Interrogation

The room was huge, A row of cabinets lined the back wall, and I grimaced, trying not to think of how many torture devices could be in them. Axl unlocked my hands, grabbing my wrists. I pushed against him, causing him to curse. I stomped on his foot as he yelled for two guards to come and hold me. They came running, each grabbing one of my arms. I struggled between them so violently that they pushed me onto my knees, holding my arms behind my back and pushing my shoulders down so I couldn’t rise. Axl reached above his head, grabbing a pair of shackles attached to a chain that dangled from the ceiling. He motioned for the two who held me to put my arms in front of me. Clamping each shackle onto my wrists, they stepped back as he pulled on the chain, hauling me off my knees almost to the balls of my feet.

He untied the gag. I wiggled my arms, causing the chain to clink. Looking up at the ceiling, I could see the chain was hooked onto a pully system, and I scowled slightly. This would make things difficult. Axl regarded me for a second before grabbing my chin, forcing me to look at him,

“We’ll start questioning in a few hours, I’ve got a lot of things I need answered.” He said, catching my eyes.

“You won’t get anything from me, might as well just save yourself the trouble.” I growled. He smiled faintly,

“Oh, it won’t be any trouble, I’m kind of looking forward to it, actually.” He said, looking me over again. I jerked my chin out of his grasp, waiting a moment before spitting in his face. His eyes grew hard as he wiped saliva off his lips distastefully. He drew his hand back to slap me across the face. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact.

“Axl, you’re wanted in the council room.” I opened my eyes as Axl turned to look at the speaker,

“I’m busy” He said, half turning back to me,

“Dante said now.” Axl turned with a growl of rage,

“Your luck will eventually run out” He spat at me venomously. He brushed by his summoner as he stalked through the doorway. Once Axl was gone, I got a better look at my accidental rescuer. He was tall, almost as tall as Axl. He had the same face structure, but his face wasn’t as hard. I knew Axl had two brothers. This must be the younger one. I thought for a second as his name came to me, Nicolaren or Nico, as he was called. He stood leaning against the door frame, regarding me for another minute, before pushing off the frame, giving me a slight nod and following his brother out of the room.

When Axl returned from his meeting, he was in an even worse mood than before, which didn’t put me off to a great start. Standing in front of me, he paced back and forth, asking me questions about Sentinel, the layout, our fighters, resources, and our jail. I met each one with silence. He stopped pacing long enough to grab a small knife from the table behind him and walk over to one of the cupboards. He rooted around in it for a second before producing a cat of nine tails. I glanced at it, suppressing a wince. There were tiny metal spikes at the end of each leather strand. That wasn’t going to be pleasant. He returned, giving the whip an experimental swing.

“Last chance before things get rough for you.” He said, leaning in.

“Jokes on you, I like it rough.” I said, smiling patronizingly at him. His smile was sardonic as he snorted quietly.

“Who are Kenna’s body guards?” He asked.

“Let me think about it a second, oh right their names are Go and Fuck Yourself.” I said pointedly. Axl grunted turning a wheel in the corner that yanked my hands upward forcing me to stand on my toes.

“I thought that might be the answer,” He said, drawing the knife across the top of my forearm. I grunted my fingers tightening into a fist,

“That all you got? Weak.” I said through gritted teeth.

He grimaced and started making little cuts down the length of my arms. Biting back a scream I felt the blood running along the length of my arms dripping down my shirt front. “I really don’t appreciate you getting blood in my hair or on my clothes, do you know how hard that is to wash out?” I managed to say almost carelessly. Axl asked me the question about Kenna again. When he was met with silence his hand descended onto my back. I grunted in pain as the metal points dug in leaving small slits down my back. “Quit ruining my clothes.” I said my voice hoarse from suppressed screams. His hand came down again and again, I forgot how long it took for him to lose his temper completely.

Maybe five minutes or ten, I wasn’t sure. All I remember is the constant sting that went from bearable to excruciating. I could no longer hold back the screams, and when I lost my voice from my throat being raw, he didn’t stop. I probably would have died if it hadn’t been for Nico. He appeared out of nowhere, grabbing his brother’s hand, keeping it from descending.

“Axl, stop. You’re killing her.” Jolted out of his blind rage, Axl tossed the whip away. He was breathing hard, sweat soaked through his shirt, turning the blood spots a murky brown. He turned and strode from the room, slamming the door. As soon as the door shut, I lost consciousness. I didn’t notice the shackles on my wrists slipping off. I sighed it was such a struggle to breathe to keep on fighting. I wanted to rest. Couldn’t I just this once let the world go? My grip slipped off of living, and I felt myself drift, knowing I would never open my eyes again. The soft blackness of death rolled over me, and suddenly, I was gasping for breath. My eyes flew open as I was jolted back.

“Come on, come on” That voice, impatient, bordering on panic. I started to cough my eyes, watering from the sudden influx of pain and light. “Oh, thank god, shh you’re all right I’ve got you.” He laid a soft hand on my back, causing me to shudder. “I know, it will all be gone soon, I promise.” He said soothingly. Coolness flowed down my back, numbing the pain, I looked over my shoulder, surprised at the sudden lack of hurt. The skin on my back was knitting itself back together as I watched. His hand glided down my back, turquoise light pooling around his fingers. I started to breathe, easier resting my head on the cold concrete floor. It was wet with something, and it took me a while to realize it was blood, my blood.