Dickory

Paralysed

The next time he felt aware of anything, he knew he must have passed out because he had no memory of being moved, and he had definitely been moved. He was lying on a hard surface, but it wasn't the rough cement of the alley. It felt smoother. Some sort of table? He wasn't restrained, but with the drug in full effect, why the fuck would he be? He shivered internally, though his body didn't move. His skin prickled as the hairs on his arms rose. It was cold. He only just managed to open his eyes. The lids were still heavy, weighed down by whatever drug was keeping him frozen in place. It was dark, but not pitch black. It was really dim and cavernous. There were chain rigs hanging above in the metal rafters. A warehouse? More than likely. The Eden Club wasn't too far from the warehouse district. He would have tried to focus more on the shadowy rails above, but his head was throbbing where he'd been hit earlier.

A muffled whimper distracted him from his disoriented thoughts. It was a fearful sound, mixed with something else. Wet, shaky breaths and pained grunting. Heavy steps and a scraping noise. He moved his eyes, trying desperately to find the source of those pained sounds. There was a louder cry, and Gavin was pretty sure the poor fucker had been gagged. He put all of his effort into turning his head, quietly pleased as he managed to just tilt it a couple of inches. It was all he needed to look across the room, where another table had been set up. A black-clad figure was standing over the table with a hunting knife, hands shrouded in leather gloves.

"That's it, scream for me." It was Aaron's voice. It was almost the sound of a lover as he purred the words. A shiver ran through Gavin's frozen body as he watched. The figure was about as tall as Aaron and the right build, too. It's not Aaron! Who the phck is it? Terror gripped his chest like a vice. Prickles of dread trickled across his skin as he watched the knife plunge into something long and fleshy, sort of like rope. He was pretty sure it was Morgan's intestines. Morgan wailed in agony around the cloth gag. Gavin was almost hyperventilating again. No-no-no-no-no! Morgan wasn't tied down either, likely subdued by his own drug. He'd been opened up ever so carefully. The maniac clearly wanted him to live for some time before he died. "I'm a little out of practice..." Aaron's voice mused as he regarded the red rivulets trickling down his blade.

Gavin hadn't even figured out what the fuck had been happening with Morgan in the first place, but now this fucking maniac was here, too? What the phck is going on? Gavin was terrified. Nines' name stuck in his throat. He didn't want to let the man know he was awake. He didn't want to risk that psycho turning on him. He could feel his heart pounding. He'd be shaking like a fucking leaf if his muscles were actually working. He tried to level his breathing, afraid that if he gasped too loudly, the black-clad figure would notice. He couldn't help but wonder what he had planned for him. Would he open him up like Morgan? Slowly pull out his insides and casually prod and slice them while he watched? Nines! Phck!

"Androids are so much easier to take apart, but the satisfaction is...lacking," Aaron's voice continued conversationally as the man circled the table, looking down at Morgan's open torso. He'd been sliced open from sternum to pelvis, old medical vices keeping the gaping hole open. Some of his insides had been pulled out, meticulously laid in neat curls along the table. Gavin couldn't even imagine the level of pain Morgan must be in. He didn't want to either. "They don't feel pain...Do you know how disappointing it is to work on something like that? The screams...they're one of the best parts." The man savoured the broken, whimpered cry that Morgan choked out as he squeezed a chunk of bleeding intestine.

Androids? He...can't-be...He was absolutely certain as a new wave of fear crashed through his gut. It had to be. Who the fuck else would take him captive and mercilessly torture another living being so slowly and meticulously? It also brought a new clarity to the choice of vocal processor. He'd chosen Aaron's voice on purpose. Gavin knew it wasn't actually Aaron's voice. Every single piece of Aaron's body had been accounted for by the forensic team, but WR500 models had been one of the newest on the market before the revolution. Their parts were a dime a dozen. It would have been a simple matter to get hold of one. There'd even been a deactivated unit in that fucking alleyway! Did Morgan choose that place on purpose, knowing I'd be distracted enough by the dead android to get in a surprise attack?