Chapter 8: Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize. This is the re-uploaded version of Chapter 7.
When Alex woke, he was confused. He was tied to a chair in an empty room. Testing the strength of his bonds he found they had taken great precaution to keep him prisoner. They had used both handcuffs and plastic ties, if one broke then the other provide a backup, and if Alex was able to get out of one, then he would still have the other to break through, and that would take too much time. They would be able to stop him if he got too close to escaping. Laying his head back Alex closed his eyes trying to think of a way out, anything that could help them escape the hell they were in. With a sigh he realized that it was nearly impossible.
His thoughts wandered back to K-Unit and Ben, who were probably still back in the holding cell. What were they thinking about? Was Wolf even worried? He doubted it, he was sure that Ben was the only one who cared about him. He felt bad though. It was his fault that they were even in this mess. He should have just gone with them when they had first attacked, K-Unit would never been captured if he had just gave himself over.
He was pulled from his thoughts by the door bouncing loudly against the wall.
"Do you always have to slam open the door? It's a bit over dramatic don't you think?"
Josh's lip twitched at the comment, which didn't go unnoticed by Alex as a smirk spread across his face. This was going to be easier than he thought.
A larger man stepped in behind Josh. His head almost hit the top of the doorway as he walked in and his muscles bulged, looking as if his shirt would rip off at any minute.
"Who's this? Your bodyguard? Afraid of me even though I'm tied up?"
"Oh Alex, so naive. This is the man who is going to cause you great pain and suffering, and me great joy, within the next hour. Now I'm going to start out with simple questions. You will answer, if not my 'little' friend here will give you a bit of pain. Okay? So let's start, who do you work for?"
"Please tell me you're not that stupid? Everyone in the criminal world knows who I work for! It's basic information at this point. "
Josh tsked before bellowing, "Max!"
The man apparently named Max, suddenly appeared in front of Alex, a knife in hand. With a sudden swipe upward Alex's shirt was torn in two. Alex hadn't even blinked. But then, with another swipe a stinging sensation erupted across his stomach. Looking down he saw blood flow out of the ruler straight line that had been cut across his stomach.
A smile spread across Josh's face. "No Alex, I'm not that stupid. I told you I was going to be asking simple questions. This is just so you know what we do, when you do not answer with what I want. Don't worry you won't get used to it; I'll make sure of that. Now on to the next question. How many missions have you been on?"
Alex smirked, "Even if these are simple questions, guess what? The answer is classified." Alex knew how this would end, and it wouldn't be good for him, but at least he got to have some fun before he was, most likely, dragged back to the cell unconscious and bloody.
Josh didn't have to say anything before Max left another, scar to be, on his chest. This one was slightly deeper, drawing more blood. It hurt but there was no way Alex would show that to Josh. Only when his body couldn't take it anymore did Alex give any signs of pain away, and it was more than likely that it would end up that way.
"Where have these missions been?"
Silence and another slash just a bit deeper.
"You worked for SCORPIA, correct?"
Silence, a cold glare directed toward Josh, and another line was added.
"Fine. Max." Alex didn't even turn his head. He could have cared less what Max was getting, but he was able to guess that it would only bring more pain. And he was right. A sudden searing pain erupted across his back, right after he heard something whistling through the air.
From the line of blood he could feel dripping down his back, he guessed it was a whip. Max was apparently very strong or else he wouldn't have been able to draw blood that easily. Alex twitched, trying his hardest not to scream at the surprise of pain, all that left his lips was a gasp.
Josh asked more and more questions but Alex kept his lips sealed. He knew that he would sooner or later succumb to the pain and give something away to be free of it, but for as long as his mind was clear, he kept his lips shut.
After what felt like days to Alex, but was only a couple of hours, Josh stopped his questioning. Alex's head leaned forward, his chin resting on his chest. The hair in his face hid the pain that flooded his eyes. Alex didn't even know he had this much will-power.
"Well Alex I have some other business to attend to right now. You will be put back in your cell and your team mates will be allowed to attend to you for half an hour. After that half an hour you will all be put back in your individual cells and left alone for the night. Do not try anything through the night Alex, we will know and you will be severely punished. Until next time." With that Josh left as two guards came in and untied Alex before dragging him off.
~Line Break~
It was silent throughout the holding cell. They all listened for some type of clue that Alex was being brought back to them. Sadly, they heard nothing.
It was sometime later that the door opened and in walked two guards, a stumbling Alex held in-between them, who seemed to be arguing that he could 'walk just fine'. The bigger looking of the two opened the main door before going around and opening everyone else's. He walked out backwards, keeping his eyes on all of them. Before they left they roughly threw Alex inside the cell, locking the main door behind them.
After the guards had left for good, K-Unit took a careful look at Alex. He had no shirt which had most likely been ripped off, and was probably lying on the floor of some torture chamber somewhere in the facility. The cuts across his chest continued to sluggishly bleed, his back hidden to them until he stumbled over to the corner.
Alex slid down the wall, careful to avoid the cuts from the whip on his back, and covered himself as much as possible. He wrapped his arms around his knees and tucked his head down, once again leaning his chin on his chest, his forehead resting on his knees. Yet it did nothing to stop the chill that was slowly seeping into his bones, quickly causing his body to shiver.
Ben walked over to his cell where he kept anything that he had found useful. His coat from before he was captured sat in the corner. Walking back over to the teenager, he draped the coat over Alex shoulders, getting a quick glimpse of his bloodied back.
"It's not much but it's better than nothing." Alex remained quiet. Not moving, the only indication of life was the small rise and fall of his shoulders.
Ben sighed and headed back to his cell looking at Alex with the concern of a family member.
"Cub, do you think I could give you a quick check over? I just want to make sure nothing is too bad." Snake spoke up. Alex remained quiet, Snake mistakenly taking it as a yes. He made his way over to Alex before uncertainty rose in his chest. Maybe silence meant no to Cub. He put a hand on Alex shoulder.
The voice he spoke with was one of coldness.
"Don't touch me. I'm fine." Snake slowly backed off and went back to his own cell. Alex didn't show it but he was in pain, a lot of pain, it clouded his mind, but he still refused to show any sort of weakness. When they all went to sleep he would attend to himself, but for now he sat, letting the cold numb him, ebbing away some of the pain and lessening the stinging of the cuts.
Just like Josh promised, in half an hours' time the guards came back. They pushed K-Unit into their respective cells, where, once locked in, they continued to sit and watch Alex. Hoping to see him get up and do something, anything. But he just sat there; only the slow rise and fall of his shoulders telling them he was alive.
After a little while they started talking, planning, hoping to find a way out. Another couple of hours and they had finally fallen asleep. He got up and walked over to Ben's cell, silently he took the pile of ripped up strips of cloth and wrapped up what need to be wrapped up, and wiped away any stray blood left on his chest and stomach. He threw the bloody pieces of cloth in a corner and zipped up the coat Ben had given him. He leaned back against the wall, and with nothing else to do, closed his eyes, letting memories flood his mind.
Soon he fell into a restful, if not peaceful; sleep, for the first time in a long time. There were no dreams of Jack coming to tell him that he had failed to protect her, that he didn't really care for her, and that he was the reason she had died. He dreamed of nothing. Just endless blackness.