“You okay?” Seth said quietly so only he could hear.
Kaydon nodded.
Bryson sipped his water.
The car slowed, the click of the turn signal, and then the car turned.
Another soft click, and they turned again.
Kaydon looked around.
Where were they?
The heat was killing him. Taking his seatbelt off, he reached into the middle console, grabbing two more bottles of water. The cap turned easily, and he took a long sip and stopped.
Something wasn’t right.
He looked at Seth, who was sagging into his seat. Eyes half closed. His empty water bottle hanging loosely in his grip. Kaydon moved his hand, stopping Bryson from taking another sip.
Eyeing the contents, Kaydon saw Bryson had already drunk about half.
The car turned again and then slowed to a stop.
Kaydon glanced at the rearview mirror, looking into that pair of eyes again.
“We are going to have trouble from you, big boy, aren’t we?” the driver said just before the doors to the back seat were opened.
Kaydon woke up covered in sweat. The cold cement did little for the furnace that radiated from his core.
He had failed.
Again.
“K?” Seth’s voice broke through his fog.
Kaydon cleared his throat.
“Hey, Killer.”
He tried to erase the pain from his voice. Seth didn’t need to worry about him. It was Kaydon’s job to worry.
“You were having a nightmare,” Seth said.
Kaydon tried to sit up without wincing. The cells were small: about four feet by four feet. Far too cramped for him to comfortably lay down.
“Was I?” Kaydon said. “I don’t remember it,” he lied.
Kaydon glanced around the room, clocking the empty cell. His stomach churned.
“They came and got him about a few hours ago,” Seth said, seeing his eye line.
The cell bars pressed against the back of Kaydon’s head. As far as he could tell, the room they were kept in was in a basement. Four cells with unfinished walls, a light hung in the center of the room. That and a small drain on the cement floor were the room’s only decorations.
There was no sunlight, but Kaydon estimated they had been here for about a month. Maybe more. It was hard to keep track.
Regan had made his presence known early on. Of all the people to kidnap them, Kaydon had to admit Regan wasn’t evena thought. But in the end, what did it matter who it was? Torture was torture.
The why was a question for once they got out of here. For now, Kaydon had his hands full with getting through each day.
