Solitude

Chapter Fifteen- Tanked

Carver and I had to have been in his cell for a week. Locked in with scraps for food, and only a cup of water to share a day. It was freezing. It was miserable. And the only one who we spoke with was Volney, across the hallway. We shared blankets and slept close to each other for warmth when 'the office' made the nights too cold to battle alone.

More than once had I cut myself on the peeled back metal randomly carved into the cell floor. I'd been horrified of them at first, sadness cloaking me when I thought of Carver having to stay in here alone. Then a thought poked and prodded at me until I finally realized that he had to have been furious enough to do this. Something- or someone- had angered him enough that he shredded his metal cell. He's been powerful enough to do it, so maybe he could do it again. Get us out of here.

"Could you do the whole shredding thing again if you got angry enough?" I asked softly, tracing my finger over the tips of his, wondering how his hands didn't look like ground beef.

Carver exhaled sharply, turning his head to watch me through the dark. "Maybe, I'm not sure. They injected me. I saw things that weren't real. When they give me that shit, I feel like my blood is ice and my brain is on fire and nothing can stop the two from fighting. Mal would give me a dose, then Lyle would come in after I had passed out and inject me with three times the amount of the first dose. Every night I was gone from the apartment. It was hell, tearing apart the cell was the only thing keeping my mind off the pain and distracting me from the hallucinations." It was my turn to exhale, a wave of possessiveness flowing through my body.

"You two alright in there? It got awful quiet...." Volney teased, the smile in his voice lingering in our ears.

"Yeah," I croaked. "What about you?" One of Carver's hands curled around the back of my neck, stroking his thumb against the fine baby hairs that never ceased to succeed escaping my nifty updos. My stomach did flips as he continued, the sensation mind numbing and soothing.

"I'll be dandy for as long as Carver keeps it in his pants. There's no way I will ever be in the mood to hear you two getting it on. So, just keep that in mind- for me." It was obvious that Volney was joking, but the teasing tone only urged Carver's other hand to come around to the back of my head and start massaging my scalp. A low groan slipped out from my lips the second his nails made contact, my head swaying forward to grant him more access.

Our friend across the hall sighed loudly, and began humming to drown out the sounds I made. Carver's massage eased away the headache I had, turning it into intoxicating swirls of pleasure from the pads of his fingers. My hair would be tangled, but it was a no brainer price for the deal I was getting. Carver didn't stop until we both fell asleep listening to the melodious tune Volney was now singing.

They finally took us out to eat in the cafeteria with Volney. Two weeks had passed by since nearly freezing to death, and they tested us by sitting us in different spots again. Sometimes we all sat at the same table, others we sat in opposite corners. The only consistency with our trips to the cafeteria was Volney's persistent conversations and the damn food.

He'd talk and talk, even if Carver and I didn't feel like talking that day, he'd make conversation. Other times we'd all engage in his invented games, even laughing at some things. We'd joke about the weather and what kind of food we got- it was the same every time but sarcasm did well to diffuse tense situations. Bad times had turned slightly less bad.

Today, Volney wasn't in the cafeteria by the usual time Carver and I got escorted in. A tray wasn't set out for him either. Anything could be happening to him.

"Where's Volney?" I whispered to Carver, who was seated straight across the room from me today. We'd surprisingly slept a full night last night despite how uncomfortably cold they made it.