A/N - New chapter! I will warn you that this chapter is a little dark. Please, PLEASE review, let me know what you lovely people think!
Enjoy!
Lx
Drip, drip, drip. Connor forced his eyes to open slowly, expecting the sun to blind him, but he was only welcomed by darkness. He tried to remember what had happened; the last he thing he could recall doing was running towards a man who had Lorna in a headlock, and then he'd heard a gunshot and everything went black. He came to the conclusion that it was himself who had been shot, the sudden realization of the burning pain in his back below his shoulder-blade a big giveaway.
"Fuckers." He growled feebly as he tried to feel his way around in the dark.
His hand hit something cold beside him, it felt like porcelain. When his opposite hand felt the same cold, hardness on his other side, he guessed he was probably in a bath. He tried to stay as calm as possible, but the fear of the unknown in the pitch black, and the agony of his gunshot wound weren't helping. He just knew that the arseholes that crashed their camp were responsible for him being here. A rustling nearby caught his attention, he listened carefully, hearing a small groan before someone spoke.
"Connor?" Romeo croaked.
Connor felt relieved and terrified at the same time. Relieved that he wasn't alone, but terrified that his friend sounded hurt.
"Rome, I'm here buddy." Connor whispered out into the darkness.
He could hear Romeo rustling some more, most likely trying to make out his surroundings. Then he heard a rattling, like metal clashing against something.
"Fuck Connor, I'm chained up!" Romeo gasped. The rattling grew loader as Romeo attempted to free himself.
"You need to keep calm." Connor hissed. He needed his friend to be quiet whilst he thought of a plan; that was his area of expertise. He thought of Murphy and how he had always picked faults with his extravagant plots. He could hear his voice clear in his mind.
"Tha's stupid! Name one thing ya'll need a rope fer!"
Connor would have chuckled at how much Murph sounded like a spoiled brat back then, when he was still innocent and young; but right now he was too focused on getting out of wherever he was, alive.
The Irishman slowly got to his feet, his hand reaching out in front of him blindly, until he could feel thin plastic material; a shower curtain. So he was definitely in a bath tub. He climbed over the edge of the bath as carefully as he could in the dark, but he slipped and landed on the floor with a thud, pulling the shower rail and dragging it down with an almighty crash.
"Shit." Connor grunted to himself, "It's ok Rome, was just me."
Romeo was pulling on his chains again, trying to get loose, the commotion Connor created had frightened the Mexican. Connor crawled across the floor, realising his jeans had gone when he could feel the rough concrete on his knees.
"What the fuck?" he hissed, wondering why those fuckers had undressed him.
He continued crawling, listening to Romeo's struggle, trying to hear where the sounds were coming from so he could locate his friend. His awkward journey across the floor came to a halt, when a door in the distance flew open and a bright florescent light flickered on.
Connor shielded his eyes from the sudden burst of light, Romeo yelped in shock. As the Irishman rubbed his eyes, footsteps echoed closer to him; then he felt the brute force of a fist hit him in his temple, sending him back over.
"You don't wanna try escaping my friend," sneered the familiar Russian accent, "Unless you want your eyeballs skewering out."
The mixture of the blow to the head and the vile comment made by the Russian made bile rise in Connor's stomach. He attempted to sit back up onto his feet, but another hard thud to his head sent him down again, his cheek crunching against the concrete.
Connor wasn't the toughest or smartest man alive; but he wasn't going to lie down and be quiet whilst some arsehole beat him to a pulp. He spat out the blood that was pooling in his mouth onto the floor beside him.
"What the fuck do ya want from us ya psycho fucker?" the Irishman growled, his speech was muffled as his cheek had already started to swell angrily.
Connor rolled onto his back to look up at the man. He let out a yell at finding the man's boot hurtling down towards his face; he stretched his neck to look to the side just in time, as the sole of the boot dug into the side of his head. The man applied just enough pressure to keep the blonde's head in place without stomping his brains out. However, the action still made Connor cry out in pain.
"You listen here, you Irish fuck. You treat me with respect or you get a razor through your gums. You got it?" the Russian spat.
Connor decided it best not to mouth back at the furious and mentally insane man who pressed his head between his boot and the ground. He let out a long breath he didn't realise he was holding, when the pressure on his head lifted. The relief was short lived as a blood-stained hand lunged towards him and took a tight grip on his neck. The Russian brought his evil, twisted face up against Connor's and he snarled as he strangled the helpless blonde.
"You best stay awake, or I'm gonna have some fun with your spick whilst your passed out." bloodstains laughed bitterly.
Connor could feel his eyes popping from their sockets as the man's grip around his neck grew tighter. He struggled and wriggled under the man's weight, but it was useless; he could feel his lungs straining as his vision became blurry. He battled against his mind's plan to black out, he didn't dare think of what this bastard was going to do to his friend once he was unconscious. All his efforts to stay awake were failing; he knew if he didn't give in the man would strangle him until he was dead. As his eyes rolled to the back of his head, he heard Romeo whimpering and calling out his name.
Then everything faded to black.
Daryl led the way through the woods, a torch in one hand and his knife in the other, his trusty Horton strapped to his back. Murphy walked alongside Lorna, he held on firmly to his precious Beretta, the other in his holster. He had offered it to Lorna, who assured him she was fine with the revolver Daryl had given her; she thought the Berettas were too big for her to handle.
Daryl stopped to check the tracks more closely. He looked at them for a moment, scratching his head, and then he turned to look at the others, "They've just stopped." He sounded exasperated.
Murphy growled and punched the tree to his side, causing Lorna to squeal with the sudden outburst. "Fuck! Where the fuck are ya Con?!" he yelled.
Daryl grabbed the Irishman's shoulder, "You need to keep it together man!" he snapped.
Murphy shook his shoulder free from the hunter's grip, "So what now?"
"We head back to camp, get some sleep, and start from here in the morning. If they've tried hiding their tracks, I might pick them back up in the daylight." Daryl replied.
"Come on, you both need to rest with those head injuries," Lorna started, "You'll be no good to no-one if you don't get some sleep."
Daryl nodded; Murphy sank down to the floor with his back against the tree he just attacked. He buried his face in his hands.
"I can't sleep knowing he's out there. He's my brother, my fuckin' twin brother. The both of ya don't understand!" he sobbed.
Lorna tried to comfort the man, but he was on his feet and marching back towards camp a second later. "We go out at the first light of morning, no later." Murphy barked.
Connor woke up to the most horrific noise; he knew the voice belonged to Romeo, he could tell that much, but he'd never heard him yelp and scream so shrilly before.
"Please!" Romeo cried out, his speech slurred.
Connor's head snapped up from where he was chained to a radiator. His friend was wrapped up in chains, sat in what looked like a dentist's chair. Bloodstains was accompanied by two other men; one was the man who raided their camp with the Russian, and the other Connor had never seen before. To the Irishman's horror, the men were sticking knives against Romeo's bare stomach, all of them laughing as they threatened to press the blades though his skin. One of the men, the one Connor had never seen before, moved his blade to stick it against the underneath of Romeo's chin.
"I think I would like to cut you here, leave my mark." The man growled; Romeo sobbed, his neck stretched and eyes fixed on the ceiling, "Or I could just ram it through into your mouth until you're swallowing it."
Connor growled, his throat was sore and burning. He tried to free himself; he could feel the fury bubbling up inside him. The other man that stood beside the Russian stormed towards Connor, grabbing a metal pole that leant against the tiled wall. Connor had no time to react before the pole came smashing into his belly, vomit spilled from his mouth before he could stop it, landing on the man's shoes.
"You fucking dirty Mick!" The man yelled, looking at the sick splattered on his feet. He swung the pole again and it made a sickening thwack against his knees, the bone underneath stinging from the bite of the metal. Connor cried out in sheer agony, tears threatening to pour down his cheeks. He wouldn't let them though; he wouldn't give these freaks the satisfaction.
"What do ya want from us?" the blonde croaked.
The Russian was now walking towards Connor, the other man with the blade to Romeo stayed still. Bloodstains now had his blade resting behind Connor's ear.
"All in good time Leprechaun, but now, you have some decisions to make." He snarled.
Connor gulped, trying to keep his composure. "What would they be then?" he murmured, fixing his eyes on the Russian's. Connor's glistening blues were so very different to the narrow, blood thirsty ones that belonged to Bloodstains.
"You need to make a choice; your ear, or his throat." The excitement in the Russian's voice was disturbing.
Connor panicked; he had to do what was right and sacrifice himself. He thought logically, in the minute he had to decide. He could live with one ear, but Romeo would die if he had his throat cut; and Connor would never live with himself if he made the wrong call. It was decided.
"Just cut it off, my ear! Just do it!" He spat, his eyes wide and blank like a frightened animal.
He felt the burning heat of the blade slicing into his ear lobe, the pain screaming into his brain mangled with the desperate, strangled cries leaving his throat.
It was over within minutes, but the pain seemed to last for an eternity. As the Russian roared with laughter, Connor noticed his ear lobe on the ground close by; the vomiting started again.
"Such a shame," the other man stood by Romeo called out, "I was looking forward to slicing this Spick up." He lowered his knife and grabbed the Romeo's chin in the other hand, forcing his mouth onto his and pushing his tongue into the squirming Mexican's mouth. He broke away and punched Romeo swiftly in the cheek. "Damn he tastes good." The man grinned before walking away.
The three men made for the door, switching the light off as they passed. "Don't think this is the end of it." Bloodstains growled, before slamming the door shut, plunging the pair into darkness once more.
Murphy tried to sleep, Lorna had drummed it into his brain that he needed rest; but he just couldn't get to sleep without knowing where his brother was. He worried for Kerry and Romeo too, of course he did, but his brother was his everything, and the only good thing he had ever had in his life. Instead of sleeping, he had plotted the deaths of the bastards that had his brother and friends. He was going to find his brother, he would be alive, and they would make those arseholes eat their bullets, like the good old days.
As the sun rose, Murphy woke Daryl and Lorna, insisting they went straight out to look. Lorna quickly made up a bag with some pre boiled water and some tins of food.
"Just in case we're gone over night, we should take a tent." Daryl had suggested.
Murphy just wanted to get going; the other two were wasting valuable time. "Come on, let's go!" he eventually snapped.
Daryl shoved the Irishman hard, "I get that you are worried about your brother, but being an asshole aint gonna find him quicker!" he growled.
Murphy didn't reply, he just gave the hunter a hard glare, his lip wobbled slightly as he fought back the tears. Daryl noticed the expression on the dark-haired man's face and apologised, explaining that he just needed to stay focused.
The threesome made their way back to the end of the tracks, and instantly Daryl spotted something. "They tried to cover the tyre tracks, but I can make out a faint set of footprints here, where the dirt is unsettled." He pointed to the tracks; the other two just looked dumbfounded. "Come on, we follow these, we'll find them for sure." The hunter promised; he always found whatever he was tracking.
Murphy took the confidence in Daryl's voice as a comforter; this man seemed to know his stuff, he threw all his trust into Daryl to find his beloved brother.
They walked for a several hours, only pausing briefly for water. After what seemed like forever, Daryl lifted his hand, signalling them to stop. Murphy looked past Daryl and saw the opening in the distance, the trees stopped and there stood an old factory of some sort on the field after the trees.
"My guess is they're in there." Daryl murmured, looking at Murphy.
Murphy waved his gun in front of him, a dark look laced onto his face, "Then let's get going."
They whispered to each other, trying to calm each other every time they heard banging form outside the room. Both of them fearing the men were coming back to cut something else off them. The last time the men had entered, Connor had to watch in horror as Romeo agreed to lose one of his fingers to prevent Bloodstains from cutting off the Irishman's hand. Connor would never forget the sounds that came from his friend at that moment.
"Rome, I swear ta ya now, I'm gonna get ya out of here." Connor whispered.
Romeo shuffled in his chains slightly, "How? We're fucked."
"You've gotta believe." Was all Connor could say. He wanted more than anything for the Lord to answer his prayers, to free him and his friend and to find his dear Murphy; but after the dead began walking the earth, he had a hard time believing God would let it happen.
They fell silent as they heard a woman crying out. The door flew open and the lights came on; the men dragged the woman into the centre of the room, between the chained men. Romeo called out when he realised that the terrified woman being dragged in was Kerry.
"Kerry! What have they done to you?!" Connor yelled.
Kerry looked at Connor, her eyes widened when she saw his battered body tied up to the radiator, her face was soaked with tears, but she looked untouched to the Irishman's relief. Kerry then looked at Romeo who was also still fastened into the dentist chair, "Rome?" she sobbed".
Bloody hands backhanded Kerry, causing her head to fly sideways.
"Fucker! Wait til I get outa these chains, I'm gonna smash yer ugly face in!" Connor roared, just as Romeo shouted a threat towards the men also.
"You won't be leaving those chains Mick." Bloodstains snarled, "You're gonna die today."
Before Connor could reply, another man entered the room. He was tall and thin, slicked back grey hair on top of his head with a matching grey goatee. He was older than the rest of them, around sixty if not older. He would have looked like an innocent old man if it weren't for those dark, demonic eyes.
Demon eyes closed in on Connor, taking hold of his bruised chin with his frail hand, moving his face side to side as he inspected him.
"Yes, you will make an excellent sacrifice." the old man spoke coldly.
Connor spat in demon eyes face, his own eyes sharp and etched with disgust, "Fuck you old man." He growled.
Demon eyes wiped his face with a handkerchief and continued to talk as he circled the room towards Romeo, "You see in my religion, if the mighty one sends a challenge, such as the situation we're in now, we need to prove our loyalty to him." He examined Romeo in the same way he had Connor, "This is usually in the form of a sacrifice. You three lucky humans have an important role to play," he spoke with such calmness, that it scared Connor a little, "You will sacrifice yourselves, and end this apocalypse. You will be heroes."
"You're fucking insane!" Connor roared, struggling against his chains again. Kerry continued to cry, Romeo looked on with hate in his eyes for the men.
"We came across you, our sacrifices, by chance. We had to make sure you were the chosen ones, we beat you and tested your loyalties to one another, and now we know that we were right; we have found the chosen ones."
Connor had an idea, "Looks like ya haven't beat the lady, so how do ya know she was chosen. Just let her go, she isn't a sacrifice."
Demon eyes nodded at Bloodstains with a sinister smirk. The Russian ripped Kerry's blouse open, revealing bruises and long marks that made Connor think they had been whipping her. Kerry hung her head, tears splashing onto the floor.
"I didn't want to ruin such a pretty face Boss." One of the men beside the Russian snorted.
Connor fought against his chains harder, "Undo these chains! Let's fight man to man, I'm gonna knock yer teeth out!" He bellowed.
"No need brother, I'm gonna do tha' for ya."
Connor's head snapped towards the door, where his brother stood, Berettas ready in his hands, his face dark and furious.
The Russian went down with bullets in his chest before he could react; the man responsible for Kerry's beating went down with an arrow through his head. Daryl emerged from behind the doorway, his knife ready as he flew for the other henchman. The man managed to tackle the hunter to the ground, but Lorna ran in the room, her revolver pointing at the man's head.
"Do it!" Daryl yelled, and Lorna obeyed, putting a bullet into the man's skull. She gasped and dropped her weapon.
"Daryl, grab the old bastard! Murphy, unchain me, we need to kill him our way." Connor called out to the men.
Daryl got Demon eyes in a headlock as Murphy ran to let Connor loose. The pair ran to Romeo, freeing him from the chair. Murphy handed his brother one of his guns, and they took the man from Daryl's grip. Murphy punched the man hard in the face, his nose crunched under the Irishman's fist.
"Get ta ya fucking knees!" Murphy roared, kicking the back of the man's knees to make him drop.
The brothers stood behind the old man, their guns side by side, pressed into the back of the man's head. He didn't struggle, accepting his fate.
"And sheperds we shall be
For thee, my Lord, for thee.
Power hath descended forth from Thy hand
Our feet may swiftly carry out Thy commands.
So we shall flow a river forth to Thee
And teeming with souls shall it ever be.
In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti.
The gunshots rang out, Demon eyes dropped to the floor with a pathetic thud.
The pair pulled their rosaries from under their shirts, holding onto them in their hands as they stood in silence. Connor finally took his brother in his arms, holding him close and debating whether to never let him go.
"I thought I'd lost ya Con." Murphy wept.
"Hush now, I would never do tha' ta ya. I love ya." He whispered in his ear.
They let go of one another and took in the scene around them; Daryl was tending to Romeo, and Lorna sat on the floor, holding a hysterical Kerry.
Connor spotted his jeans crumpled up in the corner, his boots scattered near them; only then did he realise he was stood in only his shirt and boxers. He made his way to his clothes and got dressed; his body ached from his numerous beatings. He walked back to his brother, who was staring at Connor's face in disbelief.
"They did that ta ya?! They cut half ya fuckin' ear off?!" he roared.
"Aye, That one there," Connor pointed to the Russian's lifeless body, that was now soaked in blood. Murphy grunted as he booted the body sharp in the face.
"I wish I'd had the chance to kill him real slow." Murphy growled.