Page 3 of Sadistic Retribution (Rise of Phoenyxx #2)

Bryan

Guilt consumes me as I lay here on the cold, concrete floor. I can’t believe I had to have sex with Phoenyxx. Valley would be devastated... My God. My Valley. She can’t be...

“Bryan,” Phoenyxx whispers from next to me. “Please don’t feel bad. She would understand.” She chokes on tears, as distraught as I am. Valley was the only light I ever had in my life. Before her, it was nothing but loneliness, except for my teacher.

That bitch.

Bryan Age 13

She’s staring at me again. It's so weird. She's my teacher! Miss Daria is beautiful, no doubt. She has an hourglass figure—big boobs and a round ass, with long, straight blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. Not that I’ve noticed or anything.

The bell sounds to signal the end of class. I gather my things, standing up from my seat.

“Bryan?” Miss Daria asks. “Could you wait for a minute? I need to speak with you.”

Okay, that’s weird. It's the end of the day, and everyone else is leaving quickly. I get all A’s, so I know it’s not about my work.

“Sure,” I stutter out. I walk to the front, shoving my hands in my pockets to hide my nervousness.

Miss Daria motions to the space behind her, which contains a small closet. Confused, I look at her for an explanation. “Follow me.” She turns, so I follow.

She opens the closet door, rushing us both inside. It's really dark, but she doesn’t flip on a light.

“Um...” I start, only to be shushed when I feel her body pressing against mine. The feel of it heats my face on fire. Her hands come up, feeling for my face. Before I can utter a protest, her lips descend on mine.

My heart is galloping in my chest. I don’t do anything—just let her press her lips against mine.

After a moment, she pulls back and opens the door. “This stays between us, okay? It's important to keep it a secret.”

I nod, words failing me. I think I’m in shock. Why would a gorgeous, twenty-something teacher want thirteen-year-old me?

I shake my head to clear the memory. Thoughts of that treacherous woman won’t help me now. I need to be in the here and now. How do we get out of here? I assume we’re in the Morgue, but where is it? I need to figure this place out—even if it’s just to help Phoenyxx.

Phoenyxx

Phoenyxx Age 13

Why the hell is Matthew looking at me like that? It's creeping me the hell out. He's just staring, and I have no clue why.

I'm sitting on the sofa in the small living area near my room, cross-legged, with a textbook in my lap. I'm trying to read the required material for one of my homeschool classes.

It's rare anymore that I’m even allowed out of my room. Hell, most of the time, I’m stuck in the attic. The older I get, the worse my attitude towards those old pukebags get too. Betty and Matthew are disgusting people. Sick, sadistic, abusive assholes!

I feel eyes burning into me, and I look up again. “What?” I bite out, glaring at Matthew as he squirms in his seat.

He frowns, then untangles himself, marching over to me and hauling me up by my arm.

“What now?” I demand, but he just drags me into my room, shoving me onto my bed. This is new... fuck. I have a feeling this is about to get nuclear.

He stalks forward, a determined look on his face. He pushes me down, then holds my middle as he strips me.

“Oh, hell no! Betty!” I scream.

Panicking, Matthew throws his body heavily on top of mine, holding his hand over my mouth. I struggle, try to bite his hand, kick him off—nothing dislodges him.

I'm not technically a virgin anymore—that was stripped from me a long time ago. Still, I am so sick of men touching me! I wish I could do something about it!

I just death-glare at Matthew as he manages to overpower me. I refuse to look away.

Thankfully, he finishes fast. It still hurt—dry is dry.

Matthew jumps up, stumbling to his feet. His eyes widen, almost as if he didn’t know what he just did. He scurries to the door, putting an ear to it. Hearing nothing, he slips outside.

I don’t even cry. What's the point? I’m raped so often, I’d be crying endlessly if I started now.

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 turns to 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 just sit 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.

Demon grabs my arms, holding them down to my sides while Skull straps me in across the chest. They move to restrain my legs also. I can barely manage to turn my head, but I see an IV bag and an array of syringes on a metal table.

“Please don’t drug me,” I whisper. A needle is painfully jabbed into a vein in my left arm, followed by tape being slapped over it.

One of the syringes is picked up, and Demon moves to the IV bag.

I can’t see what he’s doing, but I feel the drugs sluicing through my veins.

It's achingly cold, and my body immediately reacts.