Runaways: The Journey Home

Chapter 7

Brooklyn was struggling still to keep his mind sane the following morning, his skin dirty and burned from the previous sun, face still miserable from having the muzzle latched onto his face.

He tried to take it off since his hands weren't tied behind him, ignoring his 'owner's' warning, feeling it suddenly zap him and his face.

The red male gave a whimper of agony from the surges piercing his skin on his arms and beak, letting go instantly, collapsing against the tree, tears coming down from the pain.

How am I gonna get this stupid thing off if I end up escaping without barbecuing myself? Brook thought in sadness, knowing that if it came to it, he may have to ask for help. But who would want to? His ears lowered, as his master's chuckling hit them.

"Well, greetings to you, Diablo. Your time outside has now ended. But I see you have been zapped. I warned you..." Shadow Man threatened, pointing a finger at Brooklyn, who just looked away, closing his eyes.

Shadow Man then pulled his spear out, poking Brooklyn's shoulder. Brooklyn flinched from the point. "Look at me, Beast. You are my property, that means you look at your Master when he talks to filth like you!" he hissed. Brooklyn trembled, looking at his eyes in fear. Shadow Man smirked.

"So it would see that you're still scared of my spear. But you still need more discipline before you can earn my mark of ownership upon you, like cattle. Take him inside, boys..." smirked Shadow Man, nodding to his goons. The two thugs moved in towards Brooklyn, who did his best to resist.

'Oh, get your hands off me!' Brooklyn pleaded in his head but those thugs won, uncuffing the cuff from Brooklyn's neck but leaving the rest bound, dragging a weak Brooklyn back inside. It was hard for him to move, exhausted from stress and struggling to resist being tortured by these terrible men.

They pulled him down to the lab where Thomas waited, a pleased look on his face at the sight of their exhausted and malnourished property. He took Brooklyn's head, looking him over.

Thomas saw that the gargoyle's breathing was fast and his eyes were obviously full of fear. "How's your stomach this morning? Still hurting?" he mock asked Brooklyn, who couldn't answer back.

Brooklyn could feel he still had some remnants of nausea from his poisoning yesterday, but he wasn't going to let it get in the way right now. He tried struggling.

Then Shadow Man stepped in, "Enough. Get him in the cuffs." He ordered.

Brooklyn looked around for what cuffs the man was talking about. Across the room, there were cuffs hanging from the ceiling. The two men holding his arms began to move him there. He whimpered as he tried to avoid being taken there.

The cuffs on his wrists were taken off as his arms were held bound first. Shadow Man came over too and he held his pistol at Brooklyn. "Hold still, Devil, or I won't hesitate to shoot you." He warned him.

Brooklyn held still while the two men got his arms in the cuffs on the ceiling. He was close to the wall, but he wasn't right at the wall. His master took the gun off of him when his hands were tied up. His right shoulder hurt from being held up from his wounds there.

What are you going to do with me? Brooklyn asked in his mind.

"You are going to be tested upon, Freak and you'll earn my mark." Shadow Man explained, then walked away.

The henchmen all went over to a spot and collected some weapons. Brooklyn looked over and waited for what was to come. He knew any of their tests he would undergo would be bad.

When the men came back over, some had spears, others had special guns with arrows or spears inside them. This really made Brooklyn's breathing pick up. He began to pull at the cuffs. He wanted to get away. He also didn't want the evil brand Shadow Man was wanting to mark him with.