Breaking the Chains

Chapter Sixteen

Eli eventually sat beside Riley on the loveseat and had her legs on top of his, even though his legs did burn still from the beatings and the position he was stuck in for about a month. He knew Riley was going through worse so he didn't make a sound whenever she moved to her comfortable. Eli was beginning to like her family and Matt was already asking him if he'd like to go outside and play some football. Eli had declined, even though Matt was almost successful at convincing him to. Riley's father was beginning to make dinner after an hour of being there. Eli knew that he left his Nona in the middle of chaos but he hoped she would go back home. Or maybe she was looking for them because she thought they got kinapped again.

Eli shook his head to throw his thoughts away. He took a breath and looked up toward Riley's mother. "Do you guys have a phone?" She nodded after a moment and handed him a cell phone. Riley tilted her head as she watched Eli press random buttons on the phone.

"You got a phone?" Riley asked quietly as she looked toward her mother.

"I had to," Riley's mom frowned. "I needed to know if anyone found you." Riley nodded hesitantly before looking back toward Eli who had the phone to his ear. But something was off about him. She blinked and tried to rub her eyes to wake her up but she didn't feel it. She gulped and looked around, seeing everything getting darker in her eyes. She felt her nerves disappear before they inflated into sparks. Riley jumped and felt chills on her wrists. And when she tried to speak, all she heard was muffles. She struggled, opening her eyes wide but not able to see anything.

"Eli!" She tried to scream but all that came out was a hum. She continued to struggle, feeling her hands stuck behind her back. She tried to move forward quickly but she was jerked back. "Eli!" she screamed again but once again, it was nothing more than a muffle. She began to whimper as she struggled again, feeling the room heat up around her. Riley felt the metal floor underneath her legs. She realized she wasn't wearing the sweats that Eli had given her. Had she even ever wore them?

There was muffled laughter in the corner of the room, and Eli could smell sweat. It was almost intoxicating because of the mix of chemicals he could smell in the room. He had been awake for days now, not able to fall back asleep. At first he screamed for Riley, but there was no answer, and after struggling for hours, he stopped and was knocked out by one of them.

Eli didn't even know who they were, but he knew there was more than one of them. One of them had the deepest voice he'd ever heard while one other had a feminine voice. He didn't know if it was a girl, but he could care less.

So far, all he knew was that he was in a room with a crazy man who wouldn't stop laughing. Half of the time, he was either coughing or puking his guts out, even though Eli knew the man didn't have anything to puke out except for stomach acid and blood. No one had come for anything but to beat the two of them. Sometimes they were both beat at the same time, or separately. Eli only knew this because he would hear someone else's cries right after he had his time. He would he sweating or trying to recover as the other was going through the same thing. Eli always felt chills go up and down his spine whenever he heard the man's laughter. It made him feel like he was in a mental hospital more than in a building that kept hostages, which would have been physically better, but Eli would've slowly gotten insane.

Then the slam of a door sounded around him. It was time for his time. He felt the urge to jump and fight back when he heard the crazy man in the corner start screaming. Eli knew that the man only screamed if it was really bad. Eli's nerves spiked and he knew this wasn't separate beatings. It was all together, and it most definetly wouldn't be pleasant.

Riley took in a shaky breath when she heard the door to her room open. She heard many girls take in breaths and Riley jumped, realizing she wasn't in a room alone. Some of the girls were trying to scream, but all Riley could hear was muffles. She wanted to see what was going on, but even when she opened her eyes as wide as they could, she wasn't able to see.

"Well well well," the woman spoke crisply before she took a swung at Riley's head. Riley yelped as her head spun to the right. "Looks like she's awake." The voice said with disgust before she grabbed Riley's shoulders and pulled her up. Riley winced and felt a shoulder pop out of place as she was pulled away from her chains. "Can't hold yourself well, though," the woman said with a grin. Riley began to struggle before the woman kneed her in the gut. "Get down," she dropped Riley so that she landed on her knees. "Who's next?" The voice yelled before beating another girl who was whimpering right beside Riley. Riley nearly cried.

The girl screamed. And the woman who hit her yelled horrible things. Riley winced at the girl's reaction and tried to stay as silent as she could. She didn't even let her breath be more than silent. Riley closed her eyes tightly, knowing either way she wouldn't be able to see anything but darkness. The girls were whimpering and fidgeting as Riley tried to keep quiet.

And then the door closed again, leaving the room to only whimpers and small movements. Riley huffed out a breath since she was holding her breath and bit her lower lip hard as she banged her shoulder on the wall behind her to pop it back into place. She muttered a swear before she grew quiet again and moved her shoulder slightly. The girls all went quiet before they realized it wasn't anything to worry about. They began to breath heavily again until the same silence Riley woke up in deafened her once more.

Electric pads were placed on Eli's arms and legs. He was jerking before the sickening deep voice went into his ear. "This'll shut you up," and then Eli felt electricity shock his body. He felt like he was sizzling like bacon would've if it were in a hot pan. Eli shook like he never had before and he almost wished he was sleeping so he wouldn't be mentally there to feel what was going on.

He shook until the electricity stopped. Eli felt like he was going to kill the man in front of him before he felt the electricity begin again. He shook again, feeling like he had no control. Slowly, he felt like he was letting go and eventually, he passed out. His eyes shut and soon enough, he didn't feel himself shake.

Riley was shaking. She didn't know what was happening and why she was locked in a room full of whimpering girls. She didn't know why she felt so cold all of a sudden. She didn't understand why she felt so naked and vulnerable. Her legs felt like they were only coveted in her flesh as they pressed against the metal floor. She felt like her stomach was revealing while her breasts was covered.

The room smelt like sweat, vomit and blood combined. Maybe even rot if Riley smelt deep enough. Most of the girl were whimpering again but Riley wasn't sure. It was like Riley never knew why.

But soon Riley knew. A woman stood above her and  ran a pocket knife down Riley's forearm. Riley whimpered just a bit before she could only feel the warm, gushing blood on her arm. She held in her screams and her breath as her other arm was sliced the same way. She felt the blade go through her bruises and scars and she had no other choice but to stay silent. Either she had to scream as loud as she could, or stay as silent as she could, and something told her the people here didn't seem to like people being reckless.

The blood was pooling over her hands, which were tied behind her with cuffs and chains. She remembered what that felt like. Riley clenched her jaw as she felt the sting the cuts left behind. She'd felt that too. Alison wasn't gentle.

Riley took in a slow breath through her nose slowly before a fist came to her gut. Riley only jumped. She hardly bad a sound as she held her breath as best as she could. She pressed her teeth together to keep herself together before another fist hit her in the same place. Riley could already feel the new bruises building up on top of her older ones. But even Riley had her limits, and an hour later, she reached it.