THE RUN AND GO : JOSHLER

24 : TORTURE

"Heard ya started without me, Renegade."

"I'm sorry, Mad Gear, but I just couldn't help it."

Tyler's lips pulled up into a smirk as he grabbed a pair of green rubber gloves.

"Understandable," he replied, tugging the gloves onto his hands. He pulled back the end of the left and let it go, a loud snap sounding as it hit his skin. "This dick makes it easy."

Tyler's smirk grew as he rubbed his hands together and stared at the scene in front of him.

The room was small and dark, the walls being made of cinderblock. The only source of light was a single lightbulb hanging on a string in the center of the ceiling. With the door closed and locked, it made the space seem even more eerie and terrifying.

A tilted wooden board took up most of the room. The intruder was tied to the board by heavy ropes across his chest and legs. The board sloped downwards, so his feet were elevated while his head rested on part of the board that tilted down.

Alex, Donnie, and Horseshoe were in the room with him, each of them standing in a separate corner.

Tyler crossed his arms and slowly walked around the board, eyeing the man strapped to it.

"Let's get this over with," Tyler grumbled, pursing his lips. His mind wandered back to Josh and what had happened in the corridor.

He smiled devilishly and looked down at the man's face.

"How ya feeling?" Tyler asked him with mock sweetness. "Sorry if all the blood is rushing to your head. That feeling will go away soon, though."

The man remained silent, glaring up at Tyler and angrily breathing through his nose.

"One last chance, dick," Tyler snapped, leaning down inches away from the man's face. "Name. Now."

"My name's fuck off," the man spat in Tyler's face.

"Alright, that's it," Tyler angrily scowled and stood up straight. He snapped back his rubber gloves on his skin. "Who's got the cloth?"

"I have it," Donnie the Catcher spoke up, pulling a face rag out of his back pocket.

"And the water?" Tyler continued, yanking the small towel out of Donnie's hands.

"Here, sir," Horseshoe answered, dragging a dirty orange bucket across the floor by its handle. A few drops of water spilled over the edge and splattered onto the cement floor.

"S'hot?" Tyler asked. He raised his eyebrows as he looked down at the bucket of water.

"Boiling, sir," Horseshoe replied with a smirk.

Tyler shifted his gaze from the bucket of water on the floor to the man strapped to the table.

"Go 'head and take a few deep breaths," Tyler said with a devious grin. "Might be the last ones you get."

✗✗✗✗✗

Josh moved slowly.

He slowly ascended the staircase from the basement up to the first floor. He slowly trudged down the hall, his head down. He slowly put his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants-Tyler's sweatpants.