Tainted by You | ✔️

chapter 4

I had frantically decided that it was best to stay quiet. I have gotten completely out of the blindfold without whoever was holding me noticing. We have been walking somewhere for a long time. I scan around me and see four other men other than me and my carrier and they are all big and brawny, all with a variety of thick accents and tattoos climbing up their arms.

Yeah, I know, sort of cliche.

But they're still petrifying nonetheless.

The man, or should I say boy?, carrying me is thin and short, obviously not like the other members. Whenever he speaks to the others I notice he almost sounds feminine. He also has tattoos, but not snakes or swords like the rest. I spot a sponge bob tattoo on his right arm and feel like laughing even though I'm in a crisis. But I can't laugh. I'm supposed to be asleep.

"Dad?" The boy carrying me says.

"It's Mike to you." The man in the front grumbles. The boy's posture shifts. He seems intimidated by him.

"Uh, Mike?" He corrects himself. "Could you carry him? I've had him over my shoulder for a while and I honestly think I might drop him."

Oh god, please don't drop me! I'm potato sacked over his shoulder, and if i'm dropped my head will collide with the concrete below.

"Mitch!" Mike barks. "Giving up on a task is a sign of weakness. If you're going to be leader of this group one day, you need to prove your strength." I guess Mike is their leader? My mind is moving so fast that everything looks and sounds blurry.

Mitch holds onto me tighter, knowing that if he dropped me his dad would be angry. Mike must hear him struggling to hold onto me.

"Mitch!" He yells vehemently. "Just stop trying. I always knew you were weak. Hand him over to Sonny." Mitch picks me off his shoulder, and right before he does I put the blindfold halfway back on. I am handed to a burly man with shoulder length blonde hair. I cringe as I am brushed against it and feel the matted texture.

"Mike," Mitch calls. "This boy looks about my age. I wonder how old he is."

"No time to wonder." Mike snaps. Mitch's mouth shuts and he taps his fingers to his wrist as he pretends to act unfazed. I almost feel bad for him as I see his eyes glaze over.

The rest of our walk is silent, and we finally reach the side of a rusted building with a small side door that they crouch under to get through. Sonny is extremely tall, and doesn't crouch far enough. My head hits the metal door frame, and I do everything I can to keep from yelling out in pain. My head is throbbing. We reach a dimly lit room with a stained couch and flat screen TV. Behind that is a kitchen, with yellowing tiles and a wooden oil clothed table upon it. Mike heads to their fridge and pulls a beer out. The two other men plop onto the couch. Mitch stands in the middle of the room, looking around aimlessly as sadness overflows his face. Sonny takes me into another secluded room, with a flickering lamp and a wooden chair in the center. Thick ropes are tied to my wrists and ankles as I'm sat in the chair. Sonny mutters some Spanish and leaves me attached to the chair.

Is this the time to yell out? To start sobbing? I fully open my eyes and Mitch catches my gaze. His brown eyes fill with some emotion I can't indicate. He heads my way, each step graceful but unsure.

He pulls the towel out of my mouth, and a sudden need for water surges me. He hands me a glass and I drink it greedily. He pulls another chair to sit across from me, simply staring into my eyes.

"If you want to live, stay quiet. Stay thankful to our members, oblige to whatever they like, don't disrupt their plans, don't rebel." Mitch's voice is soft and quiet. I cling to every word. He's warning me.

"Did you choose to join them?" I whisper back.

"My father is the leader. Only call him Mike. I am Mitch. The two on the couch are Ruben and Jose. The man who carried you in here is Sonny. And your name?"

"Scott. Scott Hoying." I respond.

"Just listen to what I tell you, and you'll stay safe. I'm willing to protect you here if you let me. The reason you're here is to replace a member who died, Beck. He OD'd last month." He whispers. He doesn't seem to miss Beck. But then it hits me.

They want me to join their gang.

Thanks for reading! I hope you're excited to find out how Scott's first 'day on the job' goes! I'm actually happy with the way this story is turning out and I hope you keep reading!

~Cassie :)