I was lying on the ground, my cheek pressed to the cold ground, the taste of blood heavy on my tongue.
How had I gotten out of the car?
More importantly—where was I?
I flexed the fingers of one hand to make sure I was really still alive, but they immediately fell limp, too weak to do anything.
Warily, I moved my head slightly to try to figure out what was happening around me.
I was in a building of some sort. Old with bare concrete walls, it was dirty and poorly maintained. There were dust and pieces of rubble everywhere.
It seemed like a warehouse or something like that.
And then I spotted the three figures standing nearby.
They all were dressed in black, their faces covered with colorful masks.Two of them were dragging Neil’s body, holding him by the ankles like he was some animal carcass. Neil was so still that I immediately knew he was unconscious at the very least, and it felt like my heart was being squeezed in a vise.
“Tie the asshole up before he comes to. We’re fucked if he does,” one of them ordered. It was a menacing, decidedly male voice. I tried again to move, but my muscles wouldn’t obey me. I fought, focusing on them, but the pain was too intense.
I could feel my heart beating slowly in my chest, my breath scraping at my lungs, leaking out in small, pained gasps.
“Neil…” I mumbled.
“Is she alive?” another one of them asked.
“Yeah.”
I didn’t recognize the voices; it was hard to distinguish one from another.
I couldn’t feel my body; my brain was sending out signals that my muscles simply weren’t receiving.
“Deal with her, Gregory,” the first man who had spoken ordered. Slowly, I shifted my eyes to him. His mask was white, and it covered his face completely with just two small slits for his eyes, allowing their cruelty to show.
Was this Player?
I couldn’t be sure, but the mask reminded me a lot of the one I’d seen the person in the Jeep wearing just before my taxi crashed.
“The rest of you, over here,” he continued impatiently.
I fought my body’s weakness as even my eyes struggled to remain open, but I needed to see who these bastards were. Suddenly, hands wrapped around my wrists and pulled me up. I screamed with every breath of air I had left in my lungs until I found myself upright with an unfamiliar torso at my back. My legs weren’t strong enough to support me, so the man behind me put an arm around me to keep me from crumpling back down to the ground.
“Up and at ’em, girly. We want you to watch,” he whispered into my ear. I could feel his slimy breath on my skin, and vomit rose up in the back of my throat. He used one hand to grab my jaw and force me to look at the group of masked men who had surrounded Neil. They’d tied his hands with ropes to keep him from moving, even while semiconscious.
A rivulet of blood leaked from one corner of his mouth and another from a wound on his temple.
“Neil!” I screamed, but the man behind me pulled me tight against himself to silence me.
“Don’t bother yelling, you little slut,” he threatened. “No one’s around to hear you anyway. Be patient—we’ll have our fun with you later. Right now, it’s his turn.” He ground himself against my ass, and I tried in vain to wriggle away from his body touching mine.
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“Boss, kitten here wants to know who we are,” the guy behind me said, loud and mocking, and the one in the white mask who appeared to be giving orders turned to look at us. I shivered. He stood up straight and walked toward me; I felt like I was crumpling into myself with every step he took, like a discarded piece of paper in his fist. He stopped right in front of me and cocked his head to one side.
I thought I could make out a pair of light-colored eyes, but I wasn’t sure.
His collar-length blond hair, however, was visible. He raised his hand, and I cringed, turning my face away to try to avoid his touch. His whole torso vibrated with a guttural laugh.
This was fun for him. All just a game.
