Torture ((neko!Ben x Jeff x Liu))

3. Stuck

With a massive effort, Ben opened his eyes slowly. How long had he slept? This position on the floor was uncomfortable and he'd been woken up many times through the night by the choking feeling of the rope that had been left tied to his collar where it held his head upright and unmoving, or when the carvings in his leg would start to throb again with pain. He looked at the wound now, finding it difficult to move the leg without the cut skin pulling painfully. He'd only assumed that he'd finally fallen into a deeper sleep after his body had become too exhausted to stay awake any longer, though he still felt so tired and his limbs ached with soreness.

His stomach growled loudly, and his mouth felt dry. He needed food and water badly before he passed out again.

As if hearing his thoughts, slow footsteps made their way towards the room.

Ben's ears flattened and he started to shake violently, letting out a weak hiss of defiance when the door opened to reveal the dark-haired man. He hadn't changed from the bloody clothes, and had a smear of black down his chin and staining his pale hands. Without acknowledging the hiss, the man walked forward.

Ben hissed again, but as the taller man got closer, his voice fell into a whimper.

Jeff had the knife clenched in his fist.

Ben knew for a fact that he was too weak to fight back. He'd lost so much blood. He was starving. Instead, he shook his head back and forth and stared up into the cold eyes high above him. "Not again, please," he begged, though his voice was barely audible after screaming all night. "It hurts so badly," he cried, feeling fresh hot tears stream down his face.

Jeff only stared down at him, wide eyes still telling nothing.

Ben had time to look at his face clearly now, noticing black spiked snake bites ringing the man's plump bottom lip. More black spiked piercings adorned the arches of thick black eyebrows.

"You like em?"

Ben jumped at the sound of the voice, and saw that Jeff looked almost... amused. "I did them myself. I think they really bring out my features. What do you think?"

But Ben didn't know how to answer, or if he was supposed to at all. He glanced back down at the knife and swallowed hard.

Jeff seemed to notice. "My knife?" he lifted it up high above his head and took a fast step toward Ben, swinging down the blade.

The smaller male shrieked and half choked himself on the collar as he tried to duck his head, but the strike never came, and he heard the man above him give a short laugh. "Don't be scared of my knife," Jeff tilted his head, leaning down with his hands on his knees. "Be scared of me."

"I am," Ben breathed, nodding quickly. He felt so pathetic like this, at the mercy of someone who seemed to've lost their mind.

"Good," Jeff replied. "I want it to stay that way."

Ben watched as the other stood back up and walked towards the door, grabbing the handle to pull it closed behind him.

"Wait!" Ben cried, half regretting it when the man stopped and turned around.

"What?" he snapped.

Ben realized that if he wasn't quick, this man would lose patience with him.

"C-Can I have something to drink?" he asked gently, trying to make his voice soft and hopeful.

Jeff stared at him wordlessly for a long moment, then turned away again and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Heavy footsteps faded and another door was opened and shut.

Maybe he has to get the water from outside. Ben listened with his ears perked for a long time, hardly daring to breathe in case he missed the smallest sound, but Jeff didn't come back. Ben slunk down against his restraints, with nothing to do but stare at the door. And that was all he did.

Eventually, so much time had passed that Ben started to wonder if he'd been left completely. He sat up straight, balancing on his knees.

If only I could at least lay in that bed, he thought with a longing ache in his chest. Ben grit his teeth and stood up, only aware that he could as he did so. Blinking, he followed the rope up to where it was stuck in the wall by a metal loop shoved into the wood. Ben reached up to try and get at it, but was too short to reach it. Then he started to pull and claw at the rope where he felt it tied to the loop in his collar. The rope was thin but tough and had been knotted confusingly through multiple of the loops.

A sudden surge of hope filled his chest and he felt stupid for not thinking of it before. His hands felt around the collar for its buckle and froze when he found it. Though he couldn't see it, his fingers traced over the rough surface of what felt like an old, rusted lock.

When... When could he have done this? Was it while I was asleep?

For a long time, Ben stood with his fingers wrapped around the rusted lock. Then, as if a switch had flipped in his brain, panic scorched like fire up his spine and he started to pull at the collar with all the strength he had left. He raked his claws over the leather so fiercely that he scored rows of cuts into his own neck until his fingers were covered with black, oozing liquid. Heart throbbing, he banged his bloodied fists against the walls. "Help me!" he screamed. "I'm trapped here! Please help me!"

More time passed as he screamed until he felt he couldn't anymore. Face wet with tears from his empty eye sockets, Ben held his hands against the wall and slid down to his knees, mouth open as he breathed long, shuddering breaths.

What if he leaves me here to die?

-

Ben opened his eyes slowly, vision hazy. All he could see was the dim, flickering lightbulb that hung above him. He didn't know how much time had passed, what day it was, or even whether it was night or day. He blinked a few times, then closed his eyes again. All he could do to pass the time or forget about how hungry he was to try and sleep. Even then, the only thing that sleep brought were dark dreams of the moment when he had last seen Jeff's face. The image made him seethe with anger. His claws were worn and bleeding from endless hours of scratching at the rope or his collar, and the wounds in his leg kept reopening when he'd stand up to try and jump to reach the place where his rope connected to the wall.

At the very least, it could have been days.

Ben could hardly believe it when he heard the distant sound of a door to the house opening. He sat up slowly from where he lay, ears straight up as he stared at the door to his room. He could've almost hoped that someone was here to find and help him, but when the familiar heavy footsteps drew closer, Ben was unsurprised when the man with the thick black hair stepped into the room. His clothes were still covered in old blood, with some of the dark red splotches looking much more recent. 

Ben sat in numb acceptance as Jeff walked up to untie the rope from the wall and wrapped it tight around his hand and wrist. To Ben's astonishment, even his wrists were untied. "Where were you?" he asked, voice hoarse and small.

"Getting food," he answered, then tugged on the rope and nodded his head toward the door. "Come with me."