Breaking the Chains

Chapter Eighteen

_______________________________________
***MAJOR WARNING!!!: THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES VERY DESCRIPTIVE VIOLENCE!!! CONTINUE WITH CARE!!***
_______________________________________

Eli was breathing hard. The man in the corner wouldn't stop throwing up and Eli was getting sick from the sounds. If the man wasn't puking, he was either laughing, coughing or crying hysterically. Eli didn't know who the man was but something inside of his gut told him it was better not knowing than knowing everything.

The men didn't come in that day and Eli was starving. His stomach wouldn't stop grumbling and at one point, he threw up. All that came out was stomach acid and some of the food he somehow managed to still have in his gut from that odd McDonald's trip. Or was there any food that came out at all? Eli wasn't sure and tried his best not to think about it when he felt like he was about to throw up again.

"They'll be back," the man said after a few more seconds of laughing. The room fell into silence before the man spoke again. "They never leave us alone." Eli could only nod. He had tape on his mouth so he couldn't speak, but he could look around the room freely since there was nothing to hide in it. It looked like a normal metallic room to Eli, except for the water coating the floor and the acid and blood. Eli's lungs were still recovering from being flooded with water. He had been able to breathe decently for a few hours but didn't fully recover. There was a lot of silence before the man decided to ask, "How are you holding up?"

"Mmfph," Eli answered and nearly laughed at how muffled his responce was.

"Oops, sorry. Forgot you were still taped shut." He gave a laugh before he grunted. "I've been here for months," the man said finally, taking a breath in after he spoke. "Nothing gets better." Eli almost liked that the silence took over before the man interupted it again. "Which gang are you in?"

"Hm?" Eli asked as best as he could before he struggled with his arms a bit.

"Are you even in a gang?" The man asked, his voice getting deeper. Eli shook his head quickly before the took out a breath. Eli had a lot of people he knew who were part of gangs. He hung around them most of the time and even held a gun and nearly killed a man with it. Sometimes he was considered a member already but the members knew him too much to let him fully be in. "Oh. Maybe you did something really bad, then." The man shrugged before he began to breathe shakily.

The door opened swiftly and Eli tried to sit as still as he could until the man took the chains off of the cuffs on his wrists. "Time to see boss," said a man with a heavy accent.

Time to see boss, Eli thought to himself. 

Riley panicked when the door opened again. All the girls were shaky, including Riley. She couldn't understand why she deserved all of this and she couldn't handle anymore beatings. But before she knew it, her chains were taken away from her cuffs and she was forced onto her feet. She tried to shake away the hands but they weren't going anywhere.

"Boss wants you," the woman said in a sinister way as some sort of snicker grew on her face. "Says it's important but I thought it'd be better if you stayed," she breathed out and knocked Riley's shoulder against the door frame. "Boss is bringing that guy too, apparently."

"Mfm?" Riley asked in the same muffled voice she had ever since the tape covered her mouth.

"Stop trying to talk. It's useless," the girl let out a loud sigh as she slammed the door shut. "Listen," she said quietly once she got into the hall. "Boss may be more understanding than the rest of us, but that doesn't mean he'll go easy on you or anyone else." Riley nodded without even thinking about it. "I'm telling you this because I know what's going to happen in there." Riley stopped but let the girl lead her anyway. "Be careful about what you say, and remember, I'm the one with the knife." Riley tilted her head, confused on why the girl had to say that. Riley breathed silently through her nose as the girl gently pushed her into a room. "Sit and wait for the boss to come. Don't say a thing." Riley nodded before she took a step forward and fell onto a big couch. Riley bit her teeth together as her body screamed. All the cuts and the bruises blended into a single sting that didn't go away for minutes.