Book 2: Living free from Jupiter's law - Rising from the ashes of Herbay

In the Onyx lair

warning: this chapter contains violence graphic descriptions

***

Cold. It was the first sensation Guy experienced: a chilling shiver that penetrated from his skin to his numb bones, paralyzing his muscles.

Pain. His limbs, organs, joints, and head... everything burned and throbbed as if his body had been soaked in a liquid and someone was wringing it out.

Darkness. He opened his eyes, but the view before him was not much different from the abyss that had enveloped them when they were closed.

Dampness. The hard surface he lay on, aside from being cold, was wet. The environment was permeated with a strong musty smell, and his skin felt as though it had accumulated a layer of water. The only sound he could clearly hear was a distant dripping with a regular rhythm, as if he were in a cave.

He was naked. At what point had he removed his clothes? Guy tried to focus and recall the unfortunate series of events that had led him to this situation.

He had parked in the basement of Jupiter Tower, walked to the elevator, and pressed the call button.

The numbers indicating the position of the cabin on the different floors quickly lit up in descending order: 67 - 66 - 65...

The last number Guy remembered seeing clearly was 14. Then, someone had grabbed him from behind and forced a cloth soaked with a pungent substance over his nose and mouth. He had tried to hold his breath, but after the first minute of suffocation, with a desperate spasm, he had to surrender and inhale the unknown gas.

There was nothing else in his memory.

He sat up, the icy ground against his buttocks sent shivers down his spine.

"Is anyone there? Who are you? What do you want from me?" he shouted. Or at least, he thought he did, because what came out of his throat was nothing more than a squeak, as his vocal cords were irritated by the cold.

He tried again. His voice returned, but he received no response. Whoever had brought him to that place was absent. There was only him in that dark lair.

He stood up and attempted to take a step, but something weighed down on his foot. The movement was accompanied by a jingling sound. With horror, he discovered that his ankle was connected to the ground by an iron chain. He traced its path with his fingers: it measured just under a meter.

He tried unsuccessfully to break it. When he tried to remove his foot from the ring, all he achieved was scratching his skin.

Guy retreated into his thoughts and sought a plausible explanation for that situation. It was obviously a kidnapping, but who could have done it?

He knew he wasn't a saint. Throughout his life, he had made many enemies: from Jupiter itself to rival gangs in Ceres. From a victim of the Dana Burn explosion to a desperate individual who, upon discovering his relationship with Raoul, hoped to extort a substantial ransom from him.

Even Raoul had many enemies. Guy had never considered that possibility before, but it made sense that anyone intending to threaten or harm a Blondie would the human he cared about: the only weak point of an immortal.

All he could do now was hope that his captor would show up and reveal his intentions. Standing upright because the mere thought of laying his bare skin on the slippery floor disgusted him, Guy waited.

***

A couple of knocks on the door woke him up. It certainly wasn't Iason; he never bothered to knock, just opened the door.