ChapStick (ManxBoy)

Chapter 1 - Darkness falls

Chapter 1 – Darkness falls

Chapter Song – It’s my life - No Doubt

My hearing snapped into a thin sharp line as I regained consciousness. I couldn’t hear anything.

I waited for my senses to adjust and pick up, for they felt blurry, indistinct, and locked out. Discomfort piled the more I became physically aware of my putrid surroundings. Where the hell was I? Dank sweat dripped over my face and down the back of my neck. I swallowed what felt like daggers down my throat. I badly needed a drink. I brought my chafed lips together and tasted rusty blood on my mouth. My senses pulsated with fear as horror lanced through my heart.

Sweat prickled my eyes and doused my focus. I winked several times to fight the sting. Numbness gave way to pain as the feeling in my body started to return. I felt pins and needles trickle down my sides as they traveled south to the tip of my toes. Sharp pain radiated from my lower back as I took a seated position from being hunched. I was at the height of discomfort.

I looked around and saw others bound and gagged. And to my surprise I was no different. I found myself at the edge of a long wooden bench with screws unhinged. I readjusted and looked up to peek at the one driving. My vision failed me. Feeling uneasy, I turned my head to look at my back. This truck had seen better days. Bolts were where a back cushion was supposed to be.

I rested my pounding head on the rusty metal panel that separated me from the driver. Suddenly, the truck abruptly stopped. I could feel my nerves dug a hole in my chest as my heart sped a hundred miles an hour. The metal doors opened and we were blinded by light. I narrowed my eyes and saw a silhouette of a man took shape as he stood strong with his back against a spotlight.

He ordered the men who looked like mercenaries to line up on either side of the doors saying, “Line ‘em up, take ‘em in!” The girl beside me looked at me with eyes that had forgotten sleep. She shook her head then heavily rested her bound hands on my lap. I furrowed my eyebrows and gave her a slight nod, assuring her that we’d have each other’s backs if push came to shove.

We stood up to follow the ones before us. I grabbed the back of her shirt as I trailed behind her. We all looked like slaves. My feet were about to touch the ground when one of the men saw me grabbing the girl’s shirt. He quickly hit my hands with a steel pipe. I fell down and cried against the cloth wrapped around my mouth. Tears drowned my eyes as I stood up to proceed forward.

“Move it slinky!” the brute growled into my ear. My blood shot into overdrive, siphoning fear.

I didn’t speak their language so I looked at him with questioning eyes, “move it Mao Zedong!” he barked then pushed my back with the tip of his steel pipe. We were kidnapped, I remembered.

I turned to look back after I took my first step inside the warehouse. Darkness seemed to have swallowed the truck after the spotlight went off. I made an attempt to run. I was clear of any pursuers being the last one off the truck. ‘I could disappear in the dark’, I thought to myself.

My conscience kept me from completing my stride as I was reminded of the girl I made a promise to. The strong brute noticed my hesitation. He grabbed me by the grimy collar I had on and threw me inside. I winced as my body recoiled from the pain of landing on rough cement.

I craned my neck to look around. I saw boys got separated from girls. The doors closed behind them like they were prisoners. A man wearing a ski-mask helped me up then escorted me to the room where boys were supposed to line up. At the end of the line I heard screams that I could only hear in nightmares. I started to feel weak in the knees barely able to stand as I advanced.

When only five were left in front of me, I started to make out what was making them squeal. I saw a table where the boys’ fingers were carefully planted. A green light would go up and they’d scream. My body started to shake in dread of the monster up ahead. I felt like I was dying within.

I began a stream of hysterics as I neared my turn. I hyperventilated as I fought against the hands that forced me forward. My hands pushed against the metal slab before me. I bit down the cloth wrapped around my mouth as hard as I could. The machine started blinking red profusely as the guy wearing a tattoo on his arm grabbed me at the ready. My fingers made contact on the surface, and in a split-second I felt searing pain that burned the skin off of my fingers. I twitched and then collapsed in pain. I looked up and saw the overhead light swinging before darkness fell around me.

“So, how are your lessons holding up?” his words were muffled as he chewed on the steak.

“They are holding up quite well, actually…” I mumbled while putting a dash of ChapStick lippy.

My balm was my safety net. It would always up my confidence when I’m struck with a barrage of nerves. It was my security blanket, “more sauce on your steak, Sean?” I offered with a curt smile.

He nodded and took a napkin to wipe his chin with. He wore a look of uncertainty. I didn’t like it. I took the sauce from the fridge and set it on the table between us. He extended his hands over the table to touch mine, balling my fists into his as he gave me a look that was ominous and dark.