Byte Back | 6 Underground

7. Kinky

May 3rd, 4:51 a.m.
Skateboarding Pit, California Desert

"Why do you want me here?" I asked Four.

"Because you said you liked colors."

"Yeah, but it's dark."

"I want to watch the sunrise with you. Is that too much to ask?"

"Yes, actually. I could be sleeping right now."

"You're not, though. You're with me. Now watch the sunrise with me and stop complaining."

Within a matter of minutes, the sky started to turn from dark blue, to red, to orange. Then the sun decided to appear. Slowly, but surely. It was strangely beautiful. I loved its simple beauty. My eyes were somewhat hopeful. The sun gives me that feeling sometimes. Hope.

"Do you like it?" Four asked me.

I smiled and chuckled. "Fuck yeah."

"Do you prefer the night or the day?"

I looked deeply into his green eyes and thought about it for a second. "I think the night. I'm a child of the moon."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's like the sun is my best friend but the moon is my soulmate."

"'The sun watches what I do, but the moon knows my secrets.'"

I gasped. He had described it exactly as I meant it. "How did you know?"

He chuckled at my childish surprise. "It's a quote that I live by. I live the life that I want to live by night, I do what I was born to do by day."

"What were you born to do?"

"I don't know. I guess anything that my parents expected from their 'very British son.'"

I giggled. "What do you think you'll do in the future?"

Four smiled. "Die." My eyes cautiously looked at him. He chuckled and told me to calm down. "Honestly, I don't know what the fuck to do with my life. The opportunity of a future was taken away from me the minute I met One."

I placed my head on his shoulder. "Yeah. I know the feeling."

May 7th, 11:39 a.m.
Hostage Room, California Desert

We were walking behind One, following him into the room where he tied all of us up. Twelve chairs were waiting for us. Half of the chairs were made out of wood. The other half, metal.

"What's this?" Two asked.

He told us to sit down on the wooden chairs, we did as told. "We are going to escape today." He handed out blindfolds and told us to put them on. Once again, we did as told. "Let's play graveyard. If anyone moves or makes any kind of noise, they lose."

"That's a kids game," I said.

"Says the youngest one here," he answered. "Okay. The game starts now."

A few minutes passed. No noise was made. I felt a rough material touch my skin. It was a rope. I was thinking of struggling, but One whispered in my ear, "Don't you dare move."

He took off my blindfold. I turned my head and saw One, taking everyone else's blindfolds off.

"The fuck is this?!" Three asked, panicking.

"This is roleplaying," One answered as he sat down on a metal chair in front of us.

"Kinky," Two simply said.

Four closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. "Oh... this is bringing back bad memories," he said.

Seven looked at One, worried. "Memories?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you. I tied all of them up when I recruited them," he told Seven. "Don't worry, though. We laughed it off in the end."

"No, we didn't," Five, Four, Two, Three, and I said at the same time.

"Oh, right! I was the one who laughed." He chuckled at the memories. "Anyway."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Why are we tied up?"

Five cringed. "Please tell me this is not some kinky fantasy of yours."

"Fuck no! I'm just gonna teach you guys how to escape situations like these," he calmly answered.

With ease, Two made the chair move and eventually broke it. We all looked at her with wide eyes. "What? I'm used to it."

"Being tied up?" Five asked.

"Yeah."

"You're sick," Five said.

Two shrugged as she stood up from the floor. She pointed at Three. "He likes it. What do you want me to say?"

One looked at her in disgust. "Uh, nothing. Because you sharing that information is not necessary."

She sat down on the metal chair behind her. "Just tie me up and shut up."

He shook his head at her in disbelief as he tied her up. He looked at us and said, "What are you waiting for?"

We starting shaking and trying to jump. Three leaned back in his chair and broke it. Seven did the same thing Two did. Four was tensing up and trying to use his muscles to escape. The ropes became loose and he wiggled out of them. I moved around until my arms were free and the ropes were loose enough for me to move my torso. I turned around and untied the ropes. I stood beside Seven and moments after, Two was free of the metal chair.

Five was trying to break the chair but was repeatedly unsuccessful.

We all stood in front of Five, waiting for her to be untied in order to start breaking free from the metal chairs.

"Do you want me to help you?" Four sympathetically asked her.

She shook her head. "I should be able to do this."

What seemed like ten minutes passed. Five finally broke free.

I turned to One. "You do know that Foxwell will probably handcuff us, right?"

He smiled in amusement. "Yeah, probably. But better be safe than sorry." One clapped, making me flinch. "Okay. Metal chair time!"

We all sat down on the metal chairs. He tied us up once again. I heard a click. My head turned. He was handcuffing Three behind his back. Then Five. Then Two. Then Four. Then Seven. Then me. Panic was the only emotion present. The handcuffs were tight.

Two protested. "I literally just escaped from this chair."

One crossed his arms in front of his chest and dismissively shook his head. "Were you handcuffed? No. Now shut up and escape."

I was too invested in escaping, that I didn't notice how Two escaped. "How are you so good at this?"

"CIA," she simply answered.

We all moved around, but no one was successful. One told us to stop.

"Hijo de puta," Three spat at One.

One pointed at Three. "I'm thinking we should work more on your anger-management skills than your escaping."

Three rolled his eyes. "Fuck you."

"No, thanks. Not into guys," One smiled.