Replacement

Chapter 2

     "HELP!  PLEASE!  SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Ashton screamed.  But it was no use.  His voice was hoarse and cracked.  No one could hear him.  How long had he been down here?  The basement reeked of rot and death.  It was also completely black.  He could barely tell the difference between dream and reality anymore.  The only things that kept him knowing he was awake were his aching wrists.  They had to be bruised.  They hurt so badly. 
          A loud click told him Samuel was coming down the stairs.  His heart jumped with nervousness.  He was shivering and desperately needed to use the toilet.  He'd do anything to stand up and get out of the handcuffs. 
          "Samuel... Samuel, please let me go to the bathroom," he croaked.  His voice was so strained.  He could hear a sigh in the darkness.
          "There's no bathroom down here.  Just piss where you're at," he said in a deep voice.  He sounded as though he was turning back around.
          "Samuel, please!  Please I can't take it anymore!" He wept.  He heard the man pause for a moment before hearing his heavy footsteps come towards him.  The inability to see mixed with not knowing what he was about to do set his nerves on high.  His body stiffened as he felt his captor come closer.  He silently prayed he didn't further tighten his restraints. 
          A wave of relief struck him as the cuffs on his wrists were released.  He tucked them into his abdomen, sucking air in through his teeth. 
          "Which is it?" Samuel whispered into his ear.  The young man moved slowly, not sure where the creep was.
          "I need to pee..." He answered warily.  He felt his leg restraints be undone and the back of his head was tightly grabbed, yanking him off the bed.  His feet stumbled, feeling as though his body were heavier than usual.  
          "Get up, clumsy," Samuel purred in his ear.  How was he able to see so well in the dark?  Shakily, he stood and was lead by the hair to a corner.  He knew it was a corner because without being told there was a wall in front of him, Ashton ran directly into the wall, stubbing his foot and bruising his nose.
          "Ahh, shit!" He wept, rubbing his face. 
          "There's a drain directly beneath you.  Don't miss.  I'll be angry if you piss on my floor."
          "I can't see it!" He cried.  His hair was gripped tight, pulling back before slamming into the cold, hard wall.  His cheek throbbed as he whimpered, keeping his body still.
          "I think I told you to use manners.  Don't piss on my floor, it's very simple."
          "But...but I can't see the drain.  I don't want to, but I can't help it if I can't see it," he said quietly, trying desperately not to upset him further.
          "Need me to aim for you?  You're disgusting.  Step to the left," he instructed.  Ashton did as he was told.  He felt the hand leave his hair and hold his hip steady.  He jumped when he was roughly gripped with Samuel's other hand.  He almost didn't trust that Samuel was aiming him in the right direction either.  What if there was no drain?  What if he was tricking him again?
          Somehow, through the agonizing fear, he couldn't go.  So he was left shivering and naked while being gripped by him.  He'd never felt more vulnerable.
          "Are you gonna go or not?" Samuel's voice sliced through the darkness and silence.
          "I'm trying..." He mumbled.  He heard another sigh behind him.
          "You made me take the time to do this for you.  If you don't even go at all I'll be even angrier.  Just relax, don't you like it here?"
          Ashton tried.  He tried relaxing.  He tried closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.  But this insane man standing just behind him with his junk in his hand was giving him a true sense of anxiety.
          "Please, don't hurt me.  Just give me a moment, I'll relax," he promised.  He felt Samuel's chin on his shoulder.  He suppressed the urge to bash an elbow into his face.  How hard would it be to overpower him?  Could he do it?  He wasn't weak by any means.  At twenty four years old he could hold his own in a fight.  But there was something about Samuel that unnerved him.  Something about the way he carried himself and spoke that gave him a creepy feeling when he imagined escaping.  Someone smart like him wouldn't kidnap someone who could overpower him. 
          He took a deep breath, needing to put these feelings aside.  If he forced him back to the bed before he relieved himself, it would be a problem.  A shiver coursed through his body as he finally was able to go.  To his relief, he heard it gurgle into a drain.  Samuel's face turned into his neck.  He deeply inhaled, sending goosebumps through Ashton's body.
          "You reek," he whispered.  When Ashton was finally done, his body was roughly turned around.
          "Stay," he demanded.  For now, Ashton did exactly what Samuel told him.  He planted his feet firmly to the floor and did not move even an inch from where he stood.  He felt Samuel's presence move away.  A moment later, light flooded the room, sending pain stabbing into his eyes.  Ashton threw his hands to them, wincing.  When he could finally get used to the bright light, Samuel had dragged a hose over to him.  Without warning, freezing cold water drenched his body.  It stung, making him seize up and duck his head so it didn't get his face.  The water pressure was intense as well, beating into his body.

          His jaw chattered and clenched from the cold.  His skin felt skin tight and covered in poking needles.  Ice dips ran down his face and hair as the pelting hose drenched every inch.
          The water stopped.  Ashton coughed hard, holding his shivering body.  Samuel approached him again, grabbing his head and dumping something onto it, rubbing it through his hair.  Suds collected everywhere and Ashton closed his eyes so it didn't run into them.  His fingers were so rough, pulling him wherever he wanted him to go.  When he was done, he sprayed the freezing water again.  
          Samuel took the back of his neck, leading him back to the bed.  Ashton stopped his feet, turning towards Samuel who gripped his neck harder.  Ashton threw his hands up, ducking his face.
          "Wait!  Wait, p-please, please d-don't put the cuffs b-back on me!  I'll do anything, just, please, it hurts so bad.  My wrists can't take it, p-please!  I really want to be able to move," he begged. 
          Samuel said nothing for a while, looking back at the bed.  The shackles he'd used on him made movement nearly impossible.  Ashton couldn't stand them.  If he had to play another fucked up game to win his way out of them, he would.
          A cold drop of water trickled down his face, dropping onto the floor.  The air was so musty and gross in this place.  Samuel finally turned him back around, leading him to the bed again.
          "Lay down," he instructed.  Ashton snapped, pushing backwards against his captor and shoving away from the horrible bed.
          "No!  Get the fuck off me, asshole, I'm not doing it!" He shouted.  He tried to turn around to get a good hit in when a fist crashed into his jaw, sending him falling backwards.  The back of his head struck the bedframe.  A strange ringing sounded in his ears as he was yanked up by his hair again and thrown into the bed, his arms forced behind him.  He was so freakishly strong.  Ashton had been horribly wrong to think for even a moment he had a chance at overpowering him.
          With his face smothered into the bed, he felt something cold and metal slap the side of his thigh.  His body jerked, the pain curling his toes.  Repeatedly, the metal was slapped against him.  Ashton froze, hoping it would stop soon.  Once it did stop, a cleaver was tossed in front of his face.
          "I'm going to say this once, and I hope you're listening. Special privileges do not come to the disobedient.  Try anything like that again, and I will hurt you.  I'll take something from you.  Something you can't grow back," he promised darkly.  Ashton hiccupped, trying to melt into the bed.
          "Okay...okay, I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry, Samuel," Ashton whimpered.  What a stupid mistake.  If he was going to get what he wanted, he would have to get Samuel to trust him.  He needed to be calm and submissive.  It went completely against everything about him, but what choice did he have?
          "Umm...can I try again?  To lose the handcuffs?  I really want to try.  I'll do whatever you want," he begged softly.  Samuel lifted off him, taking the huge knife away and tossing it on a counter behind him. 
          Get on the bed.  You haven't earned anything yet," he said.  Ashton groaned, crawling back onto the bed.  Samuel clicked the cuffs onto his wrists first, though not quite as tightly as before.  Ashton clung to that.  Perhaps he had earned something after all.  He looked around the room as he was restrained.  The area where he'd been bathed and relieved himself was at the far end of the room.  He had to crane his neck to see the corner.  The table where the body had been cut to pieces the first day he'd spent in this horrible place was completely clean.  Samuel had taken off his apron and folded it neatly onto its shiny metal surface.  Hooks and knives were hanging everywhere, some hooks dangling from chains.  Saws and other horrifying metal objects adorned the walls everywhere.  This place smelled of death and everywhere he looked, he felt like any one of the objects he saw could be used on him and it could kill him painfully. 
          "Could...I have some water?" He asked softly.  What he really wanted was food, but he was too nervous to ask for it.
          "You haven't had enough water yet?  Shit, I just used up several gallons on you.  You think it's free?  Well, I'll give you a choice.  You can either have food and water now, or in another two days."
          Ashton looked at him warily.
          "That's not a very hard choice," he said.  Samuel smirked.
          "Yes, but if you choose to have it in two days, I'll remove the handcuffs."
          Ashton felt his heart pounding in his ears.  Two more days without food or water sounded awful.  But this might be his last chance to get the wretched cuffs off. 
          "Okay...okay," he said, his eyes starting to burn.  This sucked.  He'd never felt this helpless before.  His aching wrists needed relief desperately.  He couldn't take the constant rub of the metal.  "I'll take the second option.  I want the cuffs off," he whimpered.  Samuel smiled, running his fingers through Ashton's dripping wet hair.
          "Sounds good," he said, reaching up to the cuffs.  Instead of taking them off, he tightened them, causing Ashton to grit his teeth.  "See you in two days," he chuckled.
          "No!  Please, remove them!  Please!" He shouted as Samuel lifted off the bed, heading back for the stairs.  His fingers hovered over the light switch.
          "Leave it on!  Leave the light on, it's so God damned dark in here, you prick!  Stop!"
          The lights flicked off, engulfing him in intense, nightmarish blackness.  The door at the top of the stairs slammed shut.  Ashton screamed, yanking again at the cuffs with all his strength.  He could hardly feel their pressure as his mind screeched at him to get out.  He thrashed his body into the bed, kicking his legs and rattling the chains. 
          Tears were the only things that warmed him.  They were hot on his chilled face.  This was bullshit.  This was such bullshit. 

*****

          "That will be twenty three," Samuel smiled, handing a package wrapped in brown paper across his counter.  The woman on the other side smiled, her face slightly pink.
          "Oh, thank you, Sam.  I'm sure it will be delicious as always," the woman said with a soft voice.  She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.  Her eyes looked over to something in the glass display.
          "Oh, what's that?  I've never seen this label before.  Do you have a new distributor?" She asked.  Samuel looked to the display.
          "Oh, yes, that.  It's from somewhere new.  The pork is less fatty than usual, but it's just such a wonderful taste.  I decided to give it a try and I'm not at all disappointed.  Would you like a cut?" He asked.  The woman nodded, brushing dust from her dress. 
          "Oh, if you recommend it, I'd be more than happy to try it."
          Samuel walked behind the counter, packaging the cut she'd requested.
          "Umm...by the way, Sam...I was wondering if you'd like to have coffee sometime.  I thought I'd pluck up the courage to ask you since I've been coming here for so long," she said, her face slightly redder.  Samuel flashed another handsome smile.  His eyes traveled up her body.  She held her arms just under her breasts in an attempt to make them appear larger.
          "Hmm, I'm afraid my schedule is completely booked for a while.  But I'll let you know when it opens up.  I'm sure I can squeeze you in somewhere soon," he said pleasantly.  Though looking slightly disappointed, the woman smiled wide before leaving.  When the shop was empty, Samuel moved over to the new meat cuts, reaching into the cooler to pull out a slice.  He smirked, wrapping it up to take back home for the day.