"She"s not going anywhere unless it"s in a body bag. But don"t worry, we won"t kill her. I can"t promise that you won"t though."
Alexander turned and walked straight to me. He took hold of the chains above my head and dragged them along what seemed to be some sort of rail which allowed the chains to be relocated around the room. He brought me close enough to Tobias that I could reach out and touch him if my arms were free.
"Calliope says if you want to go free, you have to kill her first, and then you can leave."
I could see the fury blazing in Tobias"s eyes. I"ve seen him on the brink of losing himself to the hunger before, but it had never been this bad.
"You will have to kill me first!" Tobias sneered.
"Well, I can"t do that. We both know that"s impossible after all. But we can use torture to get what we want."
"Torture me all you want; I"ll never hurt her."
If I didn"t know any better, I"d say Tobias had complete control over his hunger. Even though it was clearly showing with his red eyes and bared fangs, he was still in control of his mind and could make conscious decisions.
"Oh, did you think we meant you? We were talking about her." Alexander said then dumped the second bucket of ice water he had over my head.
My body seized up and felt like it had gone into shock. The water was so cold it hurt and I instantly began to shiver. Tobias pulled on his restraints, trying to get free, but it was no use.
"We will torture her to the point where you will beg us to let you kill her just to make the pain stop."
Alexander was enjoying this incredibly too much. His eyes were lit up like a child"s on Christmas morning.
"Tell me, Tobias. How many volts of electricity do you think a human can take while they are soaking wet before its fatal?"
Panic rose inside of me. I didn"t want to be electrocuted; I didn"t want to be here at all for that matter. My eyes were wide with fear as I looked at Tobias. Maybe death would be better.
As much as death would suck, I"d rather die in the arms of Tobias than at the cruel hands of Alexander. I watched as conflicting emotions flashed across Tobias"s face. I wish I could read his mind to know what he was thinking.
"No. I can"t do it. I will not kill her."
Tears p.r.i.c.ked my eyes threatening to fall. This was one of the few times I wished Tobias"s weird brain voodoo c.r.a.p allowed him to read minds.
"Well, I guess you might need a little incentive then."
Alexander pulled out a digital Taser and began playing with the b.u.t.tons. I watched in horror as he adjusted the voltage and it happened so fast I didn"t even see it coming. My body instantly tensed up like a giant cramp. Pain shot through me as it felt like someone had taken a bat and began beating me with it. I had lost complete control of my body as it jerked from the electricity coursing through it.
When he stopped my body went limp. I had no strength or energy to pull myself back up to my feet. I had a hard time catching my breath and my body still felt like it was twitching.
"I"ll f.u.c.king kill you!" Tobias screamed and lunged at Alexander again. I couldn"t see him but from the sound of it, I"d say he was breaking bones with his attempt.
I tried to call out for him to stop, but it seemed like my mouth had forgotten how to talk. Alexander just stood there laughing at Tobias"s attempts and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Tears fell silently down my cheeks as I tried to shut it all out. I wanted to pretend I was anywhere but here.
"Take her back to her cell!"
A female"s voice sounded like it was coming through some kind of a speaker; I didn"t have the strength to look up to find the source though.
"You heard her." Alexander said to the guy who had brought in the two buckets of ice water earlier.
The man crossed the room and undid the cuffs. Once my wrists were free my whole body collapsed to the ground. Alexander had turned my body over with his foot so I was lying flat on my back. There wasn"t even a hint of regret in his eyes for what he had just done. This man wasn"t cold hearted; that would require him to actually have a heart. Alexander was a monster.
I barely caught a glimpse of Tobias as someone took hold of my ankle and began dragging me out of the room. I didn"t have the vigor to fight him off, and even if I had managed to get free I wouldn"t know where to go.
By time we reached the room from earlier I was relieved. I wasn"t too keen on being locked up, but I much preferred being in here than out there being tortured. Amelia was pacing back and forth in her cell like a caged animal until she caught sight of me.
Feeling was beginning to return as he dropped me in my cell and locked the steel bars behind him as he left. He didn"t bother turning off the lights when he left either, which was fine by me. I didn"t really care much one way or the other.
I struggled to pull myself up to a sitting position against the brick wall. Amelia stood crouched at the bars across from me taking in my appearance. I was covered in blood and I was willing to bet good money that I looked like s.h.i.t.
"What happened?" she asked sounding horrified which only confirmed my suspicion.
"They have Tobias."
"You saw him?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"What do you mean something like that?"
I looked at her trying to decide if I should tell her the whole story about what happened. Saying it out loud meant I would have to accept it as reality and I still just wanted it to be a nightmare I might wake from.
"Willow. What happened?" She asked again.
I sighed and hugged my knees to my chest. My whole body hurt, it felt like I had been bruised all over from head to toe.
"Willow!" She demanded.
"They have him chained up. They said if he wants his freedom, than he is going to have to kill me."
Silence. Amelia didn"t have a response to what I had said, not that I could blame her. Her ex-husband was being held captive and the only way he would be free was if he killed her best friend. That"s a lot to wrap your head around. Amelia took a seat against the wall, but stayed close to the bars.
"He won"t do it. There is no way in h.e.l.l he would ever kill you." She finally said.
"I know. That"s why they electrocuted me."
"They what!"
"They dumped ice water on me, and then used a Taser to electrocute me."
"That son of a b.i.t.c.h! I"m going to kill Alexander if I ever get out of here."
At least I wasn"t the only one who wanted him dead. I closed my eyes and rubbed my hands up and down my arms. I was still freezing and I was beginning to shiver.
"You"re lips are turning blue, and you"re covered in blood."
"It"s not my blood. At least not all of it."
"How badly did they cut him up?"
"It"s not Tobias"s either."
I could feel Amelia looking at me expecting an answer. Before she could even ask I gave it to her.
"It"s Alexander"s."
"I"ll bet Tobias gave him a good a.s.s whooping before they pinned him down again."
"Actually, I did it. Before we even made it to Tobias I kind of sort of bit him."
"You bit him?"
"Well, sort of. I guess "I tore a chunk of flesh off of his arm with my teeth" is a little more accurate."
Amelia howled with laughter which actually made me smile a little even though it hurt. Even now I couldn"t believe that I had actually bit him. It was a very stupid move on my part, but I couldn"t help rewarding myself with an internal fist pump.
We went on to talk about everything that had happened. She insisted on every little detail even though I didn"t want to relive it all in my mind, but Amelia could be very persistent when she wanted.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
TOBIAS.
I coughed and gasped for air between jugs of water. My heart was racing as I fought against the chains. I have been strapped to the floor for days and every time my body starts to sleep they try to drown me. It started with one jug, but each time they seem to add on another as if it"s going to make me any less tired.
They haven"t let me sleep since they had dragged Willow into the room and tortured her in front of me, and I"m pretty sure that was about five days ago. I will kill Alexander for what he did to her, and I"ll kill Calliope for being behind it all.
The hunger inside of me has pretty much taken over. They refuse to feed me but they leave buckets of blood around the room to draw out the pain of starvation. Alexander said the only way out of here was to kill Willow and there is no doubt in my mind that he"s doing everything in his power to make it impossible for me to say no. Even now the thought of sinking my teeth into any part of her body made me salivate.
I can feel my body growing weaker with each pa.s.sing day as the possibility of escape becomes increasingly impossible and the hunger continues to chip away at my humanity.
My eyes are killing me. Alexander has kept the lights directly on me since he dragged Willow out of the room and all I want to do is feed on someone and sleep for a week. I felt the consciousness slipping away from me as my eyes begin to close. I could hear the minions talking and barking orders to get more jugs ready.
I growled and began thrashing around on the ground. I was fed up with this s.h.i.t, so help me G.o.d; if I got free I would turn this room into a blood bath and bask in all my glory.
"Give it up Tobias. You won"t be getting out of here and you are going to need the little strength you have left to kill that little blue haired wh.o.r.e."
I"d love nothing more than to rip Alexander"s head from his shoulders. If given the chance I"d chain him down and repay him for everything that has been done to me, Amelia, and most of all Willow. I hated him for making me want to feed on her.
Alexander waved a minion over who brought him a small tray. On the tray were about five different needles; each of them were a different color and none of them were labeled.
"What the h.e.l.l is that?" I asked.
My voice was raspy and sounded completely foreign to me. I wasn"t sure if it was an effect of being tortured, or if it was simply because I had barely spoken a word since Alexander electrocuted Willow.
"This is a little something some friends of mine cooked up and I"ve been dying to test it on a guinea pig."
Alexander sounded way too happy about it. I watched him pick up the first needle which held a clear liquid. I fought against the restraints again as he jabbed the needle into my arm. Being stabbed with a needle didn"t really bother me, but the liquid felt like fire in my veins. It burned as it spread through my body.
I couldn"t see anything but red. I wanted to kill every person in the room. It felt like forever but eventually the burning sensation began to fade, or it became more bearable; I"m not quite sure which.
It wasn"t long after the pain subsided when Alexander stabbed another needle into my arm. This one hurt even more than the last, if that was even possible. I wanted to rip my own veins out to make it stop. My heart was racing and I could barely catch my breath.
"I wonder how Willow would react to some of these shots." Alexander smirked while examining the third syringe that held a clear blue liquid inside.
"Don"t f.u.c.king touch her!" I grunted through clenched teeth.
I could feel my body over heating as my fury grew. I was covered in sweat and it hurt to breath. I felt my chest rise and fall against the chains that held me down with each breath that I took. I would give anything to be able to break free right now.
"Well, it"s a little late for that. You see; while you"re here refusing to kill her for your own freedom, she"s been all too happily negotiating her own release, using everything at her disposal, including that exquisite body of hers."
I wanted to tell him to f.u.c.k off but the only thing that came out was an animalistic growl.
"Don"t believe me I"m guessing? That"s quite alright. But that tattoo on her shoulder looks great while taking her from behind"
I struggled against my restraints again. If he didn"t shut his mouth soon I was going to shut it for him.
"And that adorable little freckle by her belly b.u.t.ton? The way she moans and arches her body when you kiss it. Mmm, quite the memory."
I bellowed in rage as I pulled as hard as I could. I could feel the restraints cutting into my body but I didn"t care.
"You"re f.u.c.king dead!" I screamed and One by one I heard the restraints start to snap. I was going to kill him for touching my Willow.
Three minions rushed forward and tried to keep me pinned to the ground. One got close enough for me to sink my teeth into his neck and rip open his carotid artery. Blood flooded into my mouth and the metallic taste washed over me. It felt like heaven but I wasn"t able to feed on him.
I felt the sting of another needle being jabbed into me and it made me feel like I was being paralyzed. It wasn"t a full sedative but it was enough to make me weak. I growled in frustration as my limbs went limp against the floor and new restraints were put in place.
At least the starvation was gone; the hunger was far from sated, but it would have to do for now because G.o.d knows they definitely aren"t going to be feeding me any time soon.
"Well that was a very stupid thing to do; he was one of my favorites. Now I"m going to have to take out some of my frustration on someone. Should it be you, or your precious Willow?" Alexander"s eyes glowed with vengeance as he pressed his boot against my throat.
"Me." My voice came out as barely a whisper.
"I"m sorry what was that? I couldn"t quite hear you."
I choked against his foot as he applied more pressure.
"I said me! Take it out on me!"
My throat burned as I tried to scream out my words for him to hear me. I could barely breathe and I could feel my trachea being crushed. He finally pulled his foot away and walked away from me. I coughed and wheezed while trying to fill my lungs with air.
I heard someone banging on the door to be let in. I"d been getting used to that sound with the amount of people coming and going. I wasn"t sure where Calliope had found all these volunteers who enjoy watching people being tortured, but I had developed the habit of referring to them as minions. As soon as I was free I was going to feed on every single one of them.
Alexander opened the door and one of his minions dragged in a feisty Willow. She was covered in blood; some of it was dried and old, but some was fresh and glistening under the lights above. If it weren"t for her matted blue hair it might have taken a while to recognize her.