Friends, Slaves, and Nightmares

16: The Truth

David groaned as he woke up. Every inch of his body hurt. The pain was not unfamiliar to him, yet it was still dreaded. He had grown very accustomed to the pain the day after a good whipping. The burning sensation that infested his back was different though. The pain from a whip varied, depending on the whip used and the person delivering the blows across his back. The person who had whipped him had been merciless and the whip used still caused his skin to burn, though it had been much worse during the actual punishment.

His mind was groggy from the sleep and pain, he blinked, trying to clear his sight to no avail. It had been hard to remember that he was blind, and a moment of panic hit him, before he remembered. He was blind. He can't see through his eyes anymore. Instead he listened, able to recreate an image of his surroundings using sound waves and listening to when and how quickly they returned to his ears, much like a bat would.

There were several voices talking. It was easy go recognize Axel's voice, who he was familiar with. It took longer to recognize Katey's voice, who spoke less and off to the side, talking with someone else. The person Katey was talking to was unfamiliar to David. Either he couldn't quite place the voice, or he had not met this person yet. Listening intently he could tell the stranger was a girl, and young too. He shifted his focus to Axel, and after a moment was able to tell he was talking to his older sister, Kara.

The stranger must have noticed his movements, because she went over towards him and spoke quietly, "I think David is waking up. Can you hear me David?"

He slowly nodded, not moving much from the pain of his lashes. "Yeah.. I'm awake.. Is everyone else ok?"

Katey responded next, "Everyone here is fine..." Her voice trailed off, as if she was hiding something or didn't want to continue. "Trix, you tell him."

"What? Why me?!" The voice David didn't recognize demanded.

"Because I told you, Kara, and Axel." Katey said firmly.

There was a moment of silence between the bickering; David took this moment to interject and ask, "Where's Mina?... No one has mentioned her and I haven't heard her voice... Is she alright?.." HE was worried. He should have been able to hear her voice if she was anywhere in the house and talking, but he couldn't. Maybe she was alseep... Or else she was not in the house.

Trix sighed, slowly beginning to explain, "Mina is not here. Katey and Mina went to fight against Pitch and Damion. They were able to put up and good fight and even knocked Pitch unconscious, but because of Damion's under handed tricks he slipped through Katey and was able to grab Mina and Pitch before anyone could stop him... I'm sorry David, Mina is with Pitch and Damion. We don't know more than that. We've been trying to find a solution for this predicament for a while now.."

Everyone was quiet and watching David now. His cloudy eyes were wide. "The answer is simple, let's go get her!"

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Mina was certain that if Pitch had kept her head beneath the water a moment longer she would have drowned. Lucky for her, he didn't. Pitch yanked Mina's head up our of the water and let her breathe, holding her head firmly in his hand. She coughed and spit out water, trying to pull away and struggling against Pitch still, watching the water fearfully. It wasn't a moment after she was able to breathe well that Pitch forced her soaked head back into the icy water.

The water stung her face slightly from the cold. This time her lungs were screaming for air sooner, since she hadn't be allowed to breathe long. Mina attempted to move her head up from the water. Stop it! Leave me alone! What did I do in the first place?! Mina thought to herself while struggling against her captor. Oh, right.. I was born, that's what I did.

He yanked her head out of the water once more and chuckled. He chuckled at her misery and fear plainly shown of her face. The sick, twisted person was enjoying this.

In and out. In and out. Her head would go in and out of the water. Each time Mina was certain she would drown, and hurt before she gave up, Pitch would lift her head from the water.

Eventually he stopped and let her gag and cough for a long while. Mina was exhausted now and sluggish from the lack of oxygen. Things were hard to focus on for her and her thoughts dragged through her mind slowly and would slip away before she could fully grasp them.

Pitch laughed and looked towards Damion. "You look a little lonely over there Damion! Should we go get a pest for you to play with?" Pitch asked his partner with a broad smile.

Damion laughed and shook his head, replying smoothly, "No thank you Pitch. I'm perfectly fine watching you have fun!"

Mina was greatful for the pause and used it to try and organize her thoughts and take in large gulps of air.

Pitch frowned and pressed Damion, "Are you sure? We could easily go get the blind one."

Damion shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine, and I rather not give away are hiding place so they take away the toys. But maybe it woukd be fun to grab him.. If hes alone and seperate form the group.."

Mina's eyes widened, she thrashed in Pitch's grip. "No! Leave David alone!"

Pitch glared at Mina and moved her face close to the water. "Shut it slave..." He said lowly.

She froze, considering her options, choosing her words deliberately, she began to reply, "I won't behave if you bring David here...Master.. But I will do what you say and listen.. Master.." Mina stayed still, watching the water and meaning every word.

Pitch sighed and watched Mina. "Fine.. But if he comes here, make sure he's the first to die Damion." With that he plunged her head into the water.