Chapter 19-Hostages

-Cody's POV-

Pain exploded on every inch of my body as I was rocked from side to side and hit the walls of a truck that I was thrown into before I was bound, gagged, and blindfolded. My head throbbed with pain as I tried to lean against a wall to keep myself steady, but the speed of Butch's driving made it impossible.

'At least Jeremiah will be safe. I know that. And mom will be safe too. I just hope…I can see Zack and my friends…one last time.'

I was suddenly pulled out of the back of the truck and dragged painfully across the ground as Butch walked somewhere. I was thrown into a room and yanked up as the ropes dropped off of me and the gag was taken out of my mouth, and the blindfold was ripped off of my face.

The light was so bright I had to close my eyes, it hurt so much. I rubbed them and slowly blinked them open as the light adjusted to my eyes. Once they were adjusted I looked around and noticed I was in some type of cell. Bars were in front of me and on either side, and the back wall was made of stone and had a bunk bed. The whole place smelled like blood, tears, sweat, and death and it made me scared. True, I was scared before, but now I was terrified.

"Cody?"

I turned my head and gasped once I saw my mom. But she didn't look like my mom. She was so thin I could see her ribs through her shirt and I knew that wasn't healthy; her eyes were sunken in and had dark circles around them. Her skin was very pale and she looked weak because she trembled as she reached her hand though the bars of our cells. Her clothes were ripped, dirty, and had faint signs of blood on them. Scars, scratches, and bruises covered her arms and legs and her face was almost barely recognizable. I was terrified, but I went over to her anyway.

"Mom. What did they do to you? Are you ok?" I asked in a shaky whisper as I held out my arm to her. She grabbed my hand and I shuddered once I felt how cold her hands were. Looking into her eyes I saw that they were distant and the light she usually had in them were gone…like she was slowly fading away.

"Cody…I won't be able to survive this any longer," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. I knew that was all she could manage from the pain she was experiencing.

"Mom…ssshhhhh. Don't talk like that. You will survive. You will!" I said sternly as I glanced towards the door.

"You're very strong, although you're my sensitive baby. I guess that's what people underestimate about you. Zack may have been my first, but he isn't as strong as you are. Although he was my last, Jeremiah is very bright and although he pretends to be strong and that nothing can faze him, things do. Keep the strength…my baby," she said, ignoring my sentence, as she softly stroked my hair.

"Mom…what happened to you?"

-Flashback-

Knock! Knock!

Sighing, Carey walked to the door and opened it, expecting to see Maddie, Esteban, or even Mr. Moseby. But she didn't. Standing at the door was a very intimidating looking man and by the looks of it, he had a prison record.

"Yes?" Carey asked as she held the door open slightly.

"Hell ma'am. I'm Butch McGwire, Jeremiah's father. I was wondering if he was here? I wanted to talk to him about Sarah," he said as he smiled politely.

"He's not here right now and you shouldn't be trying to talk to him. He doesn't want to talk to you or to Sarah," Carey responded as she tried to close the door but he held it open with his palm.

"Jeremiah is my son and I have every right to see him! Now, if you don't tell me where it is I WILL have to hurt you and I would rather not have to go to extremes," Butch growled as he shoved the door open and Carey backed away form him in fear. She trembled underneath his stare as he glared at her threateningly.

"I won't let you hurt my sons!" She said in a strong, firm voice although on the inside she was shaking badly.

"Wrong answer," was all Butch said before everything turned dark…

She groaned after a while and felt pain in her neck. As she opened her eyes and lifted her head everything was dark. She tried to move her arms but she found that she was bound to a chair. A gag was in her mouth and her legs were also tied together. In front of her was Sarah. She had an evil grin on her face and she held something in her hand. She brought her hand down and suddenly she felt pain fleeting across her face. Her cry was muffled by the gag but tears streamed down her face as Sarah brought the whip down harder the second time and a loud CRACK echoed off of the walls. As the brutal pain made tears fall faster down her face she thought, 'I have to be strong. I have to do this for my sons. I must keep them safe. Please God, let me see them one more time...incase I die from this torture. Please God. If you're up there. Somewhere.'

-End Flashback-

I was sobbing once mom finished her story. She was doing all of this just to keep us safe! She was going to die keeping us away from Sarah and Butch. 'No! She won't die! I'll make sure of it. All of my life she's been taking care of us, but now, I'll return the favor.' The door to my cell suddenly slid open with a loud clang and I turned my head to see Sarah and Butch standing there with evil smirks on their faces. Butch grasped my upper left arm so hard it felt like my bones were going to break. He pulled me out of the room and my right arm practically got pulled out of its socket from the force of the pull and because my arm was still in between the bars.

The next thing I knew I was sitting at a table with a bright light in my face. I had to look down so I wouldn't be blinded but Sarah grabbed a hunk of my hair and lifted my head up so I had to glare into her cold eyes of evil.

"Where's Jeremiah?" She demanded in a cold voice.

"I don't know," I whispered.

"What did you say boy?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

My head snapped to the side as her hand connected with my cheek. I turned to look at her with as my cheek stung like crazy but I tried to hold back the tears.

"Don't give me that shit!" Sarah spat, a little bit of spit hitting my face, but I was too afraid to wipe it off. "I know you know where he is! So tell me unless you want hell!"

Instead of answering, I asked, "Why do you want Jeremiah so badly? He's officially Carey's son and my brother by law. You can't take him back."

"Because that son of a bitch knows too much about what Butch and I did. He can't go around knowing our secrets," Butch responded as he spun the pistol around on his finger and his eyes bored into mine. I tried to look away but his menacing gaze held mine.

"Now I'll ask you one more time…WHERE THE HELL IS JEREMIAH?" Sarah roared into my ear.

I spat into her face and screamed back, "GO TO HELL!"

An angry scowl crossed her face and I knew I was in deep trouble. She pulled me out of the chair and I fell to the floor. She pushed me ahead of herself and I was shoved and kicked ahead of them down a hallway until I was pushed into a room. I fell onto my knees and got a sharp kick in my ribs that made me roll over, clutching my side in pain. Another kick hit me in the ribs. Then there were kicks and punches and the pain just got worse and worse I couldn't think straight. The only thing I could do was block my face so they couldn't do any permanent damage, and…if I died, they would be able to recognize me by my face. Soon I felt numb and I couldn't tell if I was still being hit or if they stopped, but judging by their screaming and cursing they weren't through with me.

Not by a damned long shot.