Chapter 16: Chapter 15
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Alex was dragged along behind the guards, unable to hold himself up. Not that he cared. What was a few more scratches from a concrete floor? He couldn't keep a steady hold of consciousness and he caught himself drifting more than once. One second they were in the cage, in the next they were headed down a blindly white hallway. Another blink and Alex found himself in a room, being placed on a cold table. Josh talked from point A to point B. Alex didn't catch a single word.
The cold table was startling at first and he found himself finally able to come back into the moment. The cold seeped into his ruined back, canceling the heat that came with infection. For a second Alex felt everything. Including the lack of restraints.
That was their first mistake.
Josh saw Alex as having no energy and almost no hope. For the first time Alex Rider was completely hopeless. Everything about the situation he was in was hopeless. If Eagle had found civilization, he should had saved them by now. In Alex mind Eagle was long gone. He had either fallen prey to the elements or Josh's men had caught up to him and killed him. Eagle was dead.
Josh continued to talk, but Alex paid no mind. Thinking and waiting. There was a reason he was brought here. Josh wasn't just going to talk at him. The man was sadistic. Alex was weak and hopeless, but he was still human. He would still feel large amounts of pain and he knew that Josh planned on inflicting just that. Eventually the guards turned him over, and Alex braced himself.
The first strike was agony. The scream that tore out of Alex's mouth left his throat raw. There were so many old wounds on his body and several had just reopened. Each whip would reopen more, until Alex's back was left as nothing more than a bloody mess.
Josh used the whip like a paintbrush. He even acted like a painter. He calculated each strike before cracking it across Alex's body. Blood poured from his wounds, new and old alike. Each one hurting worse than the last.
Alex moved to curl into himself. An instinct that he had yet to rid himself of, but the pain that came from stretching the wounds almost made him vomit.
Josh continued on, moving back and forth between the whip and the knife. Eventually Alex's throat gave out. He couldn't scream and he was only left to whimper and moan at each slice through skin. He was to dehydrated to cry.
Black dots started dancing across his vision. Time seemed to pass slowly, drawing out the pain. How long had he been here? Months? Years? Whatever it had been, time had not been kind to him.
The helicopters dropped them about ten miles away from the base. They had a long walk ahead of them but they needed surprise to be on their side. Walkie-talkies were as low as they could get without being muted. There were few reports of enemies as they silently made their way through the terrain.
They had the most highly trained soldiers on their side, but Eagle couldn't help but worry. Josh's men were well trained and they wouldn't hold back. Everyone who had signed up understood that there was a risk of them losing their lives, but they cared for others more. K-Unit was well-liked. Many knew that they would do that same for anyone else. The details they we allowed to give them about Alex had infuriated many. Quite a few had children of their own.
When they made it to the base almost two hours later, two armed men stood outside the front door, talking, their assault rifles leaning against the building just out of reach. They laughed and Eagle smiled. They were unaware of the assault that was about to happen to their building.
His men stayed hidden, waiting for the signal. Eagle gave a single nod. There was the soft hush of a noise suppressor and the men in front of them flopped lifelessly to the ground. With another nod they headed in. The second they crossed the tree line time became limited. Just because there was no visible cameras did not mean they were not there.
Once they entered they began to split, each going a separate way they had been told. Eagle lead his team down the hallway that he was almost positive was the one that he had come from when he had made his bid to freedom. The secretary had been taken care of quickly. Not killed, but detained before she could raise the alarm.
The hallway was long and blank, a few doors appeared every now and again, but otherwise it was relatively empty. Eventually though, they came to a break. Two separate hallways. The left was short and lead to a single door. The right lead to a stairwell that only went down.
Eagle would have led his team down the stairs, if it was not for the noise coming from behind the door.
Alex had come to a decision. It would either save them all, or kill them all. Josh liked to monologue; it was one of his downfalls. Everyone thought Alex was down for the count. That he was too injured to do much of anything. It wasn't total a lie. Everything hurt, but if there was something Alex had gotten good at during this hellish life, it was pushing past the pain for a last minute escape.
Except this escape wasn't for Alex. It was K-Unit. For John. For all the innocent that had lost their lives for Alex.
So he fought back, bringing his fist up to connect with Josh's nose. He stumbled back, hand cupped around the hurting appendage. Alex tumbled off the table, landing on the floor with a loud thump and pain flaring across his back. His arms shook as he dragged himself up from the floor. He made it to his hands and knees before a shadow cut through the light and a foot connected with his stomach.
Josh stood above Alex as the boy curled into himself. His mouth was covered in the blood that continued to sluggishly flow from his slightly crooked nose. Josh's breath was coming in pants, his face red from anger.
"You really though now would be a good time to fight back?" He wiped at the blood with his arm, smearing it across his face. "You're an idiot, Rider."
Something in the man seemed to have snapped and suddenly Josh was on top of Alex, raining down punch after punch. He had never caused pain with his own hands. It was usual a knife or the whip. There was the occasional punch or slap to get Alex to shut up, but nothing like this. Alex could barely defend himself.
Each hit was worse than the last. It took a few seconds before Alex was able to find the energy to push the larger man off of him. Josh fell back into table holding the various knives and other devices for torture. He laid on the ground, knife scattered around his prone body.
Alex propped himself up on his elbows his breath coming in shallow pants as he struggled to get a full breath. He was starting to wonder if Josh had somehow been able to get a knife in his own back, when the older man finally moved, charging at Alex, ten times madder than before.
Alex didn't realize Josh had a knife until it was in his stomach. He gasped, pain flaring in his chest as Josh proceeded to pick the teenager up and throw him across the room. His back hit the opposite wall, and Alex saw stars.
"I'm stronger than you Rider. It doesn't matter how many missions you go on, or how many skills you learn. You're still just a boy. You can barely save yourself. How are you supposed to save anyone else?"
Josh looked down at Alex. The room was in ruins with tables over turned and various weapons scatter across the floor. Everything hurt and Alex couldn't help but wonder why he had even bothered. Where did he think this would get him? Tears sprang to his eyes. Josh was right. Alex was only a boy and he couldn't do anything right.
"No one cares about you. No one! Those soldiers back in the cage don't care. Your caretaker didn't. But you know what hurts you the most? The fact that your uncle didn't care. The fact that he trained you for this and didn't care enough to think of how scaring this would be for his own nephew. The fact that he didn't care enough to think about whether this was something you wanted. He just didn't care. Did he?"
"Please...stop." The words were worse than any physical torture. "Please." Alex's voice cracked as tears fell from his closed eyes.
"What's the matter, Alex? Can't handle the truth? Or is it because you already knew, you just didn't want to believe it?"
Josh kneeled next to Alex, bring his mouth to his ear he whispered, "You're lucky I'm merciful."
Josh yanked the still protruding knife from Alex's stomach. A broken scream was ripped violently from Alex's throat.
"I'll give you a choice Alex. You can either bleed to death, or I can put you out of your misery. The only catch is either way you chose it will be in front of those lousy people you call friends. It's up to you, but pick wisely. I'll be back for an answer in a few minutes. I just have to go freshen up." Josh stood, picking up a towel that had been thrown to the floor with the knife. He wiped the blood from his hands before throwing it down next to the curled teen. He turned to the door with a smirk on his face.
He pulled it open, only to come face to face with a very pissed off SAS solider.
One silenced shot later and Josh was gone forever.
Eagle surveyed the room quickly. His eyes immediately falling on Alex, curled up in a corner surrounded by the remains of a table with various tools scattered across the floor. Tears coursed down his face, his eyes tightly squeezed shut and his body curled in around his abdomen. He didn't even realize he was being rescued.
Eagle covered the space between them in seconds.
"Cub?" Alex only flinched, curling into himself even more. "Cub, it's alright. He's gone, you're safe." Eagle voice was soft but sure, trying to reassure Alex that what Eagle said was true. Eagles hands fluttered over the boy's body, unsure of how to proceed.
Alex didn't move. Josh had succeeded. Alex was broken. Eagles anger rose with each passing second that Alex didn't respond. Josh didn't deserve such a quick death.
"I'm gonna pick you up now, okay? So we can get you out of here." Eagles voice was soft. After a few tense seconds Eagles saw the smallest of nods, the only movement Alex had done since they had entered the room.
Gently, Eagle scooped Alex up, holding the shaking boy to his chest, careful of the bleeding wound in his stomach. Once standing Alex gripped onto Eagles shirt so tight his knuckles went white. Alex didn't know what was real anymore. He had lost any hope of rescue so long ago that he could only believe this was all a dream.
The other soldiers had gone to stand guard once the room had been cleared. They had all been part of rescue missions before, some had even been on the receiving end. The rule was, if someone knew the party being rescued, they were the ones to bring them out. To many unfamiliar faces could lead to a panic attack. So they stood guard while Eagle collected the kid from inside.
The walkie-talkie crackled to life as they waited.
"We have four out of five. They say the last one was taken some time ago, keep your eyes and ears open for five. We're leading the group out now."
There was silence for a second before another team responded.
"We have gun fire. Stay out of hall 8. I repeat stay out of hall 8." Everyone had studied the building blueprints well enough to know a least one detour around each hall. Luckily Hall 8 had several.
Eagle stepped out of the room, not soon after. The boy looked smaller than any of them thought healthy and the violent shaking racking the small frame was definitely a concern.
"Someone radio the others and let them know we have Alex and are headed out of the building." While one soldier did as told, another filled Eagle in, letting him know that the others had been found and were currently headed out.
Now all they had to do was get out of there and return to base. Ambulances would be waiting for them there.
As luck would have it, at the last corner, trouble found them. Guards from the compound came around the corner down the hall just as they did, blocking the last few feet to freedom.
The fire fight was quick, Eagle's men responding faster than the other. Eagle went back around the corner, shielding Alex from any stray bullets that might have come their way. In a matter of minutes, it was over. A few of their own men had been hit, but they waved off concern and carried on.
Josh's men were not as lucky.
They made their way over the bodies, turned the last corner and made the final stretch through the lobby door and out into open air. The rendezvous point wasn't far and when they finally arrived all the teams stood ready and waiting.
Now they just had to blow the place up and get home.
"Everyone placed their bombs?" Eagle looked across the large group all of whom were giving the affirmative. Eagle looked over at Lemur who held the detonator, waiting for the okay. Eagle gave a curt nod and Lemur pressed the button. There was a distant boom and Eagle knew that they were safe.
It was only a matter of time before the others found Alex and Eagle. It was also only a matter of time before Alex would suddenly deteriorate.
Both things seemed to happen at once.
Ben burst through the men, pushing people out of his way and shoving anyone who tried to hold him back. Wolf followed close behind with Snake bring up the rear. John had been handed off to another solider before they had gone in search of Alex, to scared of what kind of state they would find the teen in. John did not need any more reasons for nightmares.
Just as Ben burst through the line, Eagle felt Alex's grip loosen. His face was pale and his skin was cold.
Then he was coughing and blood bubbled over his lips.
Ben seemed to freeze at the sight. Eagle looked over at Snake, his face pleading him to do something.
"We have to leave. If we want to save him, we have to go right now." Snake pushed at Ben, who stumbled forward nodding dumbly as Eagle moved ahead.
Wolf took command. In minutes the men were moving faster and more organized than Eagle would have ever been able to. Wolf was quick to swipe someone's walkie-talkie, radioing ahead for the helicopter and making sure ambulances were at the ready for when they landed.
The walk was only a few short minutes, as the helicopter was able to land closer to the compound. Eagle couldn't help but worry that those were critical minutes that could either save or kill the boy in his arms.
They loaded into the helicopter as fast as possible. Eagle continued to hold onto Alex, afraid that letting go meant that Alex would also let go. The trip was silent. K-unit huddled around Eagle and Alex, Snake doing anything he could to help Alex survive. John was safely asleep in the arms of another solider. The exhaustion of the past few days had finally caught up and he had fallen asleep on the walk over to the helicopter.
Ben looked like he was close to breaking. He watched Alex chest rise and fall. Making sure that he was alive. Terrified if the rise didn't immediately follow the fall, which happened often. Alex's breathing was jagged and shallow and Eagle could only guess at what that meant.
Wolf kept a close eye on Ben. He held an irrational fear that Ben would fall apart. That he would go mad and start yelling and screaming. Wolf didn't want to lose Alex either, but if they did lose him then Ben would take it the worst. If they lost Alex, then they would lose Ben too.
Snake was in medic mode. He couldn't afford to think about 'ifs.' He had a job to do and that required him to think in the moment. His right hand stayed firmly on Alex's wrist constantly monitoring the too weak pulse. He had someone pressing a bandage onto Alex's abdomen wound as Snake looked at the various other cuts and bruises. Looking for broken bones and signs of infection.
Once they landed Snake and Eagle were the first out, rushing Alex over to one of several waiting ambulances. Snake relayed all the information he could to the paramedics who jumped into action, loading Alex and setting to work immediately, hooking him to machines and assessing the various injuries scattered across his body.
Eagle had to argue with Ben about going in his own ambulance before Wolf came over and gently guided Ben over to the other waiting paramedics. Wolf nodded to Eagle, before turning back to Ben. Eagle hopped in the back of the ambulance and took hold of Alex's hand as the ambulance took off.
Then Alex flat-lined.