Tonight is the night we die

Chapter Fifty-Three

I have to get to her.

In the darkness, those six words turned into a beacon leading me to the shore ahead. The closer I got, the further it looked. The waves crashed on me-waves of pain. I lost sight of the light. Finding it. Losing it. A never-ending cycle. The sea wanted me dead or alive, in half or full pieces. Why swim when drowning sounded so appealing? The pain kicked me back each time and cruelly forbade my poor brain from unplugging it all.

"Jake!" Gloria's voice called.

"He should know motorcycles are dangerous, thought it'd know better." Owen's voice echoed. "

Don't worry, I kept him alive so he could see what I have in store for you. We're gonna have some fun together!"

My fingers twitched.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Gloria spat at him.

Owen grunted. "You better lose that fucking behavior or I'll make you lose it myself, and I can guarantee you won't like that! I love to make feisty women shut the fuck up," he sneered.

"Hmm," I grunted.

"Oh! Jaky boy to the rescue!" Footsteps approached me. "Wakey wakey Jaky!" a palm slapped my cheek.

My eyes faced him. The man I ran so fast and far away from. There he was. His blue eyes glimmered with a satisfaction I hoped to never offer him. I ended up handing it on a silver plate.

I chased his hand away and sat up. The pain had diminished but perhaps the insane drum of my heart tamed the damage in the rest of my body.

"Nice to finally meet you, Jake," Owen smiled wide. I glared at him. All the hatred in two eyes was all I could do. "I can see it, hear it even, the little machinery in your head, how did I find you? Where did you fail? What tiny little breadcrumb did you leave behind for me to feed on?" he laughed. "I'll tell you later. We have bigger things waiting for us now that you're here with me. And a two for one!"

I dared look behind him, looking at the love of my life, her lower lip bleeding, a red mark on her cheek, and holes in her shirt. She trembled, a white cloud escaping her parted lips. I wanted to tell her we'd be ok but I refused to lie. I wasn't sure we'd be ok. I wasn't sure this would end with the both of us alive.

"Lock lovely Gloria way while I toy around with him. Leave us alone, actually. We need proper introductions, right Jake?"

"No! Leave him alone! Jake!!" Gloria's strained voice called.

They grabbed her like she was nothing and the heavy door slammed. The echo stayed with me and Owen, his twisted smile joining the party.

"Let's have fun, shall we?"

Without much effort, he dragged my body on the floor with a tight grip around the collar of my hoodie.

"You look a bit lost in a haze. Perhaps this might help you straighten your thoughts,"

Owen turned me around and my face splashed in cold freezing water. The edge of a bathtub crushed my chest. Years of swimming became more than useful but the smell hardened the simple task ahead. Tarry. Chemically. It entered my nose and soon my lungs couldn't take it. Phenol coated them. My throat burnt. My face burnt. My eyes burnt. I was fucked. My body trembled violently as water passed my lips. This would be the shortest torture he ever did. Owen pulled my head up from the water. I coughed, the water turning red. Air barely reached my lungs, I was in the water again. My hands grabbed the edge of the bathtub and tried to find the fingers holding me hostage. In vain. In complete distress, my body fought. Struggled. Head up. Two seconds. Head down. Fight. Struggle. Head up. Two seconds. Head down. The never-ending cycle grabbed me in its embrace again. The edge of the tub melted into my rib cage sending a violent jolt of pain. Owen talked. But I couldn't hear.

He threw me on the ground. I twisted and spat the water, tinted the cold floor red, and coughed. But the respite didn't last. His boot yanked in my stomach. I fell on my back. He kneeled, a hand pressing on my chest, a pressure gluing me to the ground. A rain of fists warmed up my freezing face. Copper joined the acidic taste in my mouth. It all went so fast. Too fast. No time to recover.

"This is only the beginning, Jakey Boy!" Hit. "You're gonna find out what real pain is. Mentally." Hit. "Physically." Hit. "I'll break your body! I'll kill your girl and I have no interest in keeping her alive and you'll soon forget about her when I'll push your limits to the edge. You played with the wrong crowd. Are you ready to finally pay the price, Jake?" Hit. He laughed. "I waited for so long to see that, your eyes filled with fear! The same as your friend when I put the rope around his neck. Poor boy pissed himself! You lost, you know it, right? You lost big time, Jakey Boy!" Hit.

I let him do it. Let him punch, kick, and spit his rage onto me because as long as he was busy with me he wasn't with Gloria. All I could do now to keep her safe was to direct the rage onto me instead of onto hers. For how long would I be able to do that? I had no clue. Not long as my body crumbled. They were nice those muscles, those years of keeping myself in shape, but fuck! Fucking useless when needed! I was a stupid little boy, defenseless! Nothing more! The bones wailed for the torment to stop. I didn't feel them snap, I heard them.

"See, this is not fun! You don't care, it hurts but it does nothing to you and it does nothing to me, anymore already," He stood and sighed, paced around the room, around my soon-to-be cadaver. Air scorched my throat as it dived its way into my needy lungs. "But Gloria... If I do the same thing to her, then it will do something to you. Do you follow me there?" Owen chuckled, insanity drooling from the sound. My body jerked without my brain having any type of control over it. "Guilt is going to be the one killing you, Jakey Boy. It has already swallowing you whole all those years, didn't it?"

Owen hovered above me will all his height, his head tilted, his smile amused, delighted to see me like this, just a pile of bruises and blood. I couldn't feel anything. I was so cold. The pain was on hold in my body, my brain confused, lost somewhere. Probably in the memory of her arms. Warm and cuddled against her.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Owen's nose crinkled. "Just you wait. Soon, you'll talk a lot more. Scream even! Beg me to spare her from the atrocity I'm about to do to her," his foot rose above my face. My bones shrieked. I braced for impact.

The sole trampled me.