Life's Essence

2- Two Choices

A/N- Happy Thanksgiving you guys!! I hope it all goes well and you can enjoy being with family, and if you're not enjoying them and you feel like punching all of them in the face, then use this chapter as an excuse to take a few minutes break from em haha! I'm very thankful for all of you and how far you've helped me go in this 1 year that I've been writing ❤

I pitched sideways and fell to the floor. I heard Dallon let out a sharp gasp and I could taste blood starting to pool in my mouth. The man that hit me grabbed me by the hair and pulled me back up into a sitting position before kneeling down so he was level with my eyes, not releasing the tight grip on my hair.

"That was a warning," he said. "Anymore mouthing off like that and your fiancé will pay the price, got it?"

I mumbled out an agreement and he let go of my hair. I looked over at Dallon. He was already looking at me and was more panicked than ever. The man went back behind the desk and sat down.

"Now," he began, "the reason why I have you two here is simple. One is here to work for me, and one is here for leverage to make sure the other one does what they're supposed to do. Since I'm not completely heartless, yet, I'll let you two decide who will be in which role." He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk.

Dallon timidly spoke up, "Um, excuse me sir, but what kind of work are you talking about? Who are you?"

I could hear his voice shaking and his hesitance. The man shifted in his seat, causing Dallon to flinch so hard he almost fell over; afraid he would be hit like I was.

"Well, I'll tell you the bare bones," the man replied, showing the first expression I have seen since we've been here. It was deep thought.

"Well, my name is Andy first off. And basically, the one who works for me will be doing anything I tell them to. That can be anything from breaking and entering, stealing cars, drug dealing, and maybe even some murder. It depends really. You just gotta do whatever the fuck I say."

He was so casual about everything, even though he was talking about fucking murder! I was getting ready to answer him, but stopped when Dallon elbowed me in the side. I listened and kept my mouth shut, knowing that was probably the best idea for both of us.

"Um, ok. What happens to the other person? What are our choices here? Is there any way we can just go back home?" His voice and eyes were desperate as he asked the last question, and I don't blame him.

Andy let out a loud laugh before answering Dallon. "Any way you can just go home? That's funny. You've seen my face and heard my name, there's no fucking way you can get out of this now. You two will have to make a choice about who will play what role. As far as what the other person will be doing, that's fairly simple."

He stood from his desk and came around to the front. He crouched down a bit so he was eye level with us again.

"They'll be here as leverage to make sure the other person does what they're supposed to. We have a holding room for those people, nothing fancy. Simple cots, one bathroom for them all share. Small meals twice a day. But should the other person step a toe out of line, they would be tortured, abused, anything along those lines. If the other one acts up too much, you'll both be killed. Simple as that."

Our faces went pale. How were we supposed to choose who would do what? One person would be condemned to committing murder, and the other one would constantly face the possibility of torture. Andy stood back up and went over to a stand in the corner of the room and poured himself a small glass of what looked like whiskey.

"Would we ever get to see each other?" I asked.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that. You'll get to see each other for two hours on the eighth of every month, and for six hours on the twenty-first of every month. Unless the worker causes the other one to get tortured, then you'll get to see the other one for thirty minutes the day after the torture just to see the damage that you've caused."

I thought Dallon was about to pass out. I on the other-hand was just getting more and more pissed off at our situation. This is complete bullshit! How did this guy expect us to agree to any of this?! To choose any of this?! Why us? Huh, that is a good question....

"Why us?" I asked. "Why not pick someone more buff and intimidating? I'm short, thin and basically all talk. He's tall but literally won't even kill a fly. He catches them in a jar and lets them go outside."

I heard one of them men behind us let out a snort of laughter, but was immediately silent when Andy gave him a glare.

"Because, first off you two are a couple that has been together for a long time. That always works better than single people and one of their friends or a couple that's only been together for a very short time."

He paused to take a drink of his whiskey before continuing.

"Secondly, you're both estranged from your families in one way or another. Brendon, you're parents are extremely religious, are they not? Got pretty mad when you came out as gay? Dallon, your parents died in a car crash three years ago. Tragic yes, but also convenient for me. Lastly, you both are so wrapped up in your careers and each other that you don't have many friends, if any. It will take awhile before anyone tries to report either of you missing."

He finished his speech with a smirk as he watched our expressions fall even more. What he said was absolutely true and hit way too close to home.

Also, the fact that he knew all that shit about us is pretty scary. How long had he been keeping tabs on us? How far did he dig into our lives? Neither Dallon nor I spoke. Dallon looked like he couldn't even breathe right now.

"Anyways, you two don't have to decide right now. We'll speak again in the morning and you can tell me your decision. And if you don't make one, I'll make it for you." His gaze went to the men behind us.

"Take them back to the room. Give 'em some food around eight tonight."

And with that the guns were removed from our heads and we were thrown back over the men's shoulders and carried back down the hallway. Neither of us made a noise, we were in too much shock over all the information that had just been thrown at us. I heard a door squeak open and then I heard a loud thump and Dallon's squeak of pain and I soon found out why.

Instead of just setting me on the ground, the man who's shoulder I was slung over roughly threw me into the room. I landed painfully hard on concrete floor next to Dallon. One of the men came into the room and roughly cut the ropes off our wrists and ankles before leaving the room.

When the door was slammed shut, we were once again encased in darkness. While our eyes re-adjusted we didn't speak. We moved to the back wall and leaned against it and each other, pushed as close together as we could get.

Dallon had his arms wrapped around me and his head resting on top of mine when he finally spoke, breaking the deafening silence that had filled the small room.

"Bren, what the actual fuck are we going to do?"