A Partisan's Fight - COMPLETED!

Chapter Fifty-Four

Content Warning: Violence, Torture.

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Moaning, Markus blinked his eyes open. His body felt like it was on fire. Every ounce of him hurt. He closed his eyes for a moment — just long enough to relive everything that had transpired before he had passed out. He remembered Lehmann's fist ramming into him so many times during the truck ride. He'd prayed for the truck to get to Mina's hometown faster than it should have. He'd joked with the men throughout the torment, refusing to give up anything of value. Of course his witty comments had lead to more bruises and broken bones.

Carefully he pulled his hand up, feeling his tender ribs. How many had just been bruised? How many had actually been broken? The first ribs on each side were sore, but they weren't broken. Feeling up to the next set of ribs, he wished he hadn't touched them. He bit back the growl of pain as he felt the slight protrusion on one of the ribs. There was no doubt it was broken.

"What are you doing?" A middle-aged woman came into the room. Her blonde hair was already wrapped up in a bun to the back of her head. In spite of his memory being spotty after being taken down from the beam, he remembered her helping Mina bring him into the room. He wasn't sure when that had been. Everything was blurred together for a timeline. "You should not be uncovered."

"I... I was checking..." Markus realized how sore his throat was for the first time. It could be from Lehmann's throat punch. Or it could be from all the screaming he couldn't hold back while being tortured. He'd bit most of the yelling back, but toward the end the pain had been too unbearable not to vocalize it.

"Checking for what? You should be resting." The woman pulled the sheet back up over his chest.

"My ribs." Markus sighed. "I want to know how many they broke."

"Your body tells a story and nobody should go through as much pain as you have." The woman sat on the bed next to him. "Why would you want to put yourself through more pain to find more wrong with yourself?"

Markus pushed the sheet back down again. "Because... because I need to know. I need to know how many... need to heal."

Sighing, the woman pushed his wrists back down. "I will check for you." Gently, she felt over each rib. She gave him time to catch his breath after every rib they found broken.

"Five." He said weakly. "Five are broken."

"When your body heals more, we will wrap them. Right now I need to be able to access your wounds to clean them." She told him matter-of-factly.

"How long have I been here?" He needed to know a timeline. He hated when things blurred together. It felt like he was losing what little control he had when he couldn't even remember what day it was.

"Nearly a week. Your injuries are healing nicely." She checked under a band aid before looking up at him. "Your friends have checked in on you almost every day. They are worried about you."

It was strangely comforting to know that when it came down to it that Mina and Aldrik were there for him. They could say what they wanted to about him, but actions always spoke much louder than words. They came back for him. They made sure he was all right. In spite of the evil that he had done — the wrong that he'd committed — the pair still had his back. It brought on a new meaning to loyalty. "What is your name?"

Pulling the sheets up to cover whatever exposed skin was there, the woman met his eyes. "Ruth."

"Thank you, Ruth. Words cannot... cannot begin to describe how thankful I am for your hospitality... and help." He wheezed out. No matter how much it stung his throat, he wanted her to know his gratitude.

"Shhh. I am doing what needs to be done. Save your strength and get better." She stood up from the bed. "I will check on you a little later, and bring in some soup."

"That sounds good. Thank you." Markus tried to crack her a smile, but the tear in his lip made the feat sting. Wincing, he watched her smile at his attempt and begin walking away. "My name is Markus."

She paused and nodded. Her feet soon carried her out of the room, leaving Markus with his thoughts and silence.

Closing his eyes, he relived more of the gruesome horror. His shoulder twitched as he remembered Jonas reaching into the back of the truck and pulling out the barbed wire. He could barely walk at that point from the hell Lehmann had inflicted upon him. Meier had tried to ignore most of what had happened. He'd only participated in helping hold him up to be dragged onto the tall post.

"Hold him still. I want to get these barbs in him tight." Jonas's voice rang out as if the moment was happening again.

"No... please do not put that on me." Markus had begged them. He'd tried to pull back when the long string of wire was brought closer to him. He remembered feeling his heartbeat in his throat. He shook just remembering the moment.

"Your begging means nothing to us." Jonas had sneered. He'd signaled for Lehmann to pull his arms up over his head and hold him still.

"We need to get him up on that beam before wrapping him up in this, Braun." Lehmann nodded over to the cross shaped prison.

Jonas eyed up the wood. "Meier, grab me that other barbed wire in the truck. We are going to need it."

Markus didn't even remember seeing Meier grab the extra wire. He only remembered the torture tool there as Jonas cut it in half and tied it tightly around his wrists. The pain had been brutal, but not nearly as bad as them looping it over the horizontal beam and pulling him up to the top. It had felt like his wrists were being separated from his body and the flesh being ripped off. By the time they'd climbed the post to the top, his hands were so numb and inflamed that he had barely felt them pounding the nails through his thumbs and the extra barbed wire being applied. He'd nearly blacked out from it all.

"Hand me the rest of that wire, Braun." Lehmann had been waiting to use the last little bit. He'd smiled when the wire had touched his fingers and he'd begun to wrap and twist it around Markus's body like he was trying to secure a fence to a post.

The pain had been too unbearable to stay conscious. He barely remembered Meier telling them half heartedly to stop. The man had had a bit of a heart, but he hadn't expressed the softer side until after all the pain had been administered. Meier could have said something sooner. He could have tried to stop them, but it hadn't been a high priority. It didn't matter though. Markus still remembered that he'd expressed even a little bit of kindness. He was appreciative of that no matter how small it had been.

After reliving the trauma and the pain, he was finally able to focus on something sweeter. Thoughts of Mina flowed through his mind. They were a piece of heaven. An escape that gave him something greater to fight for. It was enough to help him feel safe. To feel the calmness needed to fall asleep and get the rest he desperately desired.