybe it's better if you don't know."
"Tell me."
Oliver didn't have to look at the device again because he already had, for the seventh time that minute. "2 minutes."
Barry sighed. "They strapped me to a table with a hole in it the size of my back, then rotated it up so that I was almost standing. I was under this arch thing. It was iron on the outside—just a big iron arc. They put electrodes all over my skull."
"How many men?"
"Six guards. Two women were running the show. Tall, older blonde and a shorter, younger blonde. The guards did all of the… stuff."
"How big was the room?"
"I… I'm not sure. Smaller than the Cortex."
"How many other rooms did you see? How many doors?"
"I don't know. A bunch."
"Did you see a window? Could you see outside?"
"Ollie I—no—no window. It was really dark and I… Sorry, I was distracted." Oliver managed to hide the frustration on his face, but Barry saw the tendons in his neck pulsing. "Sorry…"
"Next training session, we'll work on this. On being aware of your surroundings and taking note of your environment even when you're in pain."
Barry rolled his eyes. "Terrific."
Oliver looked down at the floor. "60 seconds."
Barry exhaled deeply. Tripping over his words and his tongue he said, awkwardly, "Will you—if it's not too much trouble could—it might help if…"
Oliver nodded. "Whatever you need. How can I help?"
"Maybe, could you… Just—I just need something to hang on to. Just hold me, will you?"
Oliver didn't hesitate. He gathered his friend up in his arms and held him tight. Barry wrapped his own arms around Oliver's upper body. He buried his face into the space between Oliver's neck and shoulder and closed his eyes. His entire body trembled. "It'll be over soon…" he whispered.
"It'll be over soon," Oliver confirmed.
"Sorry if I scream in your ear."
When the devices shattered Barry's almost-healed ankles, he did scream. His entire body spasmed like he was enduring a seizure. He held onto Oliver as if for dear life, and Oliver hugged him back. When the pain died down to a fierce ache instead of a stab, Barry suddenly went limp and would've banged his head on the ground if Oliver didn't have such a tight hold on him.
Not 30 seconds later, the guards came for Oliver.
To Be Continued