I shook my head at him.
“She was my friend!”
“No, she wasn’t, Brandon.”
“Yes, she was! She was nice to me! She took care of me after you fucking hurt me the first time!”
“Let me explain something to you, you little shit.” Sebastian crouched in front of my cage, just beyond my reach. “You don’t have friends. No one is your fucking friend. Even your so-called friends abandoned you. Remember Dr. E?”
Eli.
“What did he do?” Sebastian paused and made a face as though he was pondering something. “Oh, that’s right, he became such a good friend of yours, didn’t he? Everything has a price tag, including friendships and people. You clearly weren’t worth the shit out of his ass to him. And frankly, I’ve grown tired of hearing the shit that comes out of your mouth,” he seethed as he stood and turned to leave.
“Too bad,” I murmured.
“We’ll see. I wish you would learn not to fuck with me,” Sebastian sneered. “Put him on the board, then come get me after he’s passed out,” he instructed his men.
Fuck!
* * *
I wokeup in my cage with a pounding headache and tons of pressure in my jaw. A dim light was on and cast just enough light so that I could see about a foot around the cage. Sitting just outside the cage was a sandwich and apple slices on a plate. Eagerly, I reached through the bar and grabbed an apple slice. As I began to part my dry, chapped lips, I met resistance. I couldn’t open my mouth much and was only able to squeeze the tip of my tongue between the center of my lips just a bit. My tongue touched something metal on the left and then right side of my mouth.
What the fuck?
In panic, I dropped the apple slice and quickly sat up as best as I could. With shaky hands, I reached up and touched my mouth. There was a small metal ball on the left and right area of my top and bottom lip. The top left ball and the bottom left ball were attached by a thin chain and the smallest padlocks I’d ever known to exist. The right side was the same. I ran my tongue along the inside of my mouth and felt arced metal bars attaching the inside of my upper and lower lip. As I rubbed my fingertips carefully along the outside of my mouth again, I realized that they had pierced my mouth almost shut.
I forced myself to stop crying because I was afraid that I would get congested, and I wouldn’t be able to get much air through my nose. As my energy depleted from the panic and stress, I laid down in the cage and held a warm apple slice against my lips. I was able to suck the juice from the slice a bit, and I was even able to break off tiny pieces with my fingers and carefully push it inside my mouth.
* * *
I summoned barelyenough energy to open my eyes when I heard the heavy metal door open. When I tried to move, I was reminded that though there was some slack, my wrists were cuffed to the bars. I was lying on my side and pulled my legs up closer to my chest.
Please, no more water.
“No more water,” I mumbled wearily.
“Hello? Is anyone in here?” a man’s voice called out, and then mumbled something I couldn’t make out.
I hadn’t recognized the voice, and my heart started to pound harder.
“Let’s find the light,” the man said.
A small light came to life and began moving around the room. As the light from what I guessed was a flashlight moved closer, I stayed still and listened carefully.
“Found it!” a woman said just as the harsh overhead lights flicked on.
My eyes were forced closed when the blinding overhead light turned on. I tried to keep them open as I heard people coming toward me. Luckily, I was able to open my eyes in short bursts to see that these people were in uniforms.
Police?
“Oh my god,” a man said as four people rushed toward me.
“I’ll grab some pictures for the investigation,” one man mumbled and pulled out a cell phone.
“Garrett, I’ll go get some bolt cutters,” one of the guys said and left.
“Hey, buddy,” the one they called Garrett held his badge up. “I’m Special Agent Garrett Losche. Hang tight, and we’ll get you out of here. Okay?”
