Page 22 of When Sinners Fear

The tears that had started earlier now sting as they gather in the corner of my eyes and trickle down my face. I force myself to be silent, and with the fear of what will happen – if we’ll ever get out in one piece – a tiredness comes that seems impossible to argue with. It drags my eyes closed, and I welcome the darkness. My mind runs over anything and everything to keep it from drifting back to the image of the bars around me, and I feel myself slipping into some level of sleep.

~

A loud bang makes me jump, and I lift my head and look around, startled by the noise. For a few seconds, I forget where we are, but then reality rushes back in.

Pulling myself up against the bars, I stand and look over to Knox. He’s stood at the entrance to his cage, his arms crossed as if he’s been waiting for whatever this next move is.

From the gloom, shadows of men emerge. Five in all, but they don’t just circle towards Knox. Two lurk toward me, sending my heart rate sky-high.

“Knox?” I question, suddenly needing him to be on my side in this.

“They won’t hurt you. They’ve come for me.”

The men don’t answer, but Knox seems to have pulled their attention. The smaller man comes from behind the others and unlocks the cage.

It happens so fast it’s hard to keep up. Knox rushes forward, using the cage door as a shield and shoving it back in the man’s face. He stumbles back, grasping at his nose, which now has blood streaming from it.

Two other men enter the cage and set on Knox. Punches and hits land over his torso and face. He fights, full of energy and precision, but it's too much for him. Before long, they move to bind him up and hold him steady for the third man to enter and set out his punishment. It's more brutal than anything I’ve ever seen, and I shrink back – terrified.

Finally, as Knox seems to need support to stand, they drag him from the cell. It took more than I thought to subdue him, but he’s outnumbered and has nowhere to run. He doesn’t look back at me, but I keep my eyes fixed on him, pulling my knees up and making myself as small as possible inside my cage.

I’ve never believed in God or a higher being. The faith my parents hold has been a mystery for my logical mind, but seeing these men come and drag Knox away after raining down the beating makes me wish I could believe in something that would result in a miracle, or a way out or solution to the problem I can’t solve myself.

I listen, unable to block out the noises as Knox is beaten over and over. I can’t see it, which is almost worse. My mind fills in the blanks of where they hit him and how they restrain him. The thuds and groans lessen, the sound of his pain vanishing, and I know it’s not a good sign.

I turn my back to his cage and find another crack in the wall to focus my mind on and run over everything I can think of about the concept of relativity.

CHAPTER NINE

KNOX

Wheezing, I roll onto my side and ignore everything. There’s nothing but this dirty ground and the sound of silence to contend with for a while, and whilst that’s not where I want to be, I’ve got no energy left to deal with anything else. Everything hurts like fuck. Every goddamn thing. There wasn’t one part of my body they missed, and I’m pretty sure the ribs that are barely healed are broken again.

I stare at the old brick wall, trying to catch a real breath. The last time I felt this pain was from my own brother. It might have made me pissed, but there was no real fear connected to it. This time, it’s different. I might not be ready to admit that, but it’s the truth, nonetheless.

“Knox?” I close my eyes at the sound of her behind me. “Knox? Are you okay?” She shuffles, like she’s trying to get closer to me. Last thing I want is her, or anyone, near me. “Can I help?” I spit out some blood and cough, bracing for the pain that follows it. “No, I don’t suppose I can. Silly question. Your back looks like it’s going to bruise badly.” Yeah, no shit. “I don’t know why I said that.”

I wish she’d just shut the hell up. I need silence. Maybe then I can use what’s left of my head to work a way out of this. My eyes open again as quiet descends, and I shift a little so I can stare into the sinister room. I look at the length of the cage until my gaze reaches the floor, and I focus on the rusted bolts into the ground. When I’ve got some energy back, I’ll try kicking them out, or hauling at the frame some more. There’s no chance of either working, but it’s about all I’ve got other than lying here waiting for the next round of fuck knows what.

Eventually, I roll onto my back and try displacing the pain in my kidneys. It doesn’t work, which makes me consider the real possibility that one of them is screwed. I look over at Peyton and sigh. She’s curled close to the bars between us, asleep as if she needs the comfort of me near her. There’s no comfort here, and there’s no denying that she’s not getting out of this easily. I know captivity well. I provide it, and I’m damn sure she’s going to feel some of that hell I usually provide one way or another. Pretty blonde girl in a hell hole like this? She’s gonna get her insides ripped out for their amusement or my torment. And even if I wanted to, there’s nothing I can do about that. She’ll be dragged out in front of me whether I like it or not.

Time passes slowly and the need to piss finally gets me to my feet. I brush my body off a little as I stand and look at the remains of my shirt and jacket out there in the room. Pain floods me as I try to take a piss in the corner, and I can see the red tinge through the stream of it as I do. Broken ribs and screwed kidney. Great.

“What are you doing?” she murmurs.

I look over my shoulder as she pulls herself up onto her ass, turning my body enough for her to see.

Her gaze darts away, and a shyness descends on her features despite the situation. “Oh. Yes.”

“You should go while they’re not here.”

“With you here?”

I look back at the wall. “Where the fuck do you want me to go?” Silence. If this situation wasn’t as fucking catastrophic as it is, I’d be amused by her horror at the thought. I’d even make her do it for degradation’s sake if roles were reversed. But I’m not amused, I’m pissed. “Get it done now.”

I keep staring at the wall while I listen to her move, part of me feeling respectful enough to give her that privacy for as long as she can maintain it. It won’t last long. I know it even if she doesn’t yet. I can smell her from here – smell the difference in our urine. Mine’s laced with smoke and blood. Hers is cleaner than that, sweeter somehow. Never thought about the smell of piss before, and that sends my head off on a bodily function’s exploration for a while. Damn that virginal med student I played with way back when. Although, I guess self-diagnosis is easier because of her.

“Knox?”