Color Me (under construction).

16. Rope Burn Heroes

Beau sat with her head dipped forward, her brown hair covering her bruised and bloodied features. She was exhausted and her body was on fire, her hands numb from the digging rope. Her eyes were heavy. Matthew's large hand grabbed a handful of her hair and slowly tilted her head back up. Beau's eyes glided across the ceiling in search of something steady - something consistent to keep her world from spinning. She focused on a hole in the ceiling tile as Matthew brought his lips to her ear.

"To think I'd finally get to him, but you're nothing," he sneered. The disgust rolled from his tongue like a bad taste he needed desperately to rid from his mouth.

His warm tongue swiped up the side of her face as he yanked himself away from her with a grunt. When he struck, he struck quick, the brass knuckles he wore cut across her cheek, tearing the delicate skin. Beau no longer cried like she had at first, the tears seemed too frightened now to pass her purpled lids. They were smart unlike she had been. She tried so hard to cling to the idea of John coming to save her, but strike after strike she loosened her grasp of the hope she held for him, her mind slipping into a despair so deep. She hated to think she wouldnt survive this.

Beau jumped and attempted to shrink away from Matthew as he came at her with a searing rod pulled straight from a blow torch. Hatred filled his being as he pushed all he held for John at Beau. His dirt-caked arms reached out and touched the scorching rod to the exposed skin of Beau's arm. She screamed bloody murder, her head thrown back to allow her lungs to express every ounce of pain she felt zipping through her skin - her fragile skin. When Matthew pulled away, she gulped at the air in coughs.

"Oh, little one, how I love hearing you scream like that."

Beau clenched her teeth, her eyes starring harshly at Matthew, "Fuck you!"

This hit some type of nerve. Matthew threw the glowing rod toward the wall, the loudness echoing throughout the bare room, little sparks of embers floating peacefully into the air. He stalked toward her, his heavy boots hitting the concrete in clomps. Beau turned her face from him before he reached and took both of her cheeks in one of his large hands to pull her forward.

"You should be very careful with what you say," he hissed then quickly discarded his brass knuckles.

Just as Matthew grabbed at Beau's shirt, tearing the tattered fabric from her chest, a series of gun shots came from the hall paired with screams and wails of men. Beau took this moment of distraction to swing her head forward as quickly and as harshly as possible. Her forehead slammed into the bridge of Matthew's nose; he yelled out, his hands flying to stop the bleeding as he bent slightly over. Beau's heart stammered as she thrashed against her restraints. If she didn't get free now, he would definitely kill her for what she had just done to him.

The gun shots still ran through the halls, each thump of a body moving ever closer to the room she was in. Beau took two quick breaths, her right hand snapped her left thumb out place like she had seen in the movies. Pain erupted up and through her wrist, a scream ripped from her throat as she yanked her hand from the rope. With one hand free she was able to easily get her right hand loose.

Matthew charged quickly for her, his eyes wild and blood smeared across his face from his broken nose. Beau yelped before diving to the side taking the chair with her, her feet still attached to the metal legs. Both her and the chair clambered against the floor and she used her arms to turn herself onto her back. Matthew regained us composure and pounced atop of her. He grabbed for her swinging fists, tightly winding around them as he slammed them to the floor. Beau kicked out her chair bound legs and smacked Matthew with the metal object. He yelled in frustration and punched Beau in the face. She let her head lull to the side in feign dizziness as Matthew quickly untied her legs. She had to ride this out until someone could get to her or until she could get herself free from him.

The moment her legs were free, Beau slid the quickly out from beneath Matthew and scrambled to stand. She tripped slightly and steadied herself against the wall before he got to his own feet. His large hand reached for a chunk of her hair and he threw her head roughly into the wall. Her body dropped to the ground and a slow stream of blood seeped from the crown if her head. She laid crumpled there and before Matthew could continue, the door was kicked open.

John stood at the threshold with a gun aimed at Matthew who heaved through clouded lungs.

"We were beginning to think you weren't going to join us, Jay."

John's eyes flicked to Beau as she struggled to make it to her feet. When his eyes returned to Matthew, John's body relaxed and all life drained from his eyes. "You're dead," he stated simply.

Beau's hands followed the wall as she moved away from Matthew, her eyes fixed in John. Matthew nodded and shrugged his shoulders, "You don't have it in you to kill your brother, Little Jay."

The moment the words left Matthew's lips, John pulled the trigger of the gun. A single bullet tore from the barrel and collided with Matthew's forehead. His body jerked backwards, blood splattering the wall as the bullet exited his skull. Beau watched his body fall limp, a small whimper escaping her agape mouth.

John dropped the now empty gun to the floor and sought out Beau. She stared at Matthew's dead body in disbelief...John just killed him. The tears that were too scared to spill before now fell freely in slow streams down her raw cheeks. John stepped in her direction slowly, his hands raised in caution. Relief flooded her when she looked up to him, he was here and for her. She stumbled into him, her chest crashing against his. When his string arms wrapped around her Beau melted, her legs buckling and her body giving in to all that she had endured. John snaked an arm behind her knees and lifted her into his hold.

"Its okay, baby girl, just sleep now. We're going home, Beau, just sleep," he whispered gently.