In the Belly of the Beast

14

 Midnight would never come. 

It was maddening to watch the numbers on the alarm clock change every sixty seconds. To top it all off, Ruby had served dinner early. Now, he must suffer through eight long hours with few diversions.

Eating was certainly out of the question. Dinner was over, and Ruby had thrown away all of his snacks. He peaked over the edge of the bed and gazed at the walls and the ceiling.

No creepy critters.

Perhaps Ruby was right. Maybe his stash of goodies had been nothing more than a roach buffet.

No munchies.

That left two choices to while away the time. 

TV or magazines.

Ruby had pulled the shades. It was impossible to look at his porn without an overhead light. 

He'd had enough brightness for one day, he decided, natural or electrical. He pressed the remote and the TV screen came to life. He surfed the channels for thirty minutes but turned the set off.

His thoughts were all about Danny. 

At 11:58 he picked up his phone. At 11:59, his fingertips burned with anticipation.

Midnight.

He pressed the numbers and heard the ring. It was hard to hold the tiny phone in his sweating hand.

It rang again. His heart stopped and his stomach sank. It was all a prank. 

She had fed him a wrong number.

It rang a third time, and the same sultry voice from the night before said, "Hello."

Across the hall, the Ruby slept on. The buzz-saw snoring had ceased, replaced by gentle puffing noises. The man was in his chair.

The palm of one hand was pressed to his ear. The other hand was cupped to his mouth. He appeared to be talking into his hand, whispering in a very low voice.

"Hello. How's Danny's little soldier, tonight?"

***

Geoffrey's head reclined against the wall. His eyes were closed. He was smiling. He masturbated. At the end of an hour, the voice rang off.

The man in the chair let one hand fall limply to his lap. He gripped the arm of the chair with his other. Tighter and tighter, he clenched his fingers around it until his knuckles turned white and his whole hand shook with the effort.

Something was wrong. It felt like a vise was closing around his privates. The pain was excruciating and the pressure unbearable. Geoffrey banged his head against the wall repeatedly. He screamed in anguish.

Across the hall, Ruby slept on. For the second time since his arrival, the man in the chair smiled.