“You are sick in the head!” I spat at him, ignoring the terror that I could feel churning in the bottom of my stomach.
“Oh, but you remember me…don’t you, Selene?” he whispered, honey-sweet, and I knew then that this was him. I was looking at Player in the flesh.
“No…don’t touch her…” Neil’s voice echoed off the walls of the place, sending a jolt of warmth straight to my heart. Player and I both turned to look at him.
Neil was trying to get up using just his legs, despite his injuries.
He was panting for breath, and after several tries, he managed to get shakily to his feet. His cold gaze was unyielding.
He was prepared to fight anyone who tried to lay a hand on me.
“People, what the fuck are you doing? Bring him to his knees,” Player ordered. One of the masked men punched him in the stomach, and Neildoubled over. Then his knees hit the concrete, just like that bastard wanted.
“No! Leave him alone!” I screamed again, swamped by terror. I tried to wriggle and flail, but the stranger behind me was strong enough to hold me still.
“Do you think you scare me? You’re a bunch of assholes in masks! Why don’t you grow a pair and show your real faces?” Neil exploded, tightening his abdomen against another stab of pain.
He raised his face to look directly at Player, who began to laugh robustly in response.
“I know that I’m the one you want,” Neil went on. “So take me and leave her,” he added through his gritted teeth. Player jerked his chin at one of the men, and my heart began to pound, my knees getting even weaker.
“No! Please! Don’t hurt him!”
No one paid me any mind. One of the men grabbed Neil’s arm and dragged him to his feet. The man held him from behind, pushing Neil forward like a human sacrifice for the other man who let out an evil laugh.
I screamed and struggled even harder. My throat burned, my lungs ached, and my heart cracked open in my chest.
“No! Don’t hurt him! Please!” I insisted in a rush of desperate tears.
“Please!” I sobbed again. The man behind gave me a sharp shake and swore at me, telling me to shut up.
“You don’t scare me, you sons of bitches,” Neil hissed between his teeth with terrifying determination. It was a determination that would cost him dearly because he had no way of defending himself with his hands tied behind his back. And, sure enough, the guy in front of him buried his fist in Neil’s abdomen again.
I felt a stab of pain in my own stomach, like I’d been punched along with him.
Tears blurred my already hazy vision, but I could still see, I could still hear… It was all too clear what was happening.
More blows followed, one after another.
Neil didn’t scream; he didn’t make a sound. He just absorbed the hits, squeezing his eyes shut with each swing, gritting his teeth at each burst of pain, and tightening his abdominal muscles to mitigate some of theoutrageous violence.
I shut my eyes because I wasn’t strong enough to keep watching. I wasn’t brave enough.
Each strike seemed to hit me as well.
I could feel them against my flesh. I could feel the pain.
It was like a hammer swinging forward unstoppably to shatter his bones, and it was breaking me too.
I wanted to cover my ears so I wouldn’t hear the wrathful grunts of the bastard who was beating the hell out of Neil, but my own wrists were still pinned behind my back by the asshole holding me.
“Stop it! Please, just stop it!” I pleaded under Player’s icy gaze. He was watching the scene unfold before him without a hint of pity or even basic human compassion. His arms were loose at his sides, his face turned toward Neil, and his posture stiff and confident.
“That’s enough for now,” he said finally. The man immediately stopped hitting Neil and took a step back.
I tracked Neil’s body with my eyes as the second guy dropped him. My chest grew unbearably tight when I watched him hit the ground, covered in sweat, weak, and suffering. His lower lip was split, and blood was streaming from deep wounds on his face. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his eyes were closed, but he was still there. I could hear him panting, trying to stay in the world.
“Neil!” I called out desperately, and surprisingly, the asshole behind me actually let me go. I pulled myself across the floor until I could kneel beside him. I could smell the metallic odor of blood in the air. Neil had curled into the fetal position, trying to protect his wounded torso. He coughed wetly. “Hey…” I said in the gentlest whisper, rubbing my nose along his sweat-slick cheek. I stroked his hair, all covered in dirt and dust and forgot about everything else.
