A New Ride Begins

Chapter 25

TOMMYS POV:

There's a dull ache in the back of my head and I can feel my wrists constricted behind me. I try to remember how I got here but my mind is confused. Forcing myself to focus, I begin to struggle in the metal chair, trying to get myself free.

Then, the memories hit me like a punch to the nuts and I remember exactly how I got myself in this predicament. Charming, California and the Sons of Anarchy led me here. A mission to prove my worth and learn about my family led me here. The Messengers MC led me here.

Now the only question is how the hell am I going to get myself out of here?

The metal door swings open, revealing three dark figures in the doorway. The first time I was brought here, I had a plan. This time, I have not the slightest idea on how I will get myself out this chair.

Kentucky flips the light switch. I blink against the dull yellow light that hangs from a wire in the center of the brick and concrete room. Kingston, Patton and two other Messengers step into the room and look at me with disgust.

"What's going on guys?" I ask with a smirk. "Is this some sort of fucked up initiation or something?"

Patton steps in front of the other four goons and crosses his arms over his chest, tsking me with his tongue and shaking his head slowly back and forth.

"I have to say, Thomas Teller, this is a very disappointing day for me," he begins. "I thought we had found a good one in you, and it turns out that you've been playing me for a fool this entire time."

I try not to wince as he says my real name. I try to act just as confused as an innocent man would.

"Who's Thomas Teller?" I sputter. "Is this some kind of joke? Cause' I'm not laughing, guys."

Patton positions the brass knuckles he wears on each hand before he steps up to me and lays a full forced punch to the side of my face. I hear my jaw crack before I feel the pain from it. The chair tips and I fall to my side on the floor.

"Pick him up," Patton commands his men, who readily do as they are told.

Once my chair is upright I spit a mouthful of blood onto the concrete before looking back at Patton.

"Here's what's going to happen, Tommy boy," Patton continues. "You're going to tell me the got damned truth for once, or else my guys here are going to beat you until you're nothing more than a barely breathing lump of flesh. Then, we're gonna do it all over again until you fess up to being a sneaky, slimy mole that managed to sneak its way into my organization."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I mumble, my jaw aching with every forced syllable spoken.

"Wrong answer," Patton responds before he ushers his men forward.

I clench my eyes closed as the beating starts. Before I know it, my chair is once again sideways on the cold concrete floor. They deliver punch after kick, and then I feel a sharp stabbing pain through my side as I scream out in unbelievable agony. My body starts to convulse, going into shock, as I once again succumb to the darkness.

*~*~*

I'm sitting at the cemetery, leaning against the same tree I came upon all those weeks ago when I first got to Charming. The sun is bright, shining down on my face and heating my skin. I hear footsteps coming near me and I look up and into the faces of my parent's, Jackson and Tara Teller.

They smile down at me before taking a seat beside me on either side.

"What are you doing?" Jax asks me as he absently picks at pieces of grass on the ground.

"Looks like I'll be coming to see you guys sooner than I thought," I respond, my eyes on the gravestones before me.

I can feel an arm wrap around my shoulders and turn my eyes toward my mother. She looks sad for me as she lays her head on my arm and begins to play with the ends of my hair.

"It's not your time, Tommy," she whispers. "You're going to get out of this."

"How can you be so sure?" I ask.

"Because you're a Teller," Jax answers for his wife. "You're going to wake up, get out of those ropes and kill anyone who stands in the way of you getting out of this mess."

"You made Ellie a promise," Tara continued. "You need to get back to her, Tommy, and then you can put all of this craziness behind you."

"I don't know how," I cry, finally finding my emotions. "There's too many of them and only one of me."

"You're never alone, Tommy," Tara consoles. "We're always here, watching you. We will get through it together."

"I never wanted this life for you," Jax says. "But since you've proven to be just as stubborn as your old man, you have to prove to be just as tough. This isn't your end, Tommy, because you won't let it be."

*~*~*

I open my eyes again to the darkness. I'm still on my side on the floor, only this time it's more than just the back of my head that hurts. Instead of focusing on the pain shooting through 90% of my body, I focus on the loosened rope on my wrists. I can feel it burning into my skin as I struggle with it until finally I get a hand free.

I know that the door is locked, so I stay still- Waiting for someone to come back so that I can fight my way out of this place, or die trying.