Cannabis

Chapter 22

".....take him to......"

"....but we aren't...."

".....you don't........."

"......don't, please...."

I heard some disembodied and hushed voices around me as I slowly drifted to consciousness. I blinked my eyes open to find myself inside an abandoned warehouse. Already my head was being chewed on by a pounding headache, and the bright light just above me wasn't helping. My breaths were shallow and I knew that I was sweating profusely.

Where the actual heck am I?!

It took my brain some moments to realize that I was bound. I tried to move, but it was in vain. I thrashed my head around to find a way out, but the action exacerbated my headache. I could feel my heart hammer against my rib cage. 

Who brought me here? 

What happened?

 Noah....yes, I followed Noah....

 After that....

....oh! 

Jesus Christ.....

I stilled myself and my rampaging thoughts. I tried to recollect what happened in the alley. 

Someone hit my head from behind and Noah, he tried to warn me. Well, that explains the shitty headache.

Even before I could possibly organise my thoughts to think a way out of that quandary, I felt a chill run down my spine.

Forthwith, an extreme paranoia swallowed me whole and I was sure as hell that there were eyes on me. The eyes of the ones who conversed among themselves in hushed tones. I perilously looked around, eyes wide, in the hope of finding a curious pair of peepers in the dark. I failed deplorably at that.

My heart almost skipped a beat when my ears picked up the sound of footsteps, drawing closer every passing moment. I started to prepare myself for the worst.

Who can they be? Gangsters? Members of a secret organisation? Cannibals?!....

I watched with bated breath as sinister looking men started to make their appearance from the shadows. I searched for arms, if they carried any. To my ease, I found none. They looked down upon me as if they were scientists examining a new species. 

What have I gotten myself into?

Before I could even think of something to say, a familiar face emerged from the darkness. I froze as I saw the blue eyed, blonde dimwit I spent my entire childhood with.

Noah.

His face was covered in bruises and fresh cuts, he looked stressed out and troubled. Contrition was evident in his eyes as he looked at me. 

Is he associated with these louts? Why is he with them? How did he get those bruises on his face? Did he get into a brawl with them after I was hit? Is he hurting?!

All other thoughts dissipated in a moment as the staidness of the situation hit me like a train. A new kind of fear gripped my mind while I anticipated Noah and my fate. 

Why does this always happen to me and the ones that I care about? Why does my life keep playing me cards? What the hell have I done? First it was Daniel Miller, now it's this. I'm broken already, how much more shit do I have to live through?!

My chain of thoughts were stopped in their tracks abruptly as a bald man with a questionable clothing sense started to make his way towards me. Noah immediately assumed a defensive stance as he proceeded impulsively to stand between me and him.

"You don't need to do this to him...please!" Noah pleaded, breathless.

The man looked him dead in the eye.

"Move."

"Please don't debauch him, Will. He's innocent, he was just worried. Please don't!"

"He's no longer innocent, now that he knows about us. And well, the innocent ones are the most entertaining freaks when spiked." Another ruffian from behind cackled snidely. 

Spiked? What?

"NO! IT'S ALL MY GODDAMN FAULT! PLEASE DON'T DEFILE HIM! HAVEN'T YOU HAD YOUR FILL WHEN YOU DRUGGED ME??!!!!" Noah broke down in sobs.

What?! 

They what?! 

Holy mother of....now I get all of this.

.....and they're going to do the same to me too!

"Now, now. Don't be scared, young man. Once it's running hot inside your veins, you'll thank us. Just be a good boy. We promise you'll love it."

I struggled ineffectually against my restraints. Noah's continuous sobs resonated throughout the empty warehouse.

Will inched closer to me and I saw him produce a loaded syringe from his pocket. The colorless, addictive liquid fell slowly from the tip of the needle.

No, not again. I won't let anyone play with my life again! I won't lose to him!!

I struggled violently against the ropes . I steeled myself for all the possible outcomes.

"YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET TO ME!!!"

All the other men who stood silently by then had come to help Will to tame the raging tempest that was me as I thrashed around riotously and shouted profanities at them. 

I won't let them get to me.....I won't lose to them.....I WON'T LET THEM CORRUPT ME!

It took four of them to forcibly tame my struggling form. 

"Don't be foolish, boy. You'll be grateful to us, and once you've experienced the things it'll do to you, you'll be coming back for more!" Will uttered, taking pride in his foresight.

It was only a matter of seconds before I felt the sharp prick of the needle in my basilic, amidst all my suppressed disturbances. 

"Ecstasy." 

That was the last word that I heard before passing out.

To be continued...