Page 14 of Sadistic Retribution

“No, please... no more,” I feebly plead, but they just laugh at me.

I'm dragged into another room, this one with a long, padded chair and headrest. It looks like what I envision a dentist’s chair to look like.

I'm shoved in and strapped down, arms and legs. Demon walks behind me, and I feel the headrest lower all the way until I’m fully reclined, lying flat.

Skull carries over a large rag and a bucket. “What the fuck?” I say in outrage. My whole life, when things got dire, I would be quick to anger, and even express aggression. It's a kneejerkreaction. I revert to anger because it’s so much easier to deal with than fear.

In the blink of an eye, the rag is placed over my face and pulled tight. I can barely breathe!

To my utter horror, ice-cold water is poured directly onto my face over the rag. It hits my face—eyes, nose, mouth. I can’t move or close my mouth. The water trickles into my mouth and down my throat, and I start coughing.

I hear them laugh, and more water is poured on. This time, I feel the wet rag stick to my nose and mouth, and I can’t fucking breathe. I try to inhale, but just feel the rag stick further to my mouth. They're trying to drown me!

I struggle, trying my hardest to fight them off.

“Enough!” Demon calls out, and the water stops. The headrest is raised back up, and the rag removed from my face.

I try to inhale again, and choke and wheeze. Horns comes over and thumps me hard in the chest—once, twice. On the third time, I cough up the water.

I shakily inhale and exhale, glaring at them all. “Fuck. You!” I wheeze out, killing all four of them with my eyes.

Shaking his head, Demon picks me up, slinging me over his shoulder. He carries me back to the cell, dumping me inside.

I take a moment to get my bearings.

“Bryan? You alive over there?” I ask with concern.

“Yeah, I’m here. Are you alright? Your voice sounds off.”

“I’m okay.”

I manage to turn my head, seeing him slumped over in the corner. I open my mouth to say something else when I hear voices. I widen my eyes, mouthing “shush” to Bryan.

“The girl won’t break. I've never seen anything like it,” a male voice says.

“She is a tough bitch, for sure. She may be a good candidate.” A second voice.

“The boy, on the other hand, may be a lost cause.” Voice one.

“Don’t count him out yet. I've seen worse cases come through.” Voice two.

I hear their footsteps approaching. I look frantically at Bryan, then slam my eyes closed, hoping he follows suit. I don’t want them to know we were listening.

I hear a grunt, followed by the sensation of being lifted to my feet. I pretend to rouse. “What? What now? Food and water... please?” I beg Horns, who’s with Skull.

Skull reaches into his pocket, pulling out two bottles of water. He hands me one and tosses one to Bryan. “Think of this as a reward, Patient 11.”

I flip them both off, cracking the lid and taking a couple of tiny sips. It's like ambrosia right now.

Horns grabs my elbow, steering me away. “Say bye to Loverboy—you won’t see each other again.”

“What? Bryan! No!” I scream frantically. “Fight Bryan, okay? Please just fight! You have a family, a reason. You hear me?”

His eyes well up with tears, looking away from me. I’m shit-scared but keep it off my face.

I'm dragged to an elevator and shoved inside. It goes up one floor, then the door opens. Another hallway, with bigger cells. I'm pushed inside of one. It has an actual bed in the middle, with a pillow and thin blanket. There's also a toilet, and a sink with a dirty bar of soap next to it. I could cry at the sight of these tiny luxuries.

“This is a reward, understand?” Horns announces. “Tell me your name.”