Crash ~Justin Bieber~

Chapter 75 ~ Lion Paw, Part 2

(Rachel's POV)

William told us a story once.

It was about coal and ice.

William told us that years ago, a professor did a study that investigated the effects of fear. The professor blindfolded a room full of people. He convinced them that he was going to burn their arms with heated coal. But the professor was playing a trick on his students. Their arms were never going to be touched with coal. The professor was going to use ice.

His unsuspecting students were fooled by the sharp sting and burn of cold. Their arms blistered and bubbled. Their bodies and mind reacted to a nonexistent fire.

"If you can get into someone's head, you can beat them without causing them any real pain. Your minds your toughest weapon, and your enemies mind should be your biggest target"

That's what the story taught us.

We learnt that mental fatigue was more dangerous then pain.

But I learnt a different lesson.

I learnt that you could burn someone without ever lighting a match.

Maybe Justin learnt that lesson too.

~*~

I stood in the bathroom by the basin.

Justin stood in front of me. He huddled over the rising water. His bloody nose turned the water pink.

After a while he looked up at me. He saw my concern and my fear.

"It's okay" he told me, "Don't be scared"

When nobody was looking at me he winked.

Then I started to understand. I saw this scenario for what it really was.

This sink wasn't a promise it was a threat. Tanner's face was never going to splash the surface.

"Hurry up"

"Get your hands off of me!!!"

"Bring him over here"

It was a game. It had always been a game.

Justin wasn't playing with fire; he was only fooling Tanner with ice.

"Drag him if you have to"

And Tanner's mind was buying it. His breaths were shortening already.

"Stop gagging you freak" Ben threw him forward, "We haven't even started yet"

Nobody had done anything to deny Tanner of air, but his mind was convinced that he was suffocating.

"Stand up,"

He was choking on fear. He was gagging on blood.

"No!"

He was doing everything he could to avoid the sink.

"Why?" Justin asked, "Didn't you make your victims stand up? Didn't you make Randy go through this when he was thirteen? How about you Oliver - how old were you when he first did this to you?"

"Thirteen"

"Thirteen... so you're seventeen Tanner. Stand up and show Oliver how it's done"

"Here!!"

Tanner surrendered the phone. I didn't blame him. I would have done the same thing. When your body goes into panic mode you do what you have to do to survive.

"Have it!!"

But sometimes everything isn't enough.

"I never said the phone was going to save you"