Isolation-#Wattys2015

Excerpt 23- Two Friends

A sharp pain tore through my arm as Neal pulled the knife out of my hand, letting it fall to the ground as my acidic blood ate the metal and the floor beneath it. The wound in my hand nearly split it in half, coming to a stop just between my two middle fingers. I tried to stick my hand underneath my arm to cover the hole, but Neal grabbed it, digging his rubber gloved thumb into the gash, causing me to whine from the pain.

"Quit being a little bitch!", Neal demanded as he grabbed me by the jaw and held me so I was eye to eye with him, "I said quit your whining before I give you something to cry about!"

I didn't answer him, mostly out of pain, but also because my throat was too dry.

"NEAL!",Baron shouted as he came down the rotted wood staircase into the dry, musty basement where they kept me, "I told you, we beat him to badly yesterday, you weren't supposed to do anything to him today."

"The little fucker kept me awake all night with his whining last night", Neal protested, "he deserved the knife in his hand."

"I don't give a damn what you think he deserved", Baron screamed, his high pitched voice hurting my ears, "I am not going to the noose because you can't control your frustration. You will wait until I say you can beat him again! Have I made myself clear!?"

Neal sighed and picked up his knives from the anvil that was in the corner.

"Your lucky your my older brother", Neal said waving the knife in Baron's face, "other wise I'd stab you in the face too."

"Get up stairs asshat", Baron said shoving Neal into the staircase, "move it."

Neal flashed his knives again and walked up stairs, Baron walked over to me and grabbed me by the neck, lifting me clean off the ground. With the one good hand I had, I clawed at his arm, but did nothing since they'd busted them out with a hammer a few days ago and my fingers were a little more than swollen stumps right now.

"Listen to me you little shit", Baron said, "if you keep any of us awake again with your whining, we will kill you. We will pour molten silver down your throat and no one will ever find your body, am I clear?"

I nodded my reply.

"ANSWER me you piece of trash", Baron yelled shaking me violently, leaving my neck feeling like it was broken, "I can't hear you nod your fucking head!"

"Yes", I gulped, "were clear."

Baron dragged me across the room to a four foot by four foot metal cage. The treated concrete floor which the metal box was bolted down to was stained green from all the bleeding I'd done inside it. Baron hurled me inside and slammed the door shut, locking it with a heavy, ship anchor chain and a heavy key padlock.

"If I hear you once tonight, or if Neal complains again", Baron said, "I will starve you to the brink of death and then I will pour silver down your throat."

He turned and left, shutting off the already dim, 51 watt light bulb and leaving me in complete darkness and to my old, beaten MP3 player, which of course, was dead. I sighed and leaned by head back against the cage bars.Upstairs I heard the usual heavy metal music and the smelled familiar scent of alcohol. No doubt they'd be drunk in the next few minutes. There was no way I could sleep tonight with them upstairs banging their music and the pain in my hand, which sucked because I hadn't slept in a few days and I was getting too fatigued to even keep my eyes open. The frigid air from the night outside was coming in through the basement's single, open coal chute. Looking out, I could see two stars, and just barely the full moon. There was snow on the ground and it was still coming down. Thunder cracked outside, shaking the entire house. I gulped, I wasn't scared of the thunder, in fact if I wasn't in so much pain it would help me sleep, but I was worried that if it woke Neal or Baron up, they might kill me for it.