“You are so predictable!” Judd laughed. “It’s almost too easy.”
Blood trickled down the side of her head as her vision blurred. Judd grabbed her face and turned her head. He moved in closer, stuck out his tongue and slowly licked off the blood, moaning with arousal as he did so. “Tasty,” he whispered against her ear.
All she could do was grunt in disgust and kick out at him. Judd backed off and ordered one of his subordinates to tie her feet to the stake.
“No more acting out,” he said as he butted up against her again. “I don’t want to hear another peep from you, understand?” He pushed her head to the side and walked away, taking the scavengers with him.
Hyde turned to Marcus to find him staring back at her, a look of sheer disgust on his face.
“Why do you do it?” he asked. “Every bloody time you have the chance, you make matters worse for yourself. Can’t you just keep your gob shut for once?” With that, he turned away and hung his head. She continued to stare at him, not knowing whether to be upset with him for having a go or herself for deserving it. He was right, of course. She never made it easy for herself.
~
Hyde was beginning to feel the effects of being hung in the same position for hours on end. The midday sun wasn’t helping. She could hardly keep her eyes open as the urge to pass out became overwhelming. She tried to focus as Judd walked in and out of sight thinking each successive time would be the one when he would return. After a few moments, he rounded the corner again and this time, he had a few other scavengers with him. The men were pulling something heavy behind them, as well as what looked like a generator.
He stopped a few feet away. “This is a high-pressure water pump,” Judd raised a different object. “And this is a high-pressure water cannon.” He smiled. “I’d get ready if I were you; this is going to sting a little.”
She braced her body as Judd pulled on the generator’s cord to get it going. He aimed the cannon at her and turned the lever. The force hit her gut like a wrecking ball, knocking the wind from her lungs.
Judd turned off the water. “If I see you close your eyes, or even try and pass out, I will set the cannon on you again—is that understood?” He smiled and walked away.
She looked skyward and then down at the sodden ground. Her arms felt as if they wanted to leave her body. She would give anything to be able to place her feet flat. But Judd was out to make her suffer, and any attempt to alleviate her pain would only result in more.
CHAPTER 22
Over the course of several hours, Hyde was attacked twice more by the water cannon; her body was spent. No amount of additional bombardment would stop her from going limp at this point, as she hung loosely from the chains that held her.
She could hear Judd approaching, but she couldn’t move. The rumble of the pump came a few seconds before the force of the water hit her bones, adding to the bruising she’d sustained from the other attacks.
“Please stop, Judd,” Marcus pled, still chained up beside her. “She’s had enough. Her body can’t take any more.”
Hyde felt the water leave her body, and Marcus cried out. The thought of someone else’s pain forced her to open her eyes. Marcus remained rigid under the onslaught. Having his feet firmly planted on the ground probably made it easier, as he could brace himself a little more.
Judd shut off the water after a couple minutes. He approached Marcus, his eyes full of intent. “You’re an idiot, Marcus.” Without warning, he sucker-punched his gut. Then again. And again. “You—will—keep—your—fuckin’—thoughts—to—your—self.” After making his sentiments clear, he turned and walked away, leaving his two captives to stew in their misery.
When will our torment end? Hyde pondered, wishing she had an answer. Honestly, she didn’t know the answer to anything anymore. The fight was supposed to get them out into the open so that they could try to escape, but Marcus’ plan had been foiled before it even came into being. All she could hope for at this point was a miracle, but that was no more likely to happen than Judd doing them all a favour and spontaneously combusting. The only thing that kept her sane was a vision of Judd writhing in pain.
~
Twilight had hit the camp. The night sky was clear, and the air was bitter cold. The moon and stars provided enough light to see quite clearly. Hyde surveyed the camp and saw no one. Her shivering became more violent as the temperate continued to drop. And with her clothes still damp from her earlier dousing, the threat of hypothermia was becoming all too real.
She looked over at Marcus in an attempt to focus on something else. He was asleep, hanging awkwardly from his chains. How could he sleep in that position? The rhythmic snoring grated on her nerves. All she could hope for was that her body would eventually go numb. Not being able to feel would be far better than another minute enduring the tearing in her shoulders; the burning in her wrists; the cramp in her calves and toes. The thought of how much she had already endured, and of how much more was to come, stirred a fierce hatred within her. She fought to keep her frustrations to herself but failed miserably. A scream erupted from the depths of her being and found its way past her gag.
Marcus jerked awake, his head whipping around looking for a new threat before relaxing again. “You need to calm down, soldier,” he said.
Hyde grasped at his words, desperate to calm down. But for all her effort, she was no less angry.
Her thoughts were broken when Judd came stomping back into view. Snatching up the water cannon from the ground, he jerked the generator cord and turned the pump on full power. There was no sun to dry her off this time, only the bitter night air. As before, the dousing went on for several minutes. She screamed as the pain of water battering her body overpowered her will to remain resilient.
Hyde resorted to feigning unconsciousness to get him to stop, as she could no longer feel her body. Letting her head slump forward, she closed her eyes. As her head fell forward, she heard Judd huff in disappointment before the rumbling generator became silent. The instrument of her torment clanged as it hit the ground, followed by the blessed noise of a pair of boots stomping away.
Hyde waited a while before lifting her head and looking around. Judd was nowhere in sight. She gazed across at Marcus and watched him smile to himself.
~
The sun began to filter through the thick matt of clouds that had formed overhead. Hyde had dozed for an hour at best, but she knew it wasn’t enough. She was in trouble. Chills and hot flushes swept over her as her whole body began to shake. The night time attack had done the real damage; hypothermia had set in.
Judd walked over from where he’d been leaning against a tree, watching them. Hooking his finger under her chin, he placed the back of his other hand on her forehead. “Hmm.” was all he could muster before turning and walking out of sight.
Hyde turned to Marcus, who looked ready to explode. She warned him not to say a word with her eyes and a grunt of disapproval through the gag. He pursed his lips, scrunched up his face and looked at the ground beneath his feet. “He’s going to end up killing you, you know that, don’t you?”
Unable to respond, she just stared at him for a moment before she, too, hung her head. Staring wide-eyed at the ground, she contemplated what might become of her ... of them.
She looked up. Her wrists were in an even worse state than she’d feared. The cuffs had cut deep, causing her hands to redden and swell. The sour smell of her own body and stale urine clung to her nostrils. Nausea rose, but she held her stomach in place, not relishing the thought of choking on her own vomit because of the gag.
The afternoon sun’s warmth was enough to pull her back from her bout with hypothermia, but her nausea intensified as the smells around her grew stronger. She turned to Marcus, her eyes full of anguish. What’s going to get me first? The dehydration, the fever or the vomit? And what the fuck has Marcus got that Judd wants? All this pain had better be worth it!
CHAPTER 23
A gunshot rang through the
compound. The unexpected sound ripped Hyde out of her stupor. Her head shot up as she attempted to locate the source of gunfire. Another shot rang out, and she turned to Marcus, wide-eyed. What the hell is going on? The expression on Marcus’ face told her he was no surer of what was happening than she was. She resumed her previous attempt at scanning the area, in the hopes that it would give her any sort of clue on what was transpiring. She was a fighter, always had been, and the fact that she couldn’t do a thing to defend herself or anyone else from the unknown threat infuriated her as she half-heartedly pulled against her restraints.
Confusion now reigned throughout the compound. But rather than hearing cries of mass murder, she heard those of excitement. A mixture of shock and delight flowed through her as she saw men in familiar uniforms, moving in the distance.
“Thank fuck for that,” Marcus cried, his voice shaking.
Hyde looked closer at the group of men and noticed Jas was with them. Cuts littered the poor girl’s upper body and her clothes were in tatters, but she appeared otherwise unfazed by what had happened to her. The moment Jas identified her father, she ran towards him, arms outstretched to take him in as best she could while he was chained to the post.
Even though her head was still spinning, Hyde watched with joy in her heart as the scene played out between Marcus and Jas. She found herself holding back tears as thoughts of her own father pushed to the forefront of her mind.
Her thoughts were interrupted when several members from her unit back in London arrived next to her. Taking in the sight of them, she noticed a few new faces amidst those with which she was very familiar.
As it became apparent that her rescue was imminent, her thoughts fell to the grim task ahead: How was she going to tell her colleagues that some of their friends were dead? Laying way to any thoughts she had of dealing with Judd. An image of Charlie’s lifeless eyes flashed into her mind, followed by visions of her other compatriots strewn across the camp. She hoped they wouldn’t ask her anything just yet. To say anything now, in her weakened state, would reduce her to tears.
Another question reared itself in her mind: How did they know there were people here that needed rescuing? To her fortune, the one man who could answer that question was just making his way over, flanked by two others.
“Jackson! Brookes! Get her down. Take her to the doctor’s lean-to.” These were the only words to come from Major Thomas Clarke’s mouth as he looked at her, smiling.
A couple of unfamiliar but experienced faces, both with sergeants’ chevrons on their tunics, stepped forward. They approached Hyde and let her loose from the cuffs. Her legs gave way and she fell to the ground before they could catch her.
“Sorry, Corporal, didn’t mean to have you land so hard,” Jackson said as he crouched down in front of her. “Here, let’s get rid of this.”
Hyde took in a deep breath as the gag was removed, then exhaled, rolling her jaw a couple of times to ease the stiffness. The men eased her into a standing position and supported her weight. Every muscle in her body, every fibre, screamed in agony, but she overcame her pain, knowing movement was needed before rest.
Hyde started to ask questions as they headed for the doctor’s lean-to. “How did you know where to come?”
The sergeants stared at each other, then turned their attention back to her. “We have been keeping an eye on this lot for some time. We needed to know what they were up to. We had no way of knowing what had happened to your unit until it was too late. All we’d been tasked to do, was find and apprehend Judd and take him back to London. That stupid git has been running around playing captain, but he’s no more a captain than you or I.”
All Hyde could see as she stared out across the encampment was Judd being pally with her commanding officer. He had his arm around the major’s shoulders, bringing him in for a side hug.
“If that’s true, then why...?” She nodded towards the jovial pair.
“Oh, they used to travel in the same circles many years ago, but don’t worry, that won’t last long. He’ll be in the holding pen in no time. We will be taking him back to London to face trial for murder in a day or two.”
Hyde wasn’t reassured, but she was desperate to believe his words were true.
~
It hadn’t taken long for Clarke to tire of his old acquaintance. With a single hand gesture, two privates made their way over, guns trained at Judd.
“Take this scum and put him in the holding pen. He’s to have nothing to eat until we leave. Let’s see how he likes stepping into the shoes of his victims.” He turned to Judd. “I want you to feel what your victims felt, every ounce of it.” His vision wandered over to Hyde, who was still being escorted across the encampment. “Maybe my young corporal over there can give me some ideas as to what to do with you while we are here?”
Judd glared at the major with hatred as he was prodded away.
“And there was I thinking we were friends,” he snarled.
“Hey,” the major shouted. Judd’s head snapped around, and he continued. “We haven’t been friends for a long time, former Captain Judd. Get that private out of my sight. Make sure you restrain him well. We don’t want him trying to escape, do we?”
~
The doctor moved his equipment off a wooden bed, making room for Hyde as the two sergeants brought her closer. There were a couple of old, threadbare blankets lying across the back of a chair in the far corner of the lean to, and the doctor grabbed them and covered the bed’s splintery surface.
“Bring her over here and lay her down. Let’s see what damage has been done. But first and foremost, one of you get her some water. And douse this while you’re there.” He threw a clean rag at one of the men. “We need to get her temperature down. She’s damn lucky to be alive.”
“I’ll take it from here, sergeant.” The doctor ushered Brookes towards the exit with a slight shift of his head. “Why don’t you round up the injured and bring them to me in order of urgency? Hopefully there won’t be too many.”
The sergeant departed to do as he was ordered, leaving the doctor to tend his patient.
Hyde lay rigid, waiting for the examination to begin. She glanced out of the lean-to, watching small wisps of cloud floating by in the distance. Her emotions ran high as the truth of her rescue sent a feeling of relief through her body. Did this mean that her nightmare was over? She finally had the backup that she had needed since the beginning of her mission.
~
Jas and Marcus had been allowed to visit Hyde. Jas with the bleeding scratch marks across her chest and the side of her face, and Marcus with his arm, which looked like the stitches had been ripped out, based on the amount of blood that had soaked through the bandages.
Marcus strode up. “How is she?” he asked, smiling down at her, taking hold of her hand and squeezing it gently.
Hyde pulled his hand to her face, allowing him to feel her skin. The back of his hand exuded warmth as it touched her, and rather than pulling away, Marcus encouraged the unexpected interaction. He pushed the fingers of his other hand through her hair and stooped down to kiss the top of her head. This single act sent an exhilarating shiver down her spine. For a second, she wished that moment would never end, but then she thought about what was happening.
The doctor answered Marcus’s inquiry a few moments later.
“She has slight impingement in her shoulders.”
Marcus looked puzzled. “Impingement?”
“It’s when the shoulder tendons get trapped between the joints, causing inflammation. In the corporal’s case, the damage was caused by being hung from her arms for nearly ten hours.”
“Is the damage permanent?” Marcus asked as he moved his hands from her head and placed them on her shoulders, massaging them.
Hyde stared up at him and smiled, taking in his concern.
“No, but it will take time to heal without a cortisone injection. And I’m afraid I have a limited supply of medicine and equipment, so she is going to have t
o deal with the pain until it can be remedied. As for her fever, that has gone down a little, and it should subside soon. She just needs to keep hydrated.”
Hyde rolled her shoulders, but it only made the pain worse.
“Don’t worry, love, we’ll have you sorted in no time,” Marcus said, sitting her up and running his hand across her back as he continued to smile.
She looked up and smiled back, trying to ignore the fact that she was in an immense amount of pain.
~
With the three of them patched up to the best of the doctor’s abilities, it was time to join Hyde’s army colleagues. For the corporal, it would be a debriefing session; for the others, it would be about getting fed.
Marcus stood on one side of Hyde; Jas positioned herself on the other. Each took an arm and placed it around their necks. But raising her arms so high caused Hyde to draw a sharp breath.
“We need to steady her under the armpits. This way is far too painful,” Marcus said. “Sorry, Catherine.” Both he and Jas changed the way they were supporting her, for which she was grateful.
“Thank you,” she said, offering them a grateful nod. “You won’t need to help me for long.”
She glanced over to the cavers pen. They were all dead, their bodies riddled with gunshot wounds. Despite everything they were, she still felt sympathy for the grotesque beasts. She felt strangely drawn to them, as if she could relate to their struggle for survival—willing to do what was necessary to get through each day. In the end, she knew it wasn’t their fault they were like this. In her opinion, they were victims too.
Judd came into view as they continued across the compound, and she realized she wanted nothing more than to gloat. “Can we head to the holding pen?” she asked. “I wish to look in on our friend.” She may have been weakened, but she hadn’t lost any of her hatred for her captor.
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