The Black Envelope

Chapter 28: Salvation

Chapter 28: Salvation

Gage felt as if he had been drugged again. His head was heavy and his mouth didn’t taste right. It had a metallic tang. Almost coppery. Moaning, he turned, gagging on the taste of his own blood. He hacked and spit the glob of bloody saliva onto the ground, choking on the taste in his mouth.

Rolling over again, he groaned and blinked, opening his eyes slowly. The four people in the room were watching him nervously. “Gage?” Fay asked, walking a little closer.

He tried to fight the heaviness in his head and remember what had happened. The basement was familiar and so were the people in it. Gage sat up quickly as the memories flooded back. The head rush that followed made him groan again and slam back into the floor.

Jack watched him carefully. “Gage? Are you alright?” The Slayer spoke just above a whisper from directly to his right.

Gage laughed humorlessly. “Oh, yeah. Perfect. I’ve never felt better.”

“Seriously, Gage. How are you? How’s your arm? Your neck?” Jack licked his lips nervously.

Gage paled, which was hard enough to do considering his blood loss. He tenderly felt his left forearm with his fingers and winced, gasping sharply as pain radiated up his arm. His neck was pretty much the same. It was hard for him to hold his head up straight. The blood crusted on his lip cracked as Gage felt the swollen skin with his tongue.

Whoever had re-chained his hands had done it so that his hands were now in his lap instead of behind his back. It didn’t give him much of an advantage, however. He could barely move his left arm at the moment.

His nose throbbed and he reached up with his right hand and cracked it back into place. Blood trickled down from his nose again but he wiped it away.

The four others in the room winced at the crack but Gage sat back in relief. One pain down.

He sat up slowly, inching his way up the wall and ignoring the way the material of his shirt stuck to the wall. When he was in a satisfactory sitting position, he rested, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Finally, he opened his eyes. Glancing down at his arm he immediately regretted it, for the makeshift bandage was completely soaked through. The sight of so much blood sent his head spinning and memories of his time in the concrete room rushing back to him. Inhaling sharply, he turned away and dry-retched, coughing and gagging against the overwhelming smell of blood and the pain radiating in waves up his arm.

After a moment, Gage sat back up, panting and leaning against the wall. He stared off into space as the memories flashed in his head. Not long after that he realized he was shaking. The others looked on in pity and fear as he bowed his head and didn’t move.

“Gage?” Fay asked again tenderly, walking over to sit next to him.

Not able to put her arms around him, she leaned into his side and placed her lips on his cheek. He was still shaking as she whispered words of comfort into his ear. Her presence soothed him and his cheek felt warm where her lips had touched it.

Maria walked over and kneeled into front of Gage. She smiled at him and he gave her a weak smile back.

Mera hadn’t said anything since Gage had been taken. Listening to his screams from upstairs had overwhelmed her with a feeling of guilt. She was responsible for his pain. She was the one that suggested the place to him. It was her fault.

Gage noticed her distance and looked up. “Mera?” He whispered, voice husky and sore. He coughed and winced at the shock of pain in his throat.

She looked up at him, eyes tearing up. “I’m so sorry, Gagey. It’s all my fault.”