Page 82 of Shadowman

Thesecondtime I woke up, I felt like pure dogshit.

I was groggy as fuck, head too heavy to lift, and my mouth so dry, my first instinct was to panic that they’d cut out my tongue. But as awareness slowly seeped in, I realized it was there, and I was no longer gagged.

When I eventually pried my eyelids open, I saw light. Fluorescent white that blinded me. My head was no longer covered. But when I tried to rub my eyes, I found my wrists secured. And my ankles. And my neck.

Dread arose fast. I tried not to let it, because I knew it would only make things worse, but I couldn’t help it. I was strapped down, and the more I blinked the blur out of my vision, it appeared that I was in a padded cell.

The fear climbing up my throat was so thick I felt sick to my stomach… I was somewhere very bad, and getting myself out would likely be impossible.

I recall my initial fight instinct, dense and potent enough that in seconds, I was roaring and screaming and rattling whatever bizarre piece of furniture I was strapped to.

“Now, now…” A deep voice spoke from somewhere in the room. “Settle down, or you’ll hurt yourself.”

“Who… Who are you??” I croaked. “Who’s there?!”

A form appeared at my right, and I struggled to turn my head. Fortunately, he came to stand right in my line of sight, leaning in so I could make him out. He was a tall, white guy, with dark eyes and white hair, dressed in a suit. Assessing me, the way a child observes a bug in a jar.

“Who are you?” I asked again, slowly, growling on each word.

The man grinned. I was momentarily taken aback by how dazzling it was.

“My name”—he reached out to trail his fingers along my jaw. I tried to flinch away, but it was no use—“is Manuel Blanco.The Ivory. And you, dear Byron Kang, are now my property.”

I choked on more agitation and started coughing. “What the fuck…??”

The man brushed my hair back with long, slender fingers. Then he straightened, pacing around the room while he spoke. “You were rather out of it when you arrived here,so unfortunately, you didn’t get to experience the wholeproduction.” He waved his hand in the air. “But allow me to explain what you missed. Welcome to Alabaster Penitentiary, your new home for the rest of ever.Iam the Warden, andyou, along with everyone else on this island, belong to me.”

Home… Forever…

Warden… Island…

Alabaster… Penitentiary??

Understandably, I started freaking out.

“P-please… can you… t-take this off m-my… neck?” I sputtered, head spinning, vision blurring once more. “I c-can’t… breathe…”

Manuel Blanco sighed, but humored me, unbuckling the strap around my throat. Immediately, I sucked in gulps of air, calming down enough for my pulse to even out.

The Warden lifted a light eyebrow down at my face. “Byron… do you know why you’re here?”

“No,” I barked, an aggressive instinct to fight. Defend anddeny. But then I closed my eyes in defeat, because it was no use. “I mean, yea… I guess I do. But it’s not what you think! I didn’t do what Governor Russo is saying I did!”

I was pleading with this man…The Ivory. Some bizarre stranger with a creepy nickname standing before me in a padded room. Confiding in him, like he was my lawyer or some shit. The fuckingwardenof apenitentiary… As ifhe, of all people, might listen, realize this was all just a big misunderstanding and let me go.

Yea, I was pretty naïve back then.

The Warden simply smirked. “You’re our sixty-second inmate here, Byron. That means roughly sixty-one times, I’ve stood in front of some poor sack of shit and listened to them blather on about how they’reinnocentand theydon’t belong here. ‘I was duped! Framed! Made to look guilty by everyonein the world who has it out for li’l ol’me.’” His hands clasped together as he openly mocked me.

I was fucking fuming.

“Everysingleexcuse, Mr. Kang… I’ve heard them all.” He dropped his hands onto my arms where they were strapped to the chair. Hovering over me until his breath was on my lips and I was shivering with fright. “So tell me… what makesyouso different?”

I won’t lie; I was scared. But more than even that, I was exhausted, angry, and devastated… I felt like nothing mattered anymore. My life was over.

So I used every bit of force I could muster, arched up to him, and hissed, “I fell in love with the governor’s son.That’show I’m different. So if that’s a crime, then I guess… fuck it. I deserve to be here. But I wasn’t hurting Michelangelo—” I couldn’t help but choke on his name and sniffle to cover it up. The Ivory’s gaze narrowed. “We’d been hooking up in secret for weeks. His dad caught us, and I guess he thought… because it sorta looked like I was…” My voice cut out, and I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. He wasn’t listening, because he didn’twantto. He’d rather dispose of me than face the truth… His son likes to be tied up and fucked by strangers in masks pretending to assault him.”

The room was silent for a moment, nothing but my labored breathing to be heard while this odd, impeccably dressed warden assessed me carefully. I couldn’t deny how overwhelming he was to look at, with the black irises and peculiar white hair, and obviously expensive tailored clothes. His attractiveness just gave way to how dangerous it felt to be in his presence.