Author's Note: Violent scene ahead. You've been warned. Hope you like it though! Thanks to my beta, BluCrayons! (still haven't figured out how she knows how blue crayons taste. lol)
Chapter 31: Tortured
"Please don't hurt him," Sarah pled struggling against Cole's tight grip. Mike looked around the room: his mind racing for a way out of this; any way to help Micky. But he found nothing. They were outnumbered and outgunned. If any of them moved, Sarah would die. Cole's finger twitched dangerously on the trigger of the gun that was pressed so tightly to her temple. If they killed Sarah, there'd be no reason not to switch to using someone else as hostage. They had no options but to sit and wait for this to be over. Mike hated it and it made him sick, but he knew it was the truth.
"Shut up," Cole said twisting Sarah's arm a little. Peter and Davy looked anxious and terrified; neither of them knew what to expect from Claire and both wanted to help without getting Sarah hurt.
"Go ahead, Micky," Claire said ripping Micky's shirt open with the knife. "Tell me where your little baby girl is and this will all end."
"I'm not telling you anything," Micky said. "I don't care what you do to me."
"Really?" Claire said with a sick smile cutting the bandage off Micky's stomach. "Let's just see about that." Mike could only watch as she took the took the tip of the blade and sliced open a small portion of Micky's chest. Micky clenched his jaw together, but Mike could tell he was trying not to cry out in pain.
"Micky!" Davy exclaimed and jumped off the bed. Peter reluctantly pulled him back a little as Cole pushed the barrel of the gun even further into Sarah's head.
"Sit down, Davy," Micky hissed.
"Listen to him," Heather said as she walked in with a very large bruise on her face. Mike felt the rage boil in him at the pure sight of her. "As much as I'd love to see Cole blow a hole in Sarah's head, it would be pointless. We can just restrain you, too. And then her death will just be a sad waste."
"You can't…" Davy started, his eyes starting to well up with tears staring at the blood on Micky's chest.
"Davy, sit down," Mike said.
"But…" Davy started arguing.
"Sit down," Mike said. He hated saying it and it made him sick, but he knew Heather was right. Cole was just looking for a reason to pull the trigger. "There's nothing we can do."
"Davy, come on," Peter said pulling him back to the bed. Peter's eyes were lined with more unshed tears, but he seemed to understand the futility of the situation as much as Mike. Rose gripped Mike's hand in hers, letting him silently know that he was doing the right thing and giving him the much needed strength to stay seated himself.
"What a good boy you are, Mike," Claire smiled. "There is another option, though. I'll stop if you tell me where that baby is. Rose?"
"I'm not telling you anything either," Rose answered, her voice sounding shaky for the first time. Mike could tell she was trying to be strong for Micky, but she hated what was happening to him. At the same time, he knew she'd never give up her daughter. And that's what was killing her the most. Mike felt the same thing.
"Fine," Claire said taking the knife and dragging it across Micky's chest once more. Micky once again clenched his jaw and his whole body tensed from the pain.
"No," Davy groaned turning his head away from Micky. Peter started crying and squeezed his eyes shut from the sight. Mike even felt Rose's wet face as she turned into his arm a little more. Mike was just as upset as the rest of them, but he knew if he broke down, they all would. But he couldn't just sit there and watch it either, so he forced himself to watch Sarah instead; just to make sure Cole didn't get too itchy of a trigger finger. He'd silently promised Micky, and himself, that if something happened to Micky, he'd make sure Sarah was safe.
"Any of you can stop this at any time, you know," Wayne said with a sadistic smile that matched Claire's. "All you have to do is tell us where that baby is. Any volunteers? Mike?"
"Even if I knew anything, I wouldn't tell you," Mike spat angrily. He heard Micky hiss a little in pain again, but couldn't bring himself to look. He couldn't stand to see his best friend in pain like that.
"Oh come on," Wayne said as though they were having a normal conversation. "Micky must have told one of you at least. Someone else knows where that baby is."
"None of us would tell you if we did," Davy sneered. "You're bloody sick and we aren't gonna let you do a damn thing to that girl."
"All you're doing is prolonging your friends' pain," Wayne said as Claire made another slice down Micky's chest.
"No, we aren't," Mike said. "You want your revenge on him for killing your son, even though he did it completely out of justifiable means. We tell you where that little girl is and you're still gonna hurt him. So why should we tell you, anyway?"
"He has a very good point, Daddy," Heather said making both Mike's blood and stomach boil.
"How about if you tell us, we'll leave him alone for a while," Wayne said as Claire kept cutting Micky as if the rest of them weren't even there.
"Not happening," Mike countered. "Micky would rather die than let that happen."
"So would I," Rose said trying to sound stern, but her strength was faltering with each pained breath Micky took. "You'll never get anywhere near her. You'll never corrupt her like you did us."
"Who said anything about that?" Claire asked.
"So what do you want with her?" Micky asked; the pain he was in was very audible in his voice no matter how much he tried to mask it.
"Why would I tell you that?" Claire asked. "You won't tell me anything."
"Go fuck yourself," Mick said boldly. Mike knew this was the wrong thing to do, but Mike wasn't sure he would have done any different if it were his daughter being threatened. Claire smiled down at Micky wickedly and set the knife to the side of the bed. Mike wasn't sure what she was planning as she reached into the bag next to her and pulled out a piece of metal wire coiled into a flat circle. Micky, Sarah and Rose seemed to know what it was because Micky's eyes went wide at the sight of it, Rose let out a sob and buried her face in Mike's shoulder and Sarah screamed.
"Stop it!" Sarah yelled trying to fight Cole's grip again. "Don't, please!"
"Shut it, bitch," Heather said walking over and smacking Sarah across the face, hard. Mike still wasn't sure what was going on until he realized Claire was also pulling a blowtorch out of the bag. Mike used every ounce of strength he had to keep from getting up and fighting. The only thing it would accomplish is get Sarah killed and he couldn't fight with his knee anyway. It killed him knowing the only thing he could do was watch as Claire heated up the coiled metal until it glowed red. He turned his head away and finally couldn't fight the tears from escaping anymore as he heard the sizzle of burned flesh.
Davy and Peter both let out choked sobs and Sarah went limp in Cole's arms, giving up her fight entirely. Rose squeezed even tighter on Mike's arm as though that would somehow keep her from crying. It wasn't working. Micky let out a muffled scream, still trying to cover up just how much pain he was really in. But Mike knew and he once again felt himself wanting to throw up. More because he knew he couldn't do anything to help his best friend this time.
"Stop it, please," Peter pled. "Just leave him alone. He doesn't deserve any of this."
"Everyone has done something evil at some point in their life, son," Wayne snorted.
"That's not true," Peter argued. "Micky didn't do anything wrong. He never has. He killed your son, but he was forced to do that. He didn't want to do it and he feels terrible about it."
"Oh, yes," Heather laughed. "Yet he said he'd do it again."
"If he had to," Davy clarified. "Doesn't mean he doesn't feel bad. Doesn't mean he did anything wrong. He didn't. Leave him alone."
"You have some really good friends, Micky," Claire said heating up the coil again. Mike looked at Micky and saw several long cuts on his chest and a still smoking burn. Micky's chest was rising and falling very quickly. He was in a lot of pain and trying hard to mask it; something Mike didn't really understand.
"Let them go, Mom," Micky said softly. "Please. I'm begging you. I don't care what you do to me; I'll never tell you where my daughter is, but that doesn't mean you can't keep me here and let them go. I won't fight you. I swear."
"Oh, Micky," Heather giggled walking over to him. "Don't you get it? This is part of your hell. Knowing your friends are watching you writhe and scream in pain is part of your torture. We aren't going to just let them go."
"Please," Micky begged. It was useless, and Mike knew it. There was no way Claire or Heather would let any of them go; it didn't matter if they thought any of them could convince a cop or not. They were there as an audience. They cared about Micky and their pain of seeing Micky in that state was his pain. Claire only smiled at him and brought the metal wire back down on his chest. Micky hissed in pain again and his whole body tensed, but he still didn't scream or cry out.
"Is that all?" Claire asked looking slightly annoyed. "You're just gonna keep hiding it aren't you? Come on, Micky, one little scream…"
"Fuck you," Micky said through gritted teeth as Claire let go to reheat the metal again. Mike understood now; Micky was trying so hard not to cry out or scream because he didn't want to give Claire the satisfaction of knowing how much she was hurting him. Mike heard Peter and Davy whimper a little, desperate to help Micky but still unable.
"Is that any way to talk to your mother?" Heather asked grabbing a chunk of Micky's hair and pulling his head back toward her.
"Just one little scream for me, Micky?" Claire said. "Be a good little boy." Mike turned away again as she brought the wire back down to him. This time, Micky barely made a sound, but Mike knew that Micky must be in horrible amounts of pain.
"Micky," Heather cooed a little. "Come on. I know it hurts. Just let it go." Mike still had his head turned, but he heard a very distinctive sound and knew Micky had just done a very, very bad thing. Micky had spit on either his mother or Heather. Mike turned just in time to see Claire wipe her face a little. Like when Davy had thrown up all over her, her face contorted in rage. She pulled Micky's pants down just a little and pressed the wire down into his pelvis. This time, Micky couldn't hold it in any longer; he let out an ear splitting scream that nearly broke Mike's heart right there. Peter and Davy broke down and started sobbing, Cole had let go of Sarah allowing her to crumple into a heap on the floor, and Rose sobbed into Mike's shoulder. Claire and Heather smiled sadistically.
"Good boy," Claire whispered as she stood up finally leaving Micky alone. Sarah took the opportunity to rush over to Micky's side and cradle him in her arms. Claire smiled as she gathered up the knife and other "tools" she'd used against Micky. "I think that's enough for today. We'll try again later."
"You'll never, ever touch my daughter," Micky said raggedly. "Even if you spend the next year torturing me, you'll never touch her."
"We'll see about that, Micky," Heather smiled. "Everyone has their breaking point."
"Fuck you," Micky growled as the five tormentors started walking out the door.
"Remember, Micky," Heather said turning back to stare Mike down before they all left, "you're not the only one here we can touch."