Knight in Shining Armour

Chapter Six: The Basement

   
            One...
   
      No, two-

     Wait, four different voices. I could hear four voices, three male, one female. They were around me. One sounded familiar. I couldn't get up, my body wouldn't allow me. But my ears were still working. For some odd reason my lips were tingling. Cold.

"This is the pigeon shit that ran from me today with the bitch!" I male voice flamed. A male voice that happened to belong to Craton.

    My blood ran cold. I was in deep trouble right now and I was completely defenseless. Why couldn't I get up?! Why did that girl have to knock me unconscious!?

"Are you sure-?" another man's voice said. He sounded like he'd rather be anywhere but here. I'm going to take a wild guess and assume it's now nighttime. Or at least close to it. The air was much colder than it was earlier and I could feel myself getting bumps along my arms and legs.

"Dammit, I said it didn't I?!" Craton barked at the man, who didn't say another word. I could hear some shuffling and then I felt myself being pulled up by two people. The sudden action caused my eyes to swing open.

    My assumption was right, it was  dark out. Everything was a little blurry and my head still pounded. I think I had a bloody nose earlier. The scent of blood filled my nostrils as did the scent of alcohol coming from the men who had me. They were dragging me by my arms so my legs were dragging.

"What are you going to do with him?" I heard the female's voice ask. She didn't really sound like she cared. Probably just to make small talk. I couldn't make out what she looked like, due to her back being towards me. But I could tell she had brown hair. The lantern she held illuminated a small circle of light around us.

"I don't know," Craton answered her after a moment of silence. "Probably somewhere to get sold."

   The woman walked up to Craton and wrapped her free arm around his. "Let's just throw him in the basement with the other  boy. You can take them to wherever you need to take them at dawn...I want to spend the night alone with you," she seductively whispered, even though it wasn't much of a whisper since the other two men cleared their throats uncomfortably.

     I would've burst out laughing at the fact that Craton had a romantic partner, as ugly as he was, if I wasn't so terrified about what the basement held for me. I felt completely vulnerable. Craton had my bag, which had all my supplies and means of survival.

       I knew for a fact that trying to fight these men was just going to end with me being unconscious again. I was still slightly dizzy from the first hit. And I didn't need another. So instead I let out a barely audible groan. Well, I attempted to groan, but it came out as a hacking cough instead.

    I could feel the two men who were dragging me jump, as did the female, who let out a squeak. Craton on the other hand whipped around. He snatched the lantern from the woman and walked walked over to me, shining the lantern in my face. I shut my eyes and turned my head away from the light. It was making my head pound painfully.

"Thought you'd get away from me, huh?" He laughed. Which was a very ugly laugh, of course. I slowly opened my eyes to glare at him. The light illuminating off of his face would've made him looked scary if he didn't look so loathsome.

"Well, obviously. That's why I ran," I sardonically replied. The left side of my jaw was swollen, so it made it slightly difficult to even talk at all.

"I wouldn't be talking if I were you. Not in your condition, boy," he repulsively said. I just gave him the best smirk I could muster at the moment.

"At least I didn't get thrown down like a sack of potatoes by a girl...twice," I retorted, making his comrades snicker. He shot them a deathly glare before snatching me from their grasps. The sudden yank on my right arm made me wince in pain.

     Soon I was being held by the collar of my shirt and Craton was breathing into my face. I really wish I didn't need to breathe to live at that exact moment because his breath was death itself.

"Talk it up why you've got the chance now, boy, 'cause tomorrow monrin' you'll be on your way to some hell hole. So laugh at that," he dared me, his dark eyes staring me down.

    Did he really think that his threatening me was going to shut me up?

"On the contrary, laugh at this," I told him, snorting as hard as I could. Then I spat directly in his face. It was probably once of the nastiest things I've done. And not the brightest thing too because the next thing that happens is Craton pulling his arm back and hitting me directly in the face. For the second time that day I was unconscious.

★      ★      ★      ★

   To say that my head was pounding was an understatement. My head was literally about to exploded at the tiniest of sounds. I didn't even want to open my eyes. But I felt something- someone touch my forearm and I instinctively grabbed whoever it was wrists tightly.

     My eyes were wide open and I couldn't see anything but darkness. My heart felt like it was in my throat and my breathing started to get unrhythmic.

"I- I'm not going to hurt you, so could you please let go of me?" A male's voice said. It sounded as if he was just as scared, so I let him go and scooted as far away as I could. I felt my back hit a wall and it was only then that I realized that I was in some sort of room.

    Then I remembered what Craton had told me and everything that happened previously today. I felt sick, weak, disgusted. I had messed up so badly and now I was paying for my mistakes.

     I pulled my legs close to me and started to heavily breathe. The air down here was cold and dewy. It had an earthy scent to it as well as an odd musky scent. The smell was all too familiar. 'Don't think about it...don't think about it...don't'

    It was no use. I was starting to think of it. The hands...the blood...the screams...the pain...everything.

"1...2...3..."

     The boy.

   He was slowly counting, tapping what I assumed was his hand to make a slow rhythm. I glared at him and then realized that I didn't know where he was and that he couldn't see me.

"Stop it," is all I said.

"4...5...6...7...8-"

"It's quite distracting, you know," I told him, drawing my legs closer to myself.

"That was the whole point. You seem like you needed a distraction," he stated. He didn't sound any older than me, honestly.  Then I heard shuffling, as if he was making himself comfortable. "What's your name?"

    I debated on whether or not to tell him my real name, but I finally chose to keep it to myself. "Arron. Just Arron."

"Nice to meet you, Arron. I saw those men come and throw you in here. You didn't seem all too well and I was checking to see if maybe you were still alive."

"Well...I'm alive," I sniffed. Talking to him seemed to have made me forget my pain, so I kept the conversation going. "What about you? What's your name? How'd you get here?"

    There was a moment of silence, followed by more shuffling on his end. "I...I was kidnapped. In the middle of the night.  By Craton and his crew. I don't know what for, but I've been here for years it seems. But I know it's only been a few weeks...right?"

"I don't know...what's your name?" I asked, having a feeling that I already knew what his name was. There was some more silence and then finally he answered, his voice slightly shaky.

"Colton."