Page 7 of Sadistic Retribution

A sharp slap in the face rouses me from my trancelike state, and my memories. I glare up at the two masked men hovering above me. Skull and Demon this time. “What?” I bite out.

“Time to come with us, Patient 11. You've got a long day ahead of you,” Demon says.

“My name is Phoenyxx!” I say loudly, crossing my arms over my chest. Skull jerks me up by my arm, and Demon pulls out the taser, aiming it at me. The wire thing shoots out, hitting me squarely in the chest. My body vibrates with electricity, weakening my knees. I somehow manage to stay standing.

“What is your name?” they ask me again.

“Phoenyxx!” I scream, flipping them off. Demon shakes his head, hitting me with the taser again. This time, it brings me crashing to the floor. My body convulses uncontrollably, my teeth clacking together painfully.

Once my body stops moving, I’m hauled up once again. “Your name?”

“Phoenyxx, you fucker,” I say through gritted teeth, refusing to cave. My humanity is all I have left.

I learned a long time ago to use sarcasm and aggression as a self-defense mechanism. I didn’t know who I was, and I still don’t. I am highly emotional and empathetic, but very quick to anger. It's easier to snark back instead of cower and cry.

“Wrong answer!” Skull kicks me a few times in the stomach. I curl into a ball, protecting my head with my arms. Demon joins in, beating me until I beg for mercy.

“Fine! Patient 11! Happy now?”

“Good girl,” Skull praises, grabbing my arm again. “Now, let’s go.”

I hear Bryan start to protest, but I give him a sharp look to shut up. He stops talking, looking away.

I’m pulled down a long hallway, nothing but concrete, mold, and bitter cold around me. I’m shoved through a doorway, seeing a large, wooden chair sitting in the center of the room. It has thick arms and legs, with restraints attached to both. They shove me down, each one grabbing an arm to strap me in. My hands hang off the ends of the chair arms, palms down. They move on to strap a leg to each chair leg.

“What the fuck is this?” I snap out. I’m ignored, of course. I watch to see what they’re doing, schooling my expression, as I’ve done my whole life. Though inside, I’m horrified as to what’s about to take place. Skull pulls out two small objects, and hands one to Demon. They're lighters, fuck.

“What are those for?” I ask.

Demon laughs, standing in front of me on the left, Skull coming to my right. They each open the tops, flicking the flames to life. “Gotta love Zippos,” Skull murmurs.

I look in horror as they bring the flames towards my downturned hands. I feel heat coming closer and closer to my skin. I try to mentally escape, but it’s impossible. The heat turnsto burning. I yelp, wincing. The flames are directly under my palms now. Weirdly, it feels cold at first, then mind-numbing pain follows. I scream, contorting in the chair trying to escape. I watch in horror as my skin burns. I can smell myself burning!

Skull and Demon watch me intently. The pain becomes too much, and I pass out.

I'm woken again by slaps in the face. I'm now in a room with a giant barrel with a lid on the top, and a big hole in the middle of the lid. It looks a lot like the fucking ice bath in the gym I saw when I was in the pool area with Purge.

My palms throb, and my mind can’t comprehend what is about to happen next.

“What... What are you doing?” my shaky voice demands.

“Well... we heated you up, now it’s time to cool you down,” Demon says happily.

“Oh, hell no! Fuck you!” I scream. It was a waste of my voice, since I'm easily lifted off my feet by Demon, since I’m not restrained to the chair in here. Skull removes the lid of the barrel. My face turns white as I see the water and ice inside. I try to struggle, but I’m shoved inside anyway, feet first. Skull holds me down as the lid is put back on, my head fitting through the lid hole on top.

My body quickly goes into a state of shock; I can’t even react. I start shaking badly, teeth chattering. They watch me closely as I sit in the freezing water. After a few minutes, my body starts to go numb. I'm going to get hypothermic!

Time crawls to a standstill. It seems like I sit in there for hours. It's pure torture. My mind can’t escape, since the numbing cold is keeping me firmly in the present, so I justsit there, each second crawling by. My body and mind are so exhausted, the normal barriers I have in place have crumbled.

A buzzing sound comes from Demon, and he announces, “Okay, time’s up! Get her out.”

Skull shoves my head down to get the lid off. He lifts me out and throws me over his shoulder. Oh God, it makes me think of Razor... No, I can’t go there. Not ever the fuck again.

I’m beyond tired. We haven’t been given food or water since we’ve been here. It feels like it’s been days, though I have no idea of the actual time frame. My stomach is so empty, it doesn’t even hurt anymore.

I’m taken into yet another room and dumped onto a cold, steel table. Oh, fuck. I already know this is a surgical table. No, no...

“Oh, yes, Patient 11,” Skull cackles, responding to my unspoken thoughts.