Wicked

4

The first thing Alex saw when he opened his eyes was the room he was in. It was a dingy, dank room that Alex guessed was in the basement. A pipe in the corner was leaking; the constant drip was driving him mad.

The only light in the room was a bare, grimy lightbulb on the ceiling. The floor was dirty and the room smelled musty. Greenish mold grew on the wall to his left.

Alex tried to stand, but something stopped him from moving, and he realized he was securely bound to a metal chair that looked like a dentist's chair, which was in turn bolted to the cement floor. His wrists were handcuffed behind his back, and his ankles were tied to the chair legs. Thick ropes crisscrossed across his chest.

Alex was relieved to find that his snake mask was still firmly in place. At least they didn't know who he was, yet.

"Awake, are we?"

Alex's head snapped up to see a man step out of the shadows, where he'd been waiting. "Who are you?" he snarled, even though he already knew the answer. The man looked amused. "You're not in any position to be answering questions, boy. I'm the one interrogating you." He strolled forward. "You know, I want to see your pretty little face." Alex frantically bucked his chair, but the man grabbed his chin and tore off the mask swiftly.

Immediately, the man jumped back in shock. "You look- you look just like Rob Starr!"

"I hate the fact that I'm a split image of that monster," Alex spat. The man ignored him. "Well, well. So you're the missing kid. Shall we introduce ourselves? I'm Jackson Stone." Alex did not speak, filing the information away for later reference.

Stone sighed. "I can see you're not going to be forthcoming. Who are you?" he demanded bluntly.

Alex laughed. "I don't think so."

Stone didn't seem fazed. "Who is your father?"

"You already know all this," Alex replied. Stone gave him a sadistic grin. "Maybe I'm just looking to have some fun with you. Now, why did you come to Purvis Building?"

Alex completely ignored his question and posed one of his own. "Do you have a spy in Rattlesnake?"

Stone ignored his question, in turn. "Who was the agent with you?"

Alex ignored him again. "Do you know you've just started a war?"

And so the interrogation continued, each firing questions at the other and refusing to answer.

Stone finally snapped, backhanding Alex across the face. "You don't ask me the questions! I do!" Alex's head snapped to the side, and he shook it off. "So now you're too cowardly to face me one-on-one?" Alex taunted. "You have to hit me when I'm defenseless?"

Stone only smirked. "Nice try, kid. I play by my own rules."

"Your rules, I'm sure, don't apply to anyone who has any balls."

Stone backhanded him again. Alex tasted coppery blood this time, and gathered it up in his mouth. He spit it directly into Stone's eyes, and the man roared and swiped at his eyes.

"You'll pay for that!" He punched Alex in the stomach, and he doubled over, still restrained. "Tell me what your name is!" Stone bellowed.

Alex spat out more blood, and gave him an unrelenting smile and a wink.

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

Stone leant forward so his face was mere inches away from Alex. "I'd like to see you try."

Alex shrugged. "I'll take that as an invitation." Before Stone could process that, he smashed his head forward into the man's face. Stone staggered away with a howl of pain, clutching his broken and bloody nose. The door banged open and two men burst inside. "Are you all right, sir?"

Stone glared at Alex. "Take dat thcub to a bathement thell," he spat thickly, nose gushing blood. "I'll deal with hib later." The men somehow understood his orders and untied Alex from the chair.

He was sandwiched between them and led down the hall, down two flights of stairs and eventually arrived in the basement, where cells were lined up.

As Alex passed, he noticed most of the cells were empty, save a couple dangerous-looking thugs glaring out at them. There were only two bare and grimy lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling, illuminating the hall in a dim light. The floor tilted slightly as they went down the hall, and the two guards led Alex to the last cell.

Just a gloomy, dank cell with a single, dirty cot and a bucket in the corner. The single window set in the high wall of the cell was barred, but nothing was preventing the snow from falling inside and the chilly temperature from dropping.

The guards unlocked the cell door and pushed him inside. Alex's foot caught on something on the floor and he looked down to see a drain. Heart sinking, he tried not to think about why they would need a drain.

"Home sweet home," one guard smirked, slamming the cell door shut. The clang resounded around the basement. "Enjoy," the other added, dangling the key teasingly in front of the cell. Snickering, they headed back down the hall.

With a sigh, Alex plopped down on the cot. Distastefully picking at it, his mind went to his father. How had his father reacted? he wondered. Was he starting a gang war even as Alex thought about him?

He suddenly realized that it was getting colder by the second. Within minutes, his teeth were chattering slightly and his arms had goosebumps. Unfortunately, Alex was only wearing a thin black long-sleeved shirt and jeans.

The wind was howling outside, and powdery snow was swirling through the bars. Alex moved to the far corner of the cell and rubbed his hands together to try to glean warmth from the friction.

An hour later, the snow was still swirling hard and fast outside and Alex was huddled on the floor in a ball, trying to keep the warmth from slipping from his body. There was an inch-high layer of white snow blanketing the floor beneath Alex's feet, and he shivered. How long was Stone going to keep him in here?

The other prisoners were cold; he could hear them complaining, but none of them had windows in their cells; he'd seen as much when he passed. Was this a punishment cell? Alex wondered.

More thoughts entered his mind. Were they going to leave him here? Was it going to be snowed in? Would he catch hypothermia? Frostbite? What was the temperature? Was there any way to escape?

He seized upon the word. Escape! Why hadn't that been the first thing he'd tried?

Reluctant to leave his corner, he stood up, surveying the cell. There was nothing he could use to try to pry the door open or dig his way out, he realized with a sick disappointment.

Suddenly a thought struck him. He went over to the bed and tried to yank off a spring. On the second try, it worked, and he was left with a coiled-up spring that had a jagged tip.

Going over to the door, he examined the keyhole. He stuck the end of the spring into the hole and tried to jimmy the lock but nothing happened. Gritting his teeth, he tried to turn it to the left, and then to the right, but it didn't work either. Alex was suddenly hyper-aware of the snow rushing in from the window and the rapidly increasing layer of white powder on the floor.

"I have to work fast," he muttered, and jiggled the spring desperately.

A/N: i wrote a LONG chapter for you guys so please vote, comment, & fan! Thanks!