Norton looked up upon hearing the creak of the door opening. He didn't even move when they seized him by the neck again, only staring back. He'd maintained the same, stony expression since they locked him in there. While he could constantly hear Wu'Jiu screaming, he wondered if Naib and Jack were okay. Hopefully the mercenary was safe and the Abyss weren't trying to track him.
However something about the guards today seemed different. They sounded gleeful when they spoke, and seemed to be more joyful than usual. He'd thought perhaps they were getting a pay raise, but then the Requiem twins' names being brought up didn't seem to give off that idea. He should have known when he saw Vera being dragged past his door as he was pulled to his feet. Her eyes were just as blank, and for a brief moment, their gazes locked. She rolled her eyes before disappearing again, giving Norton a little glimmer that she hasn't lost hope yet.
The two were taken to the twins' chamber and held there. He glanced over at Vera, who was clearly just as confused. The door on the other side burst open, Bi'An and Wu'Jiu being pushed out by guards. Bi'An still had that calm and collected expression on his face even as the both of them were held down.
"Alright. Now that we have our lovely audience here."
"What is all this for?"
"Well you see, your dearest colleagues refuse to tell us more, we were hoping-"
"That we would tell you anything? Fat chance."
The guard smirked.
"I knew you'd say that..."
He turned to the guards holding the twins and nodded. One of them retrieved a blunt axe over. Norton felt a shudder travel down his spine. The twins seemed to know what was going to happen too. The guard sneered as he turned the axe around in his hand, swinging it around.
"Now that you know what's about to happen..."
He pointed the axe at Bi'An.
"Since you don't wanna comply, we'll just have to do it the Abyss way. You either tell me, or you and your poor brother both lose an arm."
Norton and Vera were stunned into silence. The axe definitely wasn't sharp enough to hack away bone with one swing. The two of them would be in a hell's worth of pain, not to mention the risk of infection-
"Don't you dare Xie Bi'An!"
Wu'Jiu yelled. Norton could feel sweat trickling down his neck. Their bravery was commendable, but that certainty. Even if it meant suffering the pain of losing an arm to that blunt rusty blade. Vera's mouth was slightly open. Norton had to supress the urge to tell her a fly was going to go in if she didn't close it.
"Don't you dare tell him. If you do I'll never forgive you as a sworn brother. Never."
There was silence for a moment, Bi'An started chuckling. The guard's sneer became an ugly, twisted expression as Bi'An started to laugh.
"Oh my, I'll have to apologize then, dear brother."
It took a while to notice a small tear streaked down Bi'An's cheek. Another fell to the floor as Wu'Jiu was held down.
"I'm so sorry Wu'Jiu..."
"Hah... It's fine-"
He was cut off as the blade swung down. He let out a choked yell as blood blossomed on his suit immediately. The twin took ragged gasps as he painfully smiled at Bi'An.
"It's not-... Not your fault- Kh!-"
Norton looked away as he heard another yell. He couldn't look anymore, and faintly he heard Vera turning to the side and throwing up. There was a dull thump of something hitting the ground as Wu'Jiu took in sharp gasps, the blade sawing through muscle and eventually bone. Vera slumped against her guards, passed out. Norton gagged a little as he heard the axe swing down again. Bi'An was trying hard to bite back the pain, but when the blade went through, he couldn't help but scream in pain.
"Get those two back to their chamber."
Norton let himself be pulled away. His knees felt like jello and his stomach was churning. No doubt he would throw up later. As he finally looked up, he saw the bloody mess that would be the severed arms lying on the ground in a puddle of blood. The twins were already getting dragged away, leaving a trail of blood from the puddle. Norton lost consciousness before he reached his chamber, the bloody sight sure to haunt his dreams from this day onwards.
"Throw them down to the river."
The Abyss guards nodded and took both their limp bodies. The dirty river outside churned as the rain poured down, mercilessly beating at their bodies. They tossed the bodies into the fast-flowing water and watched as they floated down the stream. Even if someone managed to find them, they would probably drown. They left, confident that the two would never get out alive.
Norton lay in his cell, sprawled out as he was cradled in the hands of darkness. Down the hallway, there was a pained scream from Joseph Desaulnier as they drove a nail into his hand. He was in tears, hand growing numb from pain. At first he pretended he didn't understand why they were doing all this, why they were being so mean.
But eventually he knew playing innocent wouldn't get him anywhere. But even so, he would never spill the Mafia's secrets, not that he could remember any either way. He was just there for the Abyss' humour to toy with. Blood dripped down onto the grimy ground as the nail was pulled out again. They left him for now, though he knew they would come back in a couple hours, he took this moment to try to calm himself.
He believed that the others would definitely find a way out. And they would save Aesop.
