The Company

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It was dark…and cold but I was sweating. The air was light and sharp, almost painful against my skin. Only the sound of rattling chains and my heartbeat filled the empty space around me. My arms and legs were tied to the chair. A sudden flash of white light caused me to groan in pain as it illuminated the small area around me, leaving the rest of the room bathed in darkness. I shook my head and blinked rapidly trying to regain my sight, a throaty chuckle sounded in front of me and when my vision cleared I was surrounded by large faceless men in black suits.

“Agent Foxe” my eyes went wide with shock at the use of my real name which few people in this world knew “enough of this playing around. You will tell us what we want to know eventually” the sound of his voice reverberated through the room as the man with a cigarette lit between his lips approached me and stared into my eyes with the hollow sockets in his head where is eyes should have been filled with a disturbing darkness.

He took the cigarette from his lips and twirled it between his thumb and finger before putting it out on my arm; I clenched my jaw and gritted my teeth behind my closed lips, using everything in me to keep my eyes calm. One by one each of the men in front of me came forward and either put out their cigarettes on my body or sliced my skin with a hot blade all the while laughter rang in my ears as the men threw their featureless heads back with their shoulders shaking.

“Enough” a calm but commanding voice which I recognised echoed through the room, silencing the laughter, all the faceless men turned towards where the voice came from in the darkness “you’ll never get him to talk like that” he chuckled as he stepped forward into the light “isn’t that right son?” he smirked when he saw the dumb founded look on my face. In that second I was that 9 year old boy in his father’s Smokey study all over again, surrounded by the laughter of his friends as they took turns to marvel at the boy who felt no pain as they put out their cigarettes out on his skin. “You know what they say don’t you? Demons don’t burn” his words echoed through my mind as I remembered him saying it when I was younger after cheating death more than once as a child. He’d always hated me for taking my mother away from him.

“But-but” I stuttered as my body shook in fear, till this day he was the only man that truly scared me.

“I know, I know” he faked a soothing voice “you checked up on us every year and you thought I died 8 years ago but I guess I didn’t” his smirk grew wider “now where were we?” he tapped his finger against his chin and thought “ah yes! That isn’t the way you’re going get him to talk” he shook his head, “is this” he pulled the string above his head and a light came on to reveal a 10 year old boy strung up by his arms, he lifted his dirty blond head up and looked at me with blue eyes identical to my own.

“Dan” his voice croaked and something in me snapped, everything I had learnt over the years seemed to disappear as the colour drained from my face.

“John?” disbelief clear for all to hear.

“Danny, please help me” he sobbed “please-please don’t leave me here with him, please.”

“Johnny!” I shouted as I struggled against my restraints, my dad slowly took a blade from his pocket and dragged it across John’s cheek.

“AHHHHHH!” John screamed out in pain and the laughing resumed as my dad continued to cut him.

“STOP! STOP! I’LL TELL YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT TO KNOW JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE! STOP HURTING HIM!”

“It’s too late Daniel” his voice was cold when he spoke. He resumed cutting John and John’s screaming resumed.

“STOP! STOP!” I screamed until my voice was raw and still continued to scream as I thrashed against the chair, tears streaming down my face, tipping it onto its side.