Dark Hearts

Chapter 7 (Part 1)

A/N: This was the song I listened to during this chapter and I just really enjoyed it so I hoped you all might too.

Cade hadn't been dragged for long before his ankles were knocked forcefully against a stone step which caused him to buckle slightly under the ain and a grunt slipped out into the rag. His sense were diluted and uncertain from the two clothes and rope, but he was sure that he couldn't have been brought out in public for there was too little noise. The men that pulled him along never spoke to each other, only made noises in the backs of their throats when Cade shoved his heels into the ground to make them angry. Wherever they were headed had to be somewhat isolated, he guessed, based upon the fact that he had been getting dirt kicked up in his face for the past two minutes and the sound of tiny animals moving around in their natural habitat. He strained his ears to hear if the others were anywhere in his vicinity but he heard nothing but the sounds of his captors and himself. If anything happened to either of them, there would be hell to pay for those who dared lay a hand on their skin.

His fight had died out long ago after he learned that any attempt to escape or even the slightest bit of resistance earned him a solid hit to a random part of his body. Dark bruises would stain his skin in the future, the men's way of making sure he remembered the feeling of their fits beating his skin. Learning the destination they headed towards would help him immensely in devising a plan for his escape, but he could settle with making it up in the moment. Even some idea of who decided it their business to kidnap the outsiders would assist him but nothing about the men or their methods provided any clue as to who supplied the money jangling in their pockets. They could have been randomly selected off the streets but the way they worked together and fluidly suggested that the three weren't the first victims of the mystery employer.

Perhaps the person that hid behind the brutal men controlled the city through a face unseen by anyone yet the idea of them alone kept everyone in line. Cade envisioned a frail, middle-aged man, sitting with a straight back in a cushioned armchair with a single candle illuminating one half of his wrinkling face. Yet it didn't seem the style of a man to let everything run in such a clean state, he would have thought that a man would allow managed chaos in a town he could call his own.

His thoughts ended when more pain sent his legs buckling again and the sound of a creaking door reached his ears. Some of his weight fell and only two pairs of hands cupped underneath his shoulders leaving the other two to struggle with the bartender. He assumed that the other two had left their previous positions to hold open the two doors whose handles needed greasing. Nothing else made any noise as the remaining brutes began to drag the dead weight across slick floors that Cade assumed were waxed tiles; he hoped that his boots left dirt streaks and he dug his heels down harder.

They only pulled his body for a short while longer before stopping and pulling him up so that he stood on both his feet again, but he fell slightly at the sudden use of the previous dead weight. One of the men growled slightly at having to lift him again after lugging him the whole way to their destination and squeezed harder around his armpits. After Cade was situated on both feet once more, happy to standing rather than being helpless in his own body, one of the men removed his blindfold and the other pulled out his gag. The minimal light from the few candles felt good to his eyes rather than the harsh outdoors and he examined everything as quick as possible. Both the men that carried him came into his view and before the one that scowled angrily at him could walk away with his actions, Cade spat into his eye which earned a harsh blow to his gut. It was worth it.