Page 34 of When Sinners Fear
“You need some, Knox.” I grit my teeth and fight against the urge to see if I can get my lips to the edge and tip it up to swallow as much as I can. The thirst in my throat burns as if the water set it ablaze, but I know I have to pace myself. And I know that Knox’s injuries are far worse than mine. “Knox?” I slide the tin towards him before I’ve even dulled my thirst, moving my hands between the bars to inch it over. “Drink.”
He doesn’t move from his slumped spot. The rise of his chest is shallow and fast, and even in this light, I can see a sheen on his skin.
Reed and his men won’t need to kill him soon, as the infection that’s sure to be ravaging his body is taking hold. Hydration might help quell his thirst, but with the initial damage caused, the odds of him developing sepsis are high. Water can’t fight that, but it might help him feel better.
I place my fingers to my lips and suck the last of the water from them and look over at him again. “Knox!”
“What?”
“Drink. It might help.” He opens his eyes, and I see the pain behind them. He knows. “Go on. Please,” I encourage.
He sucks in a deep breath and pulls himself across to me, taking the edge of the tin to lift it against the bars. It tilts, and he gulps down a mouthful or two. There’s barely anything, though, and the slurps as he licks and sucks for the remaining moisture sound ugly and desperate – the reality we’re in.
Sinking down, he rests his back against the cage, and I follow so we’re back to back. Our skin touches in a few places, and as I close my eyes, I picture resting my head on his shoulder. Only, we’re not in a cage, we’re on a beach, and the sound of waves rippling against the sand lulls me to sleep.
~
“Get the hell up!”
“Time to play!” Their screaming voices startle us both, and the feeling of dread sinks in my stomach. I sit up from the position I’ve found myself in on the hard, cold ground as one of the men runs the bloodied lead pipe they used to beat us against Knox’s cage. The pipe hurt more than Knox’s fists. He pulled back on his hits, I could tell, but it didn’t lessen the pain I experienced. It was still more than I thought my body could handle.
“How’s that soda looking, Knox?” Reed’s cruel voice taunts.
He doesn’t respond. What’s the point? It won’t change what he wants to see – more punishment or breaking Knox to the point that he takes the poison, or I take it. Do I want that? Do I want things to just end?
The thought brings an image of my parents to mind, and it makes me want to burst into tears. The thought of seeing them again twists in my gut because how would they ever be able to look at me after everything that’s happened to me in here?
A deep wave of shame and humiliation at the thought of telling my father what they made Knox do to me hits just as hard as any of the punches or knocks from Knox. Raped and punished in front of a room of men for pleasure? I choke on a sob but try to stifle it behind my hand. Knox looks over to me as if questioning what I’m doing. I can hear him in my head, telling me not to give them any satisfaction, not to show them weakness, but it’s so hard.
“Oh, maybe Peyton’s ready for the drink? She looks like she needs it, Knox. How about you force her to drink it?”
I clutch at my knees and look at him, but he’s not moved. His eyes are open, though, and he’s staring at me. There’s a stiffness in his jaw, and I have to wonder what he’s thinking – does he want me to do it before he’s forced to?
Reed nods to one of his men who comes towards my cage, so I scuttle back into the far side, away from the door. He opens it but doesn’t come inside, leaving it open.
He nods to the other man, who does the same to Knox’s cage. Knox would have fought his way out against them if that had been done when we first arrived. He barely moves now.
I tap my thumb against my finger, unsure if I’m spelling out anything coherently, but it distracts me from what might happen next, what Reed will have us do next.
“I think Peyton might need some persuasion, boys. What do you say?” They both laugh and move towards Knox, surrounding him and hauling him into the room. He groans as his feet drag along the floor, and they dump him in front of my cage.
“Shall we play a game? See what Knox will do to stop that soda from being forced down her neck? Or do we see what she’s prepared to do to save herself?”
His words make me want to vomit, but that would be a waste of anything left in my stomach. So far, they’ve been satisfied with making Knox inflict his torture. The men haven’t touched me or hurt me, but it’s only a matter of time.
One of them reaches for my foot, but I kick out at him, fighting him off. It doesn’t last long as he grabs my ankle again and pulls me from the cage, scraping my already battered body over the floor. He dumps me next to Knox, and I instinctively edge toward him.
The other man is standing next to us but has a bottle of the poisoned soda in his hand.
“You know what to do. I bet you’re even getting off on all of this, Knox. Or was it one of your brothers who liked to torture women?”
“Shut up, you fuck.”
Reed pulls a gun from behind his back and gestures to the men. They swarm towards Knox, one pulling his arms wide, tilting his head back, and the other opening his mouth and shoving the drink down his throat. He starts to thrash about, keeping his mouth shut, but they squeeze the bridge of his nose.
I stand and race forward, shoving the bottle out of his hand. “No!” I scream.
The soda spills, and Knox coughs and splutters as he spits the liquid out. The guy I shoved out of the way pulls me up by the hair. The smack he delivers arrives with a blaze of pain over my cheek, but he drops me to the floor as soon as he does.