My lip trembled, and my throat suddenly had a lump in it.
“Please,Damian. Don’t hurt me again,” I whimpered. My voice was much higher than normal. I looked down at my hands and jerked in surprise when I realized how small they were.
Was this a dream? Or a memory?
“Mr. Walker, you know this type of behavior can’t go unpunished.”
“But she was innocent! She didn’t do anything. I don’t want to kill innocent people, Damian,” I protested; tears were streaming down my face now as I remembered the woman on her knees before me, begging me to spare her life while Damian watched me hold a gun to her head.
He grabbed my face so hard it hurt, and I cried out.
“That’s not for you to decide, is it, Callum?” He snarled inches from my face. I tried to curl away from him, sobbing.
He struck me across the face so hard I saw stars, which only made me cry harder.
“Big boys don’t cry! You’re a mercenary, Callum. It’s time you start acting like it.”
I heard a buzzing noise, and one of Damian’s goons came in with a long black stick that was sparking at the end. I didn’t know what it was, but I didn’t like it.
“Now, Mr. McGreggor is going to hurt you, and you’re going to take it until you learn how to control yourself. Do you understand?”
“No… please no…” I sobbed, covering my face with my tiny hands and cowering in the bottom of the tub.
My pleas did nothing to stop them. I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t see the first blow coming. When McGreggor rammed it into my side, I screamed so loud my voice broke like it was made of hard plastic.
There was the soft tink and chime of a belt being undone, though I barely heard it over my screams.
“Again,” Damiam grunted, and it sounded like he ripped open a zipper as he spoke. I curled deeper into myself, tensing in anticipation of the horrible electric shock that I knew was coming.
The second blow was even worse than the first. My voice cracked and broke until my screams were nearly silent.
All I could hear was a strange grunting sound coming from Damian as he watched his goon strike me again and again with the prodder. I didn’t know what Damian was doing, but something told me I didn’t want to see. So I kept my face hidden and pretended I couldn’t hear the fleshy sounds and the soft, ragged breaths that felt out of place in this horrible, damp, concrete room.
Was I going to die like this?I wondered as another blow connected with my ribs.
“That’s it, Mr. Walker. Take your punishment.” Damian panted. The fleshy slapping sound increased in intensity.
“Callum!”
I couldn’t die like this… not without saying goodbye to… someone.
“Cal! Angel! Wake up! You’re dreaming!”
Someone was shaking me. I groaned and pulled away.
“No, please… no more. Don’t hurt me again. I’ll be good, I’ll do better…”
“CALLUM!”
The voice roared, and suddenly, my eyes flew open. I didn’t know where the fuck I was, but my whole body was alight with pain, and I was gasping with anxiety.
There was someone shaking me. It was dark, and I was hurt.
I snarled and attacked.
I was an adult again, so it was easy to wrap my hand around the throat of the man who was threatening me. I flipped him beneath me, ignoring the screaming wave of agony that ripped through my side with the effort.
“Callum, stop, it’s just me!” The man was screaming, but I straddled his chest, crushing him down into the bed by the throat.
