Tick Tock Part Four - The Mouse Fell Down

Isolation

Gavin's voice cracked in a pitiful whine as he daydreamed about Nines behind his tired eyes. He'd given up on genuinely falling asleep ages ago. He'd give an exact time, but the constant brightness of the cold tiled room didn't even give him a clue of how many days had passed. His so-called feeding schedule wasn't anything to go by, either. It was random. Sporadic and nowhere near regular. He never knew when the Jack android would come back, so he'd taken to eating and drinking as little as possible so he at least had something to put in his stomach besides his own shit and piss. It had happened once already. He didn't recommend it.

In the beginning, he'd remained defiant. He'd fought the Jack android as it stripped him; punched, kicked, bitten, and scratched at any opportunity. The problem was that the Jack android was just that. An android. It had more than two times his strength and had easily wrestled him into submission and pried away each item. Once he was naked, he'd thought the thing would mount him, but he'd dragged him closer to the tiled wall and cuffed his wrists with the heavy shackles instead. The chains didn't hold him flush to the walls. He had room to lie down and move around the small space, but he couldn't reach the door. The chains reached about a metre away.

The android placed a metal bowl of water just within reach, along with a plate of bread. Then he left. Gavin yelled and screamed himself hoarse at first. He ate the bread straight away, thinking it best to get it down and keep his energy levels up. That was a mistake. The android didn't come back for over a day. He was lucky that he'd kept enough water, but he was hungry. The android didn't feed him the next time. He tried to speak to him, but Gavin cussed him out and yelled until he left. He didn't even top up his water. When he needed the bathroom, Gavin yelled, but no one came. There was a drain in the floor, so he peed down that at first. Big mistake. He ran out of water the next day, and the Jack android didn't return.

How long it had been when he eventually came back remained a mystery, but it was enough time that Gavin had peed into his water bowl and drunk it. He'd also had to defecate. With no toilet, he'd done it near the corner of the room and tried to ignore the smell and the warm feeling around his ass. He glared at the Jack android upon his return, daring him to say something. It was humiliating. He was naked, half starved, dehydrated, and covered in crusted shit. The Jack android regarded him for a few moments before refiling half his water bowl. Gavin glared harder at that. Really? Half? That would barely help him recover at all, and he was starving!

The Jack android left, and Gavin sipped a little of the water. His stomach growled and ached in protest. With nothing else to do, he fell sideways and tried to escape into a daydream, but it was hard in the bright light of the room. Time passed, at least another couple of days. His bowl was empty again, and he was so hungry he thought his stomach would eat itself. At that point, he finally dragged himself over to his own dried out shit and choked it down. The taste almost made him vomit, but he knew he had to keep it down. It was lucky, he supposed, that time had dried out the crusted lumps, so the earthy taste probably wasn't as bad as it should have been. He'd openly sobbed at how humiliating it was; what he'd had to do to survive. That was another mistake. A waste of moisture that made his eyes sting.

The process continued that way for...however long it had been. He'd lost track. There was no way to count the days. Without a phone or watch, there was no way to mark the time, and the lights never went out. He cried for Nines over and over and tried to disassociate as much as possible, chasing whatever daydream he could grasp. His water had been refilled maybe ten times, but he hadn't counted. He'd been too tired. His food had been replenished less, and it was never more than a slice of bread and maybe a piece of dry, salted meat. Just enough to keep his body running for another day.

He was in the middle of a daydream. A nice daydream. He was in the penthouse, huddled under the covers. Nines was with him. Holding him. Fingers running through his hair. Lips trailed up and down his neck. A comforting voice told him he'd be alright. He promised he'd come for him. Gavin was beginning to think that was a lie. It had been so long. He was cold and alone, shivering naked on the tiles. Shaking off such thoughts, he tried to regain his comforting headspace. It was hard with the constant bright light and the shackles rubbing raw against his thin wrists. Nines would probably throw a fit if he saw him. He'd thought he was thin before. That was nothing compared to now. He was pretty sure he'd snap in half if he tried to stand. He was literally starving to death. It felt like days since the Jack android had last entered to re-fill his water bowl and drop some dry meat and bread on his plate.