Winning His War

52

Patrick's POV

Torture.

That was really the only way to describe what was happening.

Andrew struggled to block out the sounds that filled the air as he shook against my chest.

Jem bit back curses with every slice of a knife, every slap of a whip, every rip of a nail without voicing his pain above a whisper. His face twisted in pain while gasps were the only verbal sign that he was actually in any pain.

I could only watch, day after day until it became a routine.

I sat there and watched, my ankles chained to the wall behind us, as they grabbed Jem by his cuffs and pulled him to the middle of the room before forcing them above his head while the beating began for the day.

When they finally stopped for the day he was thrown onto the ground harshly and chained to the wall like Andrew and I. In the few hours before they bought us food Jem tried his best to calm down Andrew while attempting to assure me that he was fine. A proud smile was always plastered across his face but it was weak and clearly forced.

Our daily meal was barely enough to be considered a portion but at least it was eatable. Today it was only a cup of white rice with water; yesterday it was half a sandwich for each of us.

Jem tried to offer his portions to us but that always earned him a scowl from Andrew.

"You need to eat more than we do. You're doing more than us anyway."

"I don't have much of an apatite after that," Jem would say but forced down a bite regardless.

Night was always hard for Jem.

It was hard before all of this started, back when he was in his own house, with Dev and Barrett, his dogs, his gun under his pillow, his military level security. But now that all of that was gone and we were in a strange place it only made it worse.

The cuts all over his body made it almost impossible to find a comfortable way to sleep but he always kept a protective arm around Andrew and I no matter how much it hurt. He's always been a light sleeper but now it was worse. All it took was Andrew or I to move a bit in our sleep to wake him up or even a creak from the floorboards up stairs before he was awake and ready to lash out.

That's how every day so far had been. 4 days of this was starting to get to everyone. Andrew had gotten used to sounds of torture but still hid his face any time it began. Jem was getting weaker by the hour with the amount of blood loss and little food he was having.

My faith in Dev and Barrett was starting to dwindle. I know for them 4 days was barely enough time to get information but to us it could mean life or death. Jem could only continue like this for so long.

Like always I sat here waiting for the psycho to make his morning arrival. Jem tenses when the door opened but made his face drop into an unreadable expression.

The boy who Jem swore up and down was Elijah Down let a sick smile cover his face as he stalked closer to the three of us.

"Still convinced you don't know me Jem," He asked as he kneeled in front of Jem. Still Jem didn't seem to care as he shrugged, pretending not to care even though it was eating him alive. He would never admit it but we all knew it was killing him; to forget someone who claims used to be so special for someone so protective like Jem was a slap in the face.

"I've never seen you before in my life," Jem sighed as if shrugging it off. The smile on Elijah's face dimmed for a second before turning to Andrew and me.

"In that case I've grown bored with you. Now, who's next?"

Jem tensed as Elijah's eyes jumped between the two of us, as if he were expecting one of us to sit up and volunteer.