Survival Games

by J. E. Taylor

  Jessica stood, pressing herself against the concrete, her eyes now riveted on the knife. The game of flinch that Ty taught her came barreling back and she blew a slow stream of air between her lips, calming her nerves, waiting for him to strike. She didn’t have a great deal of maneuverability but she hoped it was enough. When he flicked the blade toward her, she turned, blind to his counter attack.

  Frank grabbed a handful of hair with his right hand and yanked her toward him, bringing the knife up and slicing a line down her face. He twirled her toward Ty. “Now she matches you.”

  Jessica could not speak, could not scream at the pain and terror that gripped her, immobilizing her to the point of inaction. Tears blurred her eyes and hot liquid dripped onto her shoulder and chest. It took a second or two to realize it was her own blood and then the tremors started.

  Ty shrugged, his gaze locked on hers.

  Frank brought the tip of the blade to her left eye, toying with her and both men. Tom gasped, his struggle forgotten, but Ty remained unimpressed.

  “I thought you wanted her to see me die?” he offered with another tilt of his head punctuating it with a raised eyebrow.

  Frank paused, pressing his lips together, debating. Slowly the knife lowered, but he didn’t sheath it. Instead, with another flick of his wrist, he sliced her left nipple. Then he tossed her toward the mattress, where she fell with a gasp. Crossing the room before she could react in any way, he slammed the knife into Tom’s thigh just above the knee, leaving it embedded to the hilt and turning on her.

  “No!” Jessica screamed, jumping to her feet and charging Frank.

  Frank back handed her, knocking her to the ground and advanced again, this time unbuckling his pants.

  Tom inhaled sharply, but he made no sound, shock dulling the pain for the moment.

  “They might not want to fuck you, but I certainly do.” His pants dropped showing her that he was more than ready for her.

  Jessica tried to maneuver away, but he was on her, slamming her on the hard concrete and shoving inside her as she screamed and struggled. Her screams mixed with Tom’s empty threats as Frank brutally raped her.

  Ty on the other hand, looked on silently, his face bordering between neutral and amused. But inside, inside a dangerous cocktail brewed. I swear, if I ever get my hands on that bastard, I will kill him as slowly and painfully as humanly possible. It took all his concentration to not let the fury or the hatred show on his face and not to lunge at Frank despite the knowledge that he was out of reach.

  When he was through, Frank stood, towering over her and pulling his pants on. He laughed and traded a glare with Tom. “I love it when they fight.”

  “Sick fuck,” Tom hissed, his face covered in sweat, his blue eyes sparkling with a fury that matched Ty’s unseen wrath.

  Jessica rolled onto her side, curling up into a ball of pain and humiliation. She tilted her head in Ty’s direction, blinking the tears from her eyes. His eyes flicked to hers and then back to Frank.

  “That’ll make one hell of a video.” He slowly grinned. “But don’t they want her fucking a star?” He framed the word star with finger quotes.

  Frank’s jaw tightened and he looked between Jessica and Tom, debating.

  Ty knew it was a long shot, but if he could create that kind of a diversion, maybe Frank wouldn’t kill her today. Maybe Frank would bite and make him edit one last video. Maybe.

  When Frank looked back at Ty, his eyes narrowed and Ty could almost see the dollar signs register. Frank leaned down and grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her to her knees and dragging her to where Tom sat. He yanked the knife out of Tom’s thigh, wiping it on his pants and closing the blade. It disappeared in his pocket for the time being.

  * * * *

  “You still want to fuck this whore?” He tugged her hair, so Tom could see her face clearly.

  Tom’s eyes watered but he blinked and they cleared. “She’s…” His voice cracked and he swallowed. “She’s not a whore.”

  “Do you want to fuck her before you die?”

  A sob escaped Jessica and his eyes found hers. With an imperceptible tilt of his head, he nodded.

  “Now the million dollar question.” Frank pulled her head back further, staring down into her eyes. “Do you want to fuck him? Or is Ty the only one that has that market cornered?”

  She actually flinched at the use of his name, her insides a tumultuous mess and she didn’t know how to answer the question. If she said yes, would Frank hurt him again? If she said no, what would he do then? Instead, of answering, her chin began to tremble and tears welled up, pouring down her face. Her eyes lowered to Tom’s. His silent pleading squeezed her heart, sending a spindled web of pain through her chest.

  She swung her gaze to Ty and his eyebrow rose as if saying, ‘Well are you going to answer the question?’ The absence of humanity in his stare clinched her decision and she brought her eyes back to Tom, nodding the same imperceptible nod he had.

  “So little slut of mine, are you going to grant the man his dying request?”

  “Yes.” The word whispered from her lips, silencing the scream in Ty’s head. While this was his intention, the idea of her willing to give herself to anyone else was maddening. Almost to the point of breaking down his solid defenses, but he knew the second he screwed up, Frank would carve her to pieces in front of him.

  “Give us a show,” Frank said and released her hair. He stepped back, crossing his arms, almost matching the posture and expression on Ty’s face.

  Jessica moved mechanically at first crawling to Tom, wincing as she stood on bruised and battered legs. Every inch of her body ached, her face and breast burned where he sliced her and she stepped between his legs, meeting his gaze.

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes I do. He’ll kill you if I don’t.”

  * * * *

  Tom managed a laugh as she fumbled with his belt. “He’s going to kill me anyway.” The sentence laced with agony as she peeled his pants off, scraping the gaping wound in his thigh. He rung his wrists against the restraints wishing he could wrap his arms around her, wishing he could run his fingers over her skin but this would have to do. This was all he would be allowed, at least in this life and he closed his eyes, willing himself to concentrate on only her, her skin, her legs, her hands, her lips and her stormy eyes. He gasped, his breath hissing under her lips. His thigh flared, burning pain far worse than the knife wound gripped him and he groaned. His eyes squeezed shut until the burn faded to a dull tingling and his eyes snapped open, meeting her intense stare.

  “Tom,” she whispered, straddling him, circling her hips on his lap and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped into his shoulder.

  “Jessie,” his whisper matched hers, he closed his eyes, nuzzling his head against hers, turning, and brushing her ruined cheek with his lips, praying that Frank wouldn’t figure out she had passed out.

  She stirred a moment later and he shrugged his shoulders as a way to simulate a hug of his own. His relief was short lived because she was violently yanked from his lap and tossed on the floor.

  * * * *

  “I changed my mind.” Frank turned and punted. His foot connected with her rib cage and flipped her on her back.

  She gasped the air flowed out, but froze, unable to draw back in. Her cracked ribs screamed at even the smallest infusion of air.

  Frank stepped toward her and she rolled on her hands and knees, barely able to crawl a foot before he was on her. Her position suited his purpose and he drew his foot back, connecting with her side in a vicious kick, the snapping of her bones echoing off the walls. Debilitating agony ripped through her with each blow and she fell forward, landing on her elbows, unable to draw the strength to attempt escape. Her muscles seized, locking her in place throughout the brutal assault. Painful weeping ripped from her chest and her mind teetered on the edge of an abyss, and through it all the man who professed
to love her watched with almost a bored expression. Tom on the other hand was raging in the chair, thrashing and swearing, promising vengeance through the sobs that racked him.

  Frank finished his beating and straightened out his clothing. “I’ve got some things to do,” Frank smiled. “But I’ll be back.” He almost skipped out of the room and as the door closed, the wrist restraints holding Tom in place snapped open.

  * * * *

  Ty disappeared into the bathroom; he took a piss and then closed the toilet lid, taking a seat and putting his head in his hands. Without making a sound, tears flowed and his shoulders shook, his chest felt like someone put the muzzle of a shotgun to it and pulled the trigger leaving a gaping, bloody hole where his heart once was. That hole filled with a hatred so black, so complete that it over took every cell of his being and he swore that Frank would pay, one way or another that bastard was going to get his due.

  Ty came out of the bathroom to the sight of Tom cradling Jessica in his arms and rocking slowly, her head buried in his chest and his cheek pressed to her temple. Tom sent a glare in his direction.

  “Is this what you do here?” His raw voice shook. “Is it?”

  Ty blew a huff of air through his nose, keeping in character. “Yep, and we do it pretty goddamn well, too.” He chewed on his lip a moment gauging Tom’s temper. “However, I am surprised he interrupted your...” he waved to the chair, unable to bring himself to say the words. “Because that would be worth a mint.” He leaned on the wall with his arms crossed.

  Tom shifted.

  “Don’t.”

  Her command stopped him and he looked down at her.

  “He’s not worth it.”

  Her voice devoid of strength, devoid of hope, clinched it and Tom ignored her, setting her gently on the floor, he grabbed his jeans, sliding them on before he took a few steps in Ty’s direction.

  Ty’s arms dropped and his expression became deadly. Some of the fury locked inside, bled through into his warning glare. “Do you really want to tango with me right now?”

  * * * *

  Tom paused. Instinct told him that he might get a couple punches in but then Ty would lose control of whatever beast he had caged inside. This was a man who had been pushed beyond the edge of reason.

  He backed off, stepping away and returning to Jessica’s battered, barely conscious form. He scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom, setting her gently on the toilet before turning on the shower. He pulled her under the balmy stream and just held her to his chest as the warm water cascaded on his back.

  Eventually her arms wrapped around his waist, the warmth of the shower did nothing to quell either one of their tremors.

  “I couldn’t stop him,” he said, his voice raw with emotion and trembling as much as the rest of his form was. “Jess, I couldn’t stop him.”

  “It’s okay,” she whispered in his arms as the water fell over them.

  “No, it’s not,” he said kissing the top of her head. “There was nothing I could do while he...” He stopped and swallowed hard. “While he…” He couldn’t say the words. Rape didn’t begin to cover the brutality he just witnessed.

  “That’s not the worst thing that can happen in here.”

  Chapter 57

  Ty heard the water go on and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall, taking a shaky breath. He wondered just how much time they had left and his thoughts were answered by the creak of the door.

  Frank leveled the tranquilizer gun and pulled the trigger.

  Ty looked at the dart in his chest and back up at Frank as he fell over into blackness.

  * * * *

  The blackness turned gray and the smell, ah, God, the smell. Ty yanked his head away and blinked. His vision righting itself and his heart jumped into his throat. How much time passed? Shit!

  His hands were even with his head suspended in the air by painfully tight shackles attached to heavy-duty linked chains. The same with his ankles, but for now, he stood barefoot on the cold concrete. He looked beyond Frank at the two very familiar chairs. One an electric chair that almost every room in the complex housed, but the other one made his head snap back at Frank. “You son of a bitch!”

  “As I said before, payback’s a bitch,” Frank said. “I thought long and hard about how I was going to kill you.” He stared up at the chains and waved to the room. “This ended up winning out because it’s slow enough to see you in agony but fast enough to let me hack that little bitch to pieces before you die. I’m just sorry she has to derive any pleasure from it at all.” He turned, staring the contraption. “Ironic that the bitch gets to die cumming.”

  “You were right about her eyes. I want her to see you suffer, and see her pretty boy suffer. I’m still not sure if I’m going to kill her first or not. I don’t know who I’d get a greater pleasure out of destroying after what she did to me.”

  He walked over to the table and picked up a knife. Twirling it in his hand, he advanced on Ty. “On one hand, I can almost understand what you did to my father. I did contemplate what I would have done if the tables were turned and Marian was the one your father screwed every night.” He stopped in front of Ty. “But you still killed my father.”

  He ran the blade down the unscarred side of Ty’s face, ripping the skin open. Ty jerked back as far as he could, but it wasn’t enough to get away from the knife.

  Ty glared at him as the blood dripped down his chin onto the floor. He said nothing.

  Frank smiled. “If you had come home an hour earlier, you would have gotten a look at quite a different scene. If I had to make a comparison between your sister and your whore, I would say they fought with the same grim determination. Unfortunately in both cases, it was a waste of precious energy.”

  “You bastard.” Ty’s voice shook and a second later, he realized the chains were vibrating with the tremors that racked him.

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He waggled his finger. “I thought she meant nothing to you.” Frank put the knife down and headed out of the room whistling.

  Chapter 58

  Tom stepped out of the shower and grabbed a couple towels, handing one to Jessica. He noted two things. The clothes he had discarded were gone and a new set placed on the lid of the toilet. A shiver snaked down his spine. Someone had entered the room while they were in the shower and neither of them noticed.

  Jessica stepped out next to him wrapping a towel around her gingerly. The cuts on her face and breast still oozed. She was still listless until she saw the choice of clothing. Both items crimson red and both items highly inappropriate given the nature of the last hour.

  He picked up the silk pajama shorts, scrunching his eyebrows together before he dropped them back on the skimpy pile. He stepped to the pantry rifling through the towels in a futile attempt to uncover hidden clothing.

  “There’s nothing in there.” Jessica interrupted his search, still staring at the crimson outfits. “Silk and lace. Jesus.” She wrapped her arms around herself, warming her goosebump-ridden arms.

  Tom closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. He couldn’t promise that nothing would happen to her, he knew that now. He snapped straight staring at the clothing and then the doorway. The room outside the doorway was unusually dark. If Ty was out there, how the hell did they get the clothes in here? “Just... just put the clothes on.” He picked up the shorts and slid them on, absently handing her the lace ensemble, his eyes still on the door. He swallowed despite his spit-dry mouth.

  He glanced at her when she moved to his side, lacing her fingers in his, staring at the darkness as well. Her face still bore the jagged oozing scar but it paled in comparison to her fear laced eyes, which were riveted to the doorway and the darkness beyond.

  “I feel like I’m walking the green mile,” he muttered, taking his first step toward the door.

  “You and me both.”

  * * * *

  The room was drenched in shadows, but one thing was clear, Ty was no longer chained to the
wall. The ‘thump’ of an air gun filled the room and Tom staggered back a few steps, his hand slipping from hers. They both stared at the tranquilizer dart sticking out of his chest.

  He went down, hard. And all she could think about was yelling “Timber!” The sudden silly thought brought a hysterical fit of giggles, but they were cut off by the second thump and then darkness descended.

  Chapter 59

  Tom jerked his head away from the god-awful smell and blinked in confusion. When his eyes found Ty, they widened.

  Frank laughed. “I’ll let him explain while I go get your whore.” He walked out of the room.

  Tom looked around. “Jesus,” he said his eyes widening at the sight of the other chair. The contraption that they had seen in the video was attached to it. He shot his eyes back to Ty. “Sweet Jesus.”

  Ty nodded. “Now you get it,” he said as the blood continued to drip from his face.

  Tom glanced back at the other chair and followed one of the cords across the concrete. He had been zapped enough times to understand what Frank had planned for them. He started to shake.

  “Get your shit together,” Ty said harshly.

  Tom snapped his eyes back in Ty’s direction, taking in the chains that would eventually tear him to pieces. “How can you be so calm?”

  “I told you I would die for her,” Ty responded. “You, you need to be the one to get her out of here.”

  Tom looked down at the shackles holding his wrists to the chair and the strap around his chest. “How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

  Ty shrugged. “You’ll know when it happens.”

  “What if IT never happens?” Tom asked in exasperation.

  “Then we all die today,” Ty said calmly.

  They stared at each other in silence.

  “Do you love her?” Ty asked.

  Tom nodded.

  “When you get her out of here, will you tell her?” Ty paused and closed his eyes. “Tell her that I loved her? Will you make her understand?” Ty opened his eyes. They shined with tears and he blinked them back.